getting from santorini to samos - which option?
Apr 19th, 2011, 06:39 AM
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getting from santorini to samos - which option?
First - let me apologize to any readers who have had to deal with my many questions on getting from greece to turkey. ;-) Thanks for showing patience and helping out with suggestions...I feel a little overwhelmed planning this trip.
We are trying to get from Santorini to Samos (eventually Selcuk is our final destination actually). This is our first visit and we are confused about which plan to choose....we like the idea of ferries instead of planes but we also have a relatively tight schedule since we have lodging booked on Thursday night in Selcuk. Here is plan one:
#1. Ferry on Seajets (superjet) Wed, May 25 leaving at 11:30am - arrive Mykonos 14:10. Then catch the Nissos Mykonos Ferry leaving at Mykonos at 16:40 arriving Samos 21:40
Spend the night in Samos and next day take morning (if available) or afternoon ferry to Kusadasi. Also we have nothing booked for Wednesday night for lodging cuz we aren't sure where we will end up....is that risky?
Is just a couple of hours between our ferry connections in Mykonos really risky? Should we wait to buy our second connection (the mykonos to samos) ferry when we arrive actually arrive on Mykonos to make sure we don't pay for a ferry then miss it? Is a big ferry like that usual full if you wait till an hour or so before to buy tickets?
Option #2. May 25 - take ferry back to athens from santorini. Stay night in Athens. Next morning fly to samos then take afternoon ferry to turkey.
My husband wants to be adventureous and do option #1 and see what happens. I am a little nervous about ferry time tables and reliability. Should I be overly concerned or just roll with the flow...
We are trying to get from Santorini to Samos (eventually Selcuk is our final destination actually). This is our first visit and we are confused about which plan to choose....we like the idea of ferries instead of planes but we also have a relatively tight schedule since we have lodging booked on Thursday night in Selcuk. Here is plan one:
#1. Ferry on Seajets (superjet) Wed, May 25 leaving at 11:30am - arrive Mykonos 14:10. Then catch the Nissos Mykonos Ferry leaving at Mykonos at 16:40 arriving Samos 21:40
Spend the night in Samos and next day take morning (if available) or afternoon ferry to Kusadasi. Also we have nothing booked for Wednesday night for lodging cuz we aren't sure where we will end up....is that risky?
Is just a couple of hours between our ferry connections in Mykonos really risky? Should we wait to buy our second connection (the mykonos to samos) ferry when we arrive actually arrive on Mykonos to make sure we don't pay for a ferry then miss it? Is a big ferry like that usual full if you wait till an hour or so before to buy tickets?
Option #2. May 25 - take ferry back to athens from santorini. Stay night in Athens. Next morning fly to samos then take afternoon ferry to turkey.
My husband wants to be adventureous and do option #1 and see what happens. I am a little nervous about ferry time tables and reliability. Should I be overly concerned or just roll with the flow...
Apr 19th, 2011, 07:09 AM
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May is about the calmest month for the Aegean, so I see no reason why your Seajet will be delayed. Yes, wait to buy your 2nd ticket until you get to Mykonos. on your dates NO ferry -- big (1200-1700 passengers) or "small" (450 passengers or so) will be full.
Nissos Mykonos is an attractive large ferry ... since you are traveling east, the rear open decks will be wonderful venue for sunset watching. If you use GTP. GR and click on "company" you can see photo of your ship http://www.gtp.gr/TDirectoryDetails.asp?id=73206 AND if you click on the photo, you can even see fotos of interiors... including the inside seats, comfy upholstered, 2 each side of an aisle. If it's like Blue Star, these seatholders are free to sit outdoors on deck as long as you like, then go inside when tired or it's dark. Siince u will be traveling 5 hours, you might like to have these seats for a little snooze. At ticket office in Mykonos you can ask re the price differential. I'm guessing your boat will be half-full and you could probably "poach" a seat anyway -- OR just upgrade enroute if you decide.
Nissos Mykonos is an attractive large ferry ... since you are traveling east, the rear open decks will be wonderful venue for sunset watching. If you use GTP. GR and click on "company" you can see photo of your ship http://www.gtp.gr/TDirectoryDetails.asp?id=73206 AND if you click on the photo, you can even see fotos of interiors... including the inside seats, comfy upholstered, 2 each side of an aisle. If it's like Blue Star, these seatholders are free to sit outdoors on deck as long as you like, then go inside when tired or it's dark. Siince u will be traveling 5 hours, you might like to have these seats for a little snooze. At ticket office in Mykonos you can ask re the price differential. I'm guessing your boat will be half-full and you could probably "poach" a seat anyway -- OR just upgrade enroute if you decide.
Apr 19th, 2011, 07:33 AM
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PS: When you arrive in Samos, if you are going to be right there in Vathy (Samos Town), there is a ticket office right at the foot of the pier where the ferry docks. It is my bet that it will remain open to greet arrivals on this ferry since it is the only ferry of the day from the western isles. I think you could book then & there for a ferry to Kusadasi the next day.
Here's the best website for information about travel to in Turkey and ferries to Same :
http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/t...ndFerries.html
this leads you to ferry timetable: http://www.feribot.net/feribot/?lang=en .. which shows daily ferry 16:30 (3:30) arriving 1800 (6pm) ... so, no crack o' dawn rising hurrah!
... its still good to book the tickets on arrival Wed, if possible, due to passport paperwork
LODGING: -- "Google" for Trip Advisor reviews, to help decide..
(1) if u are totally pooped, Hotel Aeolus on the seafront is a reliable "business" hotel, you probably won't hve to reserve at all... ask for higher floor, there are cafes at street level.
(2) about 400 yards to your left, as you come off pier, along the seafront, is cute Hotel Pythagoras, with balconies right over the bay; very inexpensive, lovely family ... would be wise to phone them from Previous island, so owner could pick you up at port.
A GLIMPSE of VATHY in the AM ...
If you're peppy the next day, and have a few hours before you sail for Turkey --
(1)Best Museum in the N.E. Aegean isles... with the Worlds Largest Kouros. They found it headless, it was so big they built a room for it, then they found the head, and had to bump up the ceiling/skylight to make room. Also a wonderful little room full of small votives, trinketc etc excavated frmo the site of Temple of Hera. This temple (older than & larger than Parthenon) totally gone, but is testimony to power of the ancient Eastern Goddess-worship of the era (Ashtar etc, beliefs that were "folded into" Olympia Goddesses).
(2) "ANO VATHY" (High Vathy)... just pick any street heading uphill ... Gorgeous flowers and festooned vines on houses, and stunning vista of Vathy bay -- terra cotta roofs & tall twisty cypresses & teal blue water. Looks like Lago di Como in Italy, sorta ... And in May, very still, quiet ... only clucking of chickens, and donkey brays ... I walked up there 45 minutes on a dirt road enjoying the view, no vehicles passed me.
Enjoy your few moments in Samos...
TJ
Here's the best website for information about travel to in Turkey and ferries to Same :
http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/t...ndFerries.html
this leads you to ferry timetable: http://www.feribot.net/feribot/?lang=en .. which shows daily ferry 16:30 (3:30) arriving 1800 (6pm) ... so, no crack o' dawn rising hurrah!
... its still good to book the tickets on arrival Wed, if possible, due to passport paperwork
LODGING: -- "Google" for Trip Advisor reviews, to help decide..
(1) if u are totally pooped, Hotel Aeolus on the seafront is a reliable "business" hotel, you probably won't hve to reserve at all... ask for higher floor, there are cafes at street level.
(2) about 400 yards to your left, as you come off pier, along the seafront, is cute Hotel Pythagoras, with balconies right over the bay; very inexpensive, lovely family ... would be wise to phone them from Previous island, so owner could pick you up at port.
A GLIMPSE of VATHY in the AM ...
If you're peppy the next day, and have a few hours before you sail for Turkey --
(1)Best Museum in the N.E. Aegean isles... with the Worlds Largest Kouros. They found it headless, it was so big they built a room for it, then they found the head, and had to bump up the ceiling/skylight to make room. Also a wonderful little room full of small votives, trinketc etc excavated frmo the site of Temple of Hera. This temple (older than & larger than Parthenon) totally gone, but is testimony to power of the ancient Eastern Goddess-worship of the era (Ashtar etc, beliefs that were "folded into" Olympia Goddesses).
(2) "ANO VATHY" (High Vathy)... just pick any street heading uphill ... Gorgeous flowers and festooned vines on houses, and stunning vista of Vathy bay -- terra cotta roofs & tall twisty cypresses & teal blue water. Looks like Lago di Como in Italy, sorta ... And in May, very still, quiet ... only clucking of chickens, and donkey brays ... I walked up there 45 minutes on a dirt road enjoying the view, no vehicles passed me.
Enjoy your few moments in Samos...
TJ
Apr 19th, 2011, 10:56 AM
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Well, Mykonos is the 5th stop that day for Superjet, so I see potential for delays. Unfortunately Superjet is the only ferry going from Santorini to Mykonos on May 25th, so you have no other choice, unless you leave Santorini a day earlier and spend a night on Mykonos.
Be aware that Superjet arrives at the Mykonos old port, and Nissos Mykonos departs from the new port, a few kilometers apart. If Superjet is late, you may not have time to buy tickets for Nissos Mykonos and make it to the new port in time for departure to Samos.
What to do? Were it me I would buy tickets for both ferries at Santorini, and keep my fingers crossed that Superjet runs on time (it probably will). The safe option would be to spend the night before the Samos ferry on Mykonos. I guess it all depends on how important it is to get to Samos on May 25th. BTW, there is no possibility that Nissos Mykonos will be full. I've been on that ferry, and it is huge.
Be aware that Superjet arrives at the Mykonos old port, and Nissos Mykonos departs from the new port, a few kilometers apart. If Superjet is late, you may not have time to buy tickets for Nissos Mykonos and make it to the new port in time for departure to Samos.
What to do? Were it me I would buy tickets for both ferries at Santorini, and keep my fingers crossed that Superjet runs on time (it probably will). The safe option would be to spend the night before the Samos ferry on Mykonos. I guess it all depends on how important it is to get to Samos on May 25th. BTW, there is no possibility that Nissos Mykonos will be full. I've been on that ferry, and it is huge.
Apr 21st, 2011, 05:46 AM
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Thank you both for this advice....it is been extremely helpful and informative and eases my mind a little about the ferry situation. And if we don't make... oh well - being "stuck" on any greek island can't be bad right? ;-) It will just mean one less day in ephesus, but such is the way of traveling.
Apr 21st, 2011, 06:37 AM
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That is the correct way to look at Greek island-hopping ... all too many people want to plan every last detail down to the minute, i can almost see them getting off a ferry with a clipboard in hand, checking off items as they go.
