Which ferry is best Santorini to Naxos in Mid-June

If you’re worried about seasickness, why don’t you fly? The ferry experience is nice but not if someone gets sick.

We took the Blue Star Ferry that departs at 3:30pm because that one sails through the caldera. Not all of them sail through the caldera so you should look into that if it's important to you. It was to us. I am prone to seasickness, too, and I did not have any problems on the Blue Star Ferry. It was a very smooth ride. The ferry is beautiful, modern, and clean with many levels. It has outside decks so you can sit outside and enjoy the views when sailing through the caldera.

We didn't mind leaving Santorini at 3:30pm because it gave us time to have a nice walk from Firestefani where we stayed to Imerovigli and have lunch in Imerovigli. We arrived in Naxos at 5:30pm. The timing was good for us. We had 4 nights on Naxos, so we felt we had plenty of time.

I traveled on all these ferries.

Don't take the Superjet, it's a very uncomfortable little catamaran with no possibility of going outside. (if this ferry arrives later in Naxos it is because it stops at the islands of Amorgos and Koufonisia before Naxos).

It's the same ferry as the Seajet 2 in this video:

https://youtu.be/q9kwckiKFiw?t=27

don't worry about the passengers, there are vomit bags and seat belts, like on planes :-))

The large traditional Blue Star Delos ferries would be the better choice if you are prone to seasickness.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3sRiDJveHU

As a plan B, take the PowerJet or the World Champion Jet (both are roughly similar)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUbJAtu4J3U

There are faster, more expensive, but much less pleasant than the Blue Star Delos

The Blue Star will also be about the last ship to cancel or delay if the wind picks up and/or the sea is choppy. I have not been on the larger SeaJets (Super Jet and World Champion), but the old smaller jets were wonderful if the weather was calm, but as soon as some chop picks up, they can be misery. Maybe it has improved in the last decade though. The Blue Star also has plenty of open deck, if being able to be in fresh air and seeing the horizon helps.

We, a group of 2 families with 12 vomit-prone travelers (we have quite a history together 😊), traveled on the 3:30 Blue Star ferry from Santorini to Naxos last June. Zero seasickness issues and a lovely, relaxing ride.

Arriving in Naxos at 5:30 was fine — remember that Greek life goes later into the evening, so there was still plenty of time to settle in, have a leisurely dinner and a walk.

On that trip we also took Blue Star from Naxos to Piraeus, a 5 hour ride, with no seasick travelers.

The high-speed ferry from Algeciras to Ceuta a few years ago: not so much and will not be repeated.

I’d go with Blue Star again in a heartbeat.

The large Blue Star ferry is the most stable and reliable ferry on that route.

Thank you, everyone! This is incredibly helpful!
One more question: how does your luggage not get lost on these huge ferries with 1000+ people all getting off at the same time?

how does your luggage not get lost on these huge ferries with 1000+
people all getting off at the same time?

You forget cars and trucks! :-))

Don't worry, it's rarely 1000 people disembarking at the same time.

When you board the ferry you leave your luggage in racks at the garage deck. These racks are labeled with the name of the islands

When there are a lot of passengers there is no longer enough space in the racks, the luggage piles up on top of each other at the foot of the racks.

A few minutes before arrival an announcement is made in Greek and English asking you to head towards the exit and the garage deck where you will have plenty of time to collect your luggage while the ferry maneuvers to dock.

Seeing the island gradually appear as the ramp opens is one of my favorite moments.

There is no access to the lower deck after sailing. Also, they have cameras in some ferries. Better get the valuables with you but the rest stays always in the lower deck either on the racks or just anywhere convenient. I have zero issues the last few years. If you have a carry-on, you can take it with you. In general, there is no rule to leave your luggage at the lower deck, its just too much to carry it around inside the ferry especially if its a big one.

Check the ferry hoper site or ferry scanner for all the possible boat rides. Not all shipping companies have made available all options (ferries, jets and sailing times), I know it is stupid because people want to plan early their vacations but.. welcome to Greece ;-)

Hi All - I just wanted to report back that we took the 3:30pm BlueStar and it was perfect.
The port in Santorini was a bit chaotic (I still don't understand how you are supposed to know which gate your ferry is departing from. Our driver told us, thank goodness.) The ferry was huge, clean and not crowded plus it was smooth sailing. We enjoyed it!
Thanks so much to everyone for the advice.
Maria

And Maria, thanks to YOU for reporting back your experience... all too often people get help on forums and then just disappear & we never knew whether they took our advice, or how it worked out. We appreciate your reporting.