How to Get from Athens to Santorini
Santorini is the most famous of the Cyclades’ islands and is often the first stop after Athens on any Greece itinerary.
Getting to Santorini from Athens is quite simple and you have two options: a plane or a ferry. Depending on the route you take, it’s anywhere from 145 to 200 miles from Athens to Santorini (230-300 km).
The easiest way to get from Athens to Santorini is to fly. The flight takes under an hour and multiple airlines run daily flights out of Athens’ Eletherios Venizelos international airport (AIA) all throughout the year. In the summer and fall high season, you can expect many direct flights each day.
To avoid the hassle of going to the airport, for better views, and for a more sustainable journey, the ferry is a great option for getting between Athens and Santorini. Multiple companies offer a host of connections, with travel times ranging from about 5 hours on the high-speed ferry to 9 hours on the slowest ones.
Santorini, unlike some of the Greek islands, has a population of year-round residents, so there is flight and ferry service to and from Athens throughout the year.
In high season you can expect multiple daily ferry departures, but much more limited frequency during the low season. High season in Santorini and the islands runs from June through the end of September. Shoulder season – April & May in the Spring and October in the Fall - also has fairly frequent service, while the winter low season sees intermittent connections.
If traveling outside of high season, you should always be sure to check timetables so that you aren’t left stranded.
Table of contents
Traveling by plane
Flying from Athens to Santorini
Airlines and flights costs
How to get to Athens International airport
Transport from Santorini airport to your hotel
Traveling by Ferry
Taking the ferry from Athens to Santorini
Ferry companies and costs
High-speed and slow ferries/hydrofoils
How to get to Athens’ Piraeus port
Transport from Santorini Athinios port to your hotel
Plan a better trip to Greece with help from a local!
Plan a better trip to Greece with help from a local!
Flying from Athens to Santorini
Flying from Athens to Santorini takes 50 minutes to an hour and you can find flights with any of the following companies: Volotea, Aegean Airlines, Olympic Air, Sky Express, and Ryanair.
If you book your tickets in advance, you can snag one-way flights for as little as 40 euro ($40). If booking last minute, prices can rise into the hundreds. During high season flights do sell out, so there’s no guarantee that you’ll be able to find one.
As most of these airlines are low-cost carriers, expect to pay for add-ons like checked luggage, priority boarding, seat selection, etc.
Athens’ international airport. Photo: Manfred Werner (Tsui), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
How to get to Athens International Airport
Athens airport is located 33 km (20 miles) from the city center and is reachable by metro, bus, taxi, and private transfer. If you’re heading direct to the airport from Piraeus port, you can also take a train.
Metro line 3 (the blue line) runs between central Athens and the airport from 6:30 am until 11:30 pm. The journey takes about 40 minutes, trains depart 30 minutes, and a ticket costs 10 euro. Regular 1.20 euro metro tickets are not accepted for the travel to and from the airport.
Bus service to the airport from downtown is available via the X95 bus. It runs 24 hours a day with a frequency of every 10 minutes from mid morning until evening and then every half hour throughout the night and early morning.
If you’re headed to the airport from Piraeus port, you can take The X96 bus which runs every 20 minutes in the day and every 40 minutes through the night. Both routes cost 5 euro per ticket.
Travel time from downtown to the airport via the bus is hard to estimate as traffic and severe congestion can result in painstakingly long waits, but expect at least 60 minutes.
A taxi from downtown Athens to Athens airport will take about 40 minutes. The fare between downtown and the airport is fixed at 40 euro (per taxi, not per person), so if your driver tries to tell you another price, find a different taxi.
A private transfer should cost the same as a taxi; 40 euro.
How to get from Santorini Airport to your hotel
Flights from Athens to Santorini arrive at the island’s Santorini International Airport (JTR) which is the only airport on the island. The airport is located 3.5 miles from Fira and 10 miles from Oia.
To get from the airport to your accommodation, you can rent a car, take a taxi, book a private transfer, take a shared shuttle, or use the public bus. For some of the islands having a car is a major bonus, but for Santorini we don’t recommend it.
By rental car, it will take you 10-20 minutes to get to Fira and about 30-40 to get to Oia. If multiple flights arrive at the same time, you can expect traffic and longer travel times.
By taxi, it will take the same time as a car rental and you can expect to pay around 20 euro to get to Fira and 40 to get to Oia. Taxis are metered, so you don’t need to negotiate the fare in advance. Taxis are available directly outside the arrivals terminal.
There are a limited number of taxis in Santorini, so you may have to wait in line for quite a while to get one.
By private transfer, you can expect the same travel times as car or taxi, but you won’t have to wait in line at the car rental kiosk or the taxi stand. Private transfers cost about the same as a taxi and you can reserve them in advance.
Here are a few websites where you can book a private transfer: My Santorini Transfer, Santorini Transfer, Santorini Tours. Expect to pay somewhere between 30 and 50 euro depending on your destination.
By shared shuttle, your travel time will really vary. Typically, shuttle companies will try to have all passengers going to the same place, but sometimes they’ll have to make other stops. Check in advance.
The cost is around 15 euro per person. Many of the same companies that provide private transfers also offer shared shuttles so just check on their websites.
By bus, plan on it taking 45 minutes to get to Oia’s bus terminal. Unfortunately, Fira is the only town that has direct public bus service from Santorini airport, so no matter where you’re going you’ll have to first head to Fira and then make a connection there.
Buses depart the airport roughly every 60-90 minutes beginning at 6:00 am and ending at 10:00 pm. The fee is 1.60 euro per person. The company that operates the bus service is called KTel. You can see their website here, but be aware that it’s rather out of date and includes some broken pages.
Traveling from Athens to Santorini by Ferry
A Minoan lines ferry. Photo: Ad Meskens, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Taking the ferry from Athens to Santorini takes anywhere from 5 to 9 hours depending on the type of ferry service you purchase.
High-speed ferries, often called hydrofoils, will take 5 hours. Slower speed ferries will take 6 to 9 hours depending on the company.
You can find ferries with any of the following companies: Seajets, Blue Star, Golden Star, Minoan Line, and Fast Ferries. There are actually a handful of other ferry companies running this route, but these are the main ones.
Ferry prices and where to buy tickets
You can purchase tickets directly on the ferry companies’ websites, but usually the easiest way to compare options and purchase is on FerryHopper. Expect to pay between 40 and 90 euro per ticket depending on the speed of the ferry and the type of seat (berth) you choose. You have regular seating, more comfortable reclining seats, and sleeper cabins on some ferries.
Just as with flights, ferries do sell out too, so purchase in advance if you can. There is an additional fee if you plan to bring a car and you must select that in advance when booking your ticket.
Most of the ferry companies offer discounts for infants and young children, so be sure to check this before buying a full price ticket. Seajets, for example, offers free seats for children 0-5 and 50% reduced price tickets for children 5-10.
Price comparison on FerryHopper’s website
Plan a better trip to Greece with help from a local!
Plan a better trip to Greece with help from a local!
Which Athens port to use for ferry to Santorini
Athens has three ports, Piraeus, Rafina, and Lavrio, so pay attention to where your ferry is departing from. Ferries from Athens to Santorini typically leave from Piraeus port, but some depart from Rafina. The departure port will always be listed on your ticket or booking confirmation.
At Piraeus port, ferries headed to Santorini depart from gates E6, E7, E9, and E10. The port is large so knowing where you’re going is important. At Rafina, there’s just one gate.
All ferries to Santorini will arrive at Santorini’s Athinios port. There is another port on Santorini, Skala, but it is used solely for cruise ships.
The port of Piraeus in Athens. Photo: Nikolaos Diakidis (user: Nik7), CC BY-SA 3.0 DE, via Wikimedia Commons.
How to get to Athens’ Piraeus port
Getting from central Athens to Piraeus port is pretty easy. It takes about 30 minutes and you can go by metro, bus, or taxi. Our favorite way to check what public transport options are available is the Moovit app which we consider more accurate than Google Maps.
Metro
Piraeus port is served by the Piraeus metro stop which is directly in front of the port. You can take either the Green line or the Blue line. From central Athens to the port takes about 30 minutes.
Tickets cost 1.20 euro and trains pass about every 15 minutes. The metro functions from 5:30 am until about midnight. You can find a map of the Athens metro here.
Bus
Getting to Piraeus port by bus is also a fairly convenient option, but it’s a bit more confusing. If you’re traveling with luggage, it’s also not very pleasant. For those staying in central Athens, the X80 Piraeus express bus picks up passengers at 16 stops including the Acropolis, the Archaeological Museum of Piraeus, the Planetarium, the Municipal Theater of Piraeus, the Modern Art National Museum and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre.
It has both pickup and drop off right next to Piraeus port. Tickets cost 4.50 euro, travel time to the port from downtown is about 30 minutes, and the bus passes every 30-45 minutes. This is a seasonal bus, so it only runs from May to October and from 7:30 am to 9:00 pm.
The 040 bus is a public city bus which runs a similar route. It’s typically much more crowded, but it runs 24 hours a day and every day of the year. It costs just 1.20 euro, passes every 30 minutes, and takes about 45 minutes to get to the port.
Taxi
A taxi is of course your easiest option for getting to Piraeus port. It’s also the most expensive. There is no fixed fare, so the cost will run on the meter. Departing from downtown Athens, expect to pay about 25 euro to get to the port and for it to take 20-30 minutes.
How to get from from Santorini Athinios port to your hotel
Santorini’s Athinios Port. Photo: Zde, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The port of Athinios is located near to the town of Pyrgos, and a few kms from Fira. Your options for getting from the port to your hotel are the same as those for getting from the airport. You can rent a car, take a taxi, book a private transfer, take a shared shuttle, or use the public bus.
Bear in mind that there are no car rental kiosks at the port, but if you rent a car in advance most rental companies can arrange to have an employee waiting for you with your car at the port for when you arrive.
Just like arriving at the airport, to get anywhere in Santorini by bus, you will first need to go to Fira and then make a change there at the bus terminal. Transportation times are about 20 minutes longer than when arriving by plane and the ticket is 2.30 euro.
Taxis and private transfers from Athinios port to Fira will cost about 20-30 euro and 40-50 to Oia.
Shared shuttles to either location cost approximately 15 euro.
A quick online search will showmany companies offering shuttles and transfers, but here are a few popular ones: My Santorini Transfer, Santorini Transfer, Santorini Tours.
Plan a better trip to Greece with help from a local!
Plan a better trip to Greece with help from a local!
