Travel between Greek islands

You can book ferry tickets on-line but many people wait until they get to Greece before doing so, usually at the ferry port.

I have flown with Aegean/Olympic several times and they are a fine airlines. In fact Aegean is rated one of the best in Europe.

It's very easy to book tickets on-line direct with the airlines rather than through a third party.

Just make sure you know what you are getting with your ticket especially luggage and carry-on rules.

We booked in advance, simply because we like to have things lined up for our family of 5 and not have to worry about it when there. Check for the High Speed ferries. The duration of trips varies if you take a regular v. high speed. Booking flights (and ferries) is straightforward. This is a massive tourist operation (travel between islands) so they have things pretty well organized, IME

What does it cost for two persons to travel by ferry from Crete to Santorini?

Between €96 and €138 depending on which ferry you take. https://www.ferryhopper.com/en/?initial=ATH

A flight from Crete to Santorini may be less expensive depending on time of year you are traveling and type of ticket. In addition it's a lot quicker

You can check schedules for Aegean for flights and costs.

I used this website to find schedules. When you choose a ferry, it links to their website. I used it once to buy a ticket from Heraklion to Santorini. There is a fee for online bookings (about €5-10 per ticket). In Santorini I bought my ticket to Naxos. You can easily buy tickets at ferry offices while you are there. Maybe ferries to/from Santorini sell out - I was there at the end of tourist season (October). I booked a flight from Naxos to Athens on Olympic - no problem. Flight prices go up, so it's good to book as far in advance as possible. AFAIK ferry prices don't change.

You may be better off flying from Santorini to Athens. It's about 5 hours just on the ferry. I don't know how long it takes to get to the airport but from Fira it's at least 30 minutes by private car to the port, probably twice that from Oia, and you probably need to be at the port at least 30 minutes before departure. Then you have to get from Piraeus to Athens. Maybe someone here has done that, knows how close the pier is to the metro. It's pretty easy to get to the center from the airport on the 95X bus which runs frequently.

"It's about 5 hours just on the ferry...." The highspeed ferries take less than 2 hours. And when you include the layover time back in Athens needed for a flight between the two islands it's hightly unlikely that flying will be faster. Check the Aegean Airlines website and you'll discover that almost all flights take between 3-9 hours because of that layover. The ones that are fast and inexpensive are either the first flight out in the early morning or the last one late at night.

Hi thanks everyone really helpful information

Lee - I put in a random date in mid-May and the fastest ferry was 4 hr 45 min from Santorini to Athens. There are direct flights from Santorini to Athens.

Chani, the information I provided is for ferries and flights between Santorini and Crete. I did not reference any flights or ferries between either Santorini (or Crete) and Athens except to mention the Athens flight connection for flying from one island to the other. You and I were on two different trains of thought.