progol

One month to go! All hotels are reserved & major car rentals arranged, but I’m still wondering about some of the small details left. In some cases, I just would like to clarify what I should do when I arrive; in other cases, I want to decide whether I arrange something prior to my trip or when I get there. All suggestions welcome!

We are leaving NYC on 9/15, arriving in Athens on Friday, 9/16, then fly to Chania, Crete (3-4 hours at the airport). We will be taking ferries on 9/22 from Crete (Iraklion) to Santorini, and on 9/25 from Santorini to Naxos. We remain on Naxos for 4 days, beginning Sunday, 9/25, but because I plan on taking the day trip to Mykonos to Delos (Tuesday), we will need a car for 2 separate days (not consecutively).

I would appreciate feedback on the following:

1) Best way to get to Chania airport to Chania downtown (Hotel Palazzo). I will assume it’s by cab – if so, what should I expect to pay?

2) Should I reserve my ferry tickets before I go or when I arrive? If I reserve now, can I pick them up at the airport in Athens?

3) Cab or other transportation from Santorini ferry port to Oia? Should I arrange this with the hotel (Delfini) or take a cab from the port? What are the busses like?

4) Car rentals – Oia and Naxos. Should I arrange these beforehand? I’m figuring on a one-day rental for Oia, so is there a recommended agency or should I (again) ask the hotel? For Naxos, I will want the car for 2 separate days, so is there a recommended agency there to deal with?

Many thanks for your help – it’s hard to believe that it’s only 1 month to go!

Paule

HappyTrvlr

On the islands, we had the hotels arrange our car rentals. The cars were dropped off and picked up at the hotel so very easy. They were local companies and very inexpensive.
We had a Greek travel agent obtain our fwrry tickets in advance.
We picked up our rental car at the Chania airport on Crete.
You will love Greece.

brotherleelove2004

Since you have plenty of time at the Athens Airport before your flight to Chania just wait until you get there to buy your ferry tickets from the travel desk of Amphitrion Holidays in the Arrivals Hall between doors 2&3. The ferries won't be full in September. You will also save some money this way, but if you prefer you can reserve them now from www.danae.gr and choose their airport pickup option.

If you want a car for the first day of your arrival on Santorini you can order one from Spiridakos Rent-A-Car and pick it up at the ferry port. They have an office there. that way you can just drive yourselves back to the port when you go to Naxos. Be sure to specify if you need an automatic transmission, which will cost a bit extra. And if you live in North America don't forget your International Driving Permit from AAA/CAA.

Finding Delfini on your own is not difficult. As you enter Oia keep an eye out for these 'landmarks': Perivolas Market on the left, then Laokasti Restaurant about 200 meters further ahead on the right. Look for the Restaurant Alkiona on the Right 100 meters after Laokasti. Delfini is adjacent to Alkiona up on the cliff. The hotel entrance is on the pedestrian-only walkway across from a small minimarket/bakery, and there's a small parking area just past Alkiona.

Here's the best road map of the island I've found: http://www.santorini-web.com/map.pdf

brotherleelove2004

"......and there's a small parking area just past Alkiona."

**On the left next to a bus stop and a driveway leading up to the pathway.

progol

Thanks for the feedback, very reassuring!

I hadn't considered renting a car for all 3 nights in Oia. My general thought has been that we would probably use the car for one day and the other day we would be doing activities that we could walk to or use public transportation. I'll price it out, though, and see if it makes sense. Is it easy to park in the lot? Perhaps keep it overnight and drive to the port the day we go to Naxos?

I do like the suggestion to pick up the tickets at the airport.

Hubby has the international driving permit taken care of -- we are prepared!

Thank you again!
Paule

cwra

The cab fare from the airport into Chania should be 20-25 euro. There is a bus from the airport that costs 2.30 each. As of now there is a bus that leaves the airport at 1540, 1630 and 1730. One of these might work for your flight. It would probably be a 10 -15 minute from the bus stop in Chania to your your hotel.

progol

Thanks for the info. I think I'll stick to a cab since we'll be coming from the U.S. That day.

clausar

It would be wiser to book your ferrytickets through Amphitrion Holidays, and having them delivered at their airport office, which is operating 24/7...
Danae is using them too... by charging a much higher handling fee for the delivery. Since their online system is not 100% ready yet, send an email with the ferries that you wanna book and they will make all arrangements.
They are charging a handling fee for picking up the tickets as well, but far less than Danae.
If you book in advance you will have to pay with a credit card... on the spot they don't accept payments with credit cards, only cash.

Heimdall

In my many trips to the Greek Islands I have only pre-booked ferry tickets once, just to see how online booking works. That was for a ferry in late August, and when I boarded there were plenty of empty seats.

The Santorini - Naxos ferry (Blue Star) will be less than half-full on that leg, because it picks up more passengers at Naxos and Paros en route to Piraeus.

There will be two ferries leaving Heraklion for Santorini on Thursday, Sep 22nd: one, Megajet, holds 750 passengers, and the other, FlyingCat 4, holds 440. Neither are likely to be full in late September.

I will be travelling to Greece again at the end of this month, and will wait until I get to the islands to buy my ferry tickets. If you wish to buy them in advance, wait until you get to Athens and use the airport Amphitrion Holidays office — it's much easier than booking over the internet.

progol

Thanks again for the suggestions. I like the idea of getting the tickets at Amphitrion at the airport. I tried to use the Amphitrion website but it looked like a corporate site -- did I miss the regular site?

A question or 2 about the Santorini to Naxos ferries -- I've read that it's much better to take the Blue Star ferry over the Sea Jets ferry, but I like the timing of the Sea Jets ferry better. What are the differences and how likely will delays be if I take the Sea Jet ferry? Will the ride be that much rougher?

brotherleelove2004

You didn't miss anything. Amphitrion discontinued the internet booking function on their website.

Blue Star ferries are large and fairly new with no chronic problems causing delays. Sea Jets has a pretty bad reputation for unreliability. If the sea is rough the Sea Jets ferry will bob in the water like a cork. That's not going to happen on the VERY stable Blue Star car ferry.

clausar

Amphitrion Holidays has now two websites....
a B2B site under www.amphitrionholidays.com , which is accessible only to travel agents and tour operators with username and password

and a B2C ( for private persons) website under a totally different name : www.greece4you.com which will be launched soon.
You can make your bookings there already under ferry tickets, but they haven't activated the Thawte security encryption yet... so there is a lack of security at the moment.

This is why i said it is better to send a n email with the ferries you wish to book, and they wil confirm everything manually... their email is
[email protected]

Heimdall

I would choose Blue Star over Superjet every time. In the past month alone Superjet spent a few days in drydock on one occasion, and failed to leave Piraeus for a day or two on another.

Not only is Blue Star more reliable, but gives you a last view of Santorini from the outside deck as you sail out of the caldera. With Superjet you are stuck inside the cabin of a small passenger-only catamaran, rough in heavy seas. When winds get above Beaufort Force 7 it doesn't sail at all.

You could hedge your bets by waiting until you get to Santorini, and buying your tickets for Naxos on the day of departure. That way you can go on Superjet if it is sailing and the weather calm, or wait for Blue Star if not. I can understand why you may not want to wait until the last minute, but many people do.

progol

Again, very helpful information. I think that my tolerance for uncertainty will allow me to wait only until I arrive in Greece - when I arrive in the airport, that is. So I will book the Blue Star ferry, tho timing isn't the best. Since I'm also prone to seasickness, it's stability is a huge advantage as well.

clausar, I will check out the websites as well. Thanks for the links.

Can't believe it's getting close!

Many thanks again for all the help,

Paule