Crete/Athens June 2017
 

My husband and I will be traveling with our 22 and 24 yr old children. We will be staying in Plantanias June 16 to June 21. We leave early on the 22nd to fly to Athens. We fly out of Athens on the 24th at 2pm. I would like to do a day trip from Crete to Santorini. Would it be best for us to book a tour with a travel agency, or could we book the ferry ourselves? If a travel agency is the best way to go, is there a company to recommend that I book the tour before our trip? What will be the best way to get from the Heraklion airport to our hotel in Plantanias? How far is Samaria Gorge from Plantanias? I would like to do the shorter trip through the gorge and plan a beach or something that might be in the same direction. Any recommendations on planning our itinerary and restaurant recommendations would be appreciated.

It is easy to book the ferry yourselves. Just visit any travel agency in Chania or Plantanias and purchase the tickets.

However having said that.
Since you are staying near Chania I am assuming you know you will have to travel to Heraklion to take the day trip to Santorini. That means you will have to be out early.

The ferries depart Heraklion between 8:30 and 9 and get you to Santorini around 10:45 and return to Heraklion at 17:25 with arrival at 18:50. It will take you at least another two hours to get back to Chania longer if you have to take the bus. Its going to be a long day.

Hellenic does this route daily but Seajets, Championjet 2 only makes the trip on Monday, Wed, Thurs, Friday and Sunday.

The Championjet 2 has one big advantage it has an open deck at the rear which is open throughout the trip. This means you can be out on the deck for arrival and departure at Santorini. Hellenic only has a tiny deck which is open for only a couple of minutes on arrival and departure. Championjet would be my choice.

If you are looking for an excursion, Hellenic has one for 125 euros which includes the ferry trip plus a land portion that includes Oia, Fira, and the beach at Kamri. It might be the best value.

According to the Sea Jets website they do an excursion to Santorini twice a week from Rethymnon, which is a lot closer to where you are staying than Heraklion. It's €157 per person, more expensive than the Hellenic excursion mentioned by stanbr, but would save you the long trip back and forth to Heraklion. That would be a very expensive day trip for a family of four, whichever one you choose!

Thats good information thanks Heimdall.

See the Tour Details tab:
https://www.seajets.gr/en/Tours-785.htm

Since you stay 4-5 days only, why don't you rent a car ?
It would give you freedom to do your daytrips, inc Samaria gorges.

Thanks for the response. The information is very helpful.

Will it be ok to wait to book a ferry once we are in Crete? I didn't know how busy they are, and it all seats would be sold out if we wait.