I want to book our airfare for a trip to Greece in June 2009. We're in the Washington DC area. My rough itinerary is to spend some time in Santorini, ferry to Naxos, ferry to Athens, stay there a few days, rent a car, drive to Napflion (sp?), and then head straight back to the airport with the car.

SO, I don't really want to book round trip from Washington to Athens, I really want to go from Washington to Santorini and then Athens to Washington.

Am I better off booking the round trip Washington/Athens, and then separately book Athens to Santorini? I'd rather fly than take the time to ferry (particularly immediately after a long plane ride).

Would I do better to fly to somewhere in Europe and from THERE to Santorini using one of the budget airlines?

I'm seeing round trip Washington/Athens flights around $1100-1200 - is that decent? Should I wait?

Thanks in advance for your always good advice.

Alice

I think $1200 roundtrip airfare Washington-Athens is very good for June, and I'd grab it while it lasts. Airfares are going up- despite the recession!

Check recent posts written by Brotherleelove2004. I think he posted about EasyJet adding new London-Santorini routes starting this summer.

If that route doesn't exist, you'll have to fly into Athens, then connect on a second plane ( AEGEAN is much better than Olympic, which is in serious financial trouble these days) to Santorini. It's a very quick flight.

I'd advise booking a roundtrip ticket- Athens-Santorini-Athens rather than taking the ferry back. It will be cheaper that way, and there's no good reason to take the very L O N G ferry back to Athens.

Any flight to Santorini originating in the U.S. that doesn't stop somewhere else in Europe will require a stopover in Athens to change planes. Olympic, Delta and Continental fly directly from the U.S. to Athens.

If you can get a cheap flight to London you can fly directly to Santorini from London-Gatwick (LGW) on http://www.easyjet.com/en/book/index.asp, and if you act quickly you can get a great price. Be sure you understand all their rules pertaining to extra charges for baggage.

If you don't book with easyjet you'll have to book your Athens>Santorini flight separately or at the same time you book your U.S.>Athens flight.

You can also book a flight to one of may European airports such as Amsterdam, Paris or Rome and fly the rest of the way to Athens with a connecting flight to Santorini on Aegean Airlines.

http://www.aegeanair.com/

Waiting is a gamble. Prices probably won't get any cheaper, but you never know.

Were it me, I would go with the roundtrip Washington-Athens flight, and book a connecting Aegean Airlines flight to Santorini. They have several flights each day, and chances are, one would be convenient for your arrival in Athens.

An easyJet flight from London to Santorini would be cheap, especially if you book early, but there are some drawbacks. First of all, they fly that route only three times per week - Tue, Thu, & Sun. Flights are from Gatwick, and depart around 7-8am. If your flight from the US arrives at Heathrow, you would have to transfer from there to Gatwick, and very likely spend a night in an expensive London airport hotel. Then you would have to return to London for the flight back to Washington.

Okay, I'm liking one of two approaches. Either booking Round Trip to Athens and then a separate Aegean flight to Santorini, OR, finding a cheap fare to some hub in Europe and then a budget airline flight to Santorini.

Sounds like the prices right now are about the best I'm going to do, so I'll play around with that (my dates are a little flexible and frequently changes the days a little helps the price a lot).

Thanks very much for your help and I'll let you know what I end up with.

Alice

I think that Aegean airlines is the best airline company in terms of prices since they have lower prices for early bookings so don’t wait if you are going to travel with Aegean. I see that they have already given you the website but here it is again:
http://www.aegeanair.com/

Hi Alice. I am doing almost the exact same trip end of June/July. I am finding fares from Boston to Athens at $1500 (and not budging for months, except to go up a bit) so $1100 sounds great. But then you have to add in the fare to Santorini. Plus,despite everyone advising it, I am never comfortable booking another flight on the same day I land. Even if your transatlantic flight is scheduled to get in to Athens in the a.m. and the Santorini flight doesn't leave for several hours, what happens if your transatlantic flight is bumped or delayed by many hours? So I was planning one overnight in Athens at the beginning of the trip just to be safe.

Then I found a great fare on AirBerlin from JFK to Dusseldorf (538&euro, which also flies to Santorini. Then at the end of the time in Greece I'm flying Aegean back to Dusseldorf. At first I was only planning on one night at each end of the trip in Germany, but after some reading I decided I liked the area so much we are adding several days.

This is my itinerary as I have it now: two nights (one day) Germany (we'll probably day trip to Cologne), then flight to Santorini arrives 12:00, 3 nights Santorini, 3 or 4 Naxos, 4 or 5 Athens (with day trips to Hydra/Aegna?), then rent car and drive to Napflion (2 nights), Delphi (1 night), then the last night before we fly out we found a hotel between Cape Sounio and the airport.

All of the flights cost $1200, versus almost $1600 if we flew round trip US to Ath plus ATH to Santorini (returning from the islands in both cases via ferry). Only problem is AirBerlin only has a few US hubs but for us it's worth it to drive to NY to save over $800 (for two people).

I understand Isabels qualms about same-day booking of domestic flight. However I have been to Greece many times, and all but one time have changed to a domestic flight to an island the same day as arrival.

Alice9, it will work out fine IF IF IF;

(1)your international flight is NONSTOP from USA (i.e., you fly from DC to Phila, Newark or JFK and take one of the nonstops from there). Any delays arriving at Athens airport would be encountered with a Europe change. Even if a nonstop flight from US is delayed in takeoff as much as 1 hour, you have a loooong flight in which pilots make up time. In such cases my flights have always landed on time or early.

(2) you allow sufficient time for the Athens transfer -- 2.5 hours or more. You need to check in at the Greek plane 60 mins before departure. However it's all one building, very compact, quick customs.

(3) if you use Aegean Air, schedules more reliable than Olympic AND if you book NOW you may get their "promotional" rates... But DON'T WAIT. Santorini in June is Honeymoon Mecca

Okay, good advice. The flights to Athens I've been looking at are mostly nonstop from New York. I WAS considering what Isabel is doing, but without the staying the night part. So it's good to know that if I want to go from Athens to Santorini, I should go direct from the US, that's a nugget of information I didn't have.

Also the advice to have a long layover is well taken. Someone here told me that the international and national parts of the airport in Athens are not close at all and you have to taxi between? Is that right? (Her last trip to Greece is not very recent, I was hoping they changed that for the Olympics).

Finally, the weight restrictions will be more severe for the Athens-Santorini leg, right? I'm just being lazy, I can look that up.

And I will take everyone's advice and plan to use Aegean Airlines rather than Olympic.

THANKS! You guys are great.

Alice

"the international and national parts of the airport in Athens are not close at all and you have to taxi between?"

Not any more. That was at the old airport. All domestic and international flights now arrive and depart from the same airport, Athens International Airport, Eleftherios Venizelos (AIA).

Domestic flight weight limits are slightly less than for international flights, but it's common knowledge that it's not strictly enforced. Believe it or not it can all hinge on the mood of the ticket agent you meet at check-in time in Athens. If anything you'll have to pay a per-kilo rate of 1 or 2 euro for overages.

The old Athens Hellenikon airport had East and West terminals, one for Olympic Airlines, and the other for all the rest. Your friend must have traveled before 2001, as the new airport has been in operation since then. It is very efficient, with one terminal building serving both international and domestic flights. The walk from one end to the other takes only about 15 minutes, but of course you will have to check in for your domestic flight before proceeding to the depature gates.

Hi

I have checked a few fares an found that the cheapest combination at the mom would a a flight to Santorini via London. E.G. BA 12 June NYC to London R/T is around $800.00 If you connect with Easyjet London to Samtorini around $200 you have a nice price.This is the link for your NY to London http://www.opodo.co.uk and this is the link to Easyjet http://www.easyjet.com/en/book/index.asp
I did not actually check to see if you can have a direct connection but hey at this price you can spend a day or two checking out London
Try filling in your dates an see if it works.

Pakanfou, you almost certainly would need a layover in London, as the easyJet flights to Santorini are early morning on Tue, Thu, & Sun only. An advantage, though, is you don't have to go back to Santorini for the return flight, as easyJet also flies out of Mykonos and Athens. Two one-way tickets are just as cheap as a round trip with easyJet.

One disadvantage is the London - Greece flights take about four hours (almost as long as NY - London), and easyJet, being a budget airline, has a 29" seat pitch, no free meals, etc. Also, London Gatwick Airport can be a nightmare in the summer.

I doubt, in the end, you would save much money over a direct flight to Athens & a connecting flight to Santorini. Chances are, you will need a layover in London on the way back as well, and London is an expensive city. Still, the $-£ rate is good at the moment, and if you've never been to London before, that would be a bonus.

Yes Heimdall your calculations are right but yes you do save some money - the rate is good at the mom - you never know it might even get better ! And the advantage with an open ended tkt would be to fly into Santorini at about $900 (o/w from LGW JTR ) and then island hop to a few more islands before heading back to London like you say either from Mikonos or Athens.
London's not that bad if you look around.

Isn't there an airport conflict in London? I thought most flights from the US go to Heathrow - Easyjet flies out of Gatwick, is that right?

I definitely like saving money, but convenience is high on my list. Plus if I only have 2 weeks, I like to minimize the amount of time it takes me to get where I'm going.

I will definitely check this approach out, though, at this point all options are still on the table.

Thanks everyone,
Alice

don't dither too long alice, or the lower-rate Aegean flites to Santorini will all disappear and you'll be facing 150€ 1 way or so!! Then you have 2 bad choices.

Alice,

Yes, you are right! Most flights from the US do come in to Heathrow, although there are some that arrive at Gatwick. The easyJet flights to/from Santorini and Mykonos all leave from Gatwick. Transferring from Heathrow and an overnight at an airport hotel would be a pain. I agree that a direct flight to Athens, followed by a 45 minute flight from there to Santorini, is far more convenient. Athens Int'l Airport is modern and relatively small - a good place for a short layover.

Pakanfou,

I live 60 miles from London, and it is a great city. London hotels are very expensive, especially the ones near the airports. You can find some good deals if you look around central London - there used to be lots of B&Bs in the Paddington area, but I'm not sure if that is still true, though. If you want to see London, and you can pay for it with the savings from the route you have chosen, go for it!

Sorry to jump into this thread but we are looking at a similar trip for late August. Our question:

We would, I think, prefer to visit Athens first for a few days and then head to Mykonos, or Santorini. If we do that it means we would fly back from either of those two islands to Athens on our last day in Greece, for our int'l flight back home.

Our NYC bound flt departs Athens at noon. There are departures from both Mykonos and Santorini at about 7 a.m. They both arrive before 8 a.m. That leaves me plenty of time, I think, to catch my int'l flight. Except --- if there is a problem with the early a.m. flight off of the islands. Even an hour or two I think I'm Ok but if there is a real problem, then we may not make it back to Athens for our int'l flight.

So, do the Aegean flights mostly take off on time and go as scheduled (I know to avoid Olympic if I can)? Or, is this same issue one of the reasons lots of folks save Athens until the end of the trip, thus being in the same city you depart from? Thanks.

Aegean has one of the best records for reliability in Europe but yes, the reason so many people save Athens for the end of their trip is so there is no doubt that they'll make the flight home, and in the process having eliminated the stress of not knowing until the last minute whether or not they'll make it. Something to keep in mind in that regard: The Meltemi winds can be very strong in August, and though the likelihood of wind grounding a plane is small, it's still a remote possibility.

Thank you Brother. I think it may mean we reverse our plan and move Athens to the end of the trip. Plus, maybe after some time out in the islands it will permit us better to appreciate Athens itself.

Now, to decide on an itinerary in the islands . . . .