Getting around Greece

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

I am about to book my air to Greece next year using FF miles. I will be going to Austria for a week then go to Germany for a week. That part is easy as I fly into Munich and drive between the two.

Now for Greece that one has me thinking. I can spend 1 or 2 days in Athens then I am off to Rhodes for a week then I go to Corfu for the last week. Is it easy to get to each Island? Will I be able to get to Santini and Crete during my time from one of these islands by boat, Car or plane?

[lawren2 Malibu Beach Barbie & A Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close lawren2]

Frank there is an overnight ferry that leaves Athens - stops in Kos and goes on to Rhodes. You book a room on it. One way is 88 euro.

http://aegeantourtravel.com/ferries/...S%20-%20ATHENS

I'm not sure about Rhodes to Corfu.

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

WOW I had no idea that it was that they were that far from each other.

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

I went into the links directory and was able to find a site through one of Carolinians links to http://www.aegeanair.com/aegeanen/home/index.asp this site gets me a pretty good deal on air from Athens to Rhodes but it is higher to go to From Rhodes to Corfu. I can not seem to find anything to get me from Corfu back to Athens.

[CarlK Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close CarlK]

We were in Greece a couple of years ago and found, at that time, that we couldn't conveniently fly from one island to another. We ended up flying from Athens to Crete, spent one week, then took the ferry from Crete to Santorini, for 4 days, then to go to Mykonos we ended up flying from Santorini to Athens then back to Mykonos. We got to know the Athens airport really well! You could probably find a direct ferry from Rhodes to Santorini (or Crete) since they are not too far apart. I would have thought there would be a flight from Corfu to Athens.
As an aside, Matt Barrett has a pretty good website for travellers to Greece.

http://www.greektravel.com/

We had a great time, but the driving was something else!

Carl

[Carolinian Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Carolinian]

I found that a car was very useful on both Corfu and Rhodes. For Corfu, I rented a car in Athens and drove, taking the short car ferry to island from the nearby mainland. I visited interesting sights in between, taking different routes going and coming. The medieval monesteries I visited on the way back, on top of rock pillars (one was in a James Bond movie) were incredible.
Greek drivers, however, as well as Greek roads, take some getting used to.

For Rhodes, it is best just to rent the car for pickup on the island.

Flying between Germany / Austria and Greece, I would check out www.airberlin.com and www.germanwings.com

[Carol C Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Carol C]

Frank,

I never used a travel agent before I went to Greece. It was off-season with few to no ferries running. I just couldn't figure out how to do it. So, since I was on Matt's Athens listserve for years (he now has a great website) I used one of the travel agents he recommended. Costs were so very reasonable...and it saved me a ton of worry. She booked my inter-island airfare and car rentals too. Her name is Kiki and she's with a travel agency called Dolphin Hellas. See Matt's website (link in a post above) for her contact info.

Carol

P.S. Rhodes is really far away...almost closer to Turkey actually. :-)

[lawren2 Malibu Beach Barbie & A Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close lawren2]

I can not seem to find anything to get me from Corfu back to Athens.

Frank there is no need to go from Corfu back to Athens. You can take the short ferry ride from Corfu to Zakinthos (Zante). There are direct flights to Germany and England from there.

Zakinthos is a lovely island BTW. We spendt 6 days there and loved it.

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

We were in Greece a couple of years ago and found, at that time, that we couldn't conveniently fly from one island to another. We ended up flying from Athens to Crete, spent one week, then took the ferry from Crete to Santorini, for 4 days, then to go to Mykonos we ended up flying from Santorini to Athens then back to Mykonos. We got to know the Athens airport really well! You could probably find a direct ferry from Rhodes to Santorini (or Crete) since they are not too far apart. I would have thought there would be a flight from Corfu to Athens.
As an aside, Matt Barrett has a pretty good website for travellers to Greece.

http://www.greektravel.com/

We had a great time, but the driving was something else!

Carl

I emailed mark and his response is below.

Hi Big Frank. Thanks for visiting my website.

Thats an ambitious plan especially for mid-August which is the busiest period of the summer. The best way to get between Athens, Rhodes and Corfu is by flying since to do this by ferry will also require you to take buses, trains and taxis since there is no ferry port that services Rhodes and Corfu. So you would fly from Athens to Rhodes, stay a week, fly back to Athens and connect with your flight to Corfu.

Squeezing Mykonos, Santorini and Crete in? I don't think so. You could possibly find a ferry that stops at one of these islands on the trip to or from Rhodes but to do even 2 of the three you would need another week. Anyway you will have enough on your hands trying to see Cofu and Rhodes. You don't have to do it all in one trip.

By the way, I would not delay too long in booking your flights, ferries and hotels because from August 10th to the 20th everything fills up since the 15th is the Panagia, the Holy Day of the Virgin Mary which with Easter is the biggest holiday of the year.

My Greece Travel Newsletter can be read and printed out at www.greektravel.com/newsletter.html

My Greek Island Synopsis can be found at www.greektravel.com/greekislands

The main index page for all my sites is at www.greecetravel.com

See my Athens Survival Guide: Praised by travelers, guidebooks and Athenians themselves. What to see, restaurant and hotel reviews, travel agents, nightlife, lots of pictures, airport and ferry info and more: www.athensguide.com

For itinerary suggestions go to www.greektravel.com/suggestions

For transfers from the airport to your hotel or the port contact George the Famous Taxi Driver who takes the stress out of arriving in a foreign country. He speaks English and will get you to your hotel or the ferry in his air-conditioned Mercedes. He also does tours of the mainland and Athens.One of the few taxi drivers in Athens who does not smoke! Read all about George and reviews from happy customers at www.greecetravel.com/taxi

Sailing is the best way to experience the Greek islands and the coast of the mainland and more affordable than you would think. To read about my trip see www.greecetravel.com/sailing

Greek-Americans-Canadians, Australians and lovers of Greece. Odyssey magazine is our magazine. Articles on the Greek diaspora and what is going on in Athens, art, politics, culture, travel and beautiful photos. Their summer and hotel issues are very useful for travel to Greece. For subscription info see www.greektravel.com/odysseyform

If you have any questions about Greece you can e-mail me anytime. It might be helpful to leave this e-mail in your mailbox so you can go back to it for reference purposes. If you find a page helpful save it to your favorite places too so you can find it again.
Have a great time in Greece!

Matt Barrett
Greece Travel Consultant
www.greecetravel.com
----- Original Message -----
From: Bigfrank
To: matt@greecetravel.com
Sent: Thursday, September 28, 2006 7:04 PM
Subject: Need help with Greek Island hopping


Hi Matt, You came highly recomended on my travel website, Link is below. I am going to be in Athens on Aug 10 or11 and leaving to go to Rhodes on Aug 12 where we will be staying for 1 week. From there we will be going to Corfu for another full week. Then on the 24th or 25th of Aug we will be heading back to Athens to catch a flight back to the US on the 25th. During our time in Greece we would also like to see Santorini and Crete and if I could fit in Mykonos. Can you giive me the best way to get around. My main concern is from Atehen to Rhodes to Corfu back to Athens.
Bigfrank