Hello! My wife and I are beginning to plan a trip next year to Greece and was curious when the 2022 ferry schedule releases so we can figure out dates for various stops. Is it usually very similar from year to year?

We will be doing Athens for a couple days and then making stops in Paros and Sifnos, if that helps.

Ferry companies begin releasing their timetables for the following summer around November, but I wouldn’t count on firm schedules much before Easter. Piraeus to Paros is the easiest to predict, because there are two Blue Star ferries every day, plus a few highspeed ferries that will save you an hour, but at twice the cost and half the comfort.

Paros to Sifnos is unusual, because the two islands are very close together, but on two different main ferry routes. The conventional ferry Artemis is under contract to sail a long route through the Cyclades that includes those islands about three times each week, and fares are very reasonable. In the summer Sea Jets also sails between the two islands on a daily schedule with one of their two smallest catamarans. Sea Jets is among the first to release their summer timetables, but often amends them before the start of the season.

You can get a good idea what to expect next summer by going on openseas.gr and winding the calendar back to the month in 2021 you expect to travel in 2022. Don’t make any firm room reservations based on this, as the ferry schedules, and even the ferries, change from year to year.

Great information, thank you! I will be on the lookout over the next few months for the schedule.

Each ferry company releases its own schedule, so don’t be rushed into booking too soon or you may miss the best options. Book directly with the company that sails each ferry rather than through a third party. That will make it easier to change the tickets if weather disrupts the ferries as happened just a few days ago.

I’ve always waited until arriving in Greece to buy my tickets, because ferries are seldom full except around major Greek holidays. Things are changing a bit over the last couple of years, with some, but not all ferry companies offering e check-in. Before that if you bought your tickets online you would get a reference number but still had to go to a ticket agency with the reference number to obtain printed tickets.

In the meantime, if you want to have some fun and learn about ferries, go to the website marinetraffic.com and zoom in on Greece. You can watch the shipping traffic in real time, and see the routes of the ferries. You can use the filter system to show only passenger vessels and high speed craft if you wish, and even click on a ship to get info and photos of the vessel. If you register for free you can unlock a few extra features. It’s a world-wide system, but I usually focus on the Aegean Sea.
https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais...ry:37.3/zoom:8

In summer, there is at least one (often up to five) daily ferries between Athens/Piraeus and Paros as well as between Athens/Piraeus and Sifnos.
There will not be more than one daily catamaran between Paros and Sifnos (often none if you travel in very early summer or after end September).

Wonderful advice from Heimdall, as always! He has our lasting gratitude for letting us know about Antiparos which has become a family favorite . I emailed Markos and Magda just today about reserving our week for this summer.

We visited Sifnos for the first time last summer for a week and had a lovely time. My husband was fascinated by all the ruined ancient towers and the food was incredible. Completely randomly, we happened to be there at the same time as Jeff Bezos and entourage onboard the Eos. What an incredible boat/yacht/really-impressive-vessel! We took the Sea Jet option from Sifnos to Paros. I believe, as Heimdall explained, you'd be looking at that option in reverse. There were zero options on the day we traveled.

We stayed at Hotel Petali on Sifnos in their apartment (we have two children). Loved everything about it!

Thank you, Texas Aggie, you are making me blush! I’m happy to have been of help. Lately I’ve been reading posts on Facebook from friends who have left Antiparos at the end of summer, and are already counting the days until they will be there again. Yesterday there was a post from an Irish friend, with just a number: 152. 😂

Magda won’t remember me, but I had a chat with her one day when someone on one of the forums asked about her hotel. That was even before they built the swimming pool, but was impressed with what I saw. While at the hotel I also had a chat with a retired US Army colonel and his wife who loved staying there.