dreamingtraveler

Hi there. My friend and I are backpacking all over Europe in June-August 2016.

We definitely want to go to Greece, to Athens and Santorini.

I'm just having trouble trying to sort out a travel plan to get there. It seems to be really expensive to fly from Italy, where we are before heading to Greece. We are backpacking, and thus looking for cheapest options. Below is part of our itinerary we have mapped out, for before & after Greece. If you have any suggestions to re-arrange our itinerary for cheaper options to travel to Greece, please suggest.

Venice, Italy - July 16-19
Florence, Italy - July 19-24
Rome, Italy - July 24-28
Naples, Italy - July 28-Aug 1
Athens, Greece - August 1-4
Santorini, Greece - Aug 4-7 (travel back thru Athens)
Dubrovnik, Croatia - Aug 7-10
Split, Croatia - Aug 10-14

So basically my question is how do I travel to Greece for the cheapest price!

A second question: How does one travel from Athens to Santorini? I have heard of ferries but they take a very long time and sound unreliable.

Thank you for your advice and help!

M

HappyTrvlr

How to travel to Santorini? Ferries run often and are reliable. You can also fly back and forth. Watch for good airfares on Aegean Airlines.
Greece is much less expensive than Italy but Santorini is tourist central so prepare for large crowds, many cruise ships too.
Have you looked at flights from Naples to Greece? Do any fly direct to Santorini?

dreamingtraveler

Only Volotea flies from Naples to Santorini, for 65 euro, which is not bad considering other airlines out of Rome or Milan are around 150 euro. Never heard of this airline before however.

travelerjan

That Volotea flight is cheaper than an economy ticket for 8-10 hours on a ferry. If you're going on the cheap, better take it! Then MAYBE you could get an overnight ferry back from Santorini to Piraeus (mainland port for Athens) ... such ferries don't run very often any more. But backpackers by economy tickets, and sleep on the floor in the corridors.

Also, u need to start looking at Rooms in Fira Town now, if you will be staying on the "view side" of Santorini. The affordable ones are alll "Downhill" from the town square -- you want to try for something described as within 200 metres of Town Square. There are several streets of pensions all in a row Here's a listing: http://www.santorini.com/hotels-in-s...ra-hotels1.htm I know of Dina's place Pension Petros, St. Giorgios villa on this list also New Haroula HOtel Haroula & Dina both have pools, important because Aug will be HOTTTT. ..

You will also have to start looking for affordable Athens digs, NOW. Look at Athens Backpackers, BEST Hostel location near Acropolis area... very good but in HIGH demand. Also AthensSTyle, a good hostel right near Monastiraki Square, the Metro station you exit from, from the seaport.

clausar

This is actually the worse time of the year to travel to Santorini from Athens, as August is the top high season !
While finding accommodation in Athens won't be any problem ( August is considered to be low season in Athens), i recommend booking both your ferry tickets as well as your accommodation way in advance.

dreamingtraveler

Thank for you for these suggestions!

I think we will book that Volotea flight.

Where/how do I book ferry tickets? I tried to look on Blue Star's website, it showed Santorini as a stop, but when I went to book it, I couldn't select Santorini -> Athens.

Heimdall

There are two main ports for Athens: Piraeus and Rafina. Ferries from Santorini normally go to Piraeus, so try entering that as the destination.

Michael15

Hi there!
There are two ports for Athens, Piraeus and Rafina, going to Santorini. They run often and are reliable.

Heimdall

Blue Star from Santorini goes to Piraeus.

johnpeter160285

Consider a flight to Santorini, you have not that many days, it would help to save your time. There is a Ryanair flights from Athens, which can be really cheap, if booked in advance.

Askar01

#Where/how do I book ferry tickets?#

> http://www.ferries.gr/

#I went to book it, I couldn't select Santorini#

The official name of Santorini is Thira

WWK

I don't think VOLTEA flies every day from Naples-Santorini. Also when I last checked, the planes were very small.

If VOLTEA doesn't work for your itinerary, you may have to budget for AEGEAN,ALITALIA or EASY JET (?) from Rome, then connect through Athens by plane or ferry to Santorini.

traveller1959

Your itinerary looks a bit strange.

First, Croatia. 4 days in Dubrovnik? And 5 days in Split? What the heck do you want to do there all this time?

Dubrovnik has the Old Town which is almost completely corrupted by mass tourism. When some 20,000 cruise ship passengers flood the town (and they do EACH day in August!) you won't be there. It is a typical destination for a daytrip but not for a stay for several days.

The best way to see Dubrovnik in August is to stay there overnight for exactly one night. Walk the city wall and through town in the late afternoon, after the cruise ship excursions are gone, and again in the early morning before they arrive (around 9:30).

You need just a couple of hours to walk over the city wall and through every street in this compact little town. And you certainly do not want an overpriced American-style meal in one of the many tourist traps in town.

Split is also a destination for a daytrip. Split is a quite big city and dominated by ugly high-rise buildings from the socialist era. Only the Old Town (exactly: Diocletian's Palace) is worth seeing, but you need not more than two hours to see everything there (the basilica, the temple, the cellar and what is left from the outer walls).

I would not stay in Split unless I were interested in nightlife which is quite active in Split. Also, because the city beaches are ugly and crowded (and dominated by socialist architecture).

We Europeans usually look for a nice beach hotel in a lovely cove. Croatia's main attraction is the sea, so we stay on the sea and do daytrips from the beach hotel. One of the most rewarding daytrips is to the Lakes of Plitivice.

Second, Greece. Greece is a spectacular country, offers everything a traveller would wish and is extremely inexpensive. But with your plans, you won't experience all this.

Santorini will, like Dubrovnik, be flooded by cruise ship excursions and has not much offer. To be frank, I would go there only with a cruise ship. As an independent traveller, it is too much hassle to get there and end within the worst excesses of mass tourism.

Instead, I would strongly suggest to stay for two, maximum three days in Athens (a large city is not too lovely in August) and then move to one of the most beautiful beaches on the Peloponnes and explore there the ancient ruins, Byzantine monasteries, medieval castles, cute towns and river gorges.

Even for Athens, think about not staying within town (unless nightlife appeals to you) but on one of the fabolous beaches south of Athens near Cape Sounion.

mes2525

August will be one of the most expensive months in Santorini and all of Europe. If you need to save money, go in April/May or October.

Ray_16

Hey dreamingtraveler,

Wanted to know if you ended up flying on Volotea and what your experience was? The wife and I are looking at a flight they offer but have read some mixed reviews about them due to cancellations. Any information is helpful. Thanks.

AnnaTufts

Hi All,

Any update on using Volotea? We are also looking to book a flight from Naples to Crete using this airline, but with all the negative reviews, we are really hesitant.

Thanks in advance!

nrwayne

Your itinerary is far too ambitious. You'll enjoy much more by scheduling much less. Trying to see it all is a common temptation that is highly likely to leave you exhausted. Unless you're absolutely, positively convinced you'll never go abroad again, scale back now. You'll be much happier.
P.S. There are no bonus points for seeing more places and spending more time going from place to place.