How to Get from Athens to Santorini by Flight or Ferry

There are two ways to get to Santorini from Athens: By flying with Aegean, OlympicAir or Ryanair and by getting a ferry, either the slow one (9 hours) or the quick one (4.5 hours). If you ask yourself if you should be using a flight or a ferry, read through for all the details, costs and information on these options.

1.Flying from Athens to Santorini

This is obviously the fastest route and the flight from Athens International Airport to the Santorini Airport, takes about 40 minutes and it has no stops. There are 6 airline companies that have frequent flights on this route, especially during the busy summer time: Aegean Airlines, Olympic Air (actually this is now the same company with Aegean Airlines),Ryanair, Ellinair, Skyexpress and Volotea. The best three companies to fly with are Aegean Airlines, Olympic Air and then Ryanair.

The best one out of the three is by far Aegean Airlines: they are very punctual, their airplanes have the most convenient seats and they have the best service. Albeit, Aegean Airlines is usually the most expensive one to fly with.

The cost of a flight ticket from Athens to Santorini can vary from a mere 30 euros if you book early enough with Ryanair, to 150 euros if you book last minute with Aegean. Usually, a one-way ticket should cost around 80-90 euros. For example you can see below the results for a one-way flight from Athens to Santorini on August 2016.

The airport code of Santorini, is JTR. Please bear in mind that Santorini is also called “Thira” or “Thira island”, so you may find it under this name in some flight search engines. The airport code of Athens Airport is ATH.

You can use the local website www.viva.gr to find and book your flights – it is well designed and very functional. Alternatively, you can book via the websites of the airline companies

Airlines that Fly to Santorini

Here are the websites of the 6 airlines that fly from Athens to Santorini:

Aegean Airlines: http://en.aegeanair.com/

Olympic Air: https://www.olympicair.com/en

Ryanair: www.ryanair.com

Ellinair: http://en.ellinair.com/

Skyexpress: http://www.skyexpress.gr/

Volotea: http://www.volotea.com/

What you should know about your flight from Athens to Santorini:

a. The airplanes are small and they don’t have a turbin. You cannot carry too big carry-ons inside and they get a little bumpy on the air sometimes. Don’t worry, they are very safe. Here is an airplane you may fly with:

b. The Airport of Santorini is very small and not well organized. It has poor air-condition and not a lot of shops. This might be more important for your return flight, if you need to wait e.g. for one hour in the airport you may have to “hunt” for a seat. One of the good things is ofcourse that you don’t need a bus to get from the airplane to the airport.

c. The Airport of Santorini is 4-5 kms from the main village of Santorini that is called Fira. If you get a taxi, you should expect to pay around 10-15 euros to get from the airport to Fira and around 20 euros to get from the airport of Santorini to Oia.

2. Getting a Ferry from Athens to Santorini

If you plan to use a ferry to go from Athens to Santorini, you should know that there are two different ports to take the ferry, the Piraeus port and the Rafina Port. Moreover, there are two different kind of ferries you can get, the slow one (around 9 hours) and the fast and more expensive one, which will take you around 4.5 hours.

Here is a map of where are the ports of Piraeus and Rafina, in correlation with the Athens International Airport and the center of Athens.

Frequently Asked Questions about Using a Ferry to get from Athens to Santorini:

Q: How long is the ferry ride from Athens to Santorini? From 4.5 hours to 8 hours, depending on the ferry you are taking.

Q: How much is the ferry from Athens to Santorini? From 40 euros to 70 euros per person one way.

Q: What is the Athens to Santorini Ferry Timetable? Check it out at www.viva.gr

Q: Is there an Athens to Santorini Overnight Ferry? No, there isn’t one.

Q: Can I get a car on the boat/ferry? In some ferries yes. Not in all type of ferries, so please be careful.

Q: Where can I book a ticket for a ferry? You can do it at www.viva.gr. Please bear in mind that these are not electronic tickets, so you will have to pick them up from a certain location or have them sent to you.

Read below a more detailed explanation:

a. Getting the Ferry from Piraeus Port to Santorini

To go to Piraeus you can use the electric train which crosses the city of Athens and you should stop at the final destination. If you arrive at the Athens airport, take the X96 Bus. It departs every 20’ from the airport bus station and it takes about 70’ to reach the port. If you take a taxi from the airport to the port it should cost you about 35€, otherwise, if you get the taxi from any other part of Athens it should cost you about 15-20€.

In the example below, you can see the itineraries and the prices of ferries leaving from Piraeus port to Santorini. You will see that there are ferries that will get you in Santorini at almost 5 hours with 55 euros and others that are a little bit cheaper, at 40 euros and will get you to Santorini at 7.5 hours (or usually 8.5 hours).

Piraeus to Santorini Ferries Itinerary.

b. Getting the Ferry from Rafina’s Port to Santorini.

Rafina is a town with a port and it is the second biggest port of Athens, after Piraeus port. Rafina is 30kms outside of Athens. To go to Rafina, you can use the bus from Mavromateon Street – Pedio Areos (it is 10minutes walk from the central train station Victoria). The bus departs every 15’-45’ starting from 05.45am and until 22.30pm. It takes 1h to take you to the Piraeus Port and the ticket costs 2,40€.

Going from the Airport of Athens to Rafina’s Port: If you arrive at Eleftherios Venizelos airport and you want to go to the Rafina port, you can take the bus; it takes 30’ and it costs 3€:

Taxi from Athens to Rafina’s Port: You can also get a Taxi from the Athens center to Rafina’s port. It takes almost 1h (depends on the traffic) and it costs about 35€.