Glynnsal

Hi
Does anyone know if there are direct ferries from Mykonos to Naxos during the summer months. We are a family of 5 and have already booked flights to Mykonos and accommodation for 2 weeks in Naxos in July/August 2011. So far, we have had no luck in finding ferry information between Mykonos and Naxos, and are starting to get a little concerned!
If anyone has any experiences they can share it would be much appreciated!
Thanks

huddoshols

Try www.ferriesingreece.com There is a dep with Sea Jets around 14.30. Gets to Naxos at 15.10. You might just see me on there!

Heimdall

In Jul - Aug there will probably be Superjet (Sea Jets Consortium) and FlyingCat 3 (Hellenic Seaways). Sea Jets has already published its timetables, but Hellenic Seaways usually waits a little longer to put out its high season schedules. Last year FlyingCat 3 left Mykonos at 8:45 am, arrived on Naxos at 9:30 am, and is the more reliable of the two ferries. You have plenty of time to book, so don't be rushed into a decision before all the options are known. There are also excursion boats from Naxos that pick up passengers on Mykonos, but as far as I know it's not possible to prebook tickets for them.

You should be more concerned about your return to Mykonos at the end of the holiday if you are flying home from there. Chances are there won't be a ferry early enough for airport check-in, and you will have to spend your last night on Mykonos. Recommend you plan on doing that anyway, because those small catamarans are prone to weather cancellation, and Jul - Aug is Meltemi (high wind) season.

Glynnsal

Thank you very much for your helpful responses - I think we'll wait a while longer before trying to book a ferry! Our flights arrive at Mykonos at 13.20, so it may be a little tight for the 14.30 ferry (especially with 3 kids), but you never know ...

We were considering overnighting in Mykonos for our return journey to ease on stress levels. Our return flight check-in is at noon. Does anyone have any recommendations for accommodation for one night in Mykonos please.

Heimdall

For your outbound trip to Naxos the morning FlyingCat 3 is out of the question, and as you say, the 14:30 ferry will be a little tight. To make matters worse, you would have to stop by an agent to pick up your tickets, as normally you are given only a reference number when you book over the internet. It's possible there may be something new on the ferry timetables this year, so be patient and you may be in luck. There are rumors that Sea Jets Consortium has bought another catamaran, and Hellenic Seaways changes its FlyingCat 3 timetable from year-to-year.

The excursion boats to which I referred are Naxos Star and M/V Alexander. They leave from Mykonos old harbour around 4-5 pm, and are often used by passengers getting off the easyJet flights. Contact the hotel you are staying at on Naxos and ask for their help on getting there from Mykonos. They should be able to contact the excursion boat companies for more details.

<i>I don't think you even have a choice re "overnighting in Mykonos for our return journey".</i> There will almost certainly be no ferry from Naxos arriving early enough for a noon check-in at Mykonos airport. I can't really help you with accommodation on Mykonos, because I usually just find a room when I get off the ferry — not something you would want to try in early August with a family of five. Someone else may have a recommendation, but otherwise do some Googling for a hotel willing to take you for only one night.

Glynnsal

Thank you for your very informative reply Heimdall - very helpful indeed. We will take your advice and wait to see what happens with the timetables. In the meantime, we will contact our Naxos hotel (Kalimera at Agia Anna) and ask them to find out excursion boat details for us.

Thanks again.

travelerjan

Glynnsal -- you give time of arrival but not DATE. For excursion boats, that matters. They go 2 or 3 x a week, not daily.

Heimdall

Good point, Jan. I'm assuming easyJet from the UK, because their flights arrive on Mykonos around 1320, but perhaps that's the wrong assumption. I believe the easyJet flights this summer will be on Mon, Wed, Fri & Sun, and the excursion boats visit Mykonos on Tue, Thu, Fri & Sun. It is possible there will be other options, because these days many people seem to fly into Mykonos for holidays on Paros and Naxos. Glynnsal's Naxos hotel is in a better position to advise than either of us.

Glynnsal, I know you've already booked your flights, but for future reference it's easier to fly to Santorini and take a same day ferry from there. For my holidays on Paros/Antiparos I prefer an overnight flight to Athens and a morning ferry from Piraeus.

Glynnsal

Thanks again for the advice.

We are flying out on Easyjet on Monday 25th July and back on Wednesday 10th August and will be overnighting in Mykonos on the first and last nights.

All your comments are very helpful - thank you.

Glynnsal

Hi everyone

Just to let you know that Hellenic Seaways have put on an extra highspeed vessel (Flyingcat 3) which goes between Mykonos and Naxos once a day (on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays) over the summer. This is great news for us and we'll definitely be making use of the service!

Thanks again for your helpful suggestions.

jon_rwr

Glynnsal

Can you give us an idea of your budget for lodging the one night on Mykonos. It's peak season when you're there and prices will be at their highest. If I know roughly what you are budgeting it helpsa lot. Also, what ages are your kids? That can make a differnec when tryign to arrange accommodation for five.

Jon