Boat from Santorini to Crete
 

Hello all

Wondering if the Greece experts can give me some guidance on boats from Santorini to Crete?

We have decided to start our holiday in Santorini and will be travelling mid-August from Santorini to Crete (destination in Crete unknown at this stage but likely to be Western crete as we fly home from Chania). So I am assuming the best way to go is to take a boat from Santorini to Heraklion.

I've had a look at the websites and found that Hellenic Seaways and Sea Jets both offer daily sailings in August. Both of these are in the evening - the timing on the Sea Jets boat is better as it arrives at 18:30 in Heraklion whereas the Hellenic Seaways arrives an hour later. Given that we will then have to pick up hire car and drive to our destination, ideally I would like to arrive earlier in Heraklion.

So, my question: does anyone know if there is another ferry company that might sail to Heraklion earlier in the day?

Many thanks

Jane

Sorry, and a second question - for mid-August if the 6:30pm boat is the best time we can find, should we book tickets now, or are we better off waiting to see if earlier boats come on stream between now and then?

Thanks

Jane

I am no ferry expert. The boats you are finding depart Heraklion in the morning and do a Cyclades run then turn around and call on the same ports on the way back. Thus the early evening arrival. With all those stops it is quite possible that the boats could actually be in a bit later.
You are in high season so booking the tickets prior to arrival is a good idea. However you certainly have sufficient time to wait to see if there is another ferry option added closer to the season. It is likely that any additional ferry is still going to get you to Heraklion in the evening.
Here is another option. Are you already tied inot booked flights? Can you fly to Chania first then catch the morning ferry to Santorini and fly back from Santorini. Now that solves logistics problems.
Just for fun here are images of Chania. What a lovely destination.
Chania http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr5...7632117917828/

Thanks a million Stanbr - yes flights are booked, we go in Santorini and out Chania. Nothing I can do on that, and there were good reasons for doing it that way. Damned logistics!

Looking forward to Chania. Have never been and was always on my list, and this year Ryan Air helpfully laid on direct flights from Dublin so am giving it a go!