bettybruin

My hubby and I will be traveling to Greece for the first time from April 30-May-10. We have booked our tickets to London and will be flying from London to Greece (most likely via Easyjet because they have the cheapest flights). Anyone know how often easyjet has periodic sales? I think we just missed the last one =(

We plan to visit Athens, Santorini and Crete during our stay.

My question is what is the best way to get between the islands and which island should we fly to first? Our original thought was to fly into Athens from London, fly from Athens to Santorini (via Agean or Olympic), and then take ferry from Santorini to Crete.

We also saw that there were overnight ferries from Athens to Crete. What is the best route to visit these islands?

We plan to spend 4 days in Athens (with side trip to Meteora/Delphi), 3 each in Santorini and Crete.

Any advice on best travel between the islands is most appreciated!! We are so excited!

brotherleelove2004

Be sure that EasyJet is offering flights that early in the year, and if so where they might fly to. It's possible they won't cover all their Greece destinations then. That said, the best prices will be available soon if not already. They only get higher as time passes.

Crete has 2 airports, Chania and Heraklion. I'm not sure if EasyJet flies to Chania but they do fly to Heraklion, and the ferry to and from Santorini goes to Heraklion.

Crete is huge and takes a minimum of a week with a rental car just to barely scratch the surface. You might want to consider a different island, one close to Santorini that will provide you with a diverse experience, such as Paros or Naxos.

The 'best' travel between islands in the same region is by ferry. http://www.gtp.gr

I strongly recommend that you arrange your itinerary to save your time in Athens for the end of your trip instead of taking it at the beginning. This gives you extra time to get back to the mainland for your flight home in case there's a delay or mechanical breakdown out in the islands. You don't want to stress out about making that most critical connection at the last minute.

clausar

The best way is to fly from London Gatwick directly to Santorini
with Easyjet, and back from Athens.

Please note that traveling between islands is time consuming, you will loose half day to get to Heraklion/Crete from Santorini.

Flying back to Athens from Crete would also be the best way to spend more time in Athens. You can start your Crete tour from heraklion and end in Chania, from where you could fly back to Athens.

In Athens you won't have enough time to see Meteora, due to the distance you should overnight in Kalambaka.
The distance from Athens to Kalambaka is 350 km...

If you have 10 days you could stay 3 days in Santorini and 4 in Crete that would leave 3 days for Athens.

Please note that Crete is a huge island, you will only scratch the surface during your stay, and best way to do it, would be with a car.

Southam

Here's a little more explanation about easyJet fares. Since the fares are not "fixed" in the usual sense, the airline does not routinely offer "sales" or "promotions". Instead, prices rise according to demand. As a flight fills up, the remaining tickets get more expense. It is unusual for prices to go down. Sometimes new routes will be promoted by below-cost fares but on established routes the reliable advice is that the sooner you buy your ticket the less you will pay.

clausar

I checked today and there is a flight London Gatwick to Santorini on April the 30th.
This would save you the expenses of the extra flight from Athens to Santorini !!!

Heimdall

There is an easyJet flight from London Gatwick to Santorini on Apr 30th, departing at 6:55 am and arriving on Santorini at 12:55 pm. Current price for this flight (one way) is £89.99. As with all budget airlines, extra charges will bump up the total price. There are also direct flights from Gatwick to Chania and to Heraklion, but you will have to check on http://www.easyjet.com for availability of flights on that day.

I agree that a flight direct to Santorini would be your best option, saving Athens for the end of the trip. From Santorini you can choose whether to go to Crete or to Paros or Naxos. It's a little too early for ferry timetables, but in May there will be FlyingCat 4 and possibly one other catamaran going from Santorini to Heraklion. From Santorini to Naxos and Paros is Blue Star Delos, a huge new ferry that continues on to Piraeus.

clausar

hahaha Heimdall
piase poly kokkino !!!!!

Heimdall

Πιάσε κόκκινο! ;-)

Heimdall

Amazing! Πιάσε κόκκινο again! lol!

bettybruin

Thanks for all the input. Is there a particular reason to fly into Santorini first as opposed to into Athens first (which is cheaper through easyjet).

Our original plan was flight from London into Athens and fly back from Crete to London (without going back to Athens)

Heimdall

Conventional wisdom is to do the islands first, then save Athens for the end of the trip. This is so you have a buffer on the mainland before your flight home, in case weather or industrial action delays your return from the islands. If you are flying back to London from Santorini or Crete that wouldn't be a concern. Just insure you are on the island you are flying back to London from with a day or two to spare.

clausar

You can do that of course as well, Easyjet is flying from HER to Gatwick on May the 10th

bettybruin

thanks so much for all the input! much appreciated!

littlejane

Hi Betty

Just to reiterate the above - do you have a particular reason for going to Crete, i.e. is there somewhere you really want to visit there? If not, I'd suggest swapping Crete for a smaller island as you won't really get a feel for "Crete" in a few days, but if you chose a smaller island you will feel like you have really seen and experienced two different islands in addition to Athens.

Paros and Naxos are both nice counterparts to Santorini.