Greece experts - a question
 

Hello - heading back to Naxos and Athens for our third straight year and have some questions!

Previously we were able to get good fares flying into Santorini and out of Athens but it looks like those fares are not happening this year (late August, early Sept travel). However there are good fares from our city to Athens and we'd like to book ASAP to make sure we get our preferred hotels.

Last two trips have been 2 days Santorini-5 days Naxos-2 days Athens. It's worked well for us. This time, we are wondering how we should do things because we can't fly direct into Santorini. We will be flying into Athens in the morning. I'm guessing we could fly to Santorini that day itself and just do what we have always done but I am a little concerned about the connection. As beautiful as Santorini is, I don't think we need to go back a third time.

One thing we were thinking was to explore Athens on the front end for 2 days, ferry to Naxos, stay 6 days, fly to Athens, stay overnight one day and head out. That seems a bit cumbersome, however, as we have 2 kids and would like to go into central Athens just once. I do know there is a very nice B&B by the Athens airport but I feel like that would be a waste of a day abroad. Maybe not? I do not want to chance flying from Naxos to Athens and then Athens to home on the same day since I will have to buy separate tickets.

One thing I was thinking about was Paros - but I'm not sure how fun it would be for kids. It seems very affordable and beautiful but I'm a little overwhelmed with the choices. Our children are small so we like the beaches (we are planning to hike and see Apeiranthos village in Naxos this time around). But the idea of packing up everyone for a two day stay seems exhausting.

Any thoughts?

Again the guessing game. Where is OP from? Says in past has been able to fly in to Santorini ... From N. America not possible. R U from Europe? Cannot explore options when don't know origin point. Have you considered connecting in Athens to Naxos, or is ticket price y our objection? With only 9 days, 5 1/2 hr ferries steal precious hours, and as my Old Mother used to say, when you cannot spend the time, you must spend the money. You could also fly to Paros and stay a couple of days on ANTIparos, (the paros airport is very near the "little ferry" to Antiparos, which only takes 10 minutes or so). Antiparos is great for kids, walkable to beaches, low-key... and then just hop a ferry to Naxos.

Judging flight schedules and prices for 10 months from now can only be very approximate, as both may change in the new year. If you don't know skyscanner.com it covers European low-cost, one-way fares that may not show up in North American search engines. Aegean/Olympia air covers many islands and is part of the Star Alliance, allowing connections to many trans-continental airlines. You may know that using a multi-destination search function can save time and money over trying to piece together an itinerary with one-way tickets yourself. However, some of the budget airlines do not share bookings in any way, making connections where you must collect bags and do all the check-ins for the next flight yourself quite stressful. Anyhow, praise for planning ahead, especially since you already know the place so well.

Since you've already been to Santorini twice why go a third time? There are numerous other islands you can combine with Naxos such as Paros/Antiparos. While I haven't been to Paros from all accounts it's a lovely island, easy to get to from Naxos and you can also do day trips to nearby Antiparos. Don't overlook the Small Cyclades that you can get to from Naxos or even Amorgos (beautiful). Having young children always makes it hard to decide on where to go and how easy it is to get to. Probably Naxos/Paros as they are rather close together.

Check out this website for Greek Islands that airlines go to making it a little easier to decide how to fly there.:

https://www.aia.gr/traveler/flight-i...ghts/domestic/

Just put your curser on an island/mainland and you'll see who flies there. Just make sure know what you are getting for a ticket (i.e., luggage costs) for whatever airlines you choose.

Most travelers leave Athens at the end of the trip. Since you are already at the airport upon arrival try to find a decent connection to Naxos or whatever other destination that works as far as connection time. Sometimes that doesn't always work depending on when you arrive in Athens and the flight to your destionation. Nothing wrong with spending the first day in Athens if that doesn't work out but if at all possible try to get to your destination the same day you arrive in Athens.

We are coming from North America. Tickets to Naxos/Paros are incredibly expensive; we need to fly to Athens/Santorini/Mykonos to fly one stop. We are a little worried about buying a standalone Athens-Naxos or Athens-Paros ticket and flying to the islands on the day we arrive because if our flights are delayed, that's a hassle. Flying into Santorini was aways so great because we got to the islands on the first day and the small airport is easier to manage then Athens. We would spend two days in a gorgeous place then ferry over to Naxos.

I agree there's no need to fly into Santorini a third time but it was a very convenient way to get close to the islands. I'll do some more research into Paros/Antiparos.

Are there really direct flights from N America to Santorini?? Must be from Canada, not USA.

Aegean flights from ATH to NAXOS or PAROS can sometimes "go on sale" early in the year, at least for May or June trips. Suscribing for their "newsletter" (actually an e-mail alert) here - https://aegeanairlines.custhelp.com/.../302/related/1 -- will alert you to periods (sometime early in the year) when these tix are available and its wise to pounce, because there are a limited number available.

I wonder if when you said you use to fly into Santorini if it was a ticket through a major city in Europe like USA to London to Santorini, with only one stop.

I have done that also because it allowed me to bypass Athens on the way in, arrive in the Cyclades that day, and not have to buy a separate ticket Athens to the Cyclades. When the price was the same on the outbound flight to either arrive in Santorini or Athens, we would choose Santorini. And while we already had seen Santorini, we were treating it as our gateway island into the Cyclades, plus the views are just fantastic. That is how I ended up in Santorini for times in my life usually with a person who never had seen it, so we would spend one night before moving on to other islands.

Lately there has been fantastic fares going from the USA to Europe. If you have one of those, like less than $500 round trip from the USA to Athens, my recommendation would be to just go for it. Then buy separate one way tickets for Athens either to Naxos or Paros. Allow for 4-5 hours for your connection. Get passes for a lounge in Athens so you can relax with your kids while you wait. Know that if your connection is missed in Athens it is not the end of the world. Just get the next flight or go to Piraeus and take a ferry. But if the odds are in your favor, you won't need your plan B.

I wouldn’t worry about a same day flight from Athens to Paros or Naxos on different tickets—Europeans do it all the time. Book Flex tickets with Aegean Airlines/Olympic Air (these are the same airlines that fly from Athens to Mykonos and Santorini).

Paros is a better airport to fly into, because it has more flights with larger aircraft than Naxos, which is okay too. The new airport at Paros with its longer runway has eliminated the possibility of baggage being left behind when weather conditions suddenly change. You are correct that the choices on Paros are a little overwhelming, because there are so many resorts from which to choose. Parikia and Naoussa are the busiest, but quieter resorts include Alyki, Piso Livadi, Drios, and many more. Antiparos, where I always stay, is very busy in August, but getting quieter during the last week of the month and into September.

Thanks everyone. If it matters ( and it seems like it does) we are flying from the US so one stop to Athens us affordable, one stop to Santorini is less affordable, and two stops to Naxos/Paros is a small fortune (booking one ticket and not separately). I think it might make sense to take a chance on Paros or Antiparos as our flight from Zurich arrives at 12:45 pm and there is a 4 pm flight to Paros. Part of the draw to Santorini is that we know our way around ... but if Paros is easy to negotiate perhaps we should do that. Or maybe go to Naxos first and then head to Paros. We have taken a lovely ferry from Santorini to Naxos previously but we could ferry from naxos or Paros to Athens too.. we’ve flown the past 2 years. I will have to do the math. Flights are $640 today..,in the past we’ve paid 680 and 750 to fly in to Santorini and out of Athens, like $100 or so to ferry from Santorini to Naxos then $350 to fly to Athens. If we fly into Athens instead of Santorini we are looking at $100 more per person to fly the same day to either Santorini, Naxos, or Paros.

I should clarify from my last post... when I said 100 to ferry and $350 to fly from naxos to Athens that was for our family of four. The ticket from the US to Greece has averaged about 700 pp.

Your price of $350 (about €310) to Naxos for a family of four sounds like a good deal to me. There are no budget airlines to Naxos and Paros, and in fact the Greek government has had to subsidise losses for flights to those islands to keep an air service going, so seat sales are infrequent. It doesn’t hurt to check, but don’t wait too long, or prices may go up instead. Right now, for flights in December, I am seeing prices as low as €53.

As you have written, you can save a lot of money by taking a conventional ferry, e.g. Blue Star instead of a flight, but if you miss the early morning ferries you will probably have to wait until 5:30 pm to leave Piraeus. The 5:30 pm Blue Star arrives on Paros about 10 pm, and on Naxos about 11 pm. There may be a ferry from Rafina, which is closer to Athens Airport.

OK, would this be crazy? There are some very, very low fares from BOS-LHR, ATH-BOS on our dates. Would it make sense to go nonstop to London and then book a flight from London to JTR (or Paros)? BOS-LHR, ATH-BOS would be $450 on our dates; LGW-JTR would be $276 for all of us (on easyjet). If there's an issue with a connection, we could just explore London, right? Or we could stay in London for two days before heading off to the beach (my 8 year old is obsessed with Harry Potter) I realize Gatwick is a different airport and I need to figure out logistics but this could be a great way to accomplish this trip within our budget. I haven't been to London since 2004 so I have no idea how a stopover would be.

BA fly LHRJTR direct but their fares are usually very expensive. Other airlines that fly Gatwick to Santorini are TUI & Thomas Cook Airlines.
https://www.thomascookairlines.com

https://www.tui.co.uk/flight/

AFAIK there are no direct flights London to Paros.

A couple of days in London would be a wonderful addition to your trip to Greece. Lots of people from the UK fly from London Gatwick to Santorini or Mykonos, then catch a ferry to Naxos or Paros. Gatwick isn't my favourite airport, but I flew from there to Sardinia this year on easyJet. For a very early morning flight it's handy to stay the night before at a Gatwick Airport hotel. I stayed at Sofitel, which has a covered walkway directly to the terminal, and there is also a less expensive Premier Inn at the airport. When staying overnight at Sofitel or Premier Inn you can even check in with easyJet and drop off your hold luggage the night before to save time in the morning.

As Odin wrote, there are no direct flights from London to Paros. The runway is too short for regional jets, and there are no customs or passport control facilities there. The Naxos runway is even shorter, only 900 meters in length. Flights from Athens are on ATR-42 turboprops which have about 40 seats, which can't all be filled due to maximum weight restrictions. The Paros runway is 1400 meters long, and can take 78 passenger Dash 8-400 aircraft.

So I have got: Boston-London, Athens-Boston for $609 RT (it would cheaper on other airlines that don't allow checked bags). I don't think we could do all of this without some checked bags (maybe not?) Arrive in London at 7 AM on Saturday. Visit London for 2 days then take a 7 AM nonstop easyjet flight out of Gatwick on Monday morning at 7:45 A M for a whooping $60 pp). Is this doable? We are used to buses and trains, etc; NBD. Our journey would look like this

Aug 23 Depart Boston
Aug 24 Arrive London at 7:45 AM. Head to town, explore Book hotel that makes it easy to get to Gatwick in the AM
Aug 25 London. Explore. Early to bed!!!
Aug 26 Leave Gatwick at 7:45 AMl arrive Thira 12:35 PM (easyjet, so assume w will have to pay to check a bag). Spend night in Santorini. We can stay in Fira, no problem, as we know it well, walk up to Firostephani, have octopus, or maybe go to Santo wines.
Aug 27 Naxos/Santorini or head to Naxos on the afternoon ferry
Aug 27 Naxos
Aug 28 Naxos
Aug 29 Naxos
Aug 30 Naxos
Aug 31 Naxos/Paros
Sep 1 Naxos/Paros
Sept 2 Morning flight to Athens
Sept 3 Athens
Sept 4 Athens (or leave on Sep 3, depending on flights)

With this itinerary, we could add Paros (or not), do a daytrip to Paros. We are planning to take the kids to Apeiranthos on one day, maybe a hike on another day. I am intrigued by Paros/Antiparos but am a bit overwhelmed and wonder if it's worth packing the kids up for a change in scenery. A daytrip would not be very relaxing - we'd have to scramble to take the early ferry and then scramble back.

Thoughts? I don't want a logistical nightmare, but doing it this way fits in our budget.

I would recommend spending more time on Paros. You don't have to do a day trip to Antiparos, but instead can do an island boat trip which stops at remote beaches, the sea caves, and at the uninhabited island of Despotiko for a BBQ lunch. The boats are based on Antiparos, but pick up passengers at Pounta on Paros as well. The trip that gets the best reviews is Captain Ben Antiparos Lazy Day ? Daily cruises from Antiparos and Paros Greece ? Boat trip arround the island (scroll down and look at the videos).

The 7am easyJet flight from Gatwick is certainly doable, but leave enough time to get to the airport and check in for the flight. Gatwick is very busy early in the morning, as that is when many easyJet flights leave for holiday destinations. In fact, that may be the busiest time at Gatwick Airport. Staying at the airport Sofitel was very convenient, with only a 5 minute walk from the hotel to the easyJet check-in area.

Last time I went to Santorini on Easyjet from Gatwick, there was a queue that extended outside the terminal and round the block, it was extremely stressful with people panicking, including me, about potentially missing their flights. We were there super early but it made no difference. The line was for bag drop. 26 Aug is also a bank holiday in the UK, so possibly extra busy. Have you already booked your tickets on Easyjet since the current price seems rather more than $60 per person, adding in checked bags, which you should do at the time of booking, will push the price up, depending on whether you want 15kg or 23kg checked luggage. If you add it later, it might be more expensive.
There are no check in desks for Easyjet, so you have to check in online. You need to be there very early especially if you intend to use bag drop for your checked luggage.

Pay attention to what Odin wrote. My outbound flight to Olbia Costa Smeralda was on September 1st at 06:20, and there were lots of other flights leaving around the same time and a little later, everyone using the same bag drops whichever flight you are on. It was very busy even then, but not as bad as Odin experienced—maybe an hour later would have been worse. If you stay at an airport hotel (Sofitel or Premier Inn) and you have checked in online you can walk over to the terminal and drop off your bags the night before when it is quiet, keeping your overnight essentials for carry-on the next morning. You don't have to go through security to do this.

Hi, Overit,

I highly recommend going to Paros with two little kids. We've been going there for years with ours, who are now adult children, and they would probably say
it's still one of their favorite islands.

Two years ago we stayed at MINOIS VILLAGE AND SPA, which is halfway between Parikia ( where the ferries arrive/depart) and the airport. MINOIS is a wonderful boutique hotel overlooking the sea,
with a tiny path down to Parosporos, which is our favorite beach on the island. Parosporos has an excellent taverna (!) on site, and loungers usually available most of the day, though it can be busy in season.

Minois is also only 10 min from the ferry for Antiparos, if you'd like to explore that for a day.

We've also stayed in Nauossa, a charming fishing village on the other side of town. Our favorite hotel there is STELIA MARE, a small boutique hotel that is about a 10 min walk from the center
of town. Nauossa is a quintessential Greek village with lots of white houses all with blue doors, good shopping, excellent seafood restaurants, good gelateria, and a pedestrian-free zone that
makes it especially easy to navigate with kids.

Of course there are many other beaches on the island worth a visit ( Golden Beach is one of them) but you definitely would want a car to see those and the medieval village of Lefkes, etc.

We''ve also stayed many times in Nauossa, a charming fishing village on the other side of the island. We really like STELIA MARE, a small boutique hotel that's about a 10 min walk from town. Nauossa is
a quintessential village with whitewashed houses all with blue doors, seafood restaurants, and a pedestrian-free zone that makes it very easy to wander around with little kids. Oh, and a very good gelateria, too!