After a long time researching which Islands to visit, I just started to plan the logistics of the trip and I am very confused.

Everybody talks about the Hellenic Seaways FerryCat, but to this moment, I see no advantage in that.

If I am not mistaken, it has just 2 boats doing the same round trip route, making it impossible to use it to any day trip.

So I though it might be useful to use it to go from Mykonos to Santorini. But it departs at 13:55 (or 14:25) from Mykonos and arrive at Santorini at 16:55 (or 17:25). Looking at other ferry boats, it leaves 14:30 and arrives at 17:15, that is actually faster. Though this schedule is not officially approved yet, it goes on the right day, instead of having to wait for another one.

I initially didn't plan of going to Mykonos, but I am so disappointed of ferry schedules, that Mykonos seems a must to hub for different islands (Delos and Naxos or Paros, not decided yet).

What am I doing wrong here? It only seems reasonable to use from Santorini to Iraklion (or Heraklion) and vice-versa.

PS: Does anyone know if and when Akrotiri will be reopened? I am planning to go to Greece in Mid-June, but I havent find a word on any potential reopening.

Congratualtions! You've discovered one of the joys of travel in the Greek islands, the ever-confusing ferry schedule.

It's true you can't easily use the highspeed cat for daytrips since in only makes one round trip per day. The main advantage is speed. There is in fact only 1, not 2, Hellenic cats making one round-trip/day between Mykonos and Heraklion. There is another cat operated by the "IJ" company that does go between Mykonos and Santorini, but the timeline is just about the same.

The cats are great if you're in a hurry and/or you're not planning to backtrack, but the bottom line is that these two islands aren't compatible for daytrips.

No word about Akrotiri yet.

If you look on www.gtp.gr there are plenty of ferries between Santorini and Naxos or Paros, but if you want to go to Delos as well, I think you will need to go via Mykonos.

Actually, you can go to Delos from Naxos, there's an excursion boat from there as well as from Mykonos.

Marcio, Mykonos and Santorini simply aren't close enough together for day trips. They are also on different ferry routes, which is why there are so few links between the two.

According to http://www.therafoundation.org/wallpaintingexhibition/, the Akrotiri site will be closed for two or three years. You can take the Virtual Tour in their exhibition hall.

Here's an email I got from Hellenic about their June ferry schedule:

In reply to your e-mail request, we would like to inform you that our timetables for June 2006 have not been officially announced yet. Therefore, we suggest that you may consult our web site (approximately by the end of May) at www.hellenicseaways.gr which is always updated and revised, featuring updated timetables, prices per person and vessel accommodation as well as possible connections (Interactive Map). In case of interest you may proceed with your bookings through our web site or our call center (0030 2104199000), by debiting credit card (visa or MasterCard). Furthermore, please kindly note that after your on-line reservation is completed you shall receive a confirmation with all your booking details.

Hi Brotherleelove,

I have a question about booking on Hellinic. I need to get from Athens to Santorini on 8/19, but when I put in my destinations on their site, Athens did not come up as on option to book from. Do they refer to Athens by another name?

Thanks,

Sheila

Athens itself is not on the coast. The usual port for Athens is Pireas which is part of the Athens conurbation but is administratively a separate city. The metro runs from Athens to Pireas. There are also ferries from Rafina which is a coastal resort to the east of Athens; there are buses from Athens to Rafina.

The ferries leave from Piraeus, not Athens. This is a link to Hellenic Seaways' website for the passenger-only highspeed ferry: http://www.ferries.gr/hfd/. You will see that there is no timetable for this ferry to Santorini from Piraeus. There is, however a Hellenic highspeed car ferry (4 hours) from Piraeus to Santorini from now until September 10, according to www.gtp.gr, as well as many other ferries on that day. That is a better website to use to check the published schedules, but it's a good idea to check locally before going to any ferry port because those schedules can change unexpectedly.