Greece Travel Answers

Start with a ferry from Piraeus to Sifnos, then go to Folegandros, and then to Santorini and then Paros, all by ferry. From Paros you can fly (Olympic Air) or ferry back to Athens. http://www.gtp.gr

Hello! Look at these pages about schedules, ferry tickets and port callings paleologos.forth-crs.gr/engl... http://www.aktoploika.gr/en/ To my opinion visiting the Greek islands in September is more preferable than in July or August, not only because of the high prices during summer months, but to avoid the crowds of tourists there and the moderate wheather temperatures, too. Welcome and have a nice time in Greece!

16 days there will be plenty of time to catch the ferry everywhere. Regardless it will only take a day to get back to Athens and I usually sleep on the ferry by making camp at the stair lounges. Get on the boat early and stake your claim. Throw out a blanket and mark your territory and it is like camping out. cheers tommy x

I agree, take the ferry. When I did it, I booked and paid on line, and then picked up my ferry ticket at the island I was on for the next leg using a voucher I had printed off - no trouble at all. STEVE

Is there in fact a Sifnos to Folegandros route now? I'm having trouble finding it anywhere.

There's a proposed timetable from Sifnos to Folegandros for Fridays in September and October (19:25-23:20) that hasn't been made official yet but once these proposals are on the books they are usually implemented.

Brotherlee, there's been a development. Someone from a reputable travel agent recommended by Matt Barrett has sent us a proposed schedule that includes ferries Piraeus-Sifnos-Folegandros-Paros-Santorini and flight back to Athens - from Sept.21 to Oct 10 (including a flight Athens to Rhodes) - pretty much exactly what we are looking for! Now, looking at all the ferry timetables that have been suggested,, we can't get much information that's relatively sure at all...particularly routes like Sifnos to Folegandros So now we worry, should we trust the agency to go ahead and make the bookings for us? They say, not unreasonably, that they would want to handle some bookings for hotels as well.... What should we do?

That's a tough one. The established travel agencies in Athens usually know what they're doing when it comes to booking ferries and planes, so it's probably OK to go ahead and do it. That said, it makes me nervous to think that the one time I would put my trust in someone else's knowledge the ferry schedule in question would not be approved and I'd be stuck. As for working with a travel agency for your hotel bookings, that's a double-edged sword. They might not be as diligent in getting you what you want if they have long-standing arrangements with hotels that give them a good commission for sending you to the hotel. Which travel agency does Matt Barrett recommend? I know Dolphin-Hellas, Fantasy Travel and Aegean-Thesaurus are 3 well-established and reliable agencies, so if it's one of these you can trust them. But I would also do a little more research to see what you can get on your own for the sake of comparison. You can use www.booking.com for this. They have a very good filter system that will help you narrow down the choices to your budget range as well as your 'must-haves'. Just start by typing the island name is the search box. For the time of year that you plan to go there will be a lot of vacancies on these islands, especially this "off" year, so you do have the option of just taking it one island at a time, buying ferry tickets on the spot and contacting hotels on your next island when you're ready to move on to make your arrangements. You can do this by buying an OTE phone card if you don't have a mobile phone for Greece, and calling ahead off a list of possibilies you've gleaned from your research. I know this method of travel is not for everyone but I thought I'd mention it just in case you might want to give it a try. Greece is a particularly easy country for this type of travel.

As always excellent advice brotherlee. The agency is Agean Thesauris but after intense scrutiny we have been able to work out a ferry route using existing schedules, as you suggest. With Folegandros being the only hole in the plan, we have decided to drop it, giving us more time for other islands and potentially less stress . I agree about not worrying too much about hotels....every one I've emailed not only has vacancies for our time but offers good discounts too! Would you care to comment on our itinerary now...? Sept.20 arrive Athens stay Piraeus 21 ferry to Sifnos 24 ferry Paros 29 ferry Santorini (Stay Irini?) Oct. 3 fly to Athens 6 fly to Rhodes From there we go to rented apartment Fethiye from Oct 10 any suggestions welcome....thanks again!

If you time it right there is a ferry from Santorini to Rhodes, would be a lot cheaper than flying, I went the reverse way. The Rhodes - Fethiye shuttle is only on certain days as well. STEVE

Yes it is cheaper . But it leaves Santorini only once a week I think at 1 a.m (!) and it's not a bank breaker with the cheap Greek airlines fares so convenience wins out and I don't think the trip duration is much different.... We can also cross to Turkey from Rhodes to Marmaris etc. and we have a few days in Rhodes so some flexibility.. Just thinking to travel up after our Fethiye stay via Kusadasi to Samos and maybe other islands up the Aegean on our way to Istanbul. Exciting!

One less island is a good idea. The only suggestion I would make about your refined itinerary is to spend the night in Athens, not Piraeus. Since your Sept. 21 ferry apparently doesn't leave until the afternoon you have plenty of time to get to the port without needing to rush. Stay in a hotel near the Monastiraki Metro Station and you can get to Piraeus in about 20 minutes, and the Green Line Metro runs every 10 minutes or so. Some hotels for that: Attalos, Metropolis, Pella Inn, A For Athens and Plaka Hotel. You can walk from any of these to the Metro.