Greece - here we may go....
May 30th, 2017, 08:53 PM
#1
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Greece - here we may go....
I'm almost planning on Greece after Sorrento and Naples
As I mentioned we are quite open after Naples and daughter really wants to go to Greece.
I have planned Mykonos, Santorini, Crete and last Athens to fly back to Barcelona.
So now logistically,How should we plan on traveling from Naples to Greece?
Should I do Santorini first? Fly, drive to the end of Italy and ferry to Greece?
Thanks!
As I mentioned we are quite open after Naples and daughter really wants to go to Greece.
I have planned Mykonos, Santorini, Crete and last Athens to fly back to Barcelona.
So now logistically,How should we plan on traveling from Naples to Greece?
Should I do Santorini first? Fly, drive to the end of Italy and ferry to Greece?
Thanks!
May 30th, 2017, 09:42 PM
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Hi,
We flew from Italy to Athens, took a ferry to the islands. You could actually fly to Santorini.
To plan your islands in Greece, I would check the ferry sites, so you can see where they stop first and different lengths of time on the ferry.
It's going to be wonderful!
We flew from Italy to Athens, took a ferry to the islands. You could actually fly to Santorini.
To plan your islands in Greece, I would check the ferry sites, so you can see where they stop first and different lengths of time on the ferry.
It's going to be wonderful!
May 31st, 2017, 12:34 AM
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Do you plan to spend any time in Athens? I would recommend at least 2-3 nights to see the sites there. I don't think you have time to visit 4 places in 10 days...I would drop one of the islands, probably Crete as it is much bigger and the logistics between the islands will take time.
Have you considered less touristy islands, like Naxos and Paros?
Have you considered less touristy islands, like Naxos and Paros?
May 31st, 2017, 04:24 AM
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VOLTEA is the only airline I know of that flies non-stop between Naples and Santorini,but I think it's only once a day.
AEGEAN flies Naples to Athens, then you'd need to connect to another plane for Santorini.
About your itinerary: I agree with the posters above that three islands plus Athens is really too much for ten days.
Decide which places matter most, and go from there. Start with the furthest island - (Crete or Santorini) and work your way back to Athens.
Make sure that you are in Athens the night before a flight out. Sometimes ferries/planes in the islands can be cancelled.
AEGEAN flies Naples to Athens, then you'd need to connect to another plane for Santorini.
About your itinerary: I agree with the posters above that three islands plus Athens is really too much for ten days.
Decide which places matter most, and go from there. Start with the furthest island - (Crete or Santorini) and work your way back to Athens.
Make sure that you are in Athens the night before a flight out. Sometimes ferries/planes in the islands can be cancelled.
May 31st, 2017, 08:48 AM
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Due to limited spare time, I do not check this forum as often as I used to, so sorry if you mentiojed this on previous posts. But WHEN do you plan this trip for? This can make a difference.
Your potential itinerary is far too ambitious and when you check the travel logisitic in detail you'll see why.
Checking the maps here you may see which airlines fly directly between Greek islands and Athens and various European destinations to/from Athens
https://www.aia.gr/traveler/flight-info/direct-flights
You may then check individual airline sites and see how frequently they fly, how long a flight takes, what time of the day they fly and so on.
I'm not sure how updated the Santorini airport site is, but here is a link http://www.santorini-airport.com/airlines/
Do you have a specific destination on mind for Crete? If not, I would pass at your time frame. Ther major aiport on Crete is the Heraklion one http://www.heraklion-airport.info/airlines.html I don't think you could check much on Crete on a couple of days stay. Just for comparison, Santorini covers something like 90 km2/35sq miles while Crete about 8300km2/3200 sq miles!
The ferries between Greece and Italy are very time consuming and take you to Western Greece, nowhere near Athens or the islands you mention, so you'll need to fly.
Do remember that commuting from/to airports to/from actual destinations plus waiting time on the airports and so on, means that even a half an hour flight makes for half a day lost on transit.
Do note that flights among Greek islands are a rarity and you'll need to use the ferry system. Try to time your arrival in Athens with a latter flight to Santorini or Crete, because even the faster ferries take 9 hours to reach Crete and 6 hours to reach Santorini from Piraeus(Athens). Then continue working your way back to Athens on the ferry system if that;s where you'll neeed to depart Greece from. Sea travel can time consuming not only because the actual trip take time, but because ferry schedules work that way that you may need to travel say on noon, which means you'll not have much time to spend either on departure either to arrival island on the day of travel.
Good site to explore ferry timetables is https://www.gtp.gr/RoutesForm.asp
On summer months, Santorini to Heraklion,Crete is a daily ferry connection. Mykonos-Crete is less direct. Mykonos-Santorini frequent daily connection on summer. All islands to Athens daily connection one way or another.
So if you keep Crete, a sequence could be Athens-Crete-Santorini-Mykonos-Athens or v.v. but I don't think this itinerary is feasible on your time frame. Even if you use some flight from Greece to Spain directly from Crete without returning to Athens, there isn't time to fit everything in, unless you use Athens and Crete just as transit spots. Even then, so many destinations make for a rushed trip with much time spend in transit among places rather than enjoying the places theirselves.
Just my opinion. I hope this helps.
Your potential itinerary is far too ambitious and when you check the travel logisitic in detail you'll see why.
Checking the maps here you may see which airlines fly directly between Greek islands and Athens and various European destinations to/from Athens
https://www.aia.gr/traveler/flight-info/direct-flights
You may then check individual airline sites and see how frequently they fly, how long a flight takes, what time of the day they fly and so on.
I'm not sure how updated the Santorini airport site is, but here is a link http://www.santorini-airport.com/airlines/
Do you have a specific destination on mind for Crete? If not, I would pass at your time frame. Ther major aiport on Crete is the Heraklion one http://www.heraklion-airport.info/airlines.html I don't think you could check much on Crete on a couple of days stay. Just for comparison, Santorini covers something like 90 km2/35sq miles while Crete about 8300km2/3200 sq miles!
The ferries between Greece and Italy are very time consuming and take you to Western Greece, nowhere near Athens or the islands you mention, so you'll need to fly.
Do remember that commuting from/to airports to/from actual destinations plus waiting time on the airports and so on, means that even a half an hour flight makes for half a day lost on transit.
Do note that flights among Greek islands are a rarity and you'll need to use the ferry system. Try to time your arrival in Athens with a latter flight to Santorini or Crete, because even the faster ferries take 9 hours to reach Crete and 6 hours to reach Santorini from Piraeus(Athens). Then continue working your way back to Athens on the ferry system if that;s where you'll neeed to depart Greece from. Sea travel can time consuming not only because the actual trip take time, but because ferry schedules work that way that you may need to travel say on noon, which means you'll not have much time to spend either on departure either to arrival island on the day of travel.
Good site to explore ferry timetables is https://www.gtp.gr/RoutesForm.asp
On summer months, Santorini to Heraklion,Crete is a daily ferry connection. Mykonos-Crete is less direct. Mykonos-Santorini frequent daily connection on summer. All islands to Athens daily connection one way or another.
So if you keep Crete, a sequence could be Athens-Crete-Santorini-Mykonos-Athens or v.v. but I don't think this itinerary is feasible on your time frame. Even if you use some flight from Greece to Spain directly from Crete without returning to Athens, there isn't time to fit everything in, unless you use Athens and Crete just as transit spots. Even then, so many destinations make for a rushed trip with much time spend in transit among places rather than enjoying the places theirselves.
Just my opinion. I hope this helps.
May 31st, 2017, 11:12 AM
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Thanks everybody for your input.
So I would just plan on Santorini, Mykonos and Athens to fly back to Barcelona.
I need to plan on days. I know we are arriving June 6th and staying in Sorrento and Naples until the 16th for sure, after that we are open until we go to Spain and London to fly back July 11th
So I would just plan on Santorini, Mykonos and Athens to fly back to Barcelona.
I need to plan on days. I know we are arriving June 6th and staying in Sorrento and Naples until the 16th for sure, after that we are open until we go to Spain and London to fly back July 11th
