isabel

I'm taking four ferries in July: Santorini to Folegandros, Folegandros to Milos, Milos to Sifnos, and Sifnos back to Santorini. I booked on line tickets on sea jets for all those trips. Wasn't much choice, sea jets seemed to be the only option for those routes on the days I want to travel.



I know there is no deck seating on those ferries but as you are coming into and going out of port can you get to a place where you can be outside and see the harbors/towns as you arrive? Any suggestions as to how best to do this.


As I've been searching the forums I see nothing but terrible reviews of sea jets ferries - bumpy rides, everyone getting sick, etc. Most of the ferries I've taken in Greece have been the large Blue Star ferries which were wonderful. Once I took a hydrofoil from Piraeus to Aegina, it was boring but no one was getting sick.
So really, how bad are the sea jets ferries? (I seem to have no choice but to take them, but would like to know what to expect).

Heimdall

Hi isabel,

If the Sea Jets ferry is Superjet or SeaJet 2 there is very little room to spare when passengers and luggage are being loaded and unloaded at port. Each stop is scheduled for only about 10 minutes, so you won't be thanked for getting in the way. Probably best you can do is move to a window to have a look outside when the ferry stops at port. These two catamarans are only 42 metres in length, and are okay when the sea is smooth, but bounce around when wind kicks up waves.

For Milos to Sifnos I would have booked Aegean Speed Lines Speedrunner 3, which is quite a bit larger than Superjet. The reason it is not a good idea to book too far in advance is that sometimes a conventional ferry will be running on the day you want to travel, but they don't publish their schedules more than a few weeks in advance. I would always take a conventional ferry rather than a highspeed when given a choice.

Hydrofoils are a completely different type of ship from catamarans, rising up on their foils (wings) until when at speed the hull is completely above the water. They can operate only in sheltered waters, but are very smooth (but noisy) in calm seas. Catamarans rise up on their twin hulls, which remain in the water. This type of ship doesn't heel or roll very much, but at high speed the small ones can skip over the waves and yaw, which many people find uncomfortable. The larger Sea Jets catamarans, e.g. the Champion Jets, are much more stable.

isabel

Thanks Heimdall - unfortunately it's the sea jet 2 and superjet that I'm booked on. Those are the only ones listed for the days I'm traveling, though the following days there are larger ferries listed. Three out of the four trips are only about an hour long. I'll be getting off at each port (eg going from Santorini to Folegandros, from there to Milos and from there to Sifnos it's just the one leg of the trip that I'll be doing) so not a question of getting in other peoples way as we pull into port - I'll be one of the ones getting off. I was just wondering if you can stand up there for the few minutes as you pull into port or if they only let you up there once it's docked.


I see that the larger ferries (in two cases it would be the following day, in the other two cases it would be later in the day I intend to travel) are large boats (over 1000 passengers) and cheap. I could always book those boats - it would only be about €50 for all four trips - as an insurance policy but of course I'd rather not do that if I don't have to. Do you think if the sea jets get cancelled due to rough seas that I could get tickets on the bigger boats without advance booking?

Retsina

Depends on the particular Seajets ferry. They have quite a number and may even swop around during the season.
The Seajet 2/Superjet tend to be on that route. In that case totally sealed until you get out.
No hanging about on deck, crew operations, no room, luggage is sometimes stowed there as well, collect your luggage and get off.

As for buying tickets on a conventional ferry and not using them and intentionally blocking others is a disgrace.

On some days there are conventional ferries, Zante ferries, possibly Aegean Speed lines Speedrunner monohulls which are better and larger, with outside areas, but if you are on a rigid tight schedule may not be useable.

The sea in the central Aegean does get rough and choppy at times, and if you are specifically in a small catamaran then it is terrible. Flat calm no problem. The route running Piraeus <> Egina is in completely different calmer waters.
Everyone would like to use big Bluestar ferries down the western Cyclades but they don't run that route and that is it.

The hydrofoils did used to run around the Cyclades sometime back but they have been replaced, the remaining hydrofoils are now confined to the more sheltered waters in the Saronic and Sporades islands.
Scedule | Zante Ferries
Aegean Speed Lines cruise and fast to the Western Cyclades

isabel

restina - not sure you understand my questions but I definitely don't understand what you think is a disgrace. If those ferries get canceled as often as people seem to be saying (this and other forums) why would my buying a ticket for a boat that has less chance of being canceled be wrong. Don't get your reasoning.

KayF

We've travelled on the Seajets and also the big ferries. Our experience on the Seajets was that you had to be inside and sitting down. You couldn't go outside and there wasn't any room out there anyway. They pile all the luggage in one huge mess and if yours is at the bottom and you are getting off, good luck. That said, we love Greece and would go back tomorrow.

We also did one trip from Santorini to Folegandros, then to Milos, and back to Santorini. Great trip, not without it's frustrations, but beautiful part of the world.

Kay

Heimdall

Who says they get cancelled often? SeaJet 2 and Superjet often run an hour or two behind schedule, but are only cancelled when it is so windy it is unsafe for them to dock at the ports. That maybe happens a few days a year, and sometimes when winds are strong enough all the ferries, even the large ones, remain in port. It's weather like this when SeaJet 2 and Superjet are cancelled:

justineparis

Heimdal I have seen that docking video before and I love it. it just shows how the Greeks are a seagoing nation and they know their stuff.. and how the old grannies dont give a hoot for waves either.. lol

Heimdall

There are lots of good ferry docking videos. The problem for SeaJet 2 and Superjet is that they pull up to the dock sideways instead of reversing into it like the big car ferries. In windy weather it is a very difficult manoeuvre, and SeaJet 2 hit the dock at Sifnos last September. Years ago it hit the dock at Tinos while I was waiting for it to arrive on Paros.