HappyTrvlr

Don’t stay overnight at Corinth, add that night to nearby Napflion.

plufmud

Thanks Happy. I had changed Corinth to Napflion and booked at 3SIXTY hotel a few weeks ago.

Heimdall

Plufmud, I see Happy now has you misspelling Nafplio.

plufmud

Heimdall,

Wish I could speak Greek correctly!

Heimdall

Me too!

michael_cain_77398

Nerd time: Is it even possible to spell Nafplio properly in English? I've been trying to learn modern Greek, and the town is Naúplio (Ναύπλιο) but it is the city of Nauplion (Ναυπλιέων) because nominative case

Re; Corinth. I know that the town itself isn't a major draw, but seeing the major sites - Arcocorinth, old Corinth, and the canal - look like they could take a while to visit. Like plufmud, I've been planning to spend the night rather than make it a stop on a longer driving day.

Heimdall

I found this in a thread on another forum:''katharevousa'' was the official language of greece until 1976...katharevousa was an effort to make the modern-day used language more like the ancient greek one.. in 1976 katharevousa was repealed and ''dimotiki'' ,which is the language people actually used, became the official language..katharevousa had a much more complex toning system and some difference in words,like the nafplio-nafplion issue ...it is nafplion in katharevousa and nafplio in dimotiki..this is why everyone today calls it nafplio but you still may see nafplion in labels or old documents..you can find such small differences in many other words too..”

the “au” in Greek can be transliterated into an “f” in the Roman alphabet, so either Nauplio or Nafplio is correct, In Nafplio the f always comes before the p.

balthy

"au" is a dipthong and is pronounced "af" or "av" and I would transliterate it as such (e.g. avrio - tomorrow), there are several in Greek ("oi" as in πολοι ie many or alot pronounced poly/boly) and more (euxaristo "eu" is pronounced "ef").

Nafplio or Nafplion in English is fine, you don't need to transliterate all of the possible cases as it doesn't make sense in English eg Nαυπλιου pronounced Nafpleeooouuu (also means of Nafplio, depending on context). And in demotiki Greek I would say Nafplio or Nafplion, people today do pronounce it Nafplion as well. Wikipedia has a good explanation on the origins of both spellings.

travelerjan

Fascinating sidelight, Heimdall ... katherevousa was an Elite Abomination imposed on Greek "officialdom" during the 19th Century in the early days of the Modern Greek Nation. The actual "inventor" was a Greek expat educated in France entranced by Classical Greece who wanted to re-make modern Greek more like the ancient, but also supported by academia from English public schools & Oxbridge (some "scholars" even insisted that the 19th C Greeks weren't the true descendants of the Classical Greeks, because they didn't look enough like ancient statuary!). Katheravousa hampered Greek publications for well over a century, and frustrated Greek schoolchldren because it was artificial, not like daily speech. Newspapers & official documents had to be in this Greek. I believe it was finally the great Cretan novelist & Nobel Prizewinner, Nikos Kazantzakis ("Zorba the Greek," "Freedom or Death". "Letter to Greco") who delivered the death-blow to Katherevousa by writing in demotic Greek.

plufmud

When we leave Santorini for Sifnos for 3 nights we only have 2 choices for ferries~Seajet or Zante. I have read on Greece tripadvisor forum that many people advise not to book Seajet because of high winds causing sea sickness in many passengers. Zante's schedule departs at 18:00 and arrives at 22:00.
Has anyone taken the Seajets? My husband has a tendency for motion sickness and trying to decide which one to book?

Heimdall

Plufmud, Sea Jets has 17 ferries in its fleet, some of them large and able to tackle rough seas. Looking at the timetables for September, however, it appears the Sea Jets ferries on the Santorini - Sifnos route are SeaJet 2 and Superjet running on alternate days. Superjet is the same size as SeaJet 2, only 42 meters in length. Those are the two smallest ferries in the Sea Jets fleet.

I have been on SeaJet 2 on a day when the sea was as smooth as a mill pond, and of course the ride was fine. That is meaningless, because every day is different, and you could end up on a day when winds are strong and the sea is rough. If you decide to take the Sea Jet, pray that winds will be light that day.

The other problem with those two ferries is they usually run behind schedule, with delays accumulating each time the ferry stops at a port. I’ve checked the route on gtp.gr, and Santorini will be the eighth stop of the day and Sifnos the 11th. There is a good chance that either of those ferries will be running 1-2 hours late by the time it reaches Sifnos.

plufmud

Oh dear! Maybe I should start looking at indirect flights. Certainly I will get patches for sea sickness if that is the only choice.

starrs

If you need a car service, I highly recommend PK Travel, recommended by another Fodorite -
https://www.pktravelgreece.com/private-mainland-tours/
I used them for an airport pickup in Athens and a partial day tour to Corinth before my hotel room was ready in Athens.
We later used them for a day trip to Delphi. That driver was one of the best parts of the entire Greece vacation! Constantine has been driving for them for years - and is charming and funny.

Used the Santorini hotel to arrange transportation to and from the ferry and airport. Loved the ease.
We stayed at Canaves Oia, based on a friend's recommendation years before, and loved it!
https://canaves.com/

Heimdall

The Zante ferry should be okay. It’s a conventional car ferry, a favourite of veteran island hoppers.
https://www.zanteferries.gr/?lang=en

Heimdall

More about the Zante ferry:
https://www.ferriesingreece.com/ferr...os-solomos.htm

plufmud

I saw the Zante ferry it's just that the schedule is terrible. I may just buy tickets for both and see what the weather is like on departure day.
Thanks Heimdall!

Heimdall

For a real taste of Greek life, take the Zante ferry. If it is on that route the day you need it, you can sit on the open deck, have a drink, meet some interesting people, and have a good look from the open deck when it stops at Ios, Sikinos and Folegandros en route.

This is one of the “lifeline” ferries contracted by the Greek government to serve the little Greek islands that would otherwise be isolated during the winter. Because it is subsidised, the fare for Santorini to Sifnos is only €13.50.

WorldwideGreeks

I get seasick typically, but not on ferries. They are large enough so that I don't feel it that much. I have the most trouble on small boats, particularly on fishing excisions. I bring ginger candy just in case, as well as Bonine. If the water seems choppy, I don't risk it and I take the Bonine (non-drowsy). I agree, the Ferry is definitely something to experience at least once!

zebec

Yo Pluf, here is an unusual tip. When you are in the Departure Gate waiting room awaiting your Santorini flight, be sure to sit as close to the airlines (Aegean?) desk as possible. That way, should they suddenly announce overbooking and offer attractive compensation first-come first-served, then you'll be able to quickly approach that desk. We did that back in 2014 and were stunned. New regulations meant that for us agreeing to be bumped onto another flight a mere 2 1/2 hours later, the airline gave us 500 Euros cash plus meal vouchers, in addition to free tickets for the future! The pinchmarks are still there.
Just a thought, if waiting a few hours is no big deal.

You have an excellent itinerary.
Best wishes for a great trip!
Suggested reading: Wild Abandon by Jennifer Barclay.
I am done. The end.

plufmud

Thanks for all the tips/suggestions. Some suggest the ferry experience~is it that much different from taking the ferry to Capri which we have done twice?