Digbydog

We are planning to visit Sifnos and Santorini with our three children in mid-June. I know which hotels we would like to stay in. I would like to go ahead and book them, rather than trying to find something when we arrive. However, as I understand it, ferry and airline schedules change. I don't even know what days the ferry will travel between Sifnos and Santorini this June. Is it impossible to book hotels ahead? Should I use a travel agent? I have read about Fantasy Travel on this site and on Matt Barrett's site. Has anyone used them to book hotels and island travel? I would really prefer to make the arrangements myself. Can someone tell me how?

cristine27

Hello!
If you know the hotels you want to book, then you can do it by yourself either through their website, or by just calling them and reserve the room.
About the boat schedules you can check www.gtp.gr but i believe that for June they won't have the dates/times yet.
But i'm not sure that from Santorini there is a connection to Sifnos. Maybe you'll have to return to Piraeus or go to another island and from there go to Sifnos. You'll have to check that out.

Judy

I've made some reservation for a trip this spring by contacting the hotels directly and asking them for recommendations regarding booking a stay. Many have told me that, while they cannot guarantee the information, there are certain ferry schedules that seldom change and run year round.
We've made reservations using this information and plan to check again when the schedules do come out, hoping to fine tune the bookings if necessary.

brotherleelove2004

First, yes you can get to Sifnos from Santorini. At the moment there appears to be two ferries a week, both on the same day, Thursday according to www.gtp.gr, but my guess is that by June there will be at least one more day added since these particular ferries hit many islands, not just Sifnos. The routes and timetables that operate during the winter months are probably the same year-'round with others added as demand increases.

According to Aegean Airlines their current schedule is good for the summer months but more flights might be added later on as demand increases. Olympic Airlines has told me that their summer schedules will be posted sometime after the end of January.

Booking hotels ahead is not impossible as long as there's a website and they are checking inquiries. Many places close during the off-season and don't re-open until April. Many use booking services and online travel agencies. Fantasy Travel has a very good reputation. Checking the internet using Google.com should help you find what you're looking for. Making your own arrangements is not a problem, again as long as someone is monitoring the inquiries. Look for contact information on the various websites you find. Using a credit card is usually required. Make sure you reconfirm before you arrive so as to avoid any unforseen problems.

On Santorini the two main beach areas where you can find good prices on rooms are Kamari Beach and Perissa Beach. Neither of these areas have caldera views, however. If that's a requirement your best choices are Oia, Imerovigli, Firostephani and Fira. Oia is my favorite and by far the most beautiful and traditional village on the island. Sorry, I've never been to Sifnos.

http://www.santorinihotels.com/hotels.php

www.gtp.gr

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

http://www.olympicairlines.com/

Digbydog

Thank you so much for your help. It is my understanding that there are two days a week in the summer that ferries travel between Sifnos and Santorini. I need to know what day in addition to Thursday, as that day really does not fit in with our plans. I will try to contact the hotels to see if they have any idea. Do you know when summer ferry schedules come out? Do the Aegean Air schedules change?

Also, I was planning to stay at the Hotel Petali on Sifnos and the Chelidonia on Santorini. Does anyone know anything about those? I wanted to make sure we were in Oia after reading Brotherleelove's many posts about its beauty.

brotherleelove2004

I don't know when the summer ferry schedules come out, but if you use www.gtp.gr and enter travel dates you won't get any hits until they're posted, that's the only way I know to determine if they're on the site or not. I just looked again by entering a mid-June travel date and got a pop-up message that basically says that current schedule information is good only up to March 31, so I think it's safe to assume that sometime around that date the summer schedules will be added to the website's data base.

Aegean and Olympic both can change schedules based on demand and plane availabliity but I don't think there will be too many changes once the schedules are posted, only when it's absolutely necessary for an unforseen reason. It's always part faith and part luck when it comes to the Greek transportation system.

The Chelidonia Villas are in the heart of Oia. Erika and Triantaphyllos are good people and have amassed several properties through hard work and diligence. I can recommend them.