Getting the ferry from Santorini to Athens might not be the quickest method of travel, but there’s something exquisitely beautiful about skimming across the turquoise Aegean Sea back to mainland Greece. Somehow flying in a plane just doesn’t quite compare. Here’s everything you need to know about getting the ferry from Santorini to Athens yourself, along with my personal experience of making the trip.
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Where is the ferry port in Santorini?
There are actually two main ports on Santorini, plus an extra tiny one in Oía, where you can get a ferry to the tiny island of Thirassia.
The Old Port (also known as Skala) is located in the main town Fira, and is only used by cruise ships and tour companies.
The New Port- aka Athinios Port- is about 9km down the coastline from Fira. Every ferry to Santorini arrives at this fairly tiny port, meaning it can get quite crowded at times. There’s also no town or village nearby or realistically within walking distance.
Just in case: Santorini in Autumn
Which ferry company should you use to travel from Santorini to Athens?
There are several ferry companies making the trip between Santorini and Athens, with well-known names being Hellenic Seaways, Seajets and Blue Star ferries. The main differences between them are price and time.
The high speed ferries can complete the journey in around five or six hours, and are more expensive at anywhere between €60-€80. These ferries are smaller and therefore quite susceptible to movement if the sea gets choppy. As someone who has suffered with sea sickness in the past, this was not a risk I was willing to take. There’s also no outdoor space so coming up for air is pretty much out of the question.
Larger ferries are far less rocky, cheaper, and there’s a lot more space to strut around in. I chose to travel with Blue Star Ferries, mainly as the reviews for the company were overall very good. The Blue Star Ferry from Santorini to Athens took around eight hours, and cost around €30 one-way.
How to book your ferry ticket
Under normal circumstances, Santorini is one of the busiest islands in Greece during the summer season, and it’d be wise to pre-book your ticket. This can be done in person at the port, but it’s far more convenient to go online.
Ferryhopper is the best website to search for ferry tickets (wherever in the world you’re looking for). The site is a lot easier to use than trawling through individual companies and timetables.
When you book your ticket for a ferry from Santorini to Athens, don’t be surprised to see ‘Athinios to Piraeus’ on your booking details. Athinios, as we’ve established, is the name of Santorini’s ferry port, and Piraeous is Athens’. Panic over, pals. You’re in the right place.
How to get to Santorini ferry port by public transport
The easiest way to travel around Santorini- unless you have some form of hire vehicle- is by bus, and getting to Athinios port is no exception. The island isn’t massive and every town and village is connected with an extensive network provided by KTEL. Bus tickets cost between €1.80 to €3.90 per single adult journey, and you can pay for this only in cash on the bus.
Although there are bus timetables on Santorini, when it comes to reaching the airport or Santorini ferry port, things get a bit confusing. You basically turn up at the bus stop an hour or so before your ferry or flight is scheduled to leave, and stand there trusting that a bus will come along and get you to your destination in time.
(That is literally the exact done thing on Santorini. I’m not even exaggerating.)
My own journey to Athinios port
I therefore naturally left Caveland Santorini approximately two and a half hours before my ferry was due to leave, just to ensure that a bus really did come along and that I really would make it to the port in time. I wasn’t the only one from the hostel that had made that decision. Already waiting in the baking sun was an Argentinian lass who worked in something to do with banking, who kindly said she’d give me a signal if the bus arrived.
Meanwhile I ran into the bakery to stock up on pastries and water for the eight hour ferry from Santorini to Athens that lay ahead. We never actually worked out what the signal would be, so it’s a good thing I finished buying the fifty thousand pastries with approximately a minute and ten seconds to spare before the bus pulled in.
SCORE.
The bus journey down the side of the rock face to Santorini ferry port is something I would describe as a White Knuckle Ride. The road zig-zags back and forth at such tight angles that I was majorly impressed at the skills of that bus driver. Especially when traffic decided to casually overtake every now and then, or just simply DRIVE THE WRONG WAY BACK UP THE HILL. We made it to the bottom, had a really quick lunch together where I learnt a considerable amount about Argentinian banking, and then headed to the gate to await the Blue Star Ferry.
Another hair-raising ride: Our Big Fat Greek Roadtrip
What is the journey from Santorini to Athens by ferry like?
I’d heard a few sketchy things about ferries going between Greek islands and was expecting something completely different to the ferry that actually arrived. It was pretty slick inside, and despite the surge of people all pushing forward to get a seat when the boat arrived, there was actually more than enough room for everyone. Sleeper cabins are available on Blue Star Ferries, but I’d opted for a basic fare where I could just sit wherever I felt like.
As we set off from Santorini, the crew appeared to inform everyone about what to do in an emergency and how to put on their life jackets. This is a task I normally have to undertake when I’m working on ships, so it was all round a bloody marvellous feeling to watch a lifejacket demo for once in my life, not be part of it.
Heading to another island: Two Days on Hvar Island, Croatia
Surprisingly the eight hour journey to Athens flew by, and in mid-September the conditions for making the crossing were perfect, with barely a ripple on the ocean. I read an entire book in that time, at a table by a window. Looking out over the sea at the islands passing by was downright lovely, and I’d love to go back and island-hop around the Cyclades and the rest of Greece, thanks to the whistle stop tour from-afar that I experienced that day.
There was a slightly odd moment where a couple of Asian girls plugged a rice cooker in next to my phone and proceeded to cook their dinner on the floor (doubley odd as this was on a carpeted floor adjacent to a restaurant and a coffee shop). But I appreciated their dysfunctional functionality to be honest. And they did watch my bag whilst I headed up for some fresh air and a look around, so good on them.
Although there are restaurants and cafes on board, it’s quite overpriced for not the most amazing looking fast food options. The Asian pair had clearly planned for this, and it’s fair to say you’d do far better to bring your own pre-prepared meal with you if you want nourishment without feeling ripped off.
Getting from Piraeus port to Athens
It was only after the sun set that time began to drag- mainly because there was nothing to look at anymore. But by around 11pm we docked in Athens and everyone made their way to the exit, waiting in a ginormous crowd for the massive gangway to be lowered. The strangest thing about this, and a real sign of the times is that as soon as the clanking sound of the gangway lowering like a drawbridge began, a sea of selfie sticks went into the air in order to document the whole thing. It was weird. Really weird.
When you get to Athens: The Best Neighbourhoods to Stay in Athens
Upon exiting in darkness onto dry land, I made my way to the Metro station to get a train to the centre of Athens. The walk from Piraeus port to Piraeus Metro station is only about 5-10 minutes and despite the fact that it was late at night there were plenty of people around. I just followed the flow of the crowd and didn’t feel unsafe at all. Once the train gets going, it takes about half an hour to get to Syntagma Square.
The only awkward element of the journey was that I unwittingly sat opposite an old man who hadn’t washed in at least six years, and was possibly also suffering with extreme incontinence. Poor lad. The smell was unbearable but I felt like it would be proper nasty of me to move away so I just sat there attempting to simultaneously hold my breath and not faint until it was time to get off.
The quicker option for travelling between Athens and Santorini
In the name of honesty, getting a ferry from Santorini to Athens is not the most convenient of transport methods. It only takes about 45 minutes to fly from Athens to Santorini which is obviously a huge difference to 8 hours on a boat.
But my personal opinion is that life is as much about the journey as the destination, and if you have the time then I’d definitely recommend that you give a ferry ride a go.
Logistical statisticals
- All the big ferry companies now accept digital copies of your tickets, so you don’t need to worry about hunting down a printer or turning up early to get paper copies. Just show your phone and you’re off!
- Whilst there is a schedule for all the ferries, that schedule is highly dependent on the conditions at sea. If the sea is rough then obviously the journey will take far longer than on a completely calm day like the one I had.
- If buying your tickets in advance, search first using ferryhopper and then book through the company’s own website once you’ve chosen. There are plenty of third-party booking sites which add on a fee for bookings.