We have two bucket list locations - Santorini and Florence. We have flight arrival in Athens from the US, and plan to travel either by air or ferry to Santorini for a stay of several days. Our departure is scheduled out of Florence where we plan on staying several days as well. The trick is getting from Santorini to Florence. Flying takes 10 hours and involves multiple changes. We'd rather drag our feet a little and take 2 days to get there. Any thoughts? Ferry and train? Flight to Rome and then train to Florence? One guest suffers with neuropathy in his feet, so we are taking our time and want to experience the country in a calm way. Driving is possible, but renting a car one way is very expensive.
Posted by
Green Bay
20390 posts
When are you going? I see a 1-stop on Aegean in 3 3/4 hours, but only 45 minutes change time in Athens. Taking an earlier flight gives you 3 hours in Athens, with the added total time. That is for a week day in September.
Posted by
Firenze, Italy
1564 posts
There are at present two weekly flights on Aegean between Athens and Florence, if you are flexible you can fly Santorini to Florence with a single change in Athens in a reasonable time. If not, flying to Rome may be a feasible substitution.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Thank you. We will be there in October. We'd love to see the country on the way up to Florence from Santorini and are willing to stop somewhere wonderful on the way.
Posted by
Sweden
6612 posts
October is low season, but if you can't find flights to Florence, look for flights to Pisa or Bologna. Or if that doesn't work, Milan or Rome. Aegean is probably your best option.
But if you want to go there the slow way and take your time, that is certainly possible. Take the ferry from Santorini to Athens, continue by train to Patras (the last bit is probably still by coach) and catch a ferry to Bari.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
15462 posts
I don’t recommend you take the land/sea route as suggested above. It takes forever and a day.
Fly! If the flights ATH-FLR are not operating in October, fly to Rome, but fly.
Posted by
Irving
3041 posts
There are nonstop flights from Santorini to Paris / London and nonstop flights from Paris / London to Florence. If you have two nights to get from Santorini to Florence you could spend one full day seeing the top sights in Paris or London. If you’ve never been to either choose Paris since it’s closer to Santorini and Florence than London.