plushhug4

I'm looking to go to Greece in Oct...starting in Athens..overnight...then Santorini...then Mykonos. I have a couple of questions....I'll be traveling with my 3 yr old....good idea or bad one??? I will not be flying Air France at the advice of a travel agent ..because it appears they are under a construction period right now. She suggested flying on another airline would ease my worries. I decided on Ibara (may be mispelled)....anyone have experience with this one??? Lufthsna was my first option but someone told me that they are very strict due to security. ANY SUGGESTIONS???

marginal_margiela

Why don't you fly Olympic? They are the national airline of Greece and you could get a DIRECT flight. Lufthansa will stop in Frankfurt and you will have to connect.

I hate connections.

StCirq

Do you mean Iberia?

I wouldn't fly with a 3-year-old on anything that required a connection (BTDT). It's bad enough as it is (though I did it with infants, toddlers, young kids, all the way up through late teens and we've survived).

Take Olympic. What kind of travel agent wouldn't start by suggesting Olympic anyway?

brotherleelove2004

It would have been helpful to know where you will be originating your trip. If it's from the U.S., Delta has direct flights to Athens, and from Athens you can catch an Aegean or Olympic flight to either Santorini or Mykonos.

suze

I would check various facts with different airlines directly. I'm no expert, but your comments are much along the lines of "advice of a travel agent" and "someone told me", which may or not be true at all.

Heimdall

As for the general idea of traveling to Greece with your 3 yr old: good idea! The Greeks love children, and you and your child will be made welcome wherever you go.

I agree with above posters to fly direct when possible, but let us know where you are flying from. I fly to Greece from London, and take either BA or Olympic, whichever has the cheapest tickets at the time. I have always had good service from Olympic.

plushhug4

I am flying from Washington, D.C. and the best deals from the area is out of Dulles International on Air France..construction going on in the airport so I would like to avoid Air France...I will check into Olympic and Delta though. I'm looking at package deals....the best so far is Gate 1 Travel....at approx 3800.00 for the both of us. Includes everything....flights (US to Athens) (Athens to Santorini)....ferry rides (Santorini to Mykonos) (Mykonos to Athens)...by the way on long is that ride...Mykonos to Athens??? Thank all of you for the suggestions....if you have more ideas for or money savings travel tips.....I'M ALL EARS!!!!

Christina

I'm not sure I follow the flight advice, as I fly out of Dulles frequently. Are you saying there is construction at Dulles that only pertains to Air France, or construction in Paris relating to them? Some folks do prefer not to transfer in Paris, although it doesn't bother me if there is enough time, but I'm not clear on the construction thing. Because Delta is right next to Air France at Dulles, in the same concourse.

Continental is often competitive with Air France to some European locations, and they have a nonstop from EWR to Athens. Lufthansa may be a little cheaper, what's the security issue with them that you don't like? Try Continental. YOu are not going to get a nonstop flight to Athens from Dulles on any airline, there aren't any. Delta has a nonstop from JFK.

You can't fly Olympic from IAD, so you'd have to take some cheap flight to JFK and then do the Olympic flight. But, you can't get a nonstop anyway from IAD, so that's not a bad idea as they will be in the lower cost then. But I'm not sure you'll save that much over being on one carrier who will take care of your bags the entire way (like Continental or Delta).

plushhug4

Thanx so much Christina....the travel agent said that there is construction in Paris at the airport...so maybe that wouldn't be a good option for me traveling with a small child. Sorry for the confusion. I got a great deal out of Dulles with Gate 1 Travel to Athens with an overnight stay in Athens then a flight into Santorini....hotl stay for 2 nights there....then ferry ride to Mykonos...2 night hotel stay there...then ferry ride from Mykonos to Athens all for about 3800.00 for both me and the lil one....I think I might go with this option....the transfers and everything is included....since this is my first time to Greece I think I'll do the package....think that is a good idea???

Christina

oh, well that probably makes sense about the Paris airport, as it can be confusing for people. I don't know about that rate, I can't think enough now or know enough about how much those things cost in Greece.... but the itinerary sounds great. I've been to Greece and that sounds like a good plan. I had a friend who did a Gate1 package last year and he said it was very good and they took care of everything great, so I know they are a reputable company and their rates are usually very good, so it sounds pretty good to me.

marginal_margiela

You should have told us you were flying out of DC in the first place. What a waste of time and energy for those of us offering advice.

UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

kraspa

Marginal_margiela where did you assume she was flying out of? Sorry you felt it was a waste of time and engery to answer, but others also read the posts and could use the advice.

Plushhug4, I used Gate 1 to Brazil last year and they were great. I highly recommend them. I will be in Greece for the month of August this year, but planned it on my own.

Have a great time traveling with the baby!

littlebigshot

I don't understand the enthusiasm for Olympic Airlines. It has a poor reputation which in my experience is largely deserved. This isn't just my opinion. The web site www.airlinequality.com is a user-input airline rating site -- very useful for travelers to know about -- which gives Olympic a 2/5 "poor" rating. The comments section on Olympic, though it includes a few good reviews, is overall fairly devastating. So don't take my word for it; look at the web site to see an overview of people's experiences with Olympic.

Personally I wouldn't fly Olympic unless there were just no alternative. For flights within Greece, I've found Aegean to be a very good airline. They also have a small but growing number of flights to Greece from other parts of Europe.

Heimdall

Littlebigshot, I said "I have always had good service from Olympic." That is a true statement based upon many international and domestic flights with the airline. I can't speak for other travelers' experiences. The British Airways flight that was scheduled to depart Athens five minutes before my Olympic flight on 18 Jun was delayed 10 hours.

What is your personal experience with Olympic Airlines?

Heimdall

Sorry, that was on 16 Jun. BTW, the Olympic flight left on time, as did the one I took from Naxos to Athens.

littlebigshot

I don't have recent personal experience as a passenger myself with Olympic since I quit flying them years ago, but the many unbiased and recent reports on the web site I gave will provide an overview of the personal experiences of many passengers. As I mentioned, some of them are positive, but the overall impression they give is of a fairly dreadful airline.

Actually, I do have a little recent experience of Olympic from flying several times out of ATH on Aegean, whose check in desk is right next to Olympic's. On these occasions the Aegean desk was always orderly, efficient, and with short lines, while the Olympic desk always seemed to have a mob of people in front of it waving tickets and muttering angrily.

It also shouldn't be forgotten that Olympic has for years been trying to find a partner or buyer unsuccessfully because all the partners or buyers who have looked at Olympic have recoiled in horror, is continually plagued by labor unrest and staff and equipment shortages, is under investigation by the EU for breaking EU regulations on allowed state support, and is for all practical purposes bankrupt. All this can be verified from the public media, including English-language and Greek-language Greek newspapers, magazines, and news services.

baldrick

plushhug,

what exactly are your worries?
I presume the construction work at the paris airport will be duly organized.
there most certainly are security measures avoiding contact between the passengers and the building site, i can't imagine they would let people walk through a constuction site.
they can neither in no way afford to loose or have delays for the luggage delivery or transit, imagine the bad publicity and the cost they would get.

if paris is financially the best choice for you, then take air france. there may be the odd 100 yards of detour to walk, but the airport is on business.

Heimdall

Yes, if you look at the number of destinations Olympic flies in comparison to Aegean, you can see why Olympic is so popular.

Since we now know the OP will be flying out of Dulles, which has no Olympic service, it seems to me the only purpose of your post was to knock Olympic, not to help the original poster.

littlebigshot

Take a look at the current "Delta vs Olympic Airlines" on this website's forum.

plushhug4

Thank you everyone who helped me feel more comfortable about my choice....