How to Get from Athens to Santorini: Everything You Need to Know!
Getting from Athens to Santorini is a breeze, even with the distance that spans between them!
Whether you opt to spend a night in Athens or are flying straight to Santorini, there is a good chance you will be traveling through Athens to get to there.
So here is everything to know about getting from Athens to Santorini including best way to travel between the two, options for flights, ferry options, pros/cons to both, prices, time required for travel and more!
- Athens & Santorini Geography: Relation to Each Other
- Best Way to Get from Athens to Santorini
- Flying from Athens to Santorini
- Ferry from Athens to Santorini
- Transportation Options from Santorini Airport or Port
- Final Thoughts on Traveling from Athens to Santorini
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Athens & Santorini Geography: Relation to Each Other
If you are trying to figure out how to get from Athens to Santorini, you probably already know where they both are located. But just in case you don’t…
Athens is located on a peninsula located in the southern portion of mainland Greece and Santorini is a Cyclade island located nearly in the middle of the group of islands that belong to Greece.
Santorini IS one of the furthest of the Cyclade islands, so it can take a little longer to get to than some of its closer counterparts. But, rest assured, it is a popular destination and well-connected from Athens!
Best Way to Get from Athens to Santorini
The BEST way to get from Athens to Santorini is to fly. The flight is LESS than an HOUR and is an EASY travel day.
Many of the flights leave early in the morning, so you can easily take in the views of Santorini by noon (or earlier!)
Your second option is to ferry from Athens to Santorini. The ferry takes between 5-8 hours, depending on if you choose a high-speed ferry or standard.
Flying from Athens to Santorini
So flying is the quickest, easiest option? So whats the best airline? How long should you prepare for the flight? How much does it cost?
Who to Fly With? Airline options
There are several airlines that fly from Athens to the Greek islands. Some of them are super cheap (like 20-40 euros), but don’t include baggage. Others are a bit more pricey but will include at least a carry-on.
Budget Airlines
There are several European “budget” airlines that provide super affordable flight options. However, these won’t include any luggage besides a personal item. If you are flying to Santorini for a quick weekend, this is great for you!
However, if you plan to bring a carry-on suitcase or check a bag, you will have to pay extra fees.
Ryanair– Has one of the cheapest base fares, but doesn’t include any luggage (only a personal item that fits under the seat)
The baggage fees for Ryanair vary GREATLY depending on when you purchase them and what time of year, so here is a list of their fees.
Ryanair Luggage Fees
| Carry-On Suitcase | 10kg overhead suitcase included with regular priority ticket | ~26 euros more per flight |
| Checked Baggage | 20kg checked bag included with Plus priorty ticket | ~39 euros more per flight |
Volotea– Usually a little more pricey than Ryanair, but still does not include luggage with its base fair (again, does include a person item that must fit under the seat)
- Carry-on Suitcase Fee: With a priority boarding ticket, a carry-on suite case (10kg) is included, which is about 20 euros per flight (40 euros round trip)
Volotea Checked Baggage Fees
These airline fairs can be as low as 40 euros for a round-trip flight. But, as you can see, the baggage fees can add up.
If you want to keep prices down, BE SURE TO PURCHASE YOUR BAGGE AT THE TIME OF CHECKOUT.
Airlines that Include Baggage
If you plan to bring a carry-on and/or a checked bag, you should do some number-crunching to see if booking a flight that includes carry-on will be a better price. Obviously, they will be more expensive, but the luggage fees added to the budget airlines may end up being the same price or more than these airlines.
Aegean Airlines– The best “higher-end/non-budget” airline in Greece. However, does have more restrictive luggage allowance with base fair.
Sky Express– Typically cheaper than Aegean Airlines but includes a carry-on in the base price unlike the budget airlines.
These flights can be about double the price of the “budget airlines” at times.
For example, just looking, a round trip flight this month is around $50-80 with the budget airlines (no luggage, only personal items) and about $130-$150 with the higher-end airlines (includes a carry-on, but not a personal item for Aegean)
Aegean Vs Sky Express Prices
| Agean Airlines | Offers 3 tiers; light, flex and comfort flex. Light: Personal item OR an 8 kg carry-on suitcase Flex: Personal item AND an 8kg carry-on suitcase Comfort flex: Personal Item, an 8 kg carry-on and one checked bag | Price Increases by about 20 euros per tier |
| Sky Express | Offers 3 tiers; Sky Joy, Sky Joy + and Sky Enjoy Sky Joy: Personal Item AND 8kg carry-on Sky Joy+: Personal Item, 8kg carry-on and a 15 kg checked bag Sky Enjoy: Personal Item, 8 kg carry-on and a 23 kg checked bag | Price jump from Sky Joy to Sky Joy+: around 9-12 euros Price jump from Sky Joy+ to Sky Enjoy: 22-32 euros |
Who We Flew With and our Experience
We booked our trip to Greece last minute and with a package that included flights.
The flights included were with Volotea. Of course, it included the price of the flight (which was super cheap,) but we had to purchase baggage fees on our own.
Overall, actually flying with Volotea was great. The airplanes were actually quite roomy (bigger than most of the airplanes that fly out of my local airport of Little Rock, Arkansas 🙃.)
The flight was SHORT (less than 45 minutes), so refreshments weren’t served, but I have no complaints on the flight.
We do pack light, however, with a personal item backpack and only a carry-on suitcase. Therefore we weren’t SUPER worried about the baggage fees for multiple suite cases or anything.
Compare flight options from Athens to Santorini
How Much Time to Allot?
What time of year and what time of the day you plan to fly will really effect how much time you should allot. If you book an early morning flight during shoulder season, you can get away with arriving around 2 hours prior to your flight.
However, if you plan to catch a late morning/afternoon flight during peak summer season, you need to make sure you allot plenty of time to get through the airport!
During the third week of May we had a 6am flight for which we had a 3:30am pick up time (I know!) and arrive to the airport around 4:00am.
This early in the morning, we had plenty of time to get through security and to our gate. Know though, that at the Athens airport you have to take a bus from the terminal TO the airplane, which takes a little longer.
Ferry from Athens to Santorini
Again, your second option is to ferry from Athens to Santorini. However, this is going to be your longer option, and honestly, probably for the same price.
This may be your best option if the flight times aren’t working out and/or an overnight ferry may get you to Santorini sooner.
Who to Ferry With
There are several ferry companies that travel throughout the Greek islands as well. Some are high-speed ferries and some are not, so pay attention when you are choosing yours.
Also, some of the slower ferries are overnight ferries which will come with sleeping cabins. However, the route from Athens to Santorini will get you to Santorini EARLY in the morning.
Seajets– The best high-speed ferry option that will get you to Santorini in 5 hours.
Hellenic Seaways- Another high speed ferry that is comparable in price to Seajets. However, travel time is usually about 7 hours on this ferry.
Blue Star Ferries- Blue star runs the overnight ferry options. However, the ferry leaves Athens at 5:30 pm and gets you to Santorini at around 2:30am!
You can search Ferry Hopper to see the different times, but sometimes its cheaper to book directly with the ferry companies.
How Much Time to Allot?
In general, it is recommended to get to the ferry port about an hour before your ferry time. If you are traveling during off season or the beginning of shoulder season (anytime besides the end of June, July and August), you can probably get away with arriving a little later (30-45 minutes.)
However, if you are traveling during peak summer season, ferries are typically BUSY. Though the ferry to Santorini from Athens isn’t quite as popular as those between islands, I still wouldn’t play around with arriving too late.
What to Expect on the Ferry
In full transparency, I didn’t ferry from Athens to Santorini; I opted to fly. However, we DID ferry from Santorini to Crete and it is quite the experience!
Athens ferry port is much larger than that of Santorini, and probably more organized as well if I were guessing. It has 12 gates located around a small harbor, and the Santorini gates will be well-labeled on your ticket (E6, E7, etc).
The metro arrives pretty centrally within the U-shaped harbor, and its about a 30 minute walk to the furthest gates (1 & 12.)
Here is a great map of the Athens Port
Arriving on a ferry can be chaos with large amounts of crowds and debarking is about the same. There is no rhyme or reason to the order of getting on or off.
When you purchase your ferry ticket, there are options for standard seats, business class and VIP seats. You should find your seat on the ferry according to the value of ticket you purchased, but you probably won’t have an actual seat number.
If you choose an overnight ferry, they come with cabins with beds, which will be 40 to 100 euros more per ticket (depending on which type of cabin you choose.)
Transportation Options from Santorini Airport or Port
Good news is, both the Santorini airport and ferry port are both small and easily-managed. Once you arrive in Santorini, it shouldn’t take you long to be enjoying the island!
You’ve got several options for getting from the airport or port to your hotel.
Hotel Pickup– Double check with your hotel, because many of them offer airport/port pickup and drop off! Our small hotel helped set up our rides. It was about 50 euros one way (for two people) and it was cash only, so double check that before booking.
Hired Pickup– If your hotel doesn’t offer it, you can pre-book pickup or drop off through Get Your Guide, which is about the same price we paid through our hotel.
Bus– Taking the bus is definitely the cheapest option, and the bus goes to both the airport and the ferry port (probably less than 5 euros).
Taxi– Santorini does have taxis, but they are probably the most expensive form of transportation on the island. These will be sitting outside both the airport and the ferry port or you can pre-book them.
Book a highly-rated transfer to your hotel!
Final Thoughts on Traveling from Athens to Santorini
Getting from Athens to Santorini is easy and nothing to sweat over! Just make sure if you are traveling with the summer crowd to give yourself a little more wiggle room than normal!
Heading to Greece for the first time? Here is an epic 7 day itinerary of Athens, Santorini and Crete!
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