Greek Island Itinerary in Late April

As a history buff, I would want to visit(as I have) both Mycenae and Troy. If you flew from Istanbul to Athens and then to Santorini and skip Samos etc., you might have time to add these two places.

You did not specify how many days you have to go from Kusadasi to Athens via all these stages.

Note that the ferries from kusadasi to Samos will not necessarily be daily at the end of April. See with the company that provides this trip: Meander Travels.

You want to go from an island in the Dodecanese (Kos) to an island in the Cyclades (Santorini), which is always complicated.
I don't know which ferry will take you to Santorini in the middle of the night but as far as I know there is no direct ferry connection between Kos and Santorini. You have to go through Chalki or Rhodes.

In any case, for this leg there is no daily ferry in April and the crossing takes more than 20 hours (not counting the stopover time in Chalki or Rhodes). I would rather choose a flight Kos-Athens then Athens-Santorini, it will be faster.

And time, you will need it if you want to follow your plan.It would take well over 15 days for someone who likes to visit the places he goes.

It is my understanding there is a direct ferry from Kos to Santorini, a high speed ferry, that goes directly from Kos to Santorini, departing 8:30 p.m. from Kos and arriving about 1:30 a.m. in Santorini, in late April? Blue Star Ferry, I believe. And that there is a direct ferry from Patmos to Kos, also, every day in late April?

I don't know where you found this Kos-Santorini, Blue Star Ferry hasn't even published its schedule for April 2023 yet.
On their website there is no ferry from Kos to Santorini.
And in 2022 to my knowledge there has been no direct connection either.

Patmos-Kos timetables can be found at DodeKanisos Seaways
https://www.12ne.gr/en

Oh, I'm so glad you asked that question about the high speed Blue Star ferry from Kos to Santorini in April, for I found this, which means our trip timing will be just perfect! Yay! "How about the ferries from Kos to Santorini ? During the high season, there is a ferry connecting the two islands on Mon, Wed, Fri, leaving Kos at 8:35 pm., from June 24 to Sept 13 During the low season, there is a ferry connecting the two islands on Mon, Wed, Fri, leaving Kos at 8:35 pm., from April 19 to May 10." We should arrive in Kos around the 21st of April, so this should work out just fine. Info about the high speed ferry from Kos to Santorini is all over the Internet, and I checked last year's timetables for a general idea as to their late April schedule. It shouldn't change much from last year. The ferry from Patmos to Kos, though, is less certain. I have researched and see there are 10 such ferry trips per week, most departing at 3 a.m. from Patmos and arriving in Kos at 6:45 a.m., which would also be perfect, as it would give us the whole day in Kos to explore up until departure to Santorini from Kos at 8:35 p.m. I'm getting very excited. Everything seems to be working out.

Thanks for the Patmos-Kos timetable. I also found this: https://www.ferryscanner.com/en/ferry/results#search/dep/PMS,KGS/arr/KGS,PMS/date/2023-04-21,2023-04-21/passengers/1/vehicles/0

And it appears the ferry from Samos to Patmos stops at the Greek islands of Fournio and Ikaria en route to Patmos? Wow! That would be awesome. I didn't know we would get to stop at those islands, too. So much to see. I much prefer ferrying to flying. I like the idea of ocean travel, even using the nighttime ferries as a "motel" of sorts. I dislike airports.

YOu could only see Fournio and Ikaria from the ferry window en route to Patmos, unless you wanted to stay over at each for several days... I think during the high season there may be a daily ferry from Samos - Patmos (due to interest of Christian groups ), but in April I would be very surprised if it ran more than 2x a week. Something to check on.

Yes, I am looking forward to ferry rides where I can see other islands from the window, such as Fournio and Ikara. More bang for my ferry ticket buck! The ferry schedules are a bit hard to decipher, but it appears Zas ferries offers a trip from Pythagorio, Samos to Patmos 4 times a week in late April-- Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, which would be perfect for my itinerary. However, the ferry leaves Pythagorio for Patmos at 8 a.m., if I am reading the schedule correctly, so I think this would entail spending a night on Samos, which I wouldn't mind at all. It appears to be a beautiful island. Could look all around Samos Town, after arriving in morning from Kusadasi, then go to Pythagorio, explore the famous tunnel, enjoy the lushness of the island, and make an unrushed day of it, spending the night. Then leave Pythagorio at 8 a.m. next morning, arriving in Patmos later that morning, as long as there is no storm at sea delaying the ferry. Are sea storms common in late April in that part of the islands? This is the schedule I found:

https://zasferries.com/pythagorio-patmos

According to openseas.gr, ( http://www.openseas.gr/ ) in 2022, there was only one connection per week (Mondays) Kos-Santorini which started on April 25. Departure from Kos 00:30 am arrival in Santorini 06:05 am provided by the Ariadne (Hellenic Seaways / Attica Group).

As all the ferry timetables for April 2023 have not yet been published, it is not possible to know whether this connection will be provided or not and if so, on which days of the week.

See on:

https://www.gtp.gr/greekferries.asp

and

https://www.ferryhopper.com/en/

"there is a ferry connecting the two islands on Mon, Wed, Fri, leaving
is a ferry connecting the two islands on Mon, Wed, Fri, leaving Kos at
8:35 pm., from April 19 to May 10"

This information which is mentioned on the site "greecelog.com" and which is not an official reference on ferry schedules is almost 10 years old as indicated at the bottom of the page.

"Note: The article was first published in 2010; latest schedule and price update was made as of March 2013."

I decided to try writing to Blue Star Ferries' Customer Service e-mail address with my questions about their direct high speed Blue Star Ferry service from Kos to Santorini in late April, 2023. Maybe they will answer them, or maybe they will say to wait until their April schedule comes out. In case anyone else has questions for them, this is their e-mail address: e-mail: [email protected] Oh, JoLui, thank you so much! I had not seen your post about openseas' web site until now. That is exactly what I was looking for. So it ran last April 25 and departs on Mondays and arrived in Santorini about 6 a.m. WooHoo. Just what I was hoping to find out. This group is absolutely amazing!!! That is much better than arriving at 1:30 a.m. I just have to plan very carefully now. I hope the schedule will remain the same for April of 2023. We will see.

The information you are looking for about ferry timetables in April 2022 is here:

http://www.openseas.gr/RHO/JTR/2022-04-27/2022-04-27/ships

Openseas.gr is the service capable of showing you the timetables for the past year.

However in the link above I have first chosen a route Rhodes-Santorini because if you search directly on openseas.gr homepage specifying Kos as departure, you will not be able to select Santorini as arrival.
This is because, as I told you before, the timetables are not yet published for 2023 and no Kos-Santorini ferry route is planned for the moment.

Whether you go check on zasferries or ferries.gr or gtp.gr or ferryhopper, you won't get any other results yet. These services all refer to the same GDS (Global Distribution System) Liknoss which is the equivalent of Amadeus for flights.

As long as the ferry companies have not sent their schedules to Liknoss, no viewing and/or booking service will be able to display them to you.

Do not focus on Blue Star Ferries, this company is part of the Attica Group which also includes SuperFast Ferries and Hellenic Seaways (among others). A ferry bookable on Blue Star ferries can be a ferry belonging to another member of the group.

As I have already specified, check regularly on the websites that I have indicated to you. But don't expect to see the schedule you're looking for until early 2023.

How many days do you have allotted for this trip from Kusadasi to Athens? It sounds like you are making a tight schedule. I hope you are building in a few days leeway to allow for the possibility of ferry cancellations due to weather or mechanical issues. If you’re on an island with once-weekly ferry service, you could be there a while. We were stranded on Ikaria once for 2 days due to mechanical issues.

It may be wise to fly from Kos to Santorini. Watch for sales on Aegean Airlines, and the cost could be similar to a ferry.

I also hope you’re allowing a few days on each island to really enjoy your Greek experience.

Charlene,
Are sea storms common in Greece in late April? How often do ferries have mechanical problems? Is that pretty frequent? And how did you like Ikaria? Was it a fun place to spend a couple of days? We will have to be flexible and go with the flow. Initially we planned to spend our time only in Istanbul and Turkey, but after discussing our Covid voucher with Turkish Airlines, realized Greece was just a short distance away and decided to combine island hopping in our itinerary. Do you think there is a more fun way to ferry to Santorini than the fast ferry from Kos? I've considered alternative routes with stops at more islands, but I do worry about limited ferry sailings in April and the possibility of getting stranded. I would think the Mykonos to Santorini ferry would be fun, but the more towns incorporated and the more ferries, as I see it, the more chance of ferry breakdowns and storms. I'm trying to choose the most direct routes. Initially we had not planned on Patmos, but my hubby really wants to go there, and it seems the quickest way there after touring Ephesus is Kusadasi to Samos to Patmos. Although I wonder whether taking the bus from Kusadasi/Celkuk to Bodrum then ferrying from Bodrum to Kos to Patmos would be more efficient, depending on ferry schedules. I would love to see Bodrum. Then maybe from Patmos to Mykonos and then on to Santorini. But that is more stops and more potential for delays, so I'm leaning toward Kusadasi to Samos to Patmos to Kos to Santorini to Crete to Athens. Whew! We should see a lot if everything works out. I doubt we'll ever get back to Greece, so we hope to see as much as possible.

You still haven't said how many days you have after Kusadasi before returning home.

Are Sea Storms Common in Greece in Late April?

Weather problems are more common in winter but there is no possibility of predicting a weather problem in the medium term. There can be 3 or 4 months without any weather problem or a single month may have 3 or 4 days without ferries
The more you have to jump from island to island, the more you need to take these possibilities into account.

How Often do ferries have mechanical problemms?

There is no possibility of predicting the mechanical failures of ferries. Strikes can also compromise all your schedule.

Do you think there is a more fun way to ferry to santorini Than the
Fast Ferry from Kos?

If the weather is good and if you find the ferry, it is undoubtedly the most "fun" way, but since Kos has an airport the safest way would be to take a Kos to Athens flight and another flight from Athens to Santorini.

Although I Wonder Whower Tooking The Bus from Kusadasi to Bodrum then Ferrying from Bodrum to Kos

There are ferries almost every day from Bodrum to Kos.
See: https://www.skymarineferries.com/

Then Maybe from Patmos to mykonos and then on santorini

There are ferries from Mykonos to Santorini but no ferry from Patmos to Mykonos. From Patmos to Mykonos you have to go through Syros or return to Athens (Piraeus).

Thanks for the helpful info, JoLui! We'll be there about a month. I have read that ferries are much cheaper from Samos to Patmos than from Kos to Patmos, but that the ferries from Kos to Patmos are more reliable and frequent. I am not sure whether this is true or not, currently, and whether it applies to late April. Which ferry would you take to Patmos? Kos or Samos? Kos is in the same group of islands as Patmos, so that might be something to think about, but it would be fun to visit an island in another group, en route to Patmos, and I do think Pythagorio sounds delightful! Then we could ferry from Patmos to Kos and see the neat stuff there, en route to Santorini. I am getting so excited. I just wish I had planned to be there for Orthodox Easter, so we could have seen the neat old traditions on Milos, but we'll still have a great time and can watch those on YouTube, for background and celebrate Orthodox Easter at a Greek Church here in the States before we fly off the next day, for a good little taste of it.

When a ferry is cheaper for an equivalent route, it is mainly because it is slower.
As for the "reliable" side of these ferries, I don't see what you are referring to, especially since the same ferry company can provide Samos to Patmos and Patmos to Kos (and the return in the opposite direction).

In about a month you will be able to see the timetables and prices on their websites.

Principally:

Dodekanisos Seaways: https://www.12ne.gr/en

Or possibly:

Blue Star Ferries: https://www.bluestarferries.com/en-gb

Saos Ferries: https://www.saos.gr/en/

Anek Lines: https://www.anek.gr/en/

Also note that May 1st is traditionally a strike day and there will be no ferries on that day.

What other islands group are you talking about?
The 3 islands you are talking about: Samos, Patmos and Kos are part of the group of 12 islands of the Dodecanese (this is where its name comes from, the number twelve is "dódeka" in Greek).
The other groups, notably the Cyclades, are not in the same geographical area. Ferry connections between two different island groups are infrequent, and sometimes even impossible.

In a month you should be able to know if it will be possible for you to take a ferry from Kos to Santorini.

You will see it on this link:
https://www.ferryhopper.com/en/#results?itinerary=KO00%2CJTR&dates=20230424

All you have to do is change the date by clicking on the green arrows.

If this is not possible given your dates, you will have to take a flight to Athens then a flight Athens-Santorini.

Thanks for the info about May 1. I did not know that. And the clarification about the island groups. Someone had posted misinformation in another group that I had failed to research. Looking forward to those upcoming ferry schedules. I think I'm pretty happy with the islands we have settled upon visiting.

Samos is not part of the Dodecanese.

Oops exact, I got confused with all these islands. thanks for rectifying !

Janet, good to know. There is so much to try to keep straight. LOL. So I WILL get to visit 2 different island groups with my current prospective Samos-to-Patmos-to-Kos island hopping itinerary plans?! Yippee. Guess I'd better read my Greek Island Hopping Travel Guide and try to get it all straight and well memorized before I leave. There is A LOT to try to absorb, and with my old brain... LOL. So Samos and Ikaria and Fournoi are all in the North Aegean Island group? Cool! One more reason to travel to Patmos via Samos instead of Kos. Taking the bus to Bodrum could be exhausting after a full day in Ephesus. Instead we can leisurely roam Ephesus all day, including Terrace Houses, Temple of Artemis, House of the Virgin Mary in Selcuk, without having to worry about bus or ferry schedules. Get a good night's sleep in Kusadasi before boarding ferry for Samos early next morning. Can anyone recommend fun things to see in Samos Town before we head to Pythagorio for sight-seeing? And where are some great spots to grab a bite to eat in both of these Greek island towns? Has anyone been through the tunnel in Pythagorio?

When you're done reading your Greek Island Hopping Travel Guide, you can take a look here:

https://www.feelgreece.com/en/map#loc=greece&z=8&c=37.50723326230315,25.63370660422823

and also here:

https://feelhellas.com/

Reading some guide books would answer some of your own questions... Samos has THE most impressive archological museum in the whole N. Aegean island group (and better than any in Dodecanese except Rhodes). It has so many artifacts because of the Temple of Hera in bronze age which attracted worshipers from whole eastern Greek territories.. its collection of tiny "tribute" items (wee axes & swords & helmets as stand-ins for the real things) is awesome. And -- most important of all -- this museum has THE Largest Kouros statue in the entire world (!!) Has its own room, added to building, and they had to remove the roof and lift it at least 3 feet.. . because after they built the special room for a headless Kouros, they found the head, and no "headroom" for it!!

I strongly suggest you invest in a USED copy ($5 -8) of ROUGH GUIDE To GREECE from Amazon. Why used? because older editions have more descriptions, background, maps, on famous sites/landmarks ete -- the things important to professors and lovers of history. To make room for flashy color photos (booo ), recent editions of most guides chop the precious backgrounding material. But My 2012 Edition is chockfull of background/info/maps/ drawings on all the places you'll be going. Another thing -- you don't have to lug around a 6-lb fat book... it's laid out so you can carefully pull out a section from the backing --- Like "N.E. Aegean Islands" 'Crete" "HIstory" "LAnguage" etc -- and use duct tape to make a silver "spine" ...and Presto!! pocket-size "guidettes." I've done this for at least 7 of my 13 Greek trips, and swear by them. Lots of good reading, too, on ferries or on balconies.

WooHoo! Thank you so much, Janet! I JUST KNEW I had read somewhere that Samos had a fabulous museum, one of the best anywhere in Greece, but I could never again come across for a second time what I THOUGHT I had read and thought I must have been mistaken about where it was located. This is why I need to take notes I can turn to, based on my research, rather than relying on my aging old brain. And then, tah-dah!, your thrilling post. Yay!. This group is so great, so helpful! This is even more reason to travel to Patmos via Samos and to luxuriate in being able to spend a whole day in Samos. Based on ferry schedules I have seen, I think we'll have to spend the night in Samos, and that will allow us to spend plenty of time at that museum you mention, without having to worry about a same-day ferry connection! I am watching Professor John R. Hale's Great Course on Turkey and Greece, and he may be the one who mentioned how wonderful the Samos museum is. I need to rewatch it. Yes, I think he was. And my sister just gave me a gift card to Amazon for my birthday, so I will use it to invest in a used copy of that book you recommend. She loves history, too, and will approve of my purchase. LOL. I will share it with her, in hopes she just might be able to go on the trip with us. Thank you SO MUCH for helping me realize I am not losing my mind, after all! And thanks for those fabulous links, JoLui! Will be fun to explore them.

It’s been years since I’ve been to these islands. But I do remember on Samos we enjoyed renting a car for a day to visit the little mountain villages and to see the Ireon. Driving was easy. We did not explore the tunnel. You might see if you can rent a car in Vathy and drop it off in Pythagorio.

When you’re on Kos, I highly recommend a day trip to the nearby island of Nisyros. It’s a tiny island with its own volcano, and several craters in the caldera. We walked into the biggest one, where there are fumaroles hissing and emitting steam, smelling of sulfur. The surface was warm & soft, so sturdy shoes (not sandals) are recommended. It felt like walking on the moon. There’s an excellent museum which explains the formation of the island — part of the same volcanic chain as Santorini. Really fascinating to us. This trip will take most of a day so you’ll need an extra night in Kos to accommodate this. But I think it’s highly worthwhile.

Thanks for the fun travel tips, Charlene! Wow! Both seeing the mountain villages and visiting Nisyros sound like experiences we'd both enjoy very much! Fabulous to find out about. We will try to do both! Another cool museum to explore. This is turning out to be the trip of a lifetime, thanks to the help of everyone in suggesting these places we didn't know about.

When your guidebook arrives, you can find out about wonderful places even before you return to this forum. That's what books are for... information, discovery... and then forum contributors, based on their experiences, can help you make choices among the places you learn about.