We are thinking about taking the overnight ferry from Athens to Samos leaving 24 September. Our schedule is fairly tight and we would like to be reasonably certain of travelling on that date (but it wouldn't be a disaster if we ended up going a day later). Our travel agent is worried about our plans to take the ferry because they can't be booked until a month out, and are apt to change even on the day... is this likely to be a problem? How unreliable are they?
Also interested in opinions re ferry vs flying. The ferry "seemed" cheaper because it omits a night's accommodation; it also avoids Athens airport.
Posted by
Eastern Iowa, USA
8135 posts
I am completely unromantic about ferries. They are more bus than cruise ship. To be honest, I would rather spend the night on dry land (Athens or Samos) enjoying a good meal and wine the evening before. I have never had issues with the Athens Airport, it actually is pretty efficient.
Posted by
Philadelphia, PA, USA
3401 posts
YOu have not done your homework.
A 50-minute flight on Aegean Air at 1300 (1pm) has a promotional rate of €8 = €44 when taxes & add-ons are included. Even an ECONOMY "deck-only" ticket on Minoan lines would be more than that ... and if you tried to get some sleep by booking a single-berth in a 4-berth cabin (all mall or all female), it would be even more. PLUS, it arrives at 4:45 a.m., a horrible time to disembark from a ship, exhausted, needing breakfast, nothing will be open, a hotel won't let you check in until 11 am earliest. all bad.
Athens Airport is VERY manageable; if u are staying in Athens before leaving, just take the 1-hour bus from Syntagma for 3.2 Euros. For a domestic flight, you only need to be there 1 hr ahead of time. What is the big deal?
As for a night's accommodation, try Hotel Pythagoras ... it's about 400 yards to Left of Vathy town dock (on the water, across from Samos Hospital) .. it has doubles for 25€ or so, pvt bath, balcony on the beautiful bay, below & to the right, a tiny beach, water is superb in late Sept.
Total: 44€ airfare + 12.5€ each for Vathy room = 56.5€ apiece ... and you gain nearly one whole day, MINUS the stress of a 11-hour ferry ride!
Where are you going from Samos? You fail to say ... I'm guessing you will be going on to Istanbul, not back to Athens. However, if returning to Athens, you will have the same choices ... a 44€ 50-minute flight, or an 11-hour ferry. Your call.
Posted by
OP
Christchurch, NZ
46 posts
Thank you for your information.
I'd found the 9 euro airfares on Momondo but thought they looked too good to be true - couldn't find out how much the taxes were and assumed they would be huge (because rick steves says somewhere
"As a general rule, flights cost double to triple the boat fare, e.g. a Samos-Athens boat fare is $30 and takes 12 hours, while flights cost $70 and take one hour.")
But your info definitely makes flying the better option. Just have to convince my husband that it is safe to fly on something smaller than a 747 :-)
(yes we are going on to Gallipoli then Istanbul after Samos)
Posted by
Philadelphia, PA, USA
3401 posts
Regarding your reply, "Rick Steves says" -- Rick is a nice guy, but honey, you really do have to consult more than one source!! He doesn't take into consideration new factors such as New Airlines in Greece, the buy-out of Olympic Air, the % drop in tourism, and the resulting fare competition. Aegean Air markets agressively, and has had a limited # of "promotional price" tickets for several years now.
Also, when you see a price on a search engine that seems too good to believe... what's stopping you from going to the actual AIRLINE site, and checking on it?? And if for some reason you do NOT find that price on the Airline site, why not e-mail the airline DIRECTLY and say How Come? Your dilemma resulted directly from not quite enough homework -- and now, 4 days later, I hope you have landed those Samos tickets and are happily planning. Have a lovely trip, and remember -- if something looks puzzling, maybe it just means you need to do a little more digging. (And in Turkey or Greece you might dig up something valuable! hehehe).
Posted by
OP
Christchurch, NZ
46 posts
A lot of New Zealand airlines advertise "too good to be true" low prices, which when try to buy them, are only available on the first half dozen seats on certain services, on certain dates, and all the rest go at a higher rate. I have never managed to get the cheapest deals advertised!
BTW, hubby has come round to flying on a "small" plane and has decided we probably only have a moderate chance of dying!