daria

Hi,

We are thinking about a trip to Italy and Greece with our kids (will be 7 year old twins). I would initially like to know if anyone has any suggestions about the best way to get from Italy to Greece or vice versa. What is most comfortable and fastest and what are the comparable prices? I guess one thing I'm wondering is from where should we plan on departing/arriving when we want to travel between these two countries.

By way of background, we haven't planned hardly anything yet, but I do know that we will want to go to Venice and Athens, at least one island in Greece and probably a beach town in Italy or maybe someplace in Tuscany or Umbria with a pool.

My husband and I have been to Italy a few times, but never to Greece. This would be the kids first trip to Europe.

Thank you!

Daria

mariha2912

Ferry connections:

Barri > Patra, Igoumenitsa, Corfu
Ancona or Brindisi or Venice > Patra, Igoumenitsa

Corfu is a larg-ish island of Greece up north on the Ionian sea (sea between Italy and Greece) . A cosmopolitan feeling and lots to see and do although many areas on summer are jam packed with English package visitors. From Corfu you can fly to Athens to get a public bus (ferry crossing to Igoumenitsa then a long journey on mainland)
Igoumenitsa is a busy port town across Corfu, not particularly charming its self bus serves as a starting point to explore various areas on western Greek mainland and of course to Corfu. Various bus connections to Athens bus to interesting other mainalnd towns such as Ioannina or Parga or Preveza etc.
Patra is actually a modern busy city (3rd larger in Greece after Athens and Thessaloniki) featuring a busy port, there are ferry connections to Ionian islands such as say Ithaca or Kefalonia and maybe Zante, and many bus connections across Peloponnese, to Athens and even to Central Greece (Nafpaktos, Delphi etc).

Flights:

Most common route is Rome to Athens but you may want to check among other airlines Easyjet and Aegean air, there seems to be some seasonal flights from different towns directly to some Greek islands, for example Easyjet seem to fly daily on summer Milan Malpesa to Santorini and Mykonos, Aegean air flies a few times per week Venice to Rhodes etc....

mariha2912

From Corfu you can fly to Athens OR get a public bus (ferry crossing to Igoumenitsa then a long journey on mainland)

WWK

You can fly from Athens to Venice, Rome, and I think, Milan. Check Aegean and Olympic. If you are going to the islands then on to Italy, you will most likely have to connect through Athens.

daria

Thank you! It sounds like maybe the easiest would be to fly between Athens and someplace in Italy since we want to visit Athens anyway. But, this gives me some options to think about. Thanks!

bobthenavigator

I know it sounds nuts, but these 2 do not really mix well.
Spend your time in one or the other.

daria

Hmmm. Why do you say that Bob? I trust you having been so fortunate to have you advise me in the past. I was initially thinking just Italy, but I've been before and want to go other places too. So, my thinking is that if we are flying all the way there (long trip for kids) then I'd like to cover more ground. The other option would perhaps be Spain or maybe France. We need someplace that has beaches or perhaps a house with a pool so we can combine time at the beach (for the kids) with stuff that the parents like to do (museums, historical sights, food).

Thanks.

Daria

clausar

Greece and Italy can be combined perfectly, there are so many flights between the two countries.

Mariha has given you some excellent advice, flying is the quickest and if you book well in advance even the most economical option.

bobthenavigator

You do not say how long you have you have for this trip. If just 2 weeks or less, I would spend it in Greece if you want beach time. Of course there are many direct flights, but they are primarily Athens to Rome---the ferry options take days.
I would pick 4 destinations in Greece and do it well.

daria

Thanks to all. I am thinking 3 weeks total but there is never enough time and I am not a fan of trying to cover too much ground. I will look into the flight options to get an idea of what we are talking about as that does seem easiest.

In Italy I think I'd mostly like to go to places my husband and I haven't been, except that I do want to take the kids to Venice (we have also been been to Florence, Rome, Milan, Lake Como, Verona, the Amalfi Coast, Cinque Terre). Otherwise, I'm not sure. . . .

ReheiaS

Hi Daria,
I've been researching and reading blogs and came across this. I am traveling to Greece this July with my husband and 3 kids. We have two and a half weeks to vacation and have never been to Europe. I would like to go to Greece for 1 week then travel to Italy for a few days and fly home to Califonia from Italy. What did you find was the best (and of course cheapest and fastest since I have the 3 kids) way to go from Greece to Italy? Any advice or tips? And when did you buy your airfare tickets when you went in June? I've been scoping out Skyscanner and Kayak to look at trends in pricing, but have heard from a few travelers to buy tickets (when they are cheapest) in the late spring or early summer if my trip is in July... and insight you can add to this?
Thanks so much,
Reheia Stevenson

WWK

ReheaiaS,

I just answered your other post on this subject, but I think the best bet is to land in Athens then try to connect straight through to the island you want to visit. I think you mentioned Crete?

Then fly back to Athens, spend a few days in Athens, and fly to Rome on: AEGEAN/OLYMPIC, ALITALIA, etc. Why do this instead of Easyjet to Rome? Less baggage restrictions, more comfort on board, shorter flight, and possibly similar pricing, anyway.

daria

Hi ReheiaS! Long story short, we did not end up going on that trip and are not going until next summer. Also, due to the logistical complications of getting from Italy to Greece or vice versa, we decided to do a separate trip to Greece. So, we are doing Italy and France instead, which we can do with some car travel and some train.

Would love to hear what you end up doing and how it works out.

Oh, also, I read an article on Kayak that says the best time to buy airfare to Europe is 6 months in advance and an article on Cheapair that said the ideal time to buy is 276 days in advance. This is based on fares purchased through them. They both say that fares to Europe in the summer go up a lot in the last 3 months before departure.

Good luck!