We will be arriving in Athens on June 9. We need to take a ferry from Athens to Mykanos, then a ferry from Mykanos to Naxo's and then a ferry from Naxo's back to Athens. These trips will be spread out every 3 days.
stay in athens for 3 days then take ferry to Mykanos for 3 days, then take ferry to Naxo's for 3 days and then back to athen for one day and back to airport
Do I need to purchase ferry tickets now or wait? What ferry service would you recommend?
Hopefully you don't have to spend the night in Athens before you go to Mykonos. You can buy your tickets at the ports just before your departure. If you're arriving in Athens at the airport check to see if it's possible to take a ferry that same day to Mykonos from Rafina instead of from Piraeus. Rafina is much closer to the airport and there's a bus that will take you there in less than 30 minutes. The bus to Piraeus takes about 75 minutes.
Ferry Schedules: www.gtp.gr
Are you saying you'll be going to Mykonos for one day, then ferry to Naxos for one day then ferry back to Athens the next?
Taking ferrys will eat up valuable time going from Point A to Point B and beyond. You'll spend more time on a ferry than on your destination.
You may want to reconsider staying longer in one place.
June 9 will still be just outside High Season so you may get away from pre-booking. Still I would reconsider the schedule and stick to one location.
I think Cindy means they plan to stay 3 days in each place.
I think you're actually saying that you have 3 nights on each island, which would be fine for me. Car ferries usually have plenty of room for passengers, while smaller, faster boats have assigned seating. Aside from the first ferry after arrival, you could still book the other two a few days ahead, if it felt like the thing to do.
@cindyhm How did local purchase of ferry tickets work out for you? Any tips?
I'm not an expert on Greek ferries, Cindy, so I will only say that when I was in Greece this past June, I decided to take a short early morning flight from Naxos to Athens, that gave me almost the whole day exploring Athens, rather than a long ferry trip that would have used up most of the day on the boat. Cost me somewhat more money, but gave me an extra day to enjoy Athens.
It's important to note that it is not possible to FLY from one ISLAND to another (except Crete - Rhodes maybe 1 other), but I do agree with Larry that if your stay is short as 10 days, then maybe an early AM flight back to mainland would be wise. Another tip is to avoid TWO stays in Athens -- the business of taxi/bus/metro from airport into central Athens (60-90 mins), cheching into hotel (30 mins), and then doing the same thing to leave -- can take precious Hours you cannot spare ... so why do it 2x?? Why not save Athens to the last, and instead leave directly from Airport to FIRST island??? THat's the strategy all of us "Greece Vets" advise.
You could save even more time, if you already have booked your interntional flght & know your arrival time in ATH. To get to Mykonos you could ferry from Piraeus or (maybe better) from the seaport of Rafina, a 30 minute taxi from airport. In june there's usually a 3 pm ferry that could get you there at 6 pm or so. ORRRR... since u are planning so far ahead, you might well be able to take a FLIGHT (35-40 mins) vs a Ferry of 3-4 hours -- at a similar cost! Aegean air is beginning to post its "promotional rates" for 1st half of 2018... If you want to get alerts to all the latest discount fares available you have to subscribe to its "newsletter" (which is really an e-mail alert) -- you can do so here: https://aegeanairlines.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/302/related/1 I just checked June 9 and there's a 1:25pm flight (35 mins) for €67.94. (including 1 big checked bag).
If you fly, you still will be able to have the "Greek ferry experience" between Mykonos & Naxos. Getting back from Naxos, flights are less frequent ... mainly early AM or late morning -- and on smaller planes that fill up FAST when bargain fares are announced. If you choose to go by ferry, the BLUE STAR line is the best choice, because they have modern LARGE ferries with outside decks, and comfy inside "reserved economy" seats for the 4.5- 5 hr journey. The daytime run (9:45 - 3) eats up a whole day ... a way to give yourself a last wonderful afternoon on the beach is to take what I call the "sunset sailing" (6pm - 11:30pm). You'd have to check out of your hotel @ noon of course, but hoteliers will willingly stash your bags in a storage room, and then let you use a lobby bathroom late in the day for a quickie wash & change into travel clothes.
Either way, you get to Athens LAST, after you're already more accustomed to Greek ways, and revitalized from your island time -- energized to make the most of sightseeing in a vibrant and historic major city. You're already on the road to a wonderful trip, by thinking ahead.
PS: in June really no need to book ferry tickets ahead, unless for Friday or Mon night when its a 3-day holiday weekend ,,, and there is none in 2018. You just buy the day of or day before, depending, at any ticket agency.
Where do ferries to the islands leave from in Piraeus--which Terminal? I hope it's 7 or 8.
I took an Azamara cruise, but it left from Terminal 11, which was a very long ways from the Metro station. There didn't seem to be a taxi to easily hail plus there was a flood of people at the Metro.
On the way back, taxis wanted between 12 and 15 euros for a one-mile ride (the uber from central Athens to the airport was 29 euros, by comparison).
I think I might want to do an overnight ferry from Athens to Crete, but do the local ferries have sleeping berths?
