Tips On How To Get From Athens To Santorini

I recently shared a 3-day Itinerary for Santorini. I wanted to share tips on how to get from Athens to Santorini, as most usually land Athens first. So for those wondering how to get to Santorini, your options are ferries or flight. If you are flying from London, Manchester, Rome, Milan, Madrid or Helsinki, you be happy to know that there are direct flights to Santorini. For everyone else, chances are that you will have to first land in Athens and Santorini after that.

This is a great way to experience both Athens and Santorini. I would recommend 2-3 day in Athens and another 3 days in Santorini but allocate more if you have time as both are special places worth not missing out on. I will do an itinerary that includes both soon. Athens is known as the home of civilization and mythology, and Santorini is popular for its idyllic beaches and sunsets.

As is the case with most of the Greek islands, reaching one island to the next is not that cumbersome as there are plenty of options. The means of transport include ferries, flights. The quickest are flights of course. While I will provide details of all the options available for flights and ferries below, the easiest way to get the prices for flights and ferries for the dates you are leaving Athens to go to Santorini I would highly recommend using Omio which provides all the options one page. So for the best way to get from Athens to Santorini, read on.

Also See:

• How To Travel From Mykonos To Santorini
• Guide To Best Beaches In Santorini
• How To Travel From Athens To Mykonos
• The Best Places To Stay In Mykonos

How To Get To Santorini From Athens

On average, it takes around 2 hours by a ferry and it is the cheapest way to reach Santorini if you have a fixed budget set. For those that wonder, if you can see Santorini in a day, this would be extremely difficult to do unless you find a flight leaving early in the morning and one leave late in the evening. This would be highly expensive making the whole effort pointless when you could simply stay in Santorini for at least 2 days.

Ferry Services From Athens To Santorini

The Blue Star ferries operate between Athens and Santorini almost throughout the year. By late March, the others too join in. During the summertime, there are close to 4 or more ferries plying between the 2 places. The following are the major ferry service providers:

1. Sea Jets: Champion Jet 1 by Sea Jets leaves Athens at 7:00 A.M. and reaches Santorini at 11:55 A.M. The travel time is around 5 hours, which is the least because of the high-speed boat. This runs on all days except Tuesdays. 84.7 Euros is the cost of a ride.

The Sea Jet 2 starts from Athens at 7:01 A.M. in the morning and reaches the destination by 12:30 P.M. This is also a high-speed boat but travel time is 5 hours 29 minutes. It runs on all days of the week other than Tuesdays.

2. Blue Star Ferries: Blue Star Delos leaves Athens by 7:25 A.M. and arrives at Santorini destination at 3:10 P.M. This is a comparatively long duration ferry ride since the boat is a conventional ferry. It runs on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The cost is around 49 Euros.

Blue Star Paros is an evening ferry starting from Athens at 5:30 P.M. and reaching Santorini port at 1:15 A.M. The cost is 49 Euros. It operates only on Saturdays.

The Blue Star 2 departs Athens at 6 in the evening, reaching Santorini at 12:35 A.M. on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.

3. Zante Ferries: They operate a vessel called Dionisios Solomos, which leaves Athens at 7:15 A.M. and reaches Santorini at 7:30 P.M. The journey time is 12 hours 15 minutes and the cost is 48.5 Euros. They offer the rides on Saturdays, Mondays and Wednesdays.
4. Hellenic Seaways: Nissos Chios is a conventional ferry, leaving Athens at 4:30 P.M. and reaching Santorini at 12:15 A.M. It runs on Mondays, Fridays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. The cost is 49 Euros.
5. Aigaion Pelagos: They operate F/B Prevelis. It departs Athens by 6:00 P.M. reaching Santorini by 2:50 A.M. The journey time is 8 hours and 50 minutes, and the rides are available on Fridays and Tuesdays. The cost of the ferry ride is 47 Euros.

Booking Tickets For the Ferry Boats Between Athens And Santorini

For how do you get to Santorini Greece via boat ride, check out websites below where the ferry tickets can be booked. For the easiest way to check prices and times of all services check out Omio, where you can put in the date of travel and it will give you the times and prices of all ferries from Athens to Santorini.

• FerryHopper. Com
• IsFerry.com
• Go-ferry.com
• GreeceFerries.com
• Satorinidave.com

Some of the well-known ferry operators that offer a ride between Athens and Santorini are:

• Sea Jet – Astoggos and Akti Tzelepi 2, 185 31 Piraeus, Call Center: 210 4121001, 210 4121901, For reservations, contact: 210 4190233, 210 4101480, E-mail: [email protected]
• Blue Star Ferries – 1-7 Lysikratuous & Evripidou Street, 17674 Kallithea, Athens, Greece, Contact Number: +30-210-8919800, Fax Number: +30-210-8919829, E-mail: [email protected]
• Hellenic Seaways – 6 Astiggos St., Karaiskaki Sq., 185 31 Piraeus, Greece, Contact Numbers: +30 210 4199100,  24/7 Call Center: +30 210 4199000,  E-mail: [email protected]
• Zante Ferries –  Fillelinon 4-6 (2nd Floor), Piraeus, PC: 185 36, Contact Number: +30 210 4100211 – 210 4100212
• Aigaion Pelagos – 24 Akti Kondili St. 18545, Piraeus, Contact Number: +30 210 4197470, E-mail: [email protected]

When ferries are booked in advance, you have to pick the tickets at the port, just prior to sailing. Arriving an hour before the departure should be convenient enough.

Usually, the ferries never sell out and the tickets can be bought on the day of sailing. But prior online booking is recommended if you must have a particular ferry ride on a given day.

Traveling To Santorini From Athens By Flight

There are plenty of cheap flights from Athens to Santorini and of course, flying between any 2 ports is the fastest possible route. To give you an example of how to get to Santorini from London. We flew to Athens and explored Athens for a couple of days before getting to Santorini by flight via EasyJet.

If you only have time for Santorini then the best way to get to Santorini from London is of course by direct flight. There are a couple of airlines in London flying directly to Santorini. We didnt take this option up as my sisters visiting from the US wanted to also so Athens to the best way to get to Santorini was to get the flight to Athens and then fly to Santorini.

There wasn’t a huge price difference actually as most times prices to Santorini are hiked up considering how popular the Greek island is. We flew via Ryanair to Athens which cost us in the region on £30 or £40 and then another £50 or so from Athens. Considering a direct flight to Santorini from London can be around £100+, it wasn’t too bad a price in my books when we also got to explore Athens.  So dont assume flights are too expensive an option, as they also offer the quickest and  cheapest way to get from Athens to Santorini, especially if you are short on time.

There are several flights operating between Athens and Greece. They are listed below:

• Ryanair: The total trip duration is 50 minutes. The flight takes off from the Athens airport at 7:00 A.M. and lands at Santorini port by 7:50 A.M. The ticket costs $89.77.
  • One more flight is a late night one, leaves at 11:15 P.M. and reaches Santorini by 12:05 A.M. This too costs $89.77 and the same duration of time as the previous one.
• Olympic Airlines: This airline leaves Athens at 7:15 A.M. and reaches Santorini by 8 A.M. It is a non-stop flight, taking 45 minutes and costing $105.26.
  • Another flight from Olympic Air departs at 5:15 A.M. from Athens and arrives at Santorini by 6 A.M. The trip is of 45 minutes and costs $119.87.
  • Another one leaves at 7:50 P.M. and lands at 8:35 P.M. This would cost you $179.51.
• Volotea:This non-stop flight departs from Athens at 6 P.M. and reaches Santorini at 6:55 P.M. The single-way trip will cost you about $110.19.
  • Yet another Volotea flight leaves Athens at 10:45 A.M. and arrives to Santorini at 11:40 A.M., costing $146.70.
• Sky Express: This flight takes off from Athens airport at 8:30 A.M., reaching Santorini by 9:25 A.M. $157.14 is an approximate cost of the trip.
  • There is one more flight taking off from Athens in the evening at 4:50 P.M., reaching Santorini at 5:45 P.M. It costs $157.14.
  • Another Sky Express flight departs at 6 P.M. and arrives at Santorini by 6:55 P.M. The cost is the same.
  • One more departs at 2 P.M., arriving at 3 P.M.
• Hahn Air: Their airplane takes off from the Athens airport at 4:50 P.M., reaching Santorini at 5:45 P.M. The ticket costs about $199.57.
  • One more flight takes off at 6 P.M. and arrives at 6:55 P.M.
  • Another one takes off at 2 P.M. and arrives at 3 P.M. All the tickets of Hahn Air Systems cost the same.

All of the above-mentioned flights are non-stop flight from Athens to Santorini.