derekinla

Hello all,

From reading some of the posts, I know that alot of the ferry schedules for spring 2007 will not come out anytime soon. I am planning a trip to Greece for early to mid May in 2007 and hope to spend 3-4 days in Athens, 3 days in Mykonos, 2-3 in Santorini in that order. I plan on using Aegean airlines for Santorini to Athens (38 eur right now) but plan on using Ferries for Athens to Mykonos and Mykonos to Santorini. Although I can't really book things this far out, will ferry travel for these first two segments be a problem? I am getting the impression that ferry service between Mykonos to Santorini might not be a daily option for early to mid May. Looking at last year's schedule for the flying Cat it looks like Wednesdays are out.. Are there other ferry carriers to fill in the gaps or should I plan on avoiding a Wednesday transfer between Mykonos and Santorini. Are there travel agents who will just book/arrange transfers/ferries. I would prefer to book hotels on my own but wouldn't mind some TA help on the ferry segments.....

Heimdall

Getting to Mykonos by ferry is very easy, and you certainly don't need to book in advance during May. Most of the Mykonos ferries leave from Rafina, but there is at least one daily ferry from Piraeus as well. Best bet, if you are staying in Athens first, is to buy your ticket from an agent in Athens a day or two ahead. Otherwise you could just get your ticket when you arrive at the port.

For Mykonos to Santorini the Flying Cat 4 would be most convenient, but there is also Sea Jet 2, which will take you to Paros, where you can connect with another ferry to Santorini. Both the Flying Cat and the Sea Jet are passenger-only ferries, smaller than the big car ferries, and more vulnerable to cancellation in bad weather. My recommendation would be to buy your ticket to Santorini when you get to Mykonos - that way you can go back to the ticket agent for a refund and new booking if you have to make a change.

brotherleelove2004

In May you will also have the option of first taking a morning ferry from Mykonos to Paros where you can catch the noon Blue Star car ferry coming from Athens that will take you the rest of the way to Santorini.

derekinla

Thanks for the tips!... Also, if I were to fly into Athens mid-day (say around 12pm to 2pm), would it be possible to take a ferry to Mykonos in the afternoon?? or doi the ferries from Athens to Mykonos only depart in the morning?

Heimdall

Most of the ferries to Mykonos depart around 0730 - there may be afternoon ferries, but I don't recall. Brotherleelove?

For sure you will be able to get an afternoon flight to Mykonos. These days I usually fly to the islands myself, just for the sheer convenience.

alisontyrell

I could be way off here - but easycruise are going to the greek islands this summer - starting may - instead of doing the french riveria. You might want to check them out if your stuck. From what I've heard from people in Nice last year, its quite a good service. I love Santorini, have a great time.

brotherleelove2004

Sorry, I don't know the schedules for Piraeus>Mykonos. Blue Star Ferries shows only a morning departure. If I had to guess I'd say yes, there will be an afternoon departure in July because of Peak Season demand. There's another company, I J Consortium that has operated a highspeed cat to Mykonos, but I don't know what their schedule for next year might be. Hellenic Seaways currently has a car ferry departing at 5 PM as well as one departing at 8 PM, but I have no idea if this will apply next Spring. Also, these I've just mentioned are NOT a daily occurrence, so you need to be sure of what's available on your day of travel. Use www.gtp.gr to check timetables, but schedules for next spring won't be available until next year sometime.

Heimdall

Predicting ferry schedules for next spring is about like predicting the weather - you know what happened last year, and you can assume that things will be pretty much the same again next year, but you don't know for sure.

Suffice it to say, Mykonos is a very popular island, and you will have no problem getting there. Out of curiousity I looked up the current ferry departures on the Kathimerini newspaper website http://tinyurl.com/y9jpjv, and on Fri 24 Nov the Aqua Jewel left Rafina for Mykonos at 4:30pm, and the Express Santorini left Piraeus for Mykonos at 5:00pm. No doubt next May there will be ferries departing around the same time.

These are both conventional ferries that will take 5 or 6 hrs to reach Mykonos. The highspeed catamarans take about half that time. They are mothballed over the winter, so you won't see them on any ferry schedules until next spring. I don't remember if the highspeeds make an afternoon run or not.

brotherleelove2004

Just to clarify: When I said I was guessing that there would be another ferry to Mykonos to handle the Peak Season demand, I wasn't necessarily referring to the highspeed cat. I was actually thinking that it might be an afternoon or evening car ferry.

Heimdall

Yes, you are right, brotherleelove. Actually I believe there will be both highspeed and conventional ferries in the afternoon. Didn't Sea Jet 2 make a second run from Rafina in the afternoon last summer?

brotherleelove2004

Yes, I'm pretty sure that's right. I also think I J Consortium made a run from the Cyclades to Crete (was it to Rethymnon?) that included Santorini and the Naxos stop formerly made by Hellenic.