Help navigating the Greek ferry system!

Your not missing anything, and the website you are using is as legit as any. However, for September, there really is no need to book at this early date. Some ferries may not yet be listed/scheduled and except for rare days in August and Easter, few ferries ever sell out. Another factor is that weather may interupt the schedule, particularly wind in September. I suggest just waiting until you get there and either buying a ticket the day of, or the day before travel.

Ah, that makes me so nervous to think about especially when there is only one ferry listed for that day.. but I guess I will suck it up and try to live with a little more reckless abandon. Thank you for your affirmation!

Jenny, you have two other options. Besides the Sea Runner, you can take the Hellenic Seaways FlyingCat 4 from Mykonos at 2:45pm, arriving around 5:30pm. That's another fast ferry similar to the Sea Runner.

Another option would be to take the morning fast ferry from Mykonos to Paros at 10am, then catch the Blue Star conventional car ferry when it stops at Noon on its way from Athens/Piraeus to Santorini. This will actually get you to Santorini around 3:30pm, before either of the later fast ferries.

In September you don't need to worry about these ferries being full, so there's no need for advance purchase. Just wait until you're on Mykonos and decide which option you prefer and buy your tickets accordingly.

When you arrive on Santorini you can then take the port bus into Fira for 2 euro and another bus to whichever village you've chosen for your stay for around 1.5 euro. Just get on the bus and someone will come to you to collect your money.

Like you, I prefer having all arrangements made. However, they don't post the schedules until a week or two before. We went in May and had no problems buying tickets a day or two before. Just check for any Greek holidays that might make it a problem. The Blue Star car ferry is a nice trip, you can be outside viewing the scenery and it is really not that much slower.

"However, they don't post the schedules until a week or two before."

In fact, the schedules for the FlyingCat4 on that particular route have been available since April and the Blue Star schedules have been posted even longer.

Thanks so much guys, I really appreciate your input.

Lee, what website did you find the 2:45 flyingcat on? I love your idea about taking the earlier ferry and having an hour in Paros. I only wish they had some sort of bag storage so I could explore a bit more freely. But I can't seem to find anything online.

Also, thanks for the info on how to get from Santorini to the villages. I'm staying in Oia and was hoping to book my ferry in advance and arrange for my hotel to pick us up from the dock - but it seems as though there are some good options for doing it alone.

How much earlier than the scheduled departure do you guys recommend I arrive at the ferry dock?

http://tinyurl.com/na6vha

If you take the early boat to Paros perhaps you could ask in one of the travel agents across the street from the port if you could leave your bag with them while you take a quick look around.

If you have your tickets in hand you only need to be at the port when the boat arrives. If you take the FC4 the seats are assigned so there's no rush to find someplace to sit.

Just a side question, I booked online a ferry from Santourini to Paros, used my credit card and have not heard anything back about confirmation. Is this normal? Thanks,

Assuming you had the good judgement to print something off the website on which you booked your ferry, that should be enough proof that you paid. Just present it at the ticket counter when you go to collect your tickets.