10 Essential Greek Island Trip Tips | Greece Travel

Avoid the Aegean Olimpic Airlines. You can't trust them. A return trip was cancelled while waiting for boarding. Then they offered me a trip to Athens the following day to Athens the another stay over in Athens to Frankfurt with another stay over in Frankfurt. Theses stay overs i would have to pay myself. Really unfriendly and unhelpful phone conversations. Then got some of my flight cost back minus airport 'handling' fee. Absolutely scandalous service. Other relatives had similar experiences.

Super- so breathtaking editing-godspeed,

Hi Tiffany Hope you are feeling better. 10 very valid points made. Regarding Rafina as far as I know there is a direct bus from Athens airport ( or at least these was a couple of years ago went I last travelled from there). The bus does not leave from the normal bus stands in the airport but you have to make your way to a stop just outside the airport opposite the Sofitel hotel. You pay on the bus and there is no cabin where you ask for assistance. Times of the buses are on the bus stop. Having said that Rafina is a much less daunting place than Piraeus especially for the first time traveller. Plenty of seating, cafes etc and the boats can only go from the one place- the distance from one end of the port to the other is no more than 500 yards unlike Piraeus when the boats can dock up to a mile away from the metro/ bus stop which is a lot of walking or waiting for the shuttle bus. The only issue I have with Rafina is that the frequency of the boats has declined a lot in recent years. Many ferry operators seem now to prefer Piraeus even the fast ferry operators. I just checked Ferry Hopper for departures from Rafina to Naxos on 28 August. The slow morning ferry takes 5hr 30 while the fast cat does not leave until 2.30 pm. I used to be able to catch an 8.00 am fast ferry but that now leaves from Piraeus. Such is life.

🙏😊 Efcharisto poli, However, I still prefer ATHENS 😊😊😊

Thank you for number 5 haha 🧻👍🏻

Hi Tiffany, so happy your back and feeling better. Everything you said is so true, we always travel september to November, try to stay as long as we can because in canada cold winter set in, unfortunately I can only stay 3 month without a visa, to much trouble getting one so much paper work and never guaranty will get it on time. And no direct flight after November 3nd to Canada. Have a great day!

Yay! You live!😍

When I was younger I did all the close islands, Karystos, Evia from Rafina is also a good possibility.

Hi, just got back from 2 weeks in the Ionian islands. Takeaways: 1) Bus ferry wont let you take your baggage off at destination port, they insist you get back on bus and drive to bus terminal. 2) when you arrive at port check with port police or ticket agent where exactly your next ferry will dock! Had to run 2 km with backpack to reach Lefkada Palace on other side of dock from where big ferry docked. 3) Petrol stations are not open 24 hours a day. 4) online ferry ticket booking for Lefkada, check with an agent which port your ferry is docking, looks like Nydri on map but actually Lefkada town which is confusing when you're going to Lefkada Island 😂 5) allocate the day you catch a ferry entirely to a transit day, its tiring and collecting rental car etc takes time.6) if you dont like crowds dont go to Paleokastritsa on Corfu!

yes, always assume a strike is possible. buses can be unpredictable too.

Strikes are still happening?? Oh wow!

It’s easy and romantic to say Greek island hopping. But if you going to Greece to relax that isn’t the answer. It’s tiered some, living out of a suitcase wasting time on ferries and travelling king in between this is if you are young and want those gram pictures or if older and have time and money do it. I pick a destination island or mainland and just veg on a beach to relax. Not running to ferries wasting days.

The tips that you mentioned in this video are very practical and straight to the point. Just came from visiting Paros, Naxos, and Hydra. I noticed that ferries don't run always on time. When I left Athens to Paros, there was over 1.5 hours delay. Thanks for such a valuable video.

Should I absolutely book accommodation in advance when you go to an island such as Ios or Santorini? I am not sure how long I want to spend on each island ... I am traveling by myself and I am not quite the beach type.

Hi. I booked my ferry via ferryhopper. Can I use the app/eticket to board?

Please please please add number 11: If your ferry ticket has a seat number and its not crowded, you can sit anywhere. The number of times I have been kicked out of a seat on an almost empty ferry is ridiculous cause I was in "their" seat. I've seen North American idiots wander around like lost lemmings, dragging their luggage and families behind them looking for their chair. Its a 30 minute ride, guy. Sit anywhere. If the ferry is big enough, you can even enjoy the outside deck the whole ride.

We want to go straight from the airport to a port to ferry to Paros. Which is the best port for that? Also. How long would the ferry ride be?

Another tip: When islandhopping, select islands within the same group like the Cyclades, the Dodecanese islands or the Noerth Aegean islands. It makes travelling between them with a ferry much easier. There are not many ferries that connect different island groups. And it mainly long trips between island groups.

Good tips.