Customs in Greece
 

My husband and I are traveling to Greece in May. Our flight arrives in Athens at 9:25am. There is a 11am flight to Santorini. Is that sufficient time to make it through customs and make a 11am flight to Santorini? The next flight is at 5:30pm. I would greatly appreciate your advice. Thanks.

If you are already in Europe then you will not have to pass customs. An hour and a half is not much time and if you have checked bags I do not think you will make it. if you have carry on you have a chance to make that 11 am flight as the airport is not big and complicated, Having said that you are cutting it very close and any hiccup or delay will mean you will not make the connection.
You could book the later flight and take the metro into Athens and spend a few hours there.

You didn't say where you're coming from. If you're on a non-stop flight to Athens from outside the EU you will have to process through Passport Control and Customs after collecting for your bags. 1.5 hours is not enough time for all this before checking in for a domestic flight. _IF_ you've passed through another EU airport where you will have already been processed, and _IF_ your flight arrives in Athens on time and _IF_ there is no delay in collecting your bags you have an outside chance to make the flight to Santorini. That's a lot of IFs.

<<< If you are already in Europe then you will not have to pass customs. >>>

<<< If you're on a non-stop flight to Athens from outside the EU you will have to process through Passport Control and Customs >>>

If you are arriving on a flight from outside Schengen... - which is different from both Europe and the EU.

Hey P2,

You have about 90 min.

You should be at the gate 15 min before takeoff - that's 75 min.

It will take about 30 min for your baggage to arrive.

That's 45 min to take your stuff to passport control, through the "Nothing to Declare" door at Customs and off to the boarding gate.

If everything goes well and you don't mind running, I think that you have a 50/50 chance.

((I))

If there is a choice of tickets available, and you can get a "semi-flexible" or "fully-flexible" ticket category (on Aegean), I believe this would allow you -- if the flight is missed -- to get on the next available flight without penalty. That assumes of course, that the next flight would have any empty seats. Certain dates in may... such as the run-up to the 3-day Pentecost weekend ... those flights would be in high demand. A midweek flight -- such as Tues or Wed --would perhaps have less volume.

Since you do not give the arrival date, it's harder to assess this fall-back strategy.

There is still some missing from the OP & therefore only partially correct info given above.

1. Are your flights on the same or different airlines? If they are the same airline, then you will already be checked in for your 2nd flight. If they are different, then you may have to check-in for your 2nd flight. Maybe not, if both airlines are in the same alliance. If you need to check-in then you need to account for that. Does the 2nd airline have a strict check-in cutoff time? Some do, others aren't as strict.

2. Are both your flights on the same ticket, even if different airlines? If yes, then you will be protected if you miss your 2nd flight. If not, you may be SOL and need to purchase a new ticket for the next available flight.

3. Will your bags be checked all the way through to Santorini? If same airline all the way, then definitely. Even if the flights are on different airlines you may be able to check bags to your final destination. It all depends if the airlines have an interline baggage agreement, which most mainstream carriers do. You don't need to be checked in for your 2nd flight for your bags to be checked all the way from home to Santorini - you can give the 1st checkin agent your 2nd flight info, even if it's on a different airline.

If you need to checkin at Athens for your Santorini flight then just give them your baggage barcode info so they can 'retrieve' your bags (both physically & electronically) from the 1st airline.

4. Customs. You will actually pass through customs at your final destination, Santorini. You go through immigration/passport control at your 1st port of entry into the Schengen zone, but customs at your destination. This makes little difference either way as customs is normally an unmanned exit door that you just pass through. Green lane if nothing to declare, red lane if you must declare something.

Best case is you are checked in all the way to Santorini and your bags are tagged through as well. In that case 1:35 is a good cushion. Worst case is you have separate tickets, you need to retrieve your bags and checkin by the required time for your 2nd flight (30-45min prior to departure?). I wouldn't bet my vacation $ on 1:35 being enough time.

Yes, as alanRow has corrected, I should have said if you are arriving on a flight from outside the Schengen States, not the EU. Chances are good that if you're flying into Europe from the US or Canada you'll be arriving in a Schengen State.

Arriving in Athens from another Schengen State I have never been required to go through customs again after being processed the first time, so far for me in Amsterdam, Paris and Frankfurt. Same goes for Santorini. As J62 has written the customs areas are usually unmanned.

I also stand corrected. We have always been processed in Frankfurt after a transatlantic flight and we have just walked past customs on our arrival in Greece. This of course may not be relevant to this posters question as we do not know where they are traveling from or transferring through.

Thanks for your replies and I apologize for the missing information. We are flying from New York with a direct flight to Athens. It sounds like I'm cutting it too close. Thanks again!

I do have another question if you will indulge me a little bit more:

I've tried booking a hotel (Filoterra Villas) via their website, but I have not received a response. I had AMEX (credit card concierge) call them and there was a language barrier with the person who answered the phone. What is the typical or most effective way to reserve a hotel in Santorini? Did we just have bad luck the time that we called?

I would try and make the 11AM flight. I certainly would never want to sit around Athens airport for over 6 hours. What will you do?

What airline are you flying to Santorini? Aegean?

When you exit Customs in Athens, turn right and go UPSTAIRS to the Aegean counter to check in.

If you have only carry-on luggage I think you can make your flight.

Athens airport is small.

Been there, done that,
Thin

Your email server may be blocking their response. Check your SPAM and/or Junkmail folders. If you've cleaned them out without noticing try re-contacting the hotel and then check those folders again. If they don't speak English well enough to take your reservation over the phone then try a booking service.

I find that in hotels where not all the staff speaks good English, they ALWAYS try to have someone fluent in English on the desk in the morning (8 am - 12 am GREEK time). That's because they want someone with English on hand when people are checking out, and paying! This means you have a better chance at an English speaker if you call internationally from the USA at 1 am Eastern US Tiime to 5 am. Set your alarm clock.

also, just an idea, if the property is seasonal, I find that owner/managers are often out doing "the big shopping trip", to gather their supplies pre opening and have someone on premisis to cover... as Jan says, always call Greek hotels between 8am to 7 pm (Greek time), the night staff...usually proficient at audits, not English. have a blast!, and I agree with BLL, as he is always spot on with his hotels and info.
Stay in one place (we love love love Oia...it s easy to get away from the crowd if you explore...do the cliff walk and swim in the water below Oia at the Old Port..fabulous!