MariaLAX

I've looked at airfares from Bristol and they are close to $1000. Do I have to go back to Heathrow or Gatwick to get a reasonable airfare? And if so, how do I do this?

Maria

julia1

Yes. Train or coach.

ribeirasacra

http://www.skyscanner.net/

KayF

The budget airlines do not use Heathrow, so if you can get to Luton or Gatwick, you could fly with Easyjet. They should be cheaper than a traditional airline, like British Airways, but check prices all the way through on the websites (don't put in card details of course), just to see. Easyjet have a lot of add-on costs.

If you are travelling to Athens to actually go to an island, they fly direct to some islands.

Kay

Southam

You don't say when you want to go, where in Greece you want to go, and whether it is one-way or a return to Bristol. All make a great deal of difference. It's possible, for instance, that cheaper charters might fly between Bristol and Greek islands, rather than Athens, but charters are harder to locate for those of us living outside the UK.
Anyhow, my one small tip: Both Air France and KLM fly out of Bristol, offering connections through either Amsterdam or Paris to Athens. You could buy that round-trip itinerary for next month at half the figure you quoted. In July, you will pay more.

DickieG

If price is an issue and you do not want to travel within the UK to get to a hub airport, the best you could try is an Easyjet flight out of Bristol to one of Easyjest's hubs which service Athens.

Try Bristol to Athens via Paris.

Be aware though that these will not be through tickets but individually booked and so if you miss the connection you are on your own. The prices should always be fairly low unless you are close to departure.

We have used Easyjet many times in this way but always allow a good time for the connection.

Heimdall

KayF, Sadly, easyJet no longer has flights from Luton to Greece, so Gatwick it is! I believe Ryan Air has flights from Stansted to some Greek airports, and of course Heathrow has BA and Aegean Airlines flights to Athens.

alanRow

You could fly to Skiathos or Zante and take the ferry.

alanRow

<i>but charters are harder to locate for those of us living outside the UK.</i>

Airport websites have that information - or just Google "Bristol Greece Flights"

DickieG

I am a little confused as to why we are talking about ferries, trains and/or donkeys.

I was actually wrong as Easyjet fly into CDG and out of Orly. The Eastjet hub to use would be geneva : out of Bristol into Geneva and into Athens, no donkey rides in sight.

alanRow

Geneva to Athens is only 3 times a week.

The "connection" time at Geneva is around 2 hours.

If OP is delayed flying into Geneva then they'll have to wait 2 days for the next flight and WILL have to buy a new ticket.

There are more options if OP goes to a London airport or even flies to a Greek island.

DickieG

You are right Alan, I think I should have mad a general point about the merits of using Easyjet connections, there will be something out there which suits and avoids dragging across the south of England.

flanneruk

There are a number of UK websites brokering charter flights from provincial airports. www.charterflights.co.uk has almost daily flights from Bristol to the more popular islands. Athens generally has fewer flights from the UK's smaller airports than Corfu or Rhodes

It's surprisingly quick from Bath to Heathrow, and if Athens is your final destination, there are dozens of options on legacy airlines changing at places like Munich or Amsterdam. Any expedia-like website will throw up combinations way under $1000.

Train to Gatwick's not much longer. In addition to Easyjet, Thomson offers regular bookable charters to Athens.

ribeirasacra

What dollars we we taling abou there????
Would it not be better to use GBP, as that is the locla currency?

julia1

OP didn't give any dates, or say whether looking for single (one-way) or return (round-trip), but looking at mid-May, BA shows non-stop Heathrow to Athens for £84 single or £159 return. And that includes all taxes and fees, one checked bag at no extra charge plus two carry-ons plus a snack or sandwich and complimentary drinks from the bar. And you can check in and select seats up to 24 hours in advance at no extra charge.

Heimdall

Good point from Julia — sometimes the major airlines are cheaper than the budgets, especially after you've paid all the hidden charges, and you get a reserved seat with more legroom, free drinks, and a meal thrown in. Also check Aegean Airlines fares before you decide.

MariaLAX

Thank you so much for all the ideas! The skyscanner website mentioned has been very helpful. I've been quietly looking at all the options listed & I think what we are going to do is take the train from Bath to Gatwick ( a little over two hours & doesn't go through London) and take the EasyJet non-stop flight to Athens. The times were better than British Airways, but about the same price. We leave May 17th.
We are either going to take the morning flight on the 18th and arrive in Athens at 2:45p.m. in which case we would spend the night near Gatwick and not in Bath (any good hotels?). Or we take the afternoon EasyJet flight and get to Athens around 8:30p.m. and may spend the night near the Athens airport (any hotels you can recommnend there).
We are in a slowtrav kind of mode. We have a home exchange set up in Athens and getting there at 8:30p.m. is a little late. It's not like staying at a hotel.
I got really good comments from everybody here.
If anybody is interested in home exchanges check out www.homeexchange.com (my ID is 52707). We are traveling the world and meeting fantastic people doing this. But, this is another topic.
Thank you, thank you.
Maria