Jan_ette

Just wondered if people thought it was worth waiting to book a ferry from Santorini to Folegandros in late September until nearer the time or not? Sea jets are available to book now for an extortionate €44 each way for a 40 minute crossing but is there likely to be a conventional ferry which would of course be a fraction of the cost, running daily late September into October? I realise the schedules for them can be as late as August when they're released but does anyone know of an intended ferry schedule for that time?


Thanks

Jan

Heimdall

I see you are posting the same question on TripAdvisor. Generally conventional ferries follow the same pattern year-round, so if you check the present timetables they will probably be the same as in late September.

There is no need to pre-book ferries for late September, as none will be full. You are better off waiting until you arrive on Santorini to buy the tickets, since then you will know exactly which ferries will be running on the day you are travelling to Folegandros.

Sea Jets are notorious for publishing timetables early and then changing them before the start of the season. They are also notorious for being slow to grant refunds to clients who book over the internet when ferries are cancelled. Buy your tickets from an agent on Santorini, then if there is a problem you can return to the agent for a refund and new tickets.

Jan_ette

Thank you for that information, we are travelling with friends and we already have the accomodation booked on Folegandros for 4 days which is why we were trying to book, I thought the same as you have said wait until we get there but we were worried there would not be ferries running that late in the season. Which site would you recommend I look for last years timetable please

Jan

Heimdall

Either a conventional ferry will be running that day or it won't, and pre-booking will make no difference. Last year Zante Ferries (conventional) ran on Tue, Thu, & Sun, while Sea Jets ran daily. You can check for yourself by going to openseas.gr and clicking the calendar back to dates in September 2015. Periodically they dump the historical data on their website, but those dates are still showing up as I write.

Make sure you use the day of the week corresponding to when you are travelling rather than the actual date. Also remember that ferry timetables change, so
Sep 2016 may not be the same as last year.

Weather permitting, there will be a ferry running on the day you want to travel. If there is a conventional ferry on that day you can book it when you get to Santorini — if not, buy tickets for the Sea Jet.

If you feel uncomfortable waiting until Santorini to buy the tickets, recommend waiting until a few weeks before your trip and book over the internet. You will still have to pick up the paper tickets from an agent on Santorini, and that takes just as long as buying them on the spot. I always wait until I get to Greece to buy the tickets.

Jan_ette

We are looking at the ferries for our forthcoming holiday from the end of September. We have just read that the flyingcat4 has stopped running from Santorini to Folegandros, does anyone know the reason for this

Jan

mrsbolshie

The Flyingcat4 has been put on the new route from Thessaloniki to the Sporades. Very convenient for the travellers as Thessaloniki handles many flights from Europe and also no competition for the company.

Jan_ette

Thank you for your reply, we have looked and are probably going to have to change our plans and the day we go over to Folgandros as we arrive on the Wednesday and we were planning to go over to the Island on the Sunday for a week then back to Santorini for a few days and there is only evening crossings available from what I can see at the weekend.

Heimdall

Those ferries follow a complicated route, and usually go from Santorini to Folegandros near the end of the day as they are returning to Piraeus. There are no ferries that go back and forth between those islands throughout the day.

Jan_ette

The seajet2 runs in the week at 13.10 and arrives at 14.30 opposed to nigh time at the weekend