I have tried my best and for the life of me I can not find a ferry that will take us from Naxos to Samos. Checked all the websites listed on this forum. will be traveling in July and can not finish itinerary until I can figure this out as evidently ferry is only 2 times per week

You can't find the schedules because they're not yet posted for July and won't be until probably sometime in May or early June. Keep checking with www.gtp.gr and www.openseas.gr for updates. Use the calendar function on openseas.gr to backtrack to last July for an idea of what to expect but don't assume it'll be the same.

Actually if you look at the Open Seas web site it appears that the schedules for July and August are posted for most routes, although not for Samos.

If you go to www.vathi.gr/syginon/programathalasies.html there is a timetable there for ferries to/from Samos, and Naxos is included as one of the destinantions. I don't know how up to date the timetables are, but hey, it's on the web, it must be correct, right !!!!

Two operators serve Samos from Pireas: GA Ferries (www.gaferries.gr) who are notorious for frequent schedule changes, and Hellenic Seaways (www.hellenicseaways.gr). Ships normally sail overnight, so any calls at Cycladic islands will be late at night or in the early hours of the morning. Today, for example, Hellenic Seaways' EXPRESS PEGASUS leaves Pireas at 1700 and calls at Siros and Mikonos en route to Samos, then GA Ferries' DALIANA leaves at midnight and sails via Siros to Samos. Sailing times and ports of call vary from day to day, and July will obviously be different from March.
From Naxos to Samos, you may have to change ships in Siros, Paros or Mikonos.

Until actual ferry timetables are published, any information we give is little more than speculation. Greek Island Hopping 2007 shows Express Athina leaving Naxos for Samos on Wednesdays at 0500, and Saturdays at 1525. It also shows Aeolos Express going that route, but lists it as 'Day Unknown/Irregular'. Like other sources, that is last year's schedule, and you can't assume it will be the same in 2007.

As said above, you will have to wait awhile for this year's timetable to be published, and even then schedules can change at short notice. The only sure way I know of getting to Samos on the day you want is to book a flight from Athens, but then you will have to return there from Naxos. No doubt there will be daily ferries from Piraeus if you prefer not to fly.

thank you so much- I will keep checking website and very good advise to check last year just to get an idea.

I am sorry to beat a dead horse but this is so frustrating as I can not finish planning until I know when the ferry goes. Are there more frequent connections to Paros? If so maybe I should do Santorini- Paros- Samos. What do you think?

belly,

You've gotten advice from the Greek experts and they've tried to help you the best they can. Samos is not in the same group of islands as the others. My family visit Samos and Naxos where my daughter was born just about every summer. There have been 2 boats a week from Samos to Naxos. Some times she flies to Athens and another flight on to Naxos. I wonder if you need to hire a travel agent in Greece to work it out for you. Maybe brotherleelove or one of the others could recommend somebody.

Good Luck

You could go to Paros instead of Naxos. Then you will board the Express Athina one stop and 1hr15min earlier on its route to Samos. Sorry, there's no easy answers here.

Again, if you can't wait any longer to finalize your plans, book a flight with either Aegean or Olympic from Athens to Samos. You can do that right now. Then all you have to do is take the highspeed from Naxos back to Piraeus or Rafina to meet your flight. There are several sailings each day.

Nobody, not even all the ferry companies, will have precise schedules for July. The services are run by several companies who do not have fixed schedules for the whole year like a railway timetable. As an example of how things change, Hellenic Seaways have sold the EXPRESS ATHINA, mentioned in previous posts.
There are ferries every night from Pireas to Samos and sailings every day from Naxos to Pireas. So, the journey from Naxos to Samos is possible via Pireas. As I explained before, the ferries to Samos may call at different Cycladic islands and you may be able to connect at Paros, Mikonos or Siros.

Geoff, good info about the Express Athina changing hands - that really puts things up in the air.

The point about Greek ferries that some people don't seem to understand is that they are there mainly to get Greeks and their goods back and forth to the mainland, and not for tourists. The only ferries primarily for tourists are the passenger-only catamarans sailing popular routes during the summer.

So getting to Samos from Piraeus is easy. Getting there from anywhere else except other islands in the Dodecanese is more more difficult. Making precise plans for ferry travel more than a few weeks in advance is impossible.

Whoops - too many mores ;-)

"I am sorry to beat a dead horse but this is so frustrating as I can not finish planning until I know when the ferry goes."

Welcome to Greece.

You should have been there 25 years ago, when it was basically impossible to find out ferry schedules anywhere except at the port they left from.

Things are better now, and it pays to do research on the net which will give you a fairly good idea of the schedules. But the basic rule for boat travel in Greece hasn't changed: be flexible. Greek ferry travel by its nature simply isn't something you can plan out in confident detail in advance. So always have a Plan B, and don't box yourself in by forming a plan that makes it absolutely necessary that you get from island a to island b on day c.

Thank you Helmdall and littlebigshot,
You made it very clear. I'm amazed at posters who expect Greek Ferries to ran like buses or trains. I remember one poster who couldn't understand that the weather could cause a delay.
belly, if you want to book everything now, be on the safe side and book a flight. It will give you less to worry about and you can look forward to having a wonderful trip, which I hope you will.

Regards, Joan

Any updates on ferry schedules yet for July?

belly must be achin' by now, but but nobody is going to give the answer you want.

In my opinion, even when all July ferries are listed, there won't be more Naxos-Samos ferries.

Used to be an NEL fast ferry Samos-Naxos, no more. Samos natives groused to me that wealthy Germans have bought so many villas, they're not interested in making the island more accessible. Hummpf.

Last year I had to stop at Mykonos & change. to get to Naxos from Samos. People have given u strategies...bite the bullet & choose one.

Myself, if I were you, I'd decide to take a 2-hour ferry to Syros. They go every day around 6 or 7 pm. And Syros-Vathy (Samos) ferrries run just about every night at around 10pm-midnight. Get yourself a cabin if u want to sleep.

More good advice from travelerjan.

Yes, there have been updates for the ferry schedules in July, but not what you are looking for. As GeoffHamer explained in an earlier post, the ferry that stopped at Naxos enroute to Samos last year has been sold. Although there appears to be no direct connection this year, you have been given several good suggestions on ways to get between the two islands.

Just as sometimes you need connecting flights to get between two cities by air, in this case you will need connecting ferries to get from Naxos to Samos. There is nothing unusual about this - most Greek islands DON'T have direct connections with each other.

What you need to do now is make plans based on the information available, and, if you haven't already done so, book your hotels ASAP. July is high season, after all.

Thought last post was a bit condescending.BTW am not at all a novice traveler. Have ditched ferry idea altogether in favor of flying. Thanks to all for your help.

belly,

Good. I hope you have a wonderful trip.

Joan