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Athens/Santorini Itinerary/flight times

Posted by on

I realize there a number of threads that discuss a bit of what I need - but not all, so starting yet another!
We will be in Athens mid-September. I have a meeting that concludes 9/16 in the afternoon. We are booked at the Astir Palace the night of the 16th.

I have not booked our ATH-JTR flights yet and this is where I would most appreciate advice. There is a 10:15 am flight from Athens on the 17th. How much time do we realistically need to allow at the airport prior to departure?

Then for our return on the 20th, I am looking at a flight that leaves at 8:45am. I had read that early morning is better due to possible winds that can cancel flights. We leave for the US on the 21st...so the only time we will tour Athens is on the 20th.

Any issues with my possible flights? I will book tomorrow.

I would also appreciate any itinerary advice for Santorini and Athens. I realize there is a lot in the guidebooks and this forum, perhaps there is something new or not as well-known.

Thank you!

Posted by
3148 posts

If you're flying with Aegean you can print out your boarding passes up to 48 hours in advance at home or at your Athens hotel. If you have bags you have to check you can then quickly do so at the Aegean baggage drop-off desk. That saves a lot of time. Then all you need to do is go through the 2 security checkpoints on the way to your waiting gate. All of this can easily be done in 30 minutes after your arrival at the airport. To be extra cautious give yourselves 75 minutes from the time you get to ATH.

Strong winds only rarely grounds a plane. Those warnings are mostly for the ferries. Besides, September isn't typically when the high winds are any sort of problem, even for the ferries.

Go to the Santoini Travel Forum on TripAdvisor and click "Things to Do" in the green strip at the top of the page.

http://tinyurl.com/zyog996

Posted by
43 posts

Thank you! For the return from Santorini..how early should we arrive prior to the flight departure?

Posted by
3148 posts

Santorini's airport, JTR, is notoriously and frustratingly chaotic and slow. Too many international charter flights mixed in with the domestic ones and not enough airlne and airport security staff to handle the crush. So to be safe, even with boarding passes in hand, get there 2 full hours in advance. It may be overkill, but then it may not. It's best to be safe.

Posted by
3148 posts

Depending on the day it might not have made any difference. I left around that same time this last May and the airport was already full of charter passengers competing with the domestic passengers with a very small support staff to process everyone. It took the better part of 2 hours to get it all done.

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