🪪 The comparison at a glance
📍 Which islands have an airport
Many of the big and popular islands have an airport: Santorini, Mykonos, Naxos, Paros, Milos, Crete, Rhodes, Kos, Corfu, Zakynthos, Kefalonia, Samos, Chios, Lesvos and others. Quite a few, though, live only by ferry, such as Hydra, Spetses, Aegina, Sifnos, Folegandros, Tinos and Amorgos.
🗺️ Which islands have an airport
The blue dots with ✈ are islands with an airport, and the blue dashed lines are the flights from Athens. The green ones with ⛴ are islands you can reach only by ferry. Tap each dot for its name. Not every airport has flights all year round.
⏰ The real door-to-door time
The flight to Santorini takes less than an hour, but your trip is not just the flight. From Ioulianou 50 to the airport you need about an hour: Line 1 to Monastiraki and change to Line 3. Add security, the wait at the gate, baggage claim and the transfer from the airport to Fira or Oia. The total easily reaches 3.5–4 hours.
By fast ferry from Piraeus, the same trip comes to about 6–7 hours door to door, and longer by conventional ferry. So the plane saves time, but not as much as the one-hour flight suggests. For Santorini, the comparison looks roughly like this:
| From Ioulianou 50 to Fira | ✈️ Plane | 🚤 Fast ferry | 🚢 Conventional |
|---|---|---|---|
| To the airport or port | About 1 hour | About 30 minutes | About 30 minutes |
| Waiting before departure | About 1.5 hours | 45–60 minutes | 45–60 minutes |
| Journey | Less than 1 hour | 5–6 hours | 7–8 hours |
| To Fira | Luggage, then taxi or bus | Bus or taxi from Athinios | Bus or taxi from Athinios |
| Total, roughly | 3.5–4 hours | 6–7 hours | 8–9 hours |
Not every Line 3 train goes all the way to the airport. Check the sign on the train before you get on, and remember that the metro ticket to the airport costs more than a standard one.
💰 Cost: the first price is not the whole price
Prices change a lot with the month, the day and how early you book. For Santorini and Mykonos, a conventional ferry on deck is usually the cheapest option, while a fast ferry often comes close to the price of a flight. For Crete, deck is cheap, but a cabin pushes the cost up.
A plane ticket deserves a second look. A cheap fare may not include a suitcase. Add checked luggage, seat selection, the metro ticket to the airport and the transfer from the island airport, and the gap shrinks. On a ferry, by contrast, luggage is not weighed: for families, groups and anyone carrying gear, that changes the sums.
⚖️ Pros and cons
✈️ Plane: pros
- Much faster for distant islands such as Crete, Rhodes and Corfu.
- Flights are rarely cancelled because of wind.
- Ideal for a few days or for a winter trip.
- No seasickness.
✈️ Plane: cons
- Security, waiting and transfers eat up the time you save.
- Suitcases are often paid for separately and weighed.
- You can't take your own car.
- Flights to small islands are few and fill up.
⛴️ Ferry: pros
- You arrive straight at the port, often right in town.
- You take as much luggage as you can carry, with no weighing.
- You can take your own car.
- The only way to reach many islands and to go island hopping.
- Deck, sea and views: the journey becomes part of the holiday.
⛴️ Ferry: cons
- Many hours to distant islands.
- Wind can bring delays or cancellations.
- Anyone prone to seasickness suffers, especially on fast ferries.
- Fast ferries often cost as much as a flight.
✈️ Plane, from 1 to 5
⛴️ Ferry, from 1 to 5
✈️ By plane
Most domestic flights are run by Aegean, its subsidiary Olympic Air, and Sky Express. Small islands are often served by small propeller planes, with few seats and stricter luggage limits. Island airports are small: in summer they get crowded and delays are not unusual.
In summer there are also many direct international flights to the popular islands, such as Santorini, Mykonos, Crete, Rhodes, Corfu and Kos. If you don't want to go through Athens, this is the simplest solution. In winter the options shrink, and Athens comes back into the plan.
Small planes for the islands.
Small, and very busy in summer.
Santorini seen from Pyrgos.
You walk from the plane to the terminal.
Few seats, luggage limits.
Photos: Eduard Marmet (CC BY-SA 2.0), Lacu Schienred (CC BY-SA 4.0), PCN02WPS (CC BY-SA 4.0), Daquella manera (CC BY 2.5), Ferengi (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Wikimedia Commons
⛴️ By ferry
The ferry drops you straight at the port, which on many islands is right in town. You can get up, go out on deck, have a coffee and watch the islands go by. For many people, arriving by ferry in a Cycladic port is the first and best moment of the holiday. The ferry is also the only way to go island hopping, since flights from island to island are very rare.
The ferry drops you in the Chora.
The first thing you see from the sea.
Far by ferry, flying makes sense.
The journey becomes part of the holiday.
Photos: Manfred Werner (Tsui) (CC BY-SA 4.0), Jebulon (CC0), Zde (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
🚗 If you want a car
If you fly, you rent a car on the island. In July and August cars and scooters get booked up fast, mainly on Santorini, Mykonos, Paros and Naxos, and prices rise as the date gets closer. The ferry takes your own car too, but the vehicle ticket costs money and needs booking early. For a short stay it doesn't pay off. For a family, or for two weeks on a big island like Crete, it makes sense. On Hydra the question doesn't arise: no cars are allowed there.
🌬️ Weather and reliability
Flights are rarely cancelled because of weather, but they do get delayed, especially in summer. Ferries depend more on the wind. The meltemi of July and August can bring sailing bans, first for the fast ferries. The big conventional ferries cope better, but when the weather turns really bad, the schedule changes.
If you have an international flight, don't come back from the island the same day, neither by ferry nor by plane. A cancelled ferry or a missed connection can cost you your flight. A night in Athens is less romantic, but it saves trips.
🏝️ What suits each island
| Island | Ferry from Piraeus | Airport | Our advice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aegina, Hydra, Spetses | 40 minutes to 2.5 hours | No | Ferry, no second thought |
| Paros, Naxos, Mykonos | 2.5–6 hours | Yes, small ones | Usually ferry; Mykonos also from Rafina |
| Milos | 2.5–7 hours | Yes, a small one | Ferry, unless you find a convenient flight |
| Santorini | 5–8 hours | Yes | Fly if you have few days, ferry if you combine islands |
| Crete | 8–10 hours, overnight | Yes, Heraklion and Chania | Fly, or take the overnight ferry with a cabin if you bring a car |
| Rhodes, Kos | Many hours, usually 10 or more | Yes | Fly |
| Corfu | No ferry from Piraeus | Yes | Fly, or KTEL bus and ferry from Igoumenitsa |
🎯 A simple rule
Take the ferry
If the ferry takes less than three hours, the flight rarely saves time once you count the airport, security and transfers.
Compare
Here it comes down to how many days you have, your luggage, the price and whether you get seasick. The fast ferry and the flight often come out even.
Look at flights
For Rhodes, Kos, Crete and Corfu the flight is usually the sensible choice, unless you bring a car or want an overnight ferry with a cabin.
Ferries, plus one flight
For island hopping, ferries are the backbone. A good idea is to fly to the most distant island and come back by ferry, or the other way round.
For all the practical details of Piraeus, gates, tickets and cabins, see our guide to ferries from Piraeus. For routes with several islands, see our tips for island hopping.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest way to get to an island?
Usually a conventional ferry with a deck ticket, especially outside July and August.
What is the fastest way?
A direct international flight to the island, if there is one. Otherwise, a flight from Athens.
What is best for families?
For nearby and mid-distance islands, the ferry: no luggage limits and room for the children to move around. For very distant islands, flying saves you the fatigue.
Can I fly from island to island?
Rarely. Most flights go through Athens. Between the islands, ferries are the backbone.
What if I get seasick?
For distant islands, choose the flight. If you take a ferry, pick a big conventional one rather than a fast ferry, and sit in the middle of the ship, low down and near a window.
— Kathy
