kja

I just realized that there is no ferry connection between Heraklion and Santorini on the day I would like to travel and am therefore considering a flight instead. Any recommendations for, or against, any of the airlines that offer flights?

(BTW, I’m sure this topic has been addressed many times, but unfortunately, I couldn’t find it in a quick search or two. Sorry!)

stanbr

What is your date? You must be traveling in off season.

kja

It's in shoulder season, and I have confirmed that there is no ferry that day. There are flights....

brotherleelove2004

Check with Sky Express. They offer direct flights between Crete and Santorini.

kja

Awesome timing -- I was about to book a flight! I'll check now....

kja

Booked!

I chose an Olympic Airlines flight, operated by Aegean. No other flights worked so well for my timing, including the Sky Express flights -- but oh, I'm so glad I looked before I booked! I am planning to spend only one night on Santorini, so the exact timing was quite important to me -- otherwise, I would have needed to consider shifting all sorts of other moving parts!

<b>@ brotherleelove</b> (or anyone else!):

To follow up on some other information that brotherleelove kindly gave me on earlier posts:

(a) to pick up a rental car at the airport and return it at the port, I believe your recommendation would be Spiridakos?

(b) Given that I won't be able to see the sunset from the Aethrio in Oia in mid-May, I'm thinking of switching to the Smaro Studios in Firostefani. Thoughts?

Efcharisto!

travelerjan

I am puzzled by your saying there is no ferry from Heraklion to Santorini on your chosen day. Perhaps Not the Hellenic Seaways Highspeed 7, but the most reliable & complete schedule -- http://www.gtp.gr/RoutesForm.asp -- shows the Champion Jet2 sailing at 8:50 AM 7 days a week, from April 7 through Oct 16, 2017.

In your earlier thread, you said you planned to be in Greece from earlyMay through late June. Your date to move to Santorini would be about mid May Thus I don't see why you could see no ferry -- unless you were relying on the schedule of only one company, instead of the best-known comprehensive schedule. Hope you were able to get a flight at a reasonable price ... in for the future, please bookmark the ferry-schedule link above.

kja

@ travelerjan: I was puzzled by that same information, from that web-site and others -- and indeed, I had been planning my trip on the assumption that the Champion Jet2 WOULD sail every day. Nonetheless, apparently, it will not. I have received an e-mail stating that it will NOT run on the day on which I wanted it (which is in the time frame you note, but with my apologies, as a solo female traveler, I prefer to avoid giving EXACT dates in advance of my trip). The message was from paleologos.her.forthnet.gr -- the site that would have allowed me to book the ferry. But perhaps I have misunderstood something?

brotherleelove2004

Yes, I do recommend Spiridakos for the convenience of their ferry port office.

Smaro would definitely be better than Aethrio for the sunset.

kja

@ brotherleelove: Efcharistó!

Heimdall

Early in the season there is almost always either a Sea Jet or Hellenic Seaways Highspeed on the Heraklion - Santorini route — if one isn't sailing, the other is. Given the choice, I would pick Highspeed 7 over Champion Jet 2. Highspeed 7 was completely overhauled a couple of years ago, while Champion Jet 2 is an old former UK Channel Islands ferry.

kja

@ Heimdall: I looked at both options, and honestly, if either exists on the day I was hoping to make this transition, I could find no evidence (other than posted schedules, which say they would be available). Given everything I had learned in advance, I was VERY surprised, but from the additional research I conducted, NEITHER ferry seems to be operating on the day in question (and as noted above, as a safety precaution, I prefer not to name the specific day).

At this point, I have been told quite explicitly, by a source that appears to be a legitimate one, that there <b>is <u>no</u> ferry</b> from Heraklion to Santorini on the day in question.

BUT here's the flip side -- I had thought I might just wait until I arrived in Heraklion, a day or so before my intended departure, to reserve my ferry. If the information I've gotten is correct, well, that would have been moment calling for some very, very deep calming breaths.

I now have a reserved flight, and while it cost more, I'm OK with that. I know I'm still subject to weather and other natural and man-made interruptions, but those considerations seem to apply to any mode of transit.

Honestly, I'm just glad I found an option that works for me!

Thanks for your insights!

Heimdall

Hi kja,

I am very surprised too! Given the information you have, booking the flight is the right decision. Had you waited until arriving at Heraklion it would probably be too late to book an airline ticket for that particular day. Were it me I would have just changed the day of travel from Crete to Santorini, but I never stick to a pre-planned itinerary anyway.

kja

@ Heimdall: Thanks!

I'm always willing to change my plans once on the ground when it suits ME to do so -- which would be a bit different than showing up for a planned departure and discovering it doesn't exist! ;-)

I think I might enjoy having some views of this part of Greece from my flights. Bonus!

kja

I’ve finally started my trip report. Any of you who are interested can find it here:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-in-greece.cfm