I purchased our tickets on-line and used Satorini Dave to determine which ferry option would work best for us. As recommended by Dave, I chose going through Paros so we could arrive in Santorini on the Blue Star Ferry, the only option other than a cruise ship that allows you deck views of Santorini upon arrival. The other faster ferries have inside seating only. This option, however requires a transfer in Paros or Naxos adding an addition 2 hours or so to the journey.
Departing Mykonos
In Mykonos, we took the sea bus from the old port to the new port to wait for the Hellenic Ferry. With tons of people waiting I can’t imagine what it is like in the true summer months. The ferry left about 15 minutes late and was 30 minutes late arriving in Paros. The ship was perfectly comfortable and the journey uneventful.
Paros
In Paros we waited at a café across from the dock, where we picked up a couple of sandwiches to eat on board the next ferry. A strategy I highly recommend as they don’t have much selection in the economy café on board.
It’s a big ship and in May there was plenty of seating both inside and out.
Santorini Views
If you want a view of Santorini as the ship reaches the island, which is the whole purpose of taking this ferry, make sure to pay attention to which side you need to be on. There is a map in the hall just past the café that will show you where the boat is relative to the islands.
It wasn’t the clearest day for viewing the cliff-towns that line the island, with a hazy blue sky which I’m hoping will make a more colorful sunset. We’ll see.
If I thought there were a lot of people boarding the ship there were more than 2 to 3 times as many getting off at Santorini. We decided to have a hotel transfer meet us at the dock. There are also buses to at Fira but I don’t know if there is a direct bus all the way to Oia on the far end of the island.
May 29, 2016
For links to all the posts in this series see the Greece page.