From Samos to mainland Greece
 

In June my daughter and I are flying to Istanbul for 5 nights, then go down coast to see Ephesus, then on to Samos taking about 2 more nights.. We have about 5 more days and want to stay in Naphilon for about 2-3 days then on to Athens to see the Parthenon, etc. and then fly back to the states.

My quandry is how to get from Samos to Naphilon. Ferry or fly?? Cost of options? Best way?? Any advice appreciated.

If you're lucky enough to get them for your travel dates, Aegean Airlines has 10 euro (plus taxes) flights from the islands to Athens. Otherwise it means a long ferry ride to Athens/Piraeus.

http://www.aegean-air.gr/aegeanen/home/

Recommend you fly even if you can't get the €10 tickets. A flight would take 50 minutes, while the ferry about 12-13 hours. With only five days left to enjoy Greece, why waste one of them on a ferry? :-)

Thanks to you both for the info. Looking at my time a little more closely, I am thinking we may just stay on Samos until flying to Athens. Does this seem reasonable or is there another island that would be better??

We were in Samos for three nights last May and it was our favorite island. We stayed at a wonderful place on Kervali Bay called the Kervali Village Hotel. For $80US a night we had a suite with a bay view, overlooking Turkey in the distance. From the hotel you can walk down to a couple of tavernas right on the water. It was a fantastic part of our trip.

Correction. In looking at my notes, it was 80 Euros a night for a seaview room.

I am confused. are you talking about "Nafplio" on the pelopponese??? I have never heard of Naphilon.

If you have 1 day in Ephesus, are you then planning to spend 7 days in Samos before returning to Athens for a day or so, thene back to the US?

I love Samos and have been there twice, but it seems like a lot; do you want to go to a beach or what? if so, you will need a car.

If it is NAFPLIO (Nauplion) you mean, You might consider 2-3 days in Samos, a flight back to Athens, rent a a car in the airport. You can drive on the bypass (no Athens drive) to Nafplio in 2.5 hours. Spend 2-3 days or so in this magical place, drive back & drop car, THEN do the Parthenon.

Would need more info (arrival dates in various places, departure from Athens date/time) in order to give best advice.

Travelerjan, Nafplio, Nauplion (see Trip Advisor), and a few other variations are all correct. Transliteration from the Greek to the Roman alphabet produces several different spellings (and mispellings). In Greek Nafplion is: Ναυπλιο with an accent over the υ.

That I know, Heimdall -- another variant is Nauplia.

I just hadn't seen Naphilon before, an since she was talking about Samos, for all I knew it could be some small town on Thassos. :).