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From East Coast to Santorini in one travel day?

We signed up for Athens and the Heart of Greece in April 2022, our first time to Greece. We also want to go to Santorini for a few days ahead of our RS tour. Is it practical from the East Coast (DC, NYC, Newark?) to get all the way to the island in one day? So far we have not found a non stop flight to Athens in April. Is it just too early to look, or is that considered "off season"? Then we'd need local flight to Santorini. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

Posted by
7731 posts

The Delta Airlines website is currently showing 1 non-stop a day from JFK April 2022 I see a reasonable price at $826 round trip

Posted by
4023 posts

Try using a multi-destination search function, flying to Santorini and then home from Athens (if that's where the tour ends.) In July I saw a number of one-stops from New York going east, using London Heathrow or even Paris for the transfer as well as the more obvious Athens. There are some non-stops from Athens to New York for the return, probably somewhat more expensive than a one-stop.

It will be cheaper and less stressful to arrange all the flights on a single itinerary.

Posted by
3115 posts

I always fly all the way to Santorini, and I live in California. It's a bit of a grind, but worth it. Try this website for cheap fares: https://skiplagged.com I'm seeing April, 2022 flights from New York to Athens for less than $650. The flight duration is only 12 hours and gets you into Athens around 1pm, which gives you ample time to reach Santorini during the daylight hours. Check Aegean Airlines and Sky Express for the island flight.

Posted by
3311 posts

At this point, there are about 5 flights nonstop from N. America to Athens. ...Air Canads (toronto/montreal) , Delta (NY) AA (PHL), United & UAE (from Newark) I hear that United is also adding a nonstop from Washington DC and one from Atlanta... a boon for those in the South. Typically these leave in the late afternoon and (with 7 hours time-change) land in Athens anywhere from 9:15 - 10:45. You should allow 2 hours "layover" for the following -- deplane from jumbo jet with 400 others, go thru any covid-19 check-up line, tget thru the passport line, pick up checked bags at carousel, get a few Euros from a cash machine, and get to domestic air winow. There are flights every 2 hours or so to Santorini. Most relieable are Aegean Air and Sky express. There is something called ?? Veator?? and a cut-rate operation Ryan air with iffy reviews. be aware that the lowest price shown by any of these does NOT cover a normal size (21-22 ") bag. Read carefully to be sure you choose the ticket level covering 1 checked bag.

It is just too early to look for those Greece domestic flights for next year == you should check around Xmas/ New Years. in years past Aegean/Olympic early in the spring would have "promotional prices" of about 30% off. but these are not normal times.

Posted by
3311 posts

I forgot to comment on the suggestion by Lee, who is THE most experienced expert on Santorini topics, on ANY travel forum. He is correct that in the past, and perhaps this year, you can sometimes save $400 o;r so by fliying from the East Coast, changing in Europe in one of the major "hubs" there, and still get to Athens by mid-afternoon. because Santorini has a number of fllights that go on into the evening, you can find one that you can connect to. There are certain factors to consider if you think about doing this for the $$ saving: (1) it will increase your total travel time, because of the required layover in Europe, (2) a layover from mid-morning on, in Frankfurt, Heathrow, Amsterdam etc is more vulnerable to take-off delays and (3) importantly in these covid times, more uncertainty about vaccination & covid-negative test requirements mid-trip. This last issue may not be finished by next Spring.

Posted by
37 posts

Thanks to everyone! This will take us a while to soak it all in, lots to research, great links and hints!

Posted by
60 posts

While the ticket price for airfare to Athen may show up $629, I am pretty sure it is not refundable, not changeable fare. I would suggest buying at least changeable fare, valid for 2 or 3 years. No one knows how the pandemics turn out to be next year. Emirates running a promo now for Athens from Newark.

Posted by
2462 posts

We flew from East coast to Santorini without any glitches. We flew first to Newark from our home airport and then directly to Athens. We then had a flight on Aegean air a few hours later.

My brother in law who joined us flew from D.C. to Munich and then to Santorini. It was one less flight.

There are no nonstops to Athens from either of the airports we use.

Posted by
6173 posts

Yes, it is practical. But as mentioned, book an open jaw ticket flying to Santorini and home from Athens. Santorini is a popular destination and in the summer there are flights to Santorini from most European hubs. April is a bit early but there might still be a couple of flights to other hubs. The best option might be to travel via Athens. But the fastest and cheapest way might also be via Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Copenhagen or Lisbon.

Posted by
3311 posts

Badger, there are no airlines that fly nonstop from N. America to Santorini .... all of the nonstops require landing in Athens and then taking a domestic airline to Santorini. Of course, then the homebound flight will take off from Athens.

You may mean that taking another large airline (BA, Lufthansa, Alitalia etc) which will go nonstop from N. America to a major Europe Airport -- and THEN the Canadian or American person can catch a direct flight to Santorini, that is true. And if there's a suitable "open jaw" offered, that person could then fly direct from ATH back to N. America. It just takes some time & patience cyber-searching.

To Chilidonna -- BTW, I learned something interesting (and spooky) about searching not only for the schedule you want but also the best price. If you use a search device like KAYAK, and it quotes you a certain price for a given flight that you like... they hve a record of what price they offered to you, under your internet address... and if there is a price-drop promotion, when you inquire again, you are not offered the lower price. Some one told me that airlilnes do the same. So ... it may be interesting to search under several different internet addresses. Just sayin'.

Posted by
6173 posts

You may mean that taking another large airline (BA, Lufthansa,
Alitalia etc) which will go nonstop from N. America to a major Europe
Airport -- and THEN the Canadian or American person can catch a direct
flight to Santorini, that is true. And if there's a suitable "open
jaw" offered, that person could then fly direct from ATH back to N.
America. It just takes some time & patience cyber-searching.

Exactly, it might be possible to buy an open jaw ticket e.g. New York-Frankfurt-Santorini on Lufthansa and Athens-New York on United.

Posted by
83 posts

Hello, we are also doing Athens and the Heart of Greece next April! I booked our award mile tickets yesterday from Seattle to Santorini via Frankfurt and then on the return trip from Athens via Frankfurt to Seattle. So if we can get there from Seattle, i am sure you can do it from the east coast! We will spend a few days on Santorini, a few days on Naxos and then fly to Athens for the tour. We are rebooking from 2020 and decided to take the forum's advice to start and get over jet lag in the islands! Thanks to all who share their wisdom here!

Posted by
37 posts

Thanks again, all, for sharing your experiences and advice. You said a lot we had not considered. Many mentioned delays in various countries because of the differing Covid rules. Who knows how long all this might last?

For sure it would not be fun to spend a big part of our “first day in Oia” in an airport in London or Frankfurt. Since we still have flexibility before our RS tour we are now looking at leaving the East coast a day earlier on a direct flight to Athens, stay one night, then fly to Santorini in the morning.

Or take the ferry? But that brings up new questions about weather delays, right? Any predictions for early April, 2022, ha!?