Hello Everyone,

My boyfriend and I are planning to visit Greece and Italy this September 2007. We know we would like to visit Florence and Venice (however open for suggestions) and then make our way to Santorini and Naxos. I am overwhelmed with the different ferry and flight options. If we travel to southern Italy and take the Bari to Petras ferry, how do we go about getting to the smaller islands? Trains? Ferries? Which are the cheapest? Or does anyone have experience with taking a ferry out of Venice? I know it's a longer trip, so would it be necessary to pay for a bed? Mostly though, I don't know the best way to get to the smaller islands from the main ports. I would be so grateful for anyone's advice. And if anyone has suggestions for great food, hikes, day trips...I would love that too! Thanks so much.

It partially depends on which Greek islands you're thinking about visiting. From Patras you can reach the islands nearby, Corfu, Keffalonia and Zakynthos, but if you want to go into the Aegean Sea you'll have to take the bus from Patras to Piraeus (the port for Athens) to catch a ferry there.

This website: http://www.greekferries.gr/, will show you all your ferry options between Italy and Greece. Prices are significantly higher for a berth in a sleeping cabin as opposed to a ticket for "Deck" class.

Were it me, I would fly from Italy to Athens, simply because of the time it saves. The combination of train/bus/ferry to get to Bari, and then from Patras to Athens would be tiring and time consuming, and may well be just as expensive. Aegean Airlines, Alitalia, and Olympic fly to Athens from several airports in northern Italy.

Once at Athens Airport, getting to Naxos or Santorini is simple. A bus stops directly outside the airport terminal, and stops at the Cyclades docks in Piraeus. There are ticket agents across the street from the bus stop. During September ferries to Naxos and Santorini leave around 0730 each morning, with a few more departing in the afternoon.

EasyJet also flies from Milan to Athens.

Good info, Dukey. If you book online early enough, you will get a very good fare from easyJet.

why not get hold of a Lonely Planet or Rough Guide and read up?

Both will tell you that to get to Santorini or Naxos by boat you will need to leave from Piraeus (Athens).

They will also tell you how long it takes, and you can get on to the already mentioned website for timetables.

Paros is about 6 hours if I remember rightly (jeez it's almost 30 years ago!!). Santorini a little further.

Are you young? No need to book a bed - you can curl up on deck if it's an overnight sailing, or find a space in the lounge.

Some Greek ferries are better than others - just be grateful they still exist as it's one of the few places left in the world where you can travel by boat. Stuff planes!!

It might pay to get the Italy/Greece train pass from Trenitalia if you are planning 4 days of travel and are under 26 (youth pass). A 1st cl pass will include the Leonardo Express in Rome and also a trip on the overnight ferry in arm chairs or dormitory(?). The 2nd cl is cheaper, but doesn't include Leonardo (10E value only) and only a deck chair on the overnight ferry. You can get passes for 4-10 days.
http://www.trenitalia.com/en/promozi...i/greece2.html

Thanks to all for the helpful advice. I read in someone's journal that a day trip from Naxos to Paros is a good idea. Does that really give you enough time to explore and fully enjoy the island?

Kenzipher - I am also visiting Italy and Greece this September. Because I have not been there before, I can't speak with any authority, however, here are a couple items that you might find relevant.
We are flying from Rome to Santorini on Aegean Airlines. The good news is that (taxes/all in) it is costing us just under 100 Euro each. The bad news, we do have about 4 to 5 hours at the Athens airport. The wife and I feel that relaxing here reading a book or catching up on plans is better than racing around trying to get to ferry terminal, etc.

We are also looking at Naxos or Paros as our second Island (in our case probably Paros). You might find this excursion of interest (although not mentioned on this site, I believe this boat picks up at both Paros and Naxos for each trip). http://www.excursions.gr/excursion.php?oid=65

I will be interested in how your plan shapes up.

TOG_58,
I, too, found that flight with Aegean and was so excited to see the money and time it will save us. Sixty-nine euros and just a couple of hours sounds good to me! I've tweaked our itinerary, so we'll be in Rome around mid-Sept, and able to make that quick trip across the water. Right now I am leaning toward a few days on Santorini, then heading to Naxos. But what made you chose Paros? Just wondering if your knowledge might change my mind... I'm hoping to fit in a day trip to another island, so thank you for your excursion suggestion. I will look into that. We'll also be heading to Athens for a couple of days and then from Athens to Frankfurt, Germany (I found a cheap ticket for 52 euros) from where we'll be heading home.

Kenzipher, let me jump back in re Naxos vs Paros. The two islands have many similarities. Both have great beaches, good hiking in the mountains, and picturesque inland villages. Both have an excursion boat to Delos.

Naxos, although larger, has most of its development on the west of the island, with several fine, sandy beaches to the south of Naxos Town.

Paros has tourist development all around the island, the two major centers being Parikia (the ferry port) and Naoussa, an old fishing port to the north of the island, which is now very popular with tourists. There are also several good beaches on the east of the island near Piso Livadi and Drios. Aliki, to the south, is a quiet beach resort.

Best of all, IMO, is that the island of Antiparos is only 30 minutes by ferry from Parikia. You can take a day trip there to see the stalactite cave, walk to the beaches, or just explore the shops and cafes on the street leading up from the port. It also has sea kayaking, scuba/snorkling, and round-island boat trips. In short, with Paros you get two islands for the price of one.

Okay, Naxos fans, lets hear a pitch for your favourite island.

Kenzipher
To your question .."But what made you chose Paros?"
I cannot say I have the silver bullet answer to this. If I read the information correctly, the slight differences that work for us are:
- although we love a good day at the beach, that is not what is a priority for us on this trip
- as Heimdall points out, this gives easy access to the island of Antiparos and new things to see there.
- if I assume many people on this forum will use the voting system to plan their holiday, everyone will be on Naxos and I will have Paros to myself (LOL).

More seriously, I think I will have a great time either way - both islands offer me the opportunity to tour to Delos which is something I would really like to do. I have waffled back and forth and there is no saying that a late change of mind may occur. For now - it's Paros

Probably walking.

A day trip from Naxos to Paros is a good idea? I don't think so unless you'll get a buzz out of the journey, because you certainly wouldn't have time to visit anywhere other than the main town. Day trip from Naxos to Delphi is worthwhile.

We did this from Brindisi to Greece a few years ago. it was spectacular. Granted, Brindisi ws not that easy to get to, but if you have time it's great. and the port where the boat arrives in Greece may not be near parts of Greece you want to visit. i'd say you need 3-4 extra days to do this peacefully.

I would definitely suggest you to fly as the best option. If you count the train/bus/ferry tickets maybe you'll spend even more by going with ferry.
Apart from Easyjet you can check also Aegean airlines which fly from Milan and Rome, and Alpi Eagles from Venice.