© 2019 Snapping the Globe, L.L.C. All rights reserved.
There are two ways to Santorini.
Airplane.
Ferry.
Although we were anxious to get to Santorini as soon as possible, we were also curious about Greece’s ferry system. So many times while in Athens for work, I desperately wanted to head to the Port of Piraeus to catch a ferry to one of the nearby islands.
I always chickened out.
I was not sure how the port was laid out, if it would be easy to find the correct ferry or even how to purchase a ticket.
This time, we realized that we needed to try something different. We’ve traveled by plane for so long, we felt as though we needed to figure out how to travel like the locals. The bonus would be the beautiful scenery along the way!
Once we decided that our trip to Santorini was going to be on the ferry…it was time to figure it all out!
Discovering that there was more than one website offering ferry tickets, including the ferry service’s own websites, it became a matter of choosing the one which offered the best price for the class of service. Opting for Business Class tickets, we were all set. I was finally getting to go to the Greek Islands!
Now…I needed to figure out how to get to the port.
A brief discussion with my Airbnb owner gave me the confidence to take the metro. He warned of the terrible traffic near the port near departure times and since we were near the Monastiraki metro station, he explained that it was easy to take the metro straight to the port.
He was right!
Up early, we purchased our metro tickets and waited for our departing train. Twenty minutes later, we (and a LOT of other people) were exiting that same train, headed to our respective ferries.
The port was busy with arriving cars and taxis and fellow travelers pulling and carrying suitcases. We had no idea which gate our ferry was departing from and it took a bit of walking before we discovered the board with the gate assignments.
In other countries, I have taken ferries on occasion…nothing, however, had prepared me for what we would find for our trip to Santorini. Approaching the gate area, we were fascinated…this was not a ferry! It was a cruise ship!
Entering from the rear, our tickets were checked and we were directed to place our luggage in the racks in the middle of the car parking area, something I was not comfortable with, knowing that the ferry made stops at other islands before Santorini. Just exactly who was monitoring the luggage?
After heading upstairs, we were directed to our large business class seats. Noting a luggage storage rack in the front of the cabin, I immediately headed back downstairs, collected our luggage and brought it back upstairs to our location.
Making myself comfortable…leg rest up…seat back…neck pillow in place…pashmina draped around my legs…I watched the port disappear into the distance.
As I was hypnotized by the rocking of the ferry, the rolling waves, and the passing landscapes, my eyes grew heavy.
Four more hours and we will have made it to Santorini. By ferry.
And yes, it wasn’t that hard!
For more pictures, check out Facebook, Snapping the Globe and Instagram, @snappingtheglobe.
Ferry Booking Websites