Athens to Santorini: Ferry, Flight & Distance (All Options)

You can get from Athens to Santorini by ferry or plane. Below, I explain the best and most efficient method for 2026: ferry or flight. Honestly, the absolute Best Way to get from Athens to Santorini is by plane (taking a 45-minute flight from Athens).

Here are the three options you have basically:

The ferry from Athens to Santorini takes 5-9 hrs (depending on which ferry you choose), and if you visit the island only for 3-4 days, you will be wasting too much time on the sea. If it’s your first time in Greece, though, it can be an interesting experience, as I explain below.

As a rule of thumb, if the ferry to a Greek island takes more than 5 hours, then it’s better to fly there. You can always search directly here to see if and when there are ferries from Athens to Santorini:

• Ferryhopper is Greece’s largest and safest websitefor booking ferry tickets from Athens to Santorini. You can also check the timetables and prices of Athens and all the Greek islands.
• Booking.com Flights has all the available options for flights from Athens to Santorini (JTR is Santorini’s airport code) with all possible airlines (Aegean, Ryanair, Easyjet, TUI, Olympic, British Airways, Sky Express, Volotea, etc.)

READ ALSO

• How to Get From Athens to Mykonos
• Santorini to Mykonos
• Best Greek Islands Near Athens
• Acropolis Museum: All You Need to Know
• Best Greek Island Tours from Athens

What I explain in this post also applies to the trip from Santorini to Athens.

ON THIS PAGE:

• Athens to Santorini Flights
• Arriving at and Departing from Santorini Airport
• Ferries from Athens to Santorini
• Blue Star Ferries to Santorini
• Seajet Ferries to Santorini
• Athens Airport to Piraeus Port
• Athens Airport to Rafina Port
• Athens airport to Central Athens

Keep reading…

ATHENS TO SANTORINI TIPS:

• You have two options for getting from Athens to Santorini: ferry or plane.
• Best way To get From Athens to Santorini: By Plane (45mins) especially if you are visiting Santorini for 2-3 days only because it’s simply faster; the ferry is still worth looking though as it’s roughly 3 hrs from Rafina port and it is not taking as long as the ferry to Santorini for example
• Best Website for Ferry Prices & Timetables: Ferryhopper
• Athens has two ports with ferries to Santorini: Piraeus (or Pireas—PIR) and Rafina (RAF). Piraeus is the largest port with more ferry options, but Rafina is closer to the Athens Airport (El.Venizelos) and has more available ferries for Santorini; in my honest opinion, you should choose Rafina port if you decide to take the ferry to Santorini.
• Between April and October, there are more than four ferries a day from Athens to Santorini (from Piraeus port) and nine ferries a day from Athens to Santorini (from Rafina port); there are far fewer ferry options in the winter (November-March)
• How long is the ferry ride from Athens to Santorini? It varies from 5 hours (fast Seajet Ferries) to 9 hours (slow Blue Star Ferry); the same applies to the ferry from Santorini to Athens.
• How much does it cost to take a ferry from Athens to Santorini? The slowest ferry (Blue Star) costs 50 euros, and the fast ferry (Seajet Ferries) can cost up to 90 euros.
• You must book your ferry online, and you can then enter the ferry with the barcode in the email sent to you. This will be written in the email you will receive from Ferryhopper, and it is now the system that most ferry companies use. Still, some smaller companies may ask you to get a printout from a kiosk outside the ferry, and this printout will allow you to enter the ferry. As a rule of thumb, if your ticket, which you got through Ferryhopper’s email, has a barcode, you can enter the ferry directly.
• How long is the flight from Athens to Santorini? The flight is around 40 minutes long, and check-in is usually quick. However, as with any flight worldwide, you must arrive 2 hours before the flight.
• Best Way to go from Athens Airport to Athens main port (Piraeus) to take any ferry is by taking the Athens Airport Bus X96 (X96 Bus Route – X96 Bus runs every 20-30 mins) – X96 Bus ticket costs 6 euros (adult) and 3 euros (kids) or buy an ATH.ENA Card
• The Best Way to travel from Athens Airport to Rafina Port is by taking another bus (called KTEL) that runs every 1 hour from the Airport.
• Direct International Flights from Athens to Santorini: only from major European cities and only between April and October (Santorini’s Airport Code: JTR)
• Aegean Airlines is the Best Airline to fly from Athens to Santorini(Check flights on Booking.com Flights).
• Strikes in Greece: Strikes can happen anytime in Greece and on short notice for any means of public transportation. They usually occur on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays.
• Yes, they may mess up your trip, but the hard-working people of Greece must have decent salaries and benefits. So, get over it and find alternatives for your trip (a taxi is usually the best option).
• Strong Winds – Ferries Cancellations: in case there are strong winds (which can be pretty standard in August in Greece), then the Greek Port Authorities may stop all ferries from departing, so bear in mind this is also a possibility that can mess up your trip; as an average there might be 4-5 days during the summer months that this can happen so get prepared
• Business Seats on Ferries in Greece: In my opinion, they are not worth the extra money, as you only get a bit more space and a slightly quieter area to sit, but even the standard seats are very spacious
• The Ferry Schedule for all Greek islands: Announced only 2-3 months before the actual trips, so if you cannot find any scheduled ferries for your trip 3 years from now, please check again 2 months before your actual travel.

Okay, so let’s see all the available options from Athens to Santorini (that also apply to the return trip from Santorini to Athens):

1. Athens to Santorini flights

Taking a flight to Santorini is the quickest and most expensive option. Still, staying on the island for less than 5 days is highly recommended, as you won’t waste time on the slow ferry boats. It’s also the best thing you can do if you are only interested in Santorini and not bothered about Athens (Greece’s capital).

The best and cheapest website to book or search for flights from Athens to Santorini is Booking.com Flights, as it has all the available options (including the low-cost airlines like Ryanair).

A few useful pieces of information to have in mind when booking your flight to Santorini:

• Santorini’s airport website
• Athens Airport Code is: ATH (Athens)
• Santorini’s Airport Code is: JTR (Thira – Santorini’s official name)
• Every plane that lands on Santorini takes off after 40 minutes to fly back to Athens.
• The exact times of the flights change and are not the same throughout the year, so ensure you get the right times from Booking.com Flights,as it will give you all the available flights immediately.
• There are more flights from Athens to Santorini between April and October (high season)
• If you book your tickets well in advance (6 months), you could probably find some very good deals with return tickets. I have flown to Santorini with just 30-40 euros (with return!), so it’s doable!
• The cost of the flight from Athens to Santorini may come up to 300 euros during the high season (April-October)

The airlines that fly from Athens to Santorini (April-October) are (these may change, though):

• Aegean Airlines (Olympic Air is the same airline with a different brand name)
• Ryanair
• Sky Express
• Ellinair
• Volotea

PROs OF FLYING FROM ATHENS TO SANTORINI:

• So much faster than the ferry (45 mins by air)…you can save a whole day and spend it in Santorini instead

• If you have just landed at theAthens airport, you can just wait there till your connection flight to Santorini departs (Athens Airport is not very big, but leave at least 2.5 hrs between the two flights, otherwise it is going to be very risky and tight)

CONs OF FLYING FROM ATHENS TO SANTORINI:

• It can be much more expensive
• The flight times to Santorini may not be convenient, and you might have to spend some boring hours at the Athens airport
• You don’t get to see any other Greek islands ( you can get a glimpse of them by taking the ferry, which is like a mini cruise in a way…see below)

The airlines that fly directly to Santorini from major European cities (April-October) are:

• Laudamotion, Eurowings, Austrian Airlines (from Vienna)
• Thomas Cook (from Birmingham, Gatwick, Manchester, Brussels)
• Thomson(from Birmingham, Gatwick, Manchester, Bristol)
• Volotea, Blue Panorama, Iberia (from Venice, Bari, Naples, Palermo)
• Germanwings(from Cologne)
• Norwegian(from Oslo, Copenhagen, Stockholm)
• Transavia(from Paris, Amsterdam)
• British Airways(from London Heathrow, London City)
• Condor(from Munich, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt)
• Aegean(from Russia, Italy, Cyprus)
• Easyjet (from Rome, Milan, Geneva, Manchester, Gatwick)
• Vueling (from Barcelona, Bilbao)
• Jetairfly (from Brussels)
• HolidayJet(from Zurich)

ARRIVING AT AND DEPARTING FROM SANTORINI AIRPORT:

Santorini’s airport is small and can be extremely crowded during the high season. There are plenty of car rental options outside the Santorini airport, but it is always wise to book well in advance. The best website for Santorini to rent a car is Rentalcars.com.

Many taxis await you at the airport and on the local Santorini bus.

A taxi from the Airport to Fira would cost 25 euros, and in general, a taxi to all other directions shouldn’t cost more than 40 euros (the furthest towns are Oia and Akrotiri). The local bus to Fira (local buses are called KTEL in Greece) will cost 1.60 euros.

READ ALSO: How To Get Around Santorini

2. Ferries from Athens to Santorini

The second option is to go to Santorini by ferry, and it can be a very nice experience if you visit the island for more than five days and if it’s your first time in Greece.

A few important things to know about the ferries from Athens to Santorini:

• You have two ports to choose from for departure from Athens to Santorini: Piraeus port or Rafina port. Piraeus will always give you more ferry options daily, but Rafina is closer to the Athens Airport.
• The slow ferry from Athens (Piraeus) to Santorini takes approximately. 8 hours to arrive (Blue Star Ferries) – check timetables here
• The quick ferry from Athens (Piraeus to Santorini) takes 5 hours to arrive (Seajets, Golden Star Ferries) – check timetables here
• The slow Ferry ticket to Santorini costs ~20-30 euros (depending on the seat you choose)
• A fast Ferry ticket to Santorini costs ~70-80 euros (depending on the seat you choose)

ATHENS TO SANTORINI FERRIES

Before deciding which ferry to take (and checking timetables and prices for all ferries), you should head to Ferryhopper and enteryourdesired dates.

Here is an example of ferry timetables from Athens to Santorini:

This is just an example of a ferry schedule! For the latest Ferry schedule, always check on Ferryhopper. You have the following options for ferry boats from Athens to Santorini:

• From Piraeus port: BLUE STAR FERRIES(slow-8hrs),
• From Piraeus port: SEAJET FERRIES (fast-5hrs),
• From Piraeus port: GOLDEN STAR FERRIES (fast-5hrs),
• From Piraeus port: ZANTE FERRIES (slow-10hrs),
• From Rafina port: GOLDEN STAR FERRIES (fast-5hrs),
• From Rafina port: GOLDEN STAR FERRIES (slow-9hrs),

Let’s see all the available options in more detail:

BLUE STAR FERRIES:

Bluestar Ferries are the biggest ones you can take to Santorini. They are the most stable but slowest (they take 8 hours to arrive). You won’t feel much with these, no matter how bumpy or windy.

The Blue Star Ferries from Athens to Santorini visit other islands before they arrive at Santorini, giving you a good glimpse of some other Greek islands (Syros, Paros, Naxos, Ios). You don’t get to see much, but feeling on a small cruise is nice!

The best way to check for the available Blue Star Ferry schedule is to visit the Ferryhopper website.They run all 365 days per year, and there are two ferries per day from Piraeus port to Santorini: one in the early morning and one in the afternoon.

Check the exact timetables on Ferryhopper.

Where can you book Blue Star ferry tickets from Athens to Santorini?

You don’t have to book the ferry tickets in advance or online. There is no need for that because they rarely sell out. But…you can always book them online (just to be sure) on the Ferryhopper website (even if you don’t book them there, you can always check the timetables of the ferries on the dates you want to travel).

BE CAREFUL THOUGH:

According to Greek law, tickets can only be printed by certified travel agencies or Ferry companies. So even if you book online, you must visit a travel agent or the kiosk at the ferry port to take the printouts anyway (it’s not a big deal; everyone is doing that anyway).

How much does a Blue Star Ferry ticket cost?

The cheapest ticket for the Blue Star ferry costs 40 euros (no reserved seat), but it’s highly advisable to get an airport-style seat, which will cost you 60 euros per person. A cabin is not required (it’s just 8 hours), and you can go outside while the ferry is sailing. BUT FOR THE LATEST PRICES, ALWAYS CHECK THE Ferryhopper WEBSITE.

SEAJET FERRIES:

Seajet Ferries are less stable because they take you to Santorini faster. On average, there are 2 to 3 Seajets Ferries daily from Athens to Santorini during the high season, and they take about 5.5 hours to take you to Santorini.

There is very limited outside space on Seajets Ferries. Also, remember that these are highly likely to be canceled depending on the weather conditions (very unlikely from June to September, but it’s always possible).

Check the exact timetables on Ferryhopper.

Where can you book Seajet ferry tickets from Athens to Santorini?

These tickets do sell out as there are limited seats on these ferries. The best thing you can do is to book them online in advance on the Ferryhopper website.

How much does a Seajet Ferry ticket cost?

The cheapest ticket for the Seajet Ferry costs 55 euros, but depending on the time and the ferry you choose, it might cost up to 80 euros (one way). There are no cabins on these ferries.

BUT FOR THE LATEST PRICES ALWAYS CHECK THE Ferryhopper WEBSITE.

HOW TO GET FROM ATHENS AIRPORT TO PIRAEUS PORT

The easiest and cheapest way to get to the Athens ferry port, Piraeus, is to take the bus X96, which stops just outside the Athens airport.

The X96 bus takes between 50 minutes and 80 minutes (depending on the traffic) to go to the Athens ferry port (Piraeus), and the X96 bus route to Piraeus ferry port is the following:

This is how to get from the Athens airport Exit to the X96 and X95 bus stops just outside of the airport:

Santorini Ferries depart from E7 Port Gate, so you must stop at the STATION ISAP bus station (also a metro station).

Or in Greek : ΣΤΑΘΜΟΣ ΗΣΑΠ

If you feel lost, you can just ask the bus driver (they always speak English if you talk with a clear accent like an Italian mafioso in a faraway place). But in reality, you will find some brand new GPS screens showing you where you are:

The X96 bus runs 24/7, and there is a bus every 30 minutes roughly (in Greece, time runs in a very strange way…so never expect something to be on time…that’s just a small tip from Greeks…you’d better get used to that, unfortunately). But there is an X96 bus every 20-30 minutes, so there will be one for you, too!

Click here to see all the stops of X96 Bus (from Athens Airport to Piraeus Ferry port to Santorini) and the live timetables.

For the X96 bus, you have to buy tickets from a kiosk just outside the bus stop (and just outside the airport, just follow the “Bus” signs in the airport). The Athens bus ticket (called “ATH.ENA”) costs 6 euros for adults and 3 euros for kids (under 6).

You can also take a taxi from the Athens airport to the Piraeus Ferry port, which costs 50-60 euros. However, it’s not recommended because, in my opinion, it’s not worth it.

The X96 bus is pretty fast and it costs only 6 euros!

Also, BE CAREFUL:

Sometimes the X96 Athens Airport Buses say: “AEROLIMENAS-PEIRAIAS”

Don’t get confused.

This is a Greek version of saying: “Airport – Pireaus”, so it’s the same…

HOW TO GET FROM ATHENS AIRPORT TO RAFINA PORT

The easiest and cheapest way to get from Athens airport to Rafina port is by taking a KTEL bus. These are different buses from the blue ones (like X96 or X95), and the bus stop is just across the street from the airport exits (see picture above).

You can buy the ticket on the bus from the driver, and it costs around 3 euros (there might be a slight difference every year). The timetables for the bus from Athens Airport to Rafina are in the following table (roughly a bus every 3 hours):

HOW TO GET FROM ATHENS AIRPORT TO CENTRAL ATHENS

To go from Athens Airport to Syntagma Square (the most central point in Athens), you have to take either the metro (it’s overground for some stations, and then it goes underground) or the bus X95, which will take you to Syntagma Square within 30-40 minutes. The X95 bus stop is next to the X96 bus stop, and the tickets are the same and are sold from the same kiosk. This is the Bus X95 route (from Athens airport to Syntagma square – central Athens):

You can also take the metro line 3 to get to Syntagma Square from the Athens Airport.

Check on this link the timetables for Athens metro lines

These are the timetables of Athens Metro Line 3:

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

CONCLUSION

You have two options for getting from Athens to Santorini: by plane or ferry. I recommend taking the ferry only if it’s your first time in Greece and only if you spend more than five days in Santorini.

A brilliant idea is to mix the two options: take the ferry to Santorini (preferably the Blue Star ferry, as it’s more stable and less likely to cancel due to bad weather), and then take a flight back to Athens.

If you do take the ferry though, make sure you have plenty of movies loaded on your tablet, crosswords and books in hand… (it’s also a good idea to have some food with you because even though there are some restaurants in the Blue Star Ferries they are not offering the best food in the world…).

You also get to see some other Greek islands before you arrive in Santorini (ok…it’s just the port, but you can still take a selfie with another Greek island in the background). For me, the best way to check timetables and even book your ferry tickets online has been Ferryhopper for the last years. I highly recommend it to everyone looking to get a ferry to Santorini from Athens.

I remember when I was a kid (or even recently) when we had to visit a specific travel agency to book and get the ferry tickets, but those days are long gone!

No matter how you choose to travel from Athens to Santorini, it is for sure that your heartbeat will rise when you are approaching the island… And there is no way you won’t be surprised by the amazing blue colour of the Greek sea!