Leaving for Greece in 1 week - last logistical questions
 

Hello: We are leaving a week from today - and I am SO EXCITED!!! A few last-minute logistical questions for the experts:

*Getting from Athens airport to our ferry in Rafina - on arrival day, we land at 10:15 am and are booked on the 4 PM high-speed ferry to Mykonos. I understand there is a 1:20 bus to Rafina from the airport. My questions: Can we/should we book the bus to Rafina in advance? Where do we go in the airport to get the bus?
*General ferry question - how long before ferry departure do you need to be at the port?
*Getting from the port to the hotel - On Mykonos, we're staying at Harmony Hotel, which I've heard is walking distance from the port. Is this true? On the other islands, I think we're ok with transport - on Naxos, I'm told to let the hotel (Hotel Galini & Sofia) know when you'll be arriving...on Santorini we are booking transport with hotel in advance.
*Transport from the islands to Athens - We are flying Olympic from Santorini back to Athens. If I understand correctly, we can easily take the subway/metro from the airport to a stop (Montrasaki?) close to our Hotel (Hotel Plaka). Is this true? Is the subway self-explanatory and easy to find in the airport?

Thanks in advance with your patience with my semi-neurotic questions...and for any advice!

Megan

Don't worry, you'll have a great trip.

Can't speak to the Rafina bus specifically, but you generally don't need to book buses ahead.

We usually try to get to the ferries about 45 minutes to an hour ahead, but we've seen plenty of last minute arrivals. At this time of the year, it likely won't matter as much.

Don't know the Harmony. Sorry.

In Athens, the airport to Monstiraki is wonderful. It's connected by a short walkway (basically across the traffic lanes in the drop-off, pick-up area) to a lobby for the the subway and the suburban rail. Clean and ease with a big help desk right in the middle.

Have a wonderful trip.

Typically it's not necessary to book a bus in advance but if you're nervous about this, since you'll be travelling in July I suggest you do so if in fact you've found a website where it's offered as an option. The Seajet is large, but has all indoor seating and no extra deck space if it's overcrowded.

The fare for the bus to Rafina is normally 3 Euro, although I suspect a booking service might want to charge you a commission. Taxis are also available from the airport to Rafina but I don't know what the charge would be. I suspect it would be at least 20 Euro.

Looking at the Rafina bus schedule online using the airport's website (transportation link) I see that the bus leaves the airport at 12:15, NOT 1:20, unless another has been added to the timetable. It looks like the 1:20 bus you've found is from Rafina back to the airport. There's another bus to Rafina at 2:10, which would also give you enough time to get to Rafina from the airport before your 4PM departure (especially if you've booked your seat on the ferry in advance). Rafina is closer to the airport than to central Athens, so the trip will probably take less than 45 minutes.

http://www.aia.gr/EN/passenger_infor...body.shtm#pin1

Thanks for the quick feedback, repete and brotherleelove!

Brotherleelove, is it pretty straightforward getting from the terminal to the bus? Do we just follow signs for ground transport or similar and it will be self-explanatory? We should have no problem making the 12:15 bus to get us to Rafina in plenty of time...just wasn't sure if it was easy to find (I've had some bad experiences in the past with bus-transport links at foreign airports, hence the anxiety!)

Thanks!

Hotel Harmony is close to where the ferries arrive and is in an elevated position between the harbour and the centre of our town. About 7 minute walk when you arrive by ferrie but is a little uphill so maybe you can arrange for hotel to collect you.

The views of the town and ships are are very good if you have requested front room.

To give better idea of location go to this website and look at the town views from the webcameras. The video top right you should look for - at the bottom of the picture you can easily look down at area you will be.

http://www.mykon.net/mtest/index.php

thanos

Yes, it's all pretty straightforward there. The buses from Athens do stop right in front of the departure hall, so it's likely that you won't have to go across to the Metro Station, which is just a short walk outside across a catwalk from the arrival hall anyway. I'm not sure about the bus to Rafina, but this airport is very well-designed, so no matter where you need to go it's an easy walk. Look for signs or ask at a tourist info kiosk.

Thanks both! I think that covers my last minute questions for now...but I still have 4 days before departure, so I'll post again to this if more pop up. And I promise to post my report upon return! Kind regards, Megan