which ferry tickets to buy ahead of time?
 

Arrive Athens July 17. Will need the following all for 4 people-
Flying CAT Iraklion to Santorini July 23
Ferry to Naxos July 27
Ferry to Samos July 28
Ferry to Kusadasi July 30
So far it looks like just buy CAT tickets now and all others once in Athens. What do you think wonderful Greek experts?

I agree, but where did you find the schedule for Naxos>Samos? I hope you're not assuming that there's a ferry every day, because there's not.

Just going off last years schedule and no it may change.

((Y))

Last September we took a ferry from Athens (Piraeus) to Naxos and back. We bought tickets well in advance off a website at a terrific advance price. I might be able to find the website if you are interested.

As a matter of fact, in another thread someone said Hellenic Seaways has sold Express Athina (the ferry that did the twice-weekly Naxos-Samos run last year). So it remains to be seen what connections (if any) will exist between the two islands this year.

BTW, no one has addressed the question in your heading. Since you are traveling during high season, book the FlyingCat 4 tickets as soon as you arrive in Greece, or book them now if you already have hotel reservations and want peace of mind.

For the other tickets, you will be unable to book them in any case until ferry timetables are posted later this year. Most people just buy their tickets on the day, or the night before sailing.

Since you plan to stay only one day on Naxos, your purpose in going there seems to be to meet the Samos ferry. Unless budget is of concern, why not fly from Santorini back to Athens for a connecting flight to Samos?

The EXPRESS ATHINA has been sold and is no longer listed in Hellenic Seaways' fleet on www.hellenicseaways.gr.
There are sailings every night from Pireas to Samos. This week, there are eight (with two departures on Friday), by Hellenic Seaways' EXPRESS PEGASUS and GA Ferries' MARINA. All of this week's sailings call at Siros and Mikonos, so if you were travelling from Santorini or Naxos to Samos, you could connect in Siros or Mikonos. It is likely that in July, the ports of call would vary.

Thank all of you so much. I think it may be a better to bet to go to Syros instead of Naxos to get to Samos. Sounds like a lovely island and don't really want to go to Mykonos. At least the ferry goes daily so may be better option.

OK since the Express Athina was sold there is know way of knowing if we can get from Naxos to Samos. So I looked in to going to Syros from Santorini as right now any way Geoffhamer has kindly advised that there is a daily ferry Syros to Samos.But now I can't figure out how to get from Santorini to Syros??

If you use this website you will see that in July there's at least one ferry per day between Santorini and Syros:

http://www.openseas.gr/OPENSEAS/serv...amp;show=index

The ships to Samos currently call at Siros every night. The schedules will not necessarily be the same in July. Siros is the administrative centre of the Cyclades, so Greeks may have to go there on business. Siros is not such a big tourist island as Paros or Naxos, so in the tourist season, ships may call there instead of Siros.

I am confused.

I read that the inter-island ferry schedules are changed every week and that people wait until the day before travel to purchase ferry tickets.

YET, websites such as Hellenic Seaways offer to sell inter-island ferry tickets for specific days and times months in advance.

Any clarification would be appreciated.

Ferry schedules DO NOT change every week. The ferry companies try to keep to a set timetable, although from time to time there will be unforseen changes due to mechanical breakdowns or bad weather. Whoever wrote that did not have a clear picture of the situation. To be fair, during the months when the wind is high there will be a higher frequency of changes, but they are not habitual or intentional, they are due to unpredictable last-minute circumstances. Because of this it's always a good idea to check locally for any changes that might affect your travel, and the more flexibility you have built into your travel the easier it will go for you, but in general you can plan ahead. And in that regard, some of the schedules and routes to the more popular islands have basically been in place for years. They are re-evaluated every year, but once the season's schedule has been decided upon, it won't change unless problems require it.

Brotherleelove is correct, and let me add that during the approach to high season additional sailings are added, especially on popular tourist routes. At the end of summer the timetables are cut back accordingly.

One example is FlyingCat 4, which does the run between Crete and Mykonos between March and October. Other routes are opened up only for the high season itself. An example of this is FlyingCat 3, which links Santorini and Amorgos this year from 15 Jun to 9 Sep - see http://tinyurl.com/266dtk. Outside those dates you would have to detour through Naxos to get between the two islands.

Catamarans are mostly reserved for summer season, while large car ferries sail year-round, providing the vital link between islands and mainland.

In other words, to paraphrase brotherleelove, ferry companies DO NOT change their schedules every week. Once they publish their summer timetables you can make a booking, and barring unforseen circumstances rely on the ferry to sail on schedule. Veteran island hoppers mostly wait until just before sailing to buy their tickets, because except for high season and Greek holidays there is no reason to do otherwise.

What is also true is the ferry network is dynamic, with many different ferry companies sailing many different routes, adapting to demand, as any competent business would do. The net effect is that no two weeks are exactly the same when you put together all the timetables of all the ferry companies. I think that is what was meant by "inter-island ferry schedules are changed every week."

Did that help, or are you now even more confused?

Don't know why that above link didn't work. Let me try again with the full URL: http://www.gtp.gr/RoutesResults.asp?...Y51AMO,12018,7.

Yes that was very helpful information, thank you.

It seemed very odd that this thread was posted in April '07 regarding ferry travel in July of '07, and the advice from Heimdall was:

"you will be unable to book them in any case until ferry timetables are posted later this year. Most people just buy their tickets on the day, or the night before sailing."

The statement that you cannot book July ferry tickets in April did not seem correct. Also, waiting until the day of travel to buy ferry tickets during high season - is that prudent advice? A friend of mine was delayed on Crete for two extra days last summer due to sold out ferries.

We will be traveling in the middle of July, so we will probably purchase our ferry tickets in advance.

>>you will be unable to book them in any case until ferry timetables are posted later this year<<

At the time of that post the Blue Star Summer 2007 timetable had been published, but Hellenic Seaways was still showing the Summer 2006 timetable on their website.

>>Also, waiting until the day of travel to buy ferry tickets during high season - is that prudent advice?<<

In a word, no! As I said in a previous post: "Veteran island hoppers mostly wait until just before sailing to buy their tickets, because EXCEPT FOR HIGH SEASON AND GREEK HOLIDAYS there is no reason to do otherwise."

Brotherleelove, Heimdall, and Geoffhamer,

You just won the gold medal for explanations. Good job.

Kind Regards, Joan