Hellenic Seaways vs. Seajets (Thira to Pieaues)?

The 7:10 AM ferry is operated by Blue Star Ferries, specifically the Blue Star Chios, which is a traditional ferry (Hellenic Seaways and Blue Star belong to the same group, "Attica").

The other, faster ferries are Seajets catamarans, which are completely different in terms of comfort and style.

Seajets (fast but expensive) are configured like large movie theaters with multiple seating areas and assigned airline-style seats. There is no real outdoor deck, except sometime a large terrace at the stern of the vessel with virtually no seating.

Conventional Blue Star Ferries are similar to small cruise ships when it comes to facilities, decks, and amenities. Much more pleasant.

The 7:10 AM Blue Star Chios: https://youtu.be/PmYyZTUQZZY

A Seajets Ferry: https://youtu.be/I8TzBaiRWfA

You already have much of the following information in another discussion thread (seeking advice on first trip to Greece in late August 10 days).

So, at the risk of being repetitive:

In Santorini ferries depart from Athinios Port located south of Fira (the "Port of Thira" generally refers to the old cruise ship port). There is no direct bus from Oia to the ferry port. You must first take a bus to the main hub in Fira, the capital. Buses from Fira to the port depart between 60 and 90 minutes before each ferry departure.

My choice would be easy: I’d take a taxi from Oia to catch the 7:10 AM Blue Star.

Give yourself plenty of extra time for the taxi ride. The road leading to the port is a steep switchback/hairpin-turn dead-end that gets extremely congested with all the buses, trucks, cars, and vehicles arriving and leaving, not to mention the absolute chaos caused by thousands of passengers at the port itself.

Here is a video showing the road, though in the opposite direction (heading up from the port toward Fira):

https://youtu.be/nwp4-rc0ygk

Thank you JoLui for your detailed reply. The one point I am confused about is why the 7:10 AM ferry takes only 6:05 hours. I understand that it is direct and does not stop anywhere but it is only half an hour longer than the fastest Seajets ferry.

I don't think that there is a possibility of taking a bus connection for that ferry.

For the 7:10 ferry, when should we plan to leave Oia to make it to the new port? 6:15 AM? I see that it takes about 25 minutes by taxi/car, but it is not clear to me that that is a best case scenario or accounts for traffic in the calculations.

On a separate note, do we need exact change, down to coins to get on the bus? Or can the ticket guy give change for small denominations in cash? In the US, the bus company actually makes more money because they will not give change and eventually passengers will run out of change?

The one point I am confused about is why the 7:10 AM ferry takes only
6:05 hours. I understand that it is direct and does not stop anywhere
but it is only half an hour longer than the fastest Seajets ferry.

Yes, the Blue Star Chios goes straight to Piraeus, whereas the 9:50 AM Seajets stops in Naxos, Paros, Mykonos, Tinos, and Syros before arriving in Piraeus. You just need to look at a map to see the difference in terms of the route (not to mention the stopover times).

That's another advantage of taking the direct Blue Star to Piraeus—there won't be passengers constantly getting on and off.

when should we plan to leave Oia to make it to the new port?

The drive from Oia to the ferry port takes at least 40 minutes under ideal traffic conditions. You can easily add another 20 minutes as a minimum safety margin since traffic heading up/ down the hill to the port is unpredictable, plus you need to be at the port about 30 minutes before the ferry departs.
So to catch the 7:10 AM ferry, I'd say you need to leave Oia by 5:45 AM at the latest.

Your host can book a taxi for you with the best time estimate; they do this all the time and are much more used to it than I am.

do we need exact change, down to coins to get on the bus?

Exact change isn't required, but yes, pay with coins if possible, or with a 5€ or 10€ bill max.
If you pay with a 50€ bill or more you won't be the bus staff's best friend and you risk getting yelled at (in Greek).

Yes, the Blue Star Chios goes straight to Piraeus, whereas the 9:50 AM
Seajets stops in Naxos, Paros, Mykonos, Tinos, and Syros before
arriving in Piraeus. You just need to look at a map to see the
difference in terms of the route (not to mention the stopover times).

Thank you, that explains the difference.

Btw, I know that the bus schedule for Fira to Oia and back is here: https://ktel-santorini.gr/routes/?route=oia thanks to your response on my other thread. Where is the bus schedule from Fira to Aetheneus port?

The 9:50 is a bit more relaxed to depart on in the morning, and I am trying to justify to myself the higher price in taking it, with adjustments for bus vs. taxi:-)

Thanks for letting me know that small change is allowed on KTEL buses.

You won't find the bus schedule from the Fira bus station to the Athinios ferry port because, as I was saying, the bus departures are based on the ferry schedules, which change constantly week to week.

Bus schedules to the port are only posted for the next two days at the Fira bus station. You can see an example in this photo, these are the only ones that aren't printed, but handwritten:

https://pt-travel.blog/posts/santorini/transport.jpg

Therefore, buses leave the Fira bus station roughly 60 to 90 minutes before the ferry's departure.

it’s your call:

If you enjoy a scenic, relaxed journey, don't mind a little extra time, and don’t mind an early wake-up call, take the Blue Star Chios.
But if you can't drag yourself out of bed, are in a rush, don't mind paying extra, and are fine being cooped up in a giant speeding vessel that rattles you around for 6 hours, take the Seajets.

Therefore, buses leave the Fira bus station roughly 60 to 90 minutes
before the ferry's departure.

Ah, I see, thank you.

it’s your call:

If you enjoy a scenic, relaxed journey, don't mind a little extra
time, and don’t mind an early wake-up call, take the Blue Star Chios.
But if you can't drag yourself out of bed, are in a rush, don't mind
paying extra, and are fine being cooped up in a giant speeding vessel
that rattles you around for 6 hours, take the Seajets.

Indeed. What I am also missing with the 7:10 departure is the early morning hours in Oia.

With regard to the Seajets, is there an access to the top deck (which appears to be open) or are those restricted to a special class of passengers?

I would get up early. It is a very long time to not be able to go outside. It will be something to get through. Being able to watch the world go by from the top deck will be part of your experience of Greece.

I would get up early. It is a very long time to not be able to go outside. It will be something to get through. Being able to watch the world go by from the top deck will be part of your experience of Greece.

Thank you. And I guess this would not be possible with the Seajets. According to the video JoLui posted, there appears to be an open upper deck (essentially the roof).

Is there access to the top deck (which appears to be open) or is it
restricted to a special class of passengers?

The outdoor deck area on large Seajets ferries is accessible to everyone (when it isn't closed). You'll find quite a few smokers there, since the entire interior of the ferry is non-smoking.

Given the speed of the vessel and the wind it creates (if you care about keeping your hair in good shape, this isn't the place to hang out), you really have to be motivated to stay there for more than 20 minutes, especially since the few places where you can sit are scarce or nonexistent.

It's very different on a Blue Star Ferry, where on the outdoor decks you can set up around a table with your buddies, in the shade, play cards, chat with passengers at the next table, eat, have a few drinks while enjoying the scenery. And since there are no specific assigned seats, you can sit wherever you want within your chosen fare category and change spots if you feel like it, for example, finding a quiet spot if you want to catch a quick 1h nap... Which might be necessary if you got up very early. :-)

I have very little hair to take care of. Which is good in a way.

It's very different on a Blue Star Ferry, where on the outdoor decks
you can set up around a table with your buddies, in the shade, play
cards, chat with passengers at the next table, eat, have a few drinks
while enjoying the scenery. And since there are no specific assigned
seats, you can sit wherever you want within your chosen fare category
and change spots if you feel like it, for example, finding a quiet
spot if you want to catch a quick 1h nap... Which might be necessary
if you got up very early. :-)

Or likely six hours behind (we are eight hours behind Greece but we make an hour a day with jetlag). Thank you! We will go with this then. Btw, do you recommend buying the ticket online ? I read somewhere that one still has to go to the office before boarding. Is this true?

do you recommend buying the ticket online? I read somewhere that one
still has to go to the office before boarding. Is this true?

Several ways to get your tickets:

Buy your tickets online via the Blue Star Ferries website. You will receive a booking reference by email or text message. 48 hours before departure go to the online check-in page on their website and enter yourbooking reference to get your electronic ticket (QR code).

https://www.bluestarferries.com/en-gb

or take that same booking reference and your passport to a local travel agency in Santorini to pick up a physical paper ticket.

Or, in one step, 2 or 3 days before the ferry departures, visit a local agency in Santorini (you can find them in Fira) and purchase your tickets directly.

The agencies charge a small fee of around €1 for the cost of printing the ticket

Regarding Taxis, if you plan on taking a taxi from Oia to the port, book it in advance. Don't wait until the last minute, ask your hotel to arrange it for you as soon as you arrive in Santorini.

I think it should be around €50 (plus or minus €10). Yes, it's expensive considering the distance, but it's Santorini.

Buy your tickets online via the Blue Star Ferries website. You will
receive a booking reference by email or text message. 48 hours before
departure go to the online check-in page on their website and enter
yourbooking reference to get your electronic ticket (QR code).

Thank you. If an electronic ticket is allowed, then that addresses the problem, and I can buy it from the US. Going to an agency for 1 EUR or so would be fine, but then I would have to go to the port before the ride only for this ticket.

I have not been to Greece, but when I visited Portugal, it was impossible to get credit card transactions through online having to call back everytime was also a lot of time spent: being in the US would have helped in getting these transactions cleared, and this problem went away the moment we entered Spain). So some fraud prevention mechanism in 2019 in all our CCs created some issue. So, I try to either book all my tickets online while in the US, and I can call and not take away time form my travel, or pay cash at location.

Interestingly, the taxi rides in Santorini are by per passenger: https://www.santorinitaxi.com/santorini-transfers/
They claim they are 17EUR per person before 6 (or 6:30 AM). I will book them if that is what they honor.

I nterestingly, the taxi rides in Santorini are by per passenger: https://www.santorinitaxi.com/santorini-transfers/
They claim they are 17EUR per person before 6 (or 6:30 AM). I will book them if that is what they honor.

Oh, never mind! This is a bait-and-switch price. When I went to book, I was told that the actual price for two people is going to be 60 EUR. Nowhere does it say that the price can change.

When I asked about the prices on the website, I got the following:

"The price is just bait to get to know our company's services and then people understand why we have these prices"

Bait-and-switch is what I do not tolerate, and so I will avoid this taxi service. I thought I would post this here in case it is helpful. Perhaps this works for others, not for me.

Haha! Thanks for the info.

As I said, it's Santorini. There are no bargains in Santorini. It's all about business.

In any case, don't expect to pay much less than €50.

Here is a quote for €44 from Welcome Pickups, a service I sometimes use in Athens when we need to pre-book a taxi:

https://traveler.welcomepickups.com/en/santorini/transfer/new?luggage=2&passengers=2&time=06%3A00&date=9%2F3%2F2026&city=santorini&from=Oia%2C%20Santorini%20847%2000%2C%20Greece&from_lat=36.393156&from_lng=25.461509&from_category=destination&from_address=Santorini%20847%2000%2C%20Greece&to=Santorini-Athinios%20Port%20(New%20Harbor)&to_lat=36.386176&to_lng=25.428436&to_category=hub&to_address=Thira%2C%20Ormos%20Athinios%20847%2000%2C%20Greece&from_type=hotel&to_type=port&from_location_id=732808&to_location_id=3249&from_time_as_pickup=1

Note that WP is just an Athens-based intermediary; it's not a taxi company itself. However, it has a good reputation and is always very reliable, at least on the mainland. I couldn't say for Santorini, though... Santorini is a whole different world.

Haha! Thanks for the info.

As I said, it's Santorini. There are no bargains in Santorini. It's
all about business.

Right, accepted. Just think they should be upfront.

Here is a quote for €44 from Welcome Pickups, a service I sometimes
use in Athens when we need to pre-book a taxi:

https://traveler.welcomepickups.com/en/santorini/transfer/new?luggage=2&passengers=2&time=06%3A00&date=9%2F3%2F2026&city=santorini&from=Oia%2C%20Santorini%20847%2000%2C%20Greece&from_lat=36.393156&from_lng=25.461509&from_category=destination&from_address=Santorini%20847%2000%2C%20Greece&to=Santorini-Athinios%20Port%20(New%20Harbor)&to_lat=36.386176&to_lng=25.428436&to_category=hub&to_address=Thira%2C%20Ormos%20Athinios%20847%2000%2C%20Greece&from_type=hotel&to_type=port&from_location_id=732808&to_location_id=3249&from_time_as_pickup=1

Note that WP is just an Athens-based intermediary; it's not a taxi
company itself. However, it has a good reputation and is always very
reliable, at least on the mainland. I couldn't say for Santorini,
though... Santorini is a whole different world.

I see, interesting: I wonder what they mean by Oia since the fare goes up if I give Oia bus station (which is where the hotel is).

Thank you for the link though!