Santorini and Mykonos Itinerary Help
 

I will be going to Greece at the end of June with 3 friends to celebrate my 40th birthday. This will be a fun girlfriends getaway (we are all 35 - 40 yrs old) where we eat, drink, try to party like we're still 25 :-), lie on the beach and catch the "must-see" sights. We have 8 nights for the trip and I thought I was so smart by planning ahead this time. So I put together the following itinerary:

Fly from New York to Athens then fly directly to Mykonos upon arrival
Stay in Mykonos for 3 nights (Hotel Alkyon)
Take Ferry from Mykonos to Santorini
Stay in Santorini for 3 nights (Hotel Keti)
Fly from Santorini to Athens
Stay in Athens 2 nights (Amalia Hotel)

Over the weekend I did some reading and found out that there is a ferry from Mykonos to Athens that takes about 2.5 hrs. So now I am reconsidering my itinerary and thinking that it might be better to switch the order of the islands and fly from Athens to Santorini and then take the ferry from Mykonos to Athens. By the time we get to the airport an hour early and deal with the hassles of security, we may be better off just taking the ferry from Mykonos to Athens. I'm not sure if its easier to get into central Athens (I will be staying near Parliament) from the airport or the ferry terminial.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this, am I just splitting hairs here?

Thanks!

That's what I would do ... go to Santorini first ... IF you can get a decent-priced flight. Sign up for the Aegean Airlines Newsletter on the website (it's really just an e-mail alert on ticket sales) and early in 2011 they will announce flat-price sales on tickets up thru June -- POUNCE!! THese promotional prices sell out.

Getting to Syntatagma Square from ferry, you take the Green Lilne Metro (right across street from ferry dock) & change at Monastiraki & go one stop more, to Syntagma. Costs 1 euro, takes 30 minutes.

Getting to Syntagma From AIrport, you can take a bus that leaves from outside airpor building every 20 mins or so 24/7... costs €3.2 euros. It take about 60 minutes. (unless you are right in rush hour). OR take a metro across the street from airport building; it takes 45 mins to Syntagma, but u may have to wait for next train. costs €6.

That 2.5 hour ferry doesn't go to Athens. It goes to the port of Rafina, and from Rafina you would then take a connecting bus into Athens to the Areos Park bus terminal near the National Archaeological Museum, and then a taxi to your hotel. I think the bus takes about an hour, so expect the land-based portion of that trip to take about 2 hours from arrival in Rafina until you reach your hotel.

Overall I believe it's slightly easier, meaning just a little less risk of there being no ferry on any given day, to go from Mykonos to Santorini, than it is to do it in reverse, based on the ferries that have been available in past years. Once schedules for next June are available, sometime in April, you'll be able to plot your course more definitively on http://www.gtp.gr

Whether you do Mykonos or Santorini first makes little difference. One advantage of Mykonos first is that going from there to Santorini gives you an extra ferry option: taking a catamaran to Paros and transferring there to Blue Star, a large, smooth-sailing car ferry, allowing you to stand on the outside deck soaking in the views of Santorini as you enter the caldera. Catamarans have inside seating only.

The 2.5 hour ferries between Mykonos and Rafina are catamarans: SeaJet 2, a small passenger-only vessel, and in late June usually a larger Hellenic Seaways highspeed. If you have a choice, take the Hellenic Seaways highspeed. There are also conventional vessels which take longer but are smoother in rough seas.

<i>You have to take the fast one.</i>

It's probably best to ignore posts that say you "have to" do something a certain way. You don't "have to" take a fast ferry — in fact, most people don't! A conventional ferry from Rafina to Mykonos takes about 5 hours, is less expensive, smoother sailing, and allows you to walk around the ship veiwing the scenery — a wonderful way to start your holiday in Greece! It's great fun to watch the unloading/loading of cars, trucks, and passengers when a conventional ferry docks at intermediate stops on the route to Mykonos. If saving 2-3 hours is important to you, then take the highspeed. :-)

Ferries from Rafina to Mykonos tend to leave either early morning (around 0700-0800), or afternoon (from 1500 on). If your arrival in Athens doesn't fit well with those times, it may be easier to catch a flight.

Getting back to the question of Mykonos first or Santorini first, it really doesn't matter. Travelerjan suggested Santorini first, then Mykonos. That's the most common choice, as it gets the longest leg out of the way first. I would be happy to do it that way myself, but gave you another alternative. Many people relish the dramatic arrival on Santorini by ferry.

Thank you all so much for the wealth of knowledge! From your responses I conclude that there really is no wrong way to do this trip.

I am going to stick with the original itinerary of Mykonos - Santorini - Athens. I decided not to change it because it looks like it will be easier to get into Athens from the airport than from the Rafina ferry terminal (so the ferry from Mykonos to Athens is out); and arriving in Santorini by ferry should be a wonderful experience.

I will sign up for the Aegean Airlines newsletter so I can grab a deal on flights when they become available; and I will check the ferry schedule in April to book my ferry.

Thank you again for your help. I literally was tossing and turning in bed thinking about the order to visit the islands. Thanks to your advice I can get some sleep tonite.
Goodnite :-)

I went to Mykonos in September and really loved it. We got detailed recommendations for beaches and restaurants beforehand and it really made our vacation. I wrote a post on Mykonos and included all the tips we got. Great insider info, all from Greek friends / acquaintances who live in Athens and vacation in Mykonos each summer. Enjoy it!!! http://beachesandpeaches.com/2011/01...onos-my-belle/
We also went to Santorini but I'll have to look back in my notes on where we went there... I loved that too, though. Great vacation!

Bookmarking

For my 30th b-day, I went to Santorini, Mykonos, Paros in that order, and if I could do it again I would switch the order and do Santorini last just because it is one of THE most beautiful places you will ever go. Our jaws dropped when we arrived at our cliffside villa hotel, which I would highly recommend: Iliovasilema Hotel

http://www.iliovasilema.gr/hotel.htm

Enjoy! You will have a blast! I am going back for my 40th b-day this year!