We are trying to plan our Island hopping vacation and are having trouble figuring out the best way to get from Santorini to Crete (or vice versa). Ferry schedules are spotty, I can't find any flights... had anyone made tis trip? How?<BR>Thanks!

JGirl, what time of the year will you be going? I made this trip in September of 2000 and we took the ferry. The trip was about 4 hours. What airlines have you checked with? Olympic used to have their schedules posted on their web site. Depending on the time of the year and the island they had fairly frequent inter-island flights. Sorry I couldn't give you more specifics.

Martha...<BR><BR>We will be going in March, hence the seemingly spotty ferry schedules. Did you find that there were more than just 2 ferries a week between the two Islands? I am looking at flights as well, but much of the information is still 2001. Go figure. Thanks for your response!!

JGirl: I know that in September there was at least daily ferry service between the 2 islands. I checked Olympic website again and it is under construction so hopefully they are updating flight timetables. In the mean time why don't you call a local office of Olympic airways (Montreal or Toronto) or get a travel agent to get the info for you? (I'm assuming you are Canadian since your email ends in Ca)

If you are planning to go before March (i.e. before the start of the summer season), there are no connecting flights or schedule. I just got back from Crete and we couldn't go to Santorini because there was nothing to connect the two islands. Only way is if you fly via Athens i.e. Crete-Athens-Santoni-Athens or vice versa.<BR><BR>Cheers

Elsewhere, I've asked you for the specific days you'll be in Greece and how long you were planning to stay in Athens and the 3 islands.<BR><BR>During March, forget about direct flights between Santorini and Crete! Also, there aren't any direct ferries between Mykonos and Santorini (one has to go through either Syrois or Tinos) The connecting ferries are the following:<BR><BR>From Santorini to Heraklio:<BR>March 3/10/31, Sunday, leaving 3:15pm (arriving 7pm) coming from Tinos from where it departs at 10:45am<BR>March 18, Monday, 3:15pm (7pm) coming from Tinos from where it departs at 10:45am<BR>March 26, Tuesday, 3:15pm (7pm) coming from Tinos from where it departs at 10:45am<BR>March 7/14/21/28, Thursday, 3:45pm (7:30pm) coming from Syros from where it departs at 10:45am<BR><BR>From Heraklio to Santorini:<BR>March 5/12/19/26, Tuesday, 8pm (11:45pm) continuing to Syros (5am)<BR>March 1/8/15/29, Friday, 8pm (11:45pm) continuing to Tinos (4:15am)<BR>March 23, Saturday, 8pm (11:45pm) continuing to Tinos (4:15am)<BR> <BR>All the above are with Minoan Lines. <BR><BR>From Tinos to Mykonos there are ferries departing at 11am (daily except Wednesdays) or at 12pm (daily). Trip is about 30min. From Syros to Mykonos there are daily ferries except on Wednesdays and Sundays, leaving at 10:15am (arriving 1t 11:15am) and daily ferries departing at 12am (arriving at 1:45pm). Thus, it would be feasible to travel from Heraklio to either Tinos or Syros and continue to Mykonos.<BR><BR>From Mykonos to Tinos there are ferries leaving daily except Saturday and Sunday, leaving at 8:30am, arriving at 9am, thus in time to catch switch to the ferry to Heraklio. To catch the Heraklio ferry on Sunday one would have to travel Saturday and spend the night in Tinos. The same would apply for connectikng through Syros; a night there would be called for.<BR><BR>IMO you should play it by ear. In March hotel reservations are certainly not needed and you may move forward according to hard info you get when you're there.<BR><BR>In your shoes I'd first decide how many days I'd like in Crete. I'd adjust the time in Athens to ferry/fly to Crete based on the Heraklio-Santorini info above. From Santorini to Mykonos you may either use one of the ferries over Tinos or Syros as informed above. In the event the dates don't please you, you may take a ferry from Santorini to Syros also on Thursdays (leaving at 4:30pm, arriving 9:05pm) and Saturdays (departing at 6:15pm, arriving at 0:35am). On Thursdays, you would be able to get a connecting ferry to Mykonos (leaving at 9:50pm, arriving at 11:15pm). On Saturdays an overnight in Syros would be called for.

We took the ferry. But, the seas were rough and it didn't show up until 7 am the next morning. This can happen there so be prepared.

Hi! Thanks for all of the input - the reason I haven't given any specific dates is because we don't have any as yet! It will be between the 8th and 22, but that is all I know. The number of days and what they are is entirely dependant on what the transportation situation is. I really appreciate the advice though as it's helping us narrow things down. I am especially grateful to XXX for all of the specific ferry information. Thank You!!

We are going in May 2003 and are also looking to go from Santorini, either by ferry or plane but I can't seem to find any flights or ferries operating those routes. I would be most grateful if anyone could provide some assistance. Thank you in advance.

Try www.greekferries.com with links to island travel.