Advice on Flying from Santorini to Athens in January

Posted by elanjefferson on 09/18/19 10:42 AM

Mid-January 2020, we need to travel from Santorini to Athens to catch a 5:45pm (17:45) flight back to Paris. Would we be O.K. taking a 7:10am flight from Santorini to Athens the morning of or is that still not enough time with how unpredictable Santorini's airport is reported to be? Trying to find out whether or not flying out the night before would be ultimately more advisable. We want to maximize the time of our stay in Santorini, but with as little risk as possible.

Any and all information or advice would be deeply appreciated! Thanks in advance!

Posted by joe32F

Edmonds, WA 🌨 ☂

09/18/19 11:15 AM

11875 posts

I would be inclined to take a late afternoon flight back to Athens the day before vs getting up at o'dark ugly to get a 7AM flight.

My preference would be to have a relaxing evening/dinner in Athens, and not have the early departure. At that time of year you will not be missing much in the way of daylight hours on Santorini by taking the late afternoon flight.

Will you have had time in Athens earlier in your trip?

Posted by elanjefferson OP

09/18/19 11:32 AM

3 posts

OK, thank you for clarifying. That’s along the lines of what I was considering too.

I should also clarify that there’s a flight at noon back to Athens, but mixed reviews about Santorini’s airport have left me paranoid (maybe needlessly so) about a delay making us miss our flight back in Athens. At the time of the year, do you think we’d be fine taking a, say, 11:30am flight to the mainland to try and then catch our 5:45pm flight? Or is there still a considerable risk and the day before is our best bet?

Athens makes for the front end of our trip and we’ll be there for (sadly) only a day before we head to Santorini for the bulk of our trip.

Posted by tommyk5

NH (USA)

09/18/19 01:24 PM

1222 posts

I agree that you should get back to Athens one day before your flight home in case of any type of delays including weather, strikes, etc. It will give you peace of mind knowing you are in Athens the day before your flight and not have to worry about flying out of Santorini to Athens for your flight on the same day.

You can have a wonderful last day & night in Athens, strolling around the city and a great last night of eating great Greek Food!

Posted by elanjefferson OP

09/18/19 06:29 PM

3 posts

That is very true. I think we’ll do just that to make it easier. I certainly wouldn’t object to another night and morning in Athens.

Thanks for the response!

Posted by Chani

Tel Aviv

09/19/19 02:04 PM

15781 posts

I would definitely consider spending the better part of 2 days in Athens if you don't have much time at the front end. There are several very good sights - my personal faves are the Ancient Agora and the National Archaeology Museum. If it's Sunday, the 11.00 changing of the guard in Sintagma Square is worth seeing. There are some excellent restaurants and there are reasonable ones with views. And you have peace of mind. I'd be uneasy the night before if I were staying on Santorini. And you'd be stuck at the Athens airport for hours. Too little time to travel back and forth to the city and what are you going to do with your luggage?