Hi, we are staying in Hydra in October and I was not planning on pre-booking the ferry (high speed or slow) as it's the off season and thought we'd have no trouble just turning up. I was amazed to see today on the web that most of the high speed boats on Sat 13 Oct (our return date to Athens) are full. This is quite worrying but then I checked another website and it said there are seats. Does anyone know what the story is?

Also, I can't seem to find the slow ferry times from Hydra to Piraeus. I believe the slow ferry FROM Piraeus leaves about 8.30am but what about the return? We have a 9pm flight out of Athens.

I thought if we could wait until the day of travel we would decide then if we wanted the slow or high-speed ferry (depending on weather etc) but if we have to book ahead, I best get moving!

Can anyone help please?
Thanks.
Kay

Hellenic Seaways (www.hellenicseaways.gr) advertise eight services from Hydra to Pireas on 13 October, by hydrofoil (FLYING DOLPHIN) or fast catamaran (FLYINGCAT).
They don't show a car ferry but that may be because the schedule is not posted far in advance. Next Saturday, the car ferry NEFELI leaves Hydra at 1330 and gets to Pireas at 1650.
There is also a fast catamaran run by Euroseas (www.euroseas.com).

Thanks Geoff, I had seen the times for the catamarans/hydrofoils but can't understand why one website says there are no seats on most services and another website says there are seats available.

Would you recommend booking now? I am really surprised it seems to be so busy in mid October.

Kay

Um, you can't take a car to Hydra.

On the basis of recent experience I'd recommend always booking hydrofoils or catamarans in advance. You can USUALLY get one at the last minute, but I've experienced hydrofoils selling out several times, including sometimes when you wouldn't expect it due to the season or day of the week.

Thanks for this. After mulling it over, we decided to book the catamaran to Hydra and return, it just seemed the easiest solution, rather than worrying about whether or not we would get on a boat.

The thing that intrigues me is, supposedly people do not travel to the Greek islands in the off-season (roughly Oct-Mar) and things close down. Why then is it so busy if no one is travelling. It doesn't make sense.

Kay

Sometimes there are special events. I was on an island once when there was a major wedding taking place, a social event so big that ALL hydrofoils were sold out because so many people were coming from Athens.

Also, some islands, like Hydra, have substantial year round populations.

And you have to factor in that in the off season there are fewer travelers but there are also fewer boats.

As I said,at all seasons you can usually get a boat at the last minute. But if it's important to be sure, buy in advance. It should also be kept in mind that at busy periods you may be able to get a hydrofoil on the day you want, but not at convenient time. For instance, I've sometimes seen all the Hydra hydrofoils sold out on a given day except the ones that left at 7 am.

(The above applies to hyrofoils and catamarans; the big steam ferries very rarely sell out completely.)