Getting ferries to the Greek Islands - how?

[WinterDeWinter]

I'm booking a very cheap last minute trip for me and DD (17) and we really like the look of Naxos. But I'm trying to get my head round how to get there in one day from London - what do people do?

It looks as though you'd have to get a crack of dawn flight to athens in order to get the second to last ferry - and then a very late flight from Athens on the way back to give yourself time to get the ferry from Naxos.

Or do people stay in Athens overnight? Dont' really want to do this as we've only got a week.

Alternative is flying to Santorini or Mykonos but I'm trying to keep costs right down and flights to these places are more expensive.

Any help gratefully received!

Naxos can be very windy. It does have an airport - connecting flight from Athens.
But otherwise it is the ferry that you want.
Honestly I’d go to Santorini instead. Even if you don’t get a sea view it’s a lovely island and more to do in my experience

Have you checked the island hopper to see if it flies there? Why not go with an easier island to get to? There are some lovely places you can fly direct to

Realistically if you only have a week I would not choose an Athens/Naxos combination. Either pay to fly to Santorini/Mykonos or choose a different island which you can fly to directly or reach easily from the cheaper flight destinations. Sorry!

Id look at this from a different point - what time does your flight to Athens land? Then look at the ferry timetables to see if you can find one that leaves a couple of hours after you land. Go to whichever island it’s heading to, or at least one on its route.

Could you look at islands like Corfu, Rhodes, Crete etc ? These are usually much easier to get to, many airports do direct flights.

What do you like about Naxos? Might be able to offer alternatives ?

Naxos is a brilliant island & a great choice but I agree the travel time is a complete pain.
it’s unusual to be able to do it without an overnight en route one way or both. You kind of need to embrace that as part of the holiday. Are u travelling from London or elsewhere?
gtp ferries is the best website for searching all the different companies and routes. Totally comprehensive but a bit old school to use.

Rafina port is closer to Athens airport than Piraeus (the main port for Athens) and is served by the hydrofoil (faster) ferries which are more expensive. Blue star is cheaper but goes from Piraeus only.

There might be an overnight flight? I know it’s only 4 hours so you will be short on sleep but it will give you more time there.

Thanks very much for all these replies - it does sound as though Naxos might be a bit too much this time.

@minipie well we're asking Quite A Lot really !

DD wants a pool that feels a little bit luxe (nice loungers etc) but we're happy with 2 or 3 star rooms. She'd like a fishing village/old town with a bit of a buzz where you could have a stroll and a drink in the evenings.

I want a beach within walking distance, sandy if poss but not critical - and crucially I have been fantasising about going back to the Cyclades (havent' been for 30 years) and seeing whitewashed houses, blue doors, that classic Cyclades look.
Neither of us wants a party town or somewhere Brit-dominated.

And we only have £1400-£1500 for flights and accommodation for a week, got to be back in the UK for 5/9.

I found a couple of places like this on Naxos where I felt we were really getting amazing value for money - then realised about the ferries...

Am looking at Santorini / Mykonos now but worried they're too loud and crowded? Also have hear both are expensive in terms of eating/drinking..

Yep Santorini and Mykonos are expensive and crowded. You’d do better IMO by flying there, maybe spend a night to see it (Santorini) and then ferry to somewhere else. Naxos is doable this way but not really from Athens. Paros would also be a good option if flying to Santorini /Mykonos.

You could also look at connecting flights from Athens (several Cycladic islands have own small airports for national flights) but that will chew up a lot of time and £ too.

How about looking at flights to Skiathos and either stay there or get a quick ferry to Skopelos or Alonissos. Saronic islands not Cyclades, but similar feel/style. Skiathos has sandy beaches, but the other two are quieter. You can also get ferries to these islands from Thessaloniki if you can find cheap flights there, but the ferry journey is longer and less frequent (and costs more of course).

If you let go the Cyclades requirement then you could look at the Ionian islands, Corfu Zakynthos Kefalonia all have direct flights and sandy beaches. Kefalonia is the most relaxed/quietest of these.
Kos in the Dodecanese also has sandy beaches and direct flights, or take a short hop from there to Kalymnos.

I feel sure there’s lots I’m missing out!! But this hopefully gives some ideas. Generally the easier to access islands are more expensive, and busier, as you might expect.

Thanks so much @minipie that's really helpful. I will look again at Skiathos and Kefalonia - both seemed expensive but I possibly didn't look hard enough.

Re Corfu - that seems cheaper/more accessible, but can you recommend anywhere in particular? I'm anxious about being a middle-aged lady who accidentally landed in partytown 😂

Have a look at Fiskardo in Kefalonia. Beautiful place with one of the worlds best beaches nearby Myrtos.

We went to Naxos last year and loved it! Flew to Mykonos and got the ferry from there which was only about 30min I think, was a pretty straightforward journey. On the way back we got the ferry to Athens and had a night there. I absolutely loved Athens so would recommend a stop there - you can see a lot in 24hrs! All in all was a fabulous trip

We have done the Santorini and Mykonos then ferry to Naxos. It’s doable in a day with careful planning and arranging taxis and paying for ferry tickets in advance to the ports but it’s very hectic and it’ll be very hot with crazy queues, especially at the Santorini port.

If you’re trying to lessen costs I’d just consider staying somewhere mainland and just relaxing for the week.

We've done the ferry to Naxos from Mykonos - it was a choppy day and literally everyone on the ferry was throwing up, it was like the seventh circle of hell.

In Corfu have a look at:

Kassiopi - although beaches are shingle
Arillas - sandy beach but quieter and smaller resort
Agios Georgios Pagon - sandy beach and good buzz
Sidari - sandy beach and lots to do
Agios Gordios - Sandy beach, bit quieter

Avoid Kavos and Ipsos - they’re the more party towns

Fly to mykonos instead and get a short ferry to Naxos

You could do Kefalonia for that price - found you a holiday there with Jet2 for just over a grand - but it depends what your DD means by a ‘luxe pool’ 😂 And you’d need to share a room…

However, because of the 1953 earthquake, Kefalonia only has one town remaining in its older style - Fiskardo - everything else is much more recent, so it’s not going to have the old town vibe you’re looking for.

On Corfu - Kavos and Sidari are the party areas - most of the island really isn’t. We’ve been to Paleokastrita which was nice but quite busy. And Kassiopi which was lovely but definitely not a cheap area (NE coast generally is lovely but a bit pricey). Nissaki also looked nice, or Meganissi but it’s a big island with lots of good options.

Melina Bay Boutique Hotel in Kassiopi might fit the bill and might just be doable on budget if you could get cheap flights

Been to naxos many times, quickest is probably via Mykonos but you have to get an early flight from London. This route works well for the return but it's a late arrival in London. You have to keep an eye on the ferry times, they can be affected by the weather. A cheaper route is via Athens, you can avoid an overnight stay in Athens by getting an overnight flight to Athens and then the early blue star from piraeus, the return is easier, early ferry from naxos in time for a variety of flights from Athens to london. Enjoy naxos, it's a wonderful island.

Skiathos etc are the Sporades. The Saronic Islands are Aegina, Hydra, Poros, Angistri etc and they are close to Athens, the longest crossing being about 2.5 hours, the shortest about 40 minutes, from Piraeus. Worth having a look at. Hydra is car free and quite up market.

Naxos is lovely but v windy... it's good for windsurfing but not for beach days. I preferred Paros.

As for getting there: fly to Athens, bus or train to port, boat to the island of your choice. Personally I'd build in a one night stay in Athens, so you're not worrying about missing the boat. There are a few boats a day.

Thanks so much everyone - I took it all on board and ended up booking flights to mykonos, then a ferry to Paros and what looks like a truly lovely hotel. Up till 4am last night - and then lots of drama when the algorithm suddenly doubled the total cost to £3K! Eventually managed to get it back to £1500 (weird) and booked with shaking hands.

Ferry bumped us up a bit over £1500 (and if the plane out is late we might have to stay the night in Mykonos) but I can live with the risk. DD is thrilled and I am too - I went to Paros when I was 19 and I don't think I realised then how exceptional it was. So pleased I stuck with the Cyclades as this is the Greek Island experience that I've been dreaming about for the last six months but knew was out of reach - it's only been possible because I got an unexpected bit of work in. All the other island groups are lovely too I know - but blue and white winding streets is what I had in my head. Hooray!

Here is the hotel if you want to tell me how clever I've been 😁 😁