The athens mykonos santorini athens tour is a seven-day loop that leaves the port of Piraeus, calls at Mykonos and Santorini and returns to Athens, so this page follows the loop from start to finish before you look at other tours in Greece.
Along the way it looks at the ferry season, Athens and Piraeus, Mykonos Town and Delos, the caldera of Santorini with Fira, Oia and Akrotiri, the wine country, the overnight sailing home and a free day in Athens.
What is the athens mykonos santorini athens tour, and how does the route run?
Over seven days the athens mykonos santorini athens tour makes a loop from Athens and back to Athens. A ferry leaves Piraeus for Mykonos. A second ferry sails on to Santorini. A night ferry then brings the route back to Piraeus, and a free day in Athens follows.
- Ferry from Piraeus to Mykonos, hotel transfer
- A day at leisure on Mykonos
- Ferry from Mykonos to Santorini
- A day at leisure on Santorini
- Free time on Santorini, then the night ferry
- Arrival in Piraeus, then a free Athens day
- Check-out and the end of the trip
Wikipedia explains the name Cyclades as “circular islands”, because they encircle Delos, an island sacred to ancient Greek religion. The group lies in the Aegean southeast of the mainland and counts about 220 islands, the smaller ones mostly uninhabited. The athens mykonos santorini athens tour visits two members of the ring, so every island day stays inside one group.
Long before ferries, a seafaring culture linked these islands. Wikipedia describes its flat sculptures cut from the islands’ white marble, made centuries ahead of Minoan Crete. A caption on that page places a harp player of this art in Athens, in the National Archaeological Museum. So the loop ends in a city that holds a piece of it.
Athens lies north of the group and Crete south of it, Wikivoyage notes. It lists Mykonos among the closest islands to the mainland ports and Santorini as the furthest. The athens mykonos santorini athens tour opens with the shorter crossing and moves to the far island. The long sailing waits for the way home, after the last island day.
A night sailing suits that return. Night seas are calmer, Wikivoyage Cyclades points out. Wikipedia adds that the summer meltemi tends to die down after dark. The traveller spends the last island day on Santorini, sleeps on board and lands in Piraeus by morning. The sea takes no daylight from the athens mykonos santorini athens tour.
Three days are left at leisure: day two on Mykonos, day four on Santorini and day six in Athens. They let the athens mykonos santorini athens tour bend to the weather, to ferry connections and to personal taste. Nights can be added on every island, subject to ferry connections, and in Athens before or after the loop.
Which season suits the athens mykonos santorini athens tour?
Santorini has two shoulder windows, Wikivoyage explains: the weeks from April into June, and the weeks from September into October. Weather is milder then, and crowds are thinner than in July and August. Those months suit the athens mykonos santorini athens tour: ferries run and the island lanes have room to walk.
Spring brings the start of the Santorini season, on 1 April or near Greek Easter, as Wikivoyage dates it. The first two months bring pleasant temperatures and little rain, and wildflowers colour the otherwise barren islands. From late spring the Mykonos beaches are warm enough to enjoy. Both islands are open to the athens mykonos santorini athens tour.
On a July or August day Mykonos reaches 30 degrees Celsius, Wikivoyage reports, and the night still holds 22. The constant meltemi takes the edge off. Santorini has hardly any shade, and the same page says the heat sends people into the cooler cave houses. A summer athens mykonos santorini athens tour calls for a slow, shaded midday.
The wind sets the sea calendar. From late spring through the summer, Wikipedia notes, the meltemi blows in spells that can last for days. Winds of force seven or eight, it adds, stop the majority of ferries between islands. The athens mykonos santorini athens tour holds three sailings, and Wikivoyage describes summer cancellations for weather as very rare.
September brings cooler air again, and Wikivoyage finds it more attractive for a visit. On Mykonos, the post-season lasts from September until mid-October, with warm beaches. The Cyclades page adds that rain arrives with October. Santorini businesses begin to close towards the end of that month. Autumn therefore suits the athens mykonos santorini athens tour in its first weeks.
Winter ends the sea season. Santorini goes quiet from December until March, when the larger share of its businesses are shuttered. In winter, Fira still supports over a dozen restaurants. Ferry services between Piraeus and Mykonos wind down by late October and restart by April. A winter athens mykonos santorini athens tour needs each sailing checked with the operator.
What does Athens add before the athens mykonos santorini athens tour starts?
Athens adds a starting city to the athens mykonos santorini athens tour. On the mainland of Europe, Athens is the capital farthest south, Wikipedia states. The plan lets a traveller arrange nights there before departure. No transfer in the city is part of the plan, so the traveller chooses how to reach the port.
Athens sprawls across the Attica Basin and reaches far beyond its centre. Mount Aigaleo closes the basin on the west, and the Thriasian plain lies behind that mountain, as Wikipedia states. It names Athens and Piraeus as the two metropolitan centres. So the athens mykonos santorini athens tour starts in a city with a port inside it.
The harbour gave stone to the Acropolis. Wikipedia records that the Athenians halted work on the Olympieion temple. Piraeus limestone, destined for the Olympieion, was used to raise the Older Parthenon instead. After a change of plan, marble replaced the limestone. The port whose stone entered the Older Parthenon is where the athens mykonos santorini athens tour boards.
Water mattered on the rock too. Wikipedia reports that a nine-gate wall, the Enneapylon, seems to have circled the Acropolis hill. That wall took in the Clepsydra spring at the north-western foot. The spring therefore lay inside the defended ground. A city that guarded its water before any ferry sailed is where the athens mykonos santorini athens tour begins.
Athens also has a sea edge. Piraeus and Varkiza are its two ends, about 25 kilometres apart, with a tram to the centre. Wikipedia credits a waste plant on Psytalia, a small island, with cleaner water in the Saronic Gulf. Swimmers can use the coastal waters again, which suits a night before the athens mykonos santorini athens tour.
Rail also reaches the harbour. Wikipedia explains that the Athens Suburban Railway joins the airport to Kiato by way of Larissa station and Piraeus. Wikivoyage adds that metro and suburban trains leave the airport from one platform. Suburban trains run more sparsely. No transfer is part of the athens mykonos santorini athens tour, so the traveller picks the route.
How does the ferry from Piraeus to Mykonos work on the athens mykonos santorini athens tour?
Day one of the athens mykonos santorini athens tour sails from Piraeus to Mykonos. Wikivoyage Mykonos lists daily service from Piraeus, by ferry and by high-speed catamaran. The plan notes that later departures are available, so the traveller can pick a sailing. The sail ends at the port of Mykonos.
Greece is a maritime nation by tradition, Wikipedia notes in its article on transport. The article adds that the ferry remains the main link between the nation’s islands, despite better roads, rail and airports. The sea is therefore the normal road for the athens mykonos santorini athens tour. That road starts at the port of Piraeus on day one.
Boat type sets the sail length. The run from Piraeus takes 3.5 hours at the quick end and 5.25 at the slow end, Wikivoyage Mykonos says. The high-speed boats need only half the time. Wikipedia notes that fast catamarans have pushed aside hydrofoils and older single-hull ferries since nineteen ninety. The athens mykonos santorini athens tour names no company.
Wikipedia calls the fast RoPax a conventional ferry with a large garage intake and a relatively large passenger capacity. It sails above 25 knots, or 46 kilometres an hour. Wikivoyage’s page on Mediterranean ferries adds that trucks use ferries to move goods too bulky to fly. The athens mykonos santorini athens tour joins a service that islanders depend on.
Four neighbours lie around Mykonos in the Cyclades: Tinos, Syros, Paros and Naxos, as Wikipedia lists them. Wikivoyage Mykonos lists a stop at Tinos for the boats from Piraeus. Rafina, a port on the eastern coast of Attica, is a second departure point for Mykonos. The athens mykonos santorini athens tour uses Piraeus, so the route crosses open water.
The plan arranges the hotel transfer from the port on arrival. Wikipedia counts 10,704 inhabitants at its latest census, the majority in the west-coast town. Wikipedia puts the airport 4 kilometres south-east of the town, but the athens mykonos santorini athens tour arrives by sea. Day two then stays free, with the whole island to choose from.
What does Mykonos Town add to the athens mykonos santorini athens tour?
Mykonos Town adds a maze of whitewashed lanes to the athens mykonos santorini athens tour. Two travel pages say the Mykonians built the core as a maze, so that raiders lost their way. Wikivoyage says the town kept its identity, with shops, galleries and cafes lining the same narrow streets.
Little Venice suits the first evening of the athens mykonos santorini athens tour, after the hotel transfer. The national tourism site says its houses carry coloured wooden balconies. They stand against the sea, with waves lapping at the walls. Wikivoyage says steps link it with the windmills above. The southern bus station is five minutes away.
The windmills crown the hill above that edge of town. Wikipedia’s article on them calls the mills the first sight on the way into the harbour of Alefkandra. A majority face north, into the strongest winds of the island. The article adds that mills of this type are found across almost the whole island group.
Panagia Paraportiani, on the athens mykonos santorini athens tour, stands in Kastro, the oldest quarter. A medieval castle once stood there. Its walls fell in the sixteenth century, Wikipedia says. The later growth of the town in the eighteenth century built over what was left. The church beside the old gate took around two hundred years to build.
Near the old port, a neoclassical building holds the Archaeological Museum of Mykonos. Rhenia, once the burial ground of Delos, supplied the first finds on display. The athens mykonos santorini athens tour finds Cycladic pottery of the ninth and eighth centuries BC in its cases. The large Mykonos vase carries a relief of the capture of Troy.
The old harbour ends the first evening of the athens mykonos santorini athens tour. Petros the pelican served the island as its mascot for over sixty years, Wikipedia says. When he died, the islanders picked a new pelican to take his place. Day 2 then stays free for the beaches.
What do the beaches of Mykonos add to the athens mykonos santorini athens tour?
Small boats and buses carry the athens mykonos santorini athens tour to the beaches of Mykonos on Day 2. Wikipedia names three main bus depots in town, and the southern one serves Ornos, Psarou and Platys Gialos. Wikivoyage names Platys Gialos as the departure point for boats along the south coast.
Wikivoyage lists small boats from Platys Gialos that leave every hour or less. For the athens mykonos santorini athens tour, Paranga is the first stop and Elia is the fourth and last. The same page gives the last boat back from Elia as six in the evening, with two later buses. Timetables change with the season.
The west coast holds two beaches close to town. Agios Stefanos lies three kilometres north, beside the new harbour, and Wikivoyage sets its length at about a football pitch. It adds that the beach is crowded in summer. The small beach on the harbour front shares its name, Aghia Anna, with other beaches on the island.
Paranga lies six kilometres out on the south coast. Wikivoyage describes a sandy beach with rocks in the water and sandy spots to step in. The right side holds a quiet stretch without deck chairs, parasols, restaurants or bars. A walk from Platys Gialos takes fifteen minutes. It gives the athens mykonos santorini athens tour a quiet swim.
Kalafati lies twelve kilometres out on the east coast and suits a day of sport. Wikivoyage lists jet ski, water ski, wakeboard and tube rides there. It names the offshore breeze as the draw for windsurfers. The bus on that route keeps a sparse schedule. The athens mykonos santorini athens tour needs a plan for the way back.
A day at leisure on the athens mykonos santorini athens tour needs three choices. They are the shore, the way there and the way back. Wikivoyage says public transport reaches all the southern beaches, and that this coast lies sheltered from the prevailing northern wind. Keep the evening light, because the port transfer for Santorini follows on Day 3.
What does Delos add to the athens mykonos santorini athens tour?
Delos adds the ruins of an ancient trading port to the athens mykonos santorini athens tour. The Wikipedia article lists a clubhouse there for merchants, shipmasters and warehousemen, built in the late second century BC. The island lies beside Mykonos, so the free second day can take it in.
The athens mykonos santorini athens tour reaches the island where, in the myths, Apollo and Artemis were born. The Odyssey already knew the island for this story, according to Wikipedia. The article also notes a doubt about Artemis, whose birthplace is named as either Delos or the island of Ortygia. That frames the visit, and the stones read better.
The Doric Temple of the Delians honours Apollo. Next to it rose a colossal statue of the god, from the sixth century BC. Parts of its torso and pelvis remain on the spot. The island museum keeps a hand, and the British Museum a foot. A visitor on the athens mykonos santorini athens tour sees what stayed.
The theatre quarter keeps a monument to a stage success. Wikipedia describes the Stoivadeion, a platform for a statue of Dionysus with a pillar on each side. The southern pillar was set up around 300 BC to celebrate a winning theatre performance. The marble theatre was rebuilt soon after that date. Statues of two actors once flanked the god.
Delos houses hold mosaic floors, and the athens mykonos santorini athens tour can pause at them. Wikivoyage lists three houses with mosaics, and one is the House of the Masks. The House of Dionysos takes its name from a floor picture of the god riding a panther. A second house is named for its atrium mosaic of figures riding dolphins.
The life of Delos faded slowly. In the second century AD, Pausanias found it empty apart from the keepers of the sanctuaries, as Wikipedia reports. By around the eighth century AD, the same article records, it stood abandoned. Wikivoyage states that overnight stays are forbidden there. So the athens mykonos santorini athens tour returns to Mykonos for the night.
How does the ferry from Mykonos to Santorini work on the athens mykonos santorini athens tour?
On day three, the athens mykonos santorini athens tour moves by sea from one island to the next. Wikivoyage Mykonos names Santorini as a place with daily boats to Mykonos. The plan needs just this one island-to-island crossing, and the next sea leg is the overnight ferry on day five.
Both ports lie inside the Cyclades, in the southern Aegean. Paros and Naxos are south of Mykonos, as Wikivoyage states. Ios and Anafi are the neighbours that Wikivoyage Santorini names on either side of it. Wikipedia calls Santorini the southernmost of the Cyclades. So the crossing of the athens mykonos santorini athens tour runs south through the group.
Mykonos has two ports, so check which one the ticket names. The old port is in Mykonos Town itself. The new port is at Tourlos, two kilometres to the north, per Wikivoyage. Ferries berth there as a rule, while fast catamarans stay with the old harbour in the town. Allow time for the transfer on day three.
A direct sailing joins the two islands, and a one-stop sailing calls at a third island on the way. Wikivoyage Cyclades says the number of stops sets the length of a sea trip. It names Paros as a ferry hub with links to other islands. The athens mykonos santorini athens tour needs only the crossing, whichever kind the timetable offers.
Sailings follow the calendar. Wikivoyage Cyclades notes thinner ferry timetables out of season. A number of boat services close for the winter at the end of October and return by April. Wikivoyage Santorini cautions that a ferry booking can leave you without a seat. For the athens mykonos santorini athens tour, read the official timetable for the travel date.
The ferry ends at Athinios, the port of Santorini on the island of Thira. Wikivoyage says buses meet each arrival and run to Fira, the capital. Taxis give a second option. The road up from the port is very steep, with seven half-circle bends. Then the athens mykonos santorini athens tour moves on by transfer to the hotel.
What does the caldera add to the athens mykonos santorini athens tour?
The caldera is the flooded crater left when the middle of a volcanic island fell in about 3,600 years ago. On day three the athens mykonos santorini athens tour reaches its cliffs. The caldera article puts them at 300 metres on three sides. The water inside is up to 385 metres deep.
The bowl did not form in one piece. The Santorini article says the crater filled in more than once. Each time the collapse began again, the latest 21,000 years ago. The volcano refilled the northern part, and the Minoan eruption brought it down again. The athens mykonos santorini athens tour therefore meets the newest bowl of a long series.
On day three, the second ferry of the athens mykonos santorini athens tour ends at a volcano. The island article places Santorini in a chain, the South Aegean Volcanic Arc. The arc is 500 km long yet only 20 to 40 km across. On Thera, the first lava came from vents round Akrotiri about 2 million years back.
No clear ancient record of the Minoan eruption exists, the eruption article notes. An Egyptian text, the Tempest Stele, has been linked to its plume and lightning, although recent studies dispute this. A Chinese chronicle, the Bamboo Annals, notes frost in summer and yellow skies as the Shang dynasty began. The article offers a volcanic winter as one reading.
In seventeen oh seven, a volcano under the sea reached the surface. It made the present active centre on Nea Kameni, the new burnt island. Each summer day, dozens of tour boats call there. A gravel path, about 1 km long, climbs to the 130-metre summit. A free day of the athens mykonos santorini athens tour can hold that trip.
Palea Kameni, meaning old burnt, sits southwest of Nea Kameni. A church and a hot spring in a small bay are its points of interest. The International Union of Geological Sciences compiled a list of 100 geological heritage sites worldwide. The list includes the Quaternary Santorini Caldera, which the athens mykonos santorini athens tour views from the rim.
What does Fira add to the athens mykonos santorini athens tour?
Fira gives the athens mykonos santorini athens tour its town on the rim. Wikivoyage calls Fira the hub of culture on Thira, the biggest island of the group. Museums, art galleries, cathedrals and churches fill its lanes. Day four, the free day on Santorini, can begin there.
Roads reach Fira from the east, the Fira article says. From the port below, a zigzag footpath and a steep cable car climb to the town. Wikivoyage says the donkey trail takes far longer than the lift but helps when queues are long. Riders face weight limits. The Santorini article records criticism of donkey rides from animal rights groups.
The Old Port, called Gialos or Skala, sits beneath the caldera wall, so no road reaches it. On its quay, Wikivoyage names two activities only: boarding a boat and taking pictures. Boat trips leave from this quay. The ten-minute ride to Nea Kameni fits the free day of the athens mykonos santorini athens tour.
Wikivoyage lists the Archaeological Museum of Thera as open Tuesday to Sunday. It lists the Museum of Prehistoric Thira as open daily except Tuesday. Hours change, so check the official page. From the cable car entrance, walk 30 metres east to the Archaeological Museum. The prehistoric museum shares a corner with the Orthodox cathedral of Ypapanti, on its south-east side.
Venetian rule left the island a sizable Catholic community. The Santorini article adds that a Catholic bishopric still has its seat on the island. In Fira, the athens mykonos santorini athens tour finds both a Catholic and an Orthodox cathedral. Wikivoyage describes Saint John the Baptist, the Catholic cathedral, as a baroque church in blue-grey and cream colours.
The Dormition church, the Three Bells, began as two cave churches in the cliff. An infirmary rose in their place and drew Jesuits, who stayed until the diocese received the land. The rim trail north to Oia passes it, a day-four walk on the athens mykonos santorini athens tour. Imerovigli, a coastal town above the caldera, lies that way.
What does Oia add to the athens mykonos santorini athens tour?
Oia, also spelled Ia, is a village almost two kilometres long, lying 70 to 100 metres up from sea level. Its municipal unit takes in the whole island of Therasia too. On the free island day, the athens mykonos santorini athens tour finds cliffs, captains’ houses and evening light there.
Travel reports named the settlement before the Venetian era. Marco Sanudo then set up the Duchy of Naxos in the early thirteenth century. Around the mid-seventeenth century, Jean de Thevenot used the name Castelli San Nicolas. Its inhabitants are still called Apanomerites. The athens mykonos santorini athens tour passes through a village whose name has changed more than once.
Under the Kapodistrias plan of nineteen ninety-seven, Oia and Therasia formed one rural community. The reform that took effect in twenty eleven made Oia a district of the municipality of Santorini. An earthquake in the twentieth century had destroyed part of the town. The athens mykonos santorini athens tour reaches a village that rebuilt itself as a tourist town.
Two-storey captains’ houses stand in the upper village and recall its former wealth. Set back from the cliff edge, a restored nineteenth-century mansion holds a municipal museum of Thira’s seafaring. It holds seamen’s chests, ship models both old and new, and a library of letters and documents. The museum adds a sea story to the cliff views.
In nineteen seventy-six, a national scheme to protect traditional villages took in Oia, with Aris Konstantinidis in charge. Over fifteen years it sought to preserve selected houses and give them new uses. Seamen’s houses at the caldera edge began to serve as guest houses and restaurants. White-washed, blue-domed churches stand among them on the athens mykonos santorini athens tour.
A ruined castle crowns the village and is also called Fort Londsa. The ruin is a lookout with a full circle of view. Steep stairs north of the fort lead down to Ammoudi harbour, where a ferry sails to Therasia. Crowds gather each evening to watch the sunset, so plan the athens mykonos santorini athens tour around it.
What does Akrotiri add to the athens mykonos santorini athens tour?
Akrotiri lies in the south of Santorini, a Bronze Age settlement of the Cyclades. The athens mykonos santorini athens tour can add its buried streets to the free island day. Ash from the eruption sealed the town and kept its wall paintings. Spyridon Marinatos opened the modern dig there in nineteen sixty-seven.
Marinatos chose the spot well, and the town began to show within hours of starting. Two seasons, in nineteen sixty-seven and nineteen sixty-eight, were needed to find its extent. Workshops and laboratories were built for storing, repairing and treating finds. Where buildings stood above a single storey, digging was hard. The athens mykonos santorini athens tour sees the result.
The first fresco pieces came from Sector Alpha in nineteen sixty-eight. They showed an African’s head, a blue monkey’s head and big blue birds in flight. The method was not true fresco. The work started on damp plaster and finished dry, so paint flakes off in places. The athens mykonos santorini athens tour meets a fragile art.
Prosperity at Akrotiri lasted about 500 more years. The town built an extensive drainage system, besides paving its streets. Diggers found water closets and pipes with running water in the town. The hot water in them probably had a geothermal source, given the nearby volcano. Plumbing like this adds a surprise to the athens mykonos santorini athens tour.
People left in a sudden evacuation with only valuables, so pottery stayed behind. Finds include storage jars, stirrup jars, bathtubs, braziers, oil lamps and bee-hives. The House of the Benches held 300 to 500 horns, painted with ochre patterns. On the athens mykonos santorini athens tour, the objects are kept in a separate museum, the Museum of Prehistoric Thera.
A roof meant to shelter the dig fell in shortly before completion. The site stayed closed until April of twenty twelve, while a new canopy was built. Digging paused for lack of funds and resumed with sponsor support. A signposted path links the village to the site and suits hikers on the athens mykonos santorini athens tour.
What do the beaches and villages of Santorini add to the athens mykonos santorini athens tour?
Day 4 of the athens mykonos santorini athens tour is free. Wikivoyage puts the island’s beaches along the seaward flank, opposite the cliff villages of Fira and Oia. Kamari Beach has black sand and runs south into Perissa. Inland, the old villages of Pyrgos and Emporio keep Venetian castles.
On the caldera side, the wall plunges straight into the sea, so no beach can form there. On the other flank the land eases down gently. Wikipedia calls those beaches smooth and shallow, made of lava in black, red or white. The free fourth day of the athens mykonos santorini athens tour starts on that gentler side.
Walkers who want an easy day can follow the beach trail from Perissa. Wikivoyage starts it at the ruins of a basilica and runs it three kilometres to Agios Georgios. Going on to Exomytis lengthens the walk to five kilometres and passes the necropolis of Ancient Eleusis. The athens mykonos santorini athens tour leaves a free day for it.
Wikivoyage lists dive shops in Akrotiri, Perissa and Kamari and calls their offers quite similar. It rates the snorkelling at Red Beach, south of Akrotiri, and at Perissa as great. Both spots hold an abundance of sea life. Divers and snorkellers can spend a free day of the athens mykonos santorini athens tour on the water this way.
Houses at Pyrgos climb a hillside in tiers, like seats in a theatre, with views on every side. Wikivoyage calls the village castle the youngest of the island’s five, and well preserved. A trail south of the village reaches the Profitis Ilias monastery on the loftiest hill of Thira. The athens mykonos santorini athens tour can use that trail.
Wikivoyage ranks Emporio number two among the towns of Thira. For a short visit it points to the fifteenth-century castle, which is still the heart of the village. Narrow lanes and churches fill the old walls. Souvenir shops are fewer there than in Fira or Oia. A stop here suits the free day on the athens mykonos santorini athens tour.
What does the wine country of Santorini add to the athens mykonos santorini athens tour?
On Santorini, Wikivoyage says, the Assyrtiko grape grows in the form of a shrub, not a vine. The ground is poor, made of volcanic ash and stone. The wines carry a protected designation of origin from the EU. The athens mykonos santorini athens tour can add this farm side to the free day.
Wikipedia describes warm weather, low rain and high humidity in the growing season. Strong winds can damage the grapes unless the vines are trained low. At night the porous, lime-rich ground gives back the damp it took from the air. So on the athens mykonos santorini athens tour, the vines you see in the fields lie low.
Santorini vines stand unstaked, trained low to the ground. Each shoot is woven into a basket called a kouloura, with the bunches inside. The leaves screen them from wind and sun. Plots are tiny and the baskets lie scattered, so passers-by can mistake them for wild bushes. A free day on the athens mykonos santorini athens tour can reach them.
Three native white grapes lead the vineyards: Assyrtiko, Athiri and Aidani. Assyrtiko is the flagship grape, with high acid and mineral and citrus tones. One wine page says this white grape dresses like a red, since its wines are full-bodied. It goes with grilled fish and meats, which suits a meal on the athens mykonos santorini athens tour.
The Greek name Nykteri translates as night work. Growers once picked at night to dodge the heat, finishing before sunrise, and pressed the grapes that day. Vinsanto grapes spend twelve to fourteen days drying under the sun. The wine then rests two years or more in oak barrels. A tasting on the athens mykonos santorini athens tour can show both.
Wikivoyage says visitors can tour wineries in Megalochori and Pyrgos, and a wine museum stands in Vothonas. Wine is also on the menu in practically every restaurant. The trail from Finikia to Cape Koloumpos runs five kilometres through vineyards, past caves and a Minoan cistern. All three suit the free day of the athens mykonos santorini athens tour.
How does the overnight ferry from Santorini to Piraeus work on the athens mykonos santorini athens tour?
Day five of the athens mykonos santorini athens tour ends on a night boat out of Santorini. It docks in Piraeus the next morning. Passengers sleep on a seat, on deck or in a cabin. Day ferries run as well, so the night boat is a choice, not a rule.
Breakfast and free time on Santorini come first, then the port transfer. Wind can stop a ferry, so Wikivoyage Cyclades counsels against tying a flight to the final sailing. Wikivoyage Greece wants travellers back in Athens at least a day before the flight out. The athens mykonos santorini athens tour has that cushion, because day six is free.
Three kinds of space exist on a night ferry. Wikivoyage Cyclades says deck class lets passengers sleep outside, on the deck. Wikivoyage’s page on Mediterranean ferries calls the cabins on overnight ships cramped but clean. Wikivoyage Santorini warns that a booking is not always a seat. Read the ticket of the athens mykonos santorini athens tour before boarding.
Morning is the reward of a night boat. Sleep covers part of the distance. Wikivoyage Cyclades notes calmer seas at night, which helps late and early sailings run. Wikivoyage’s page on Mediterranean ferries describes the morning on deck, when a port comes into focus out of the mist. On the athens mykonos santorini athens tour, that port is Piraeus.
Day ferries suit travellers who want daylight at sea. Wikivoyage Greece praises the view as a slow boat enters Santorini. A day crossing shows the island cliffs from the water. Bad weather can delay or cancel Cyclades services, Wikivoyage notes, so ask the operator about the sailing first. The athens mykonos santorini athens tour ends at Piraeus either way.
Pack light for the night. Keep the ticket, the passport and a charger in one small day bag. Add a warm layer, because a deck feels cold after dark. Earplugs and a scarf help with sleep on a seat. The large bag stays in the luggage area. This habit keeps the athens mykonos santorini athens tour easy.
What does Piraeus add to the athens mykonos santorini athens tour?
Piraeus is the port where the athens mykonos santorini athens tour finishes its sea leg on day six. Wikipedia places it inside the Athens urban area. Ferries from the central harbour reach Crete, the Dodecanese, the Cyclades and the northern Aegean. The Metro links the quay with the capital.
Piraeus was an island once, and Wikipedia counts three natural harbours around its rocky peninsula. The central one, called Kantharos in ancient times, carries trade and passenger shipping. Zea, also named Pasalimani, and Munichia, known as Mikrolimano and Tourkolimano, serve leisure and fishing craft. The athens mykonos santorini athens tour lands at the working harbour, not at these two.
The rails reach the quay. The Metro and the suburban railway each keep a station beside the seaport, both named Piraeus station. The railway from Athens to Piraeus was completed in the year eighteen sixty-nine. Wikivoyage calls the Metro very convenient. The plan holds no transfer in Athens, so the athens mykonos santorini athens tour can use it.
The port is large. Wikivoyage Piraeus allows fifteen minutes by car or thirty on foot to cross the port from end to end. Walking works easily without luggage. Arrival and departure notices for ships are posted at Karaiskaki Square, the main bus terminal. The athens mykonos santorini athens tour leaves the pace of day six to the traveller.
The Hellenic Maritime Museum began in nineteen forty-nine, when citizens of Piraeus and navy officers signed its founding charter. Today it holds more than 2,500 objects, from prehistoric times up to the present day. Its naval library, open to the public, counts more than 17,000 volumes. This stop adds sea history to the athens mykonos santorini athens tour.
The Archaeological Museum of Piraeus gives the athens mykonos santorini athens tour four bronze statues found in the city. A bronze hand, seen about 1.50 metres down while pipes were laid in nineteen fifty-nine, began the dig. The statues are an Archaic Apollo, two Artemis figures and a larger-than-life Athena. Wikipedia ties the modern museum to this find.
What does the free day in Athens add to the athens mykonos santorini athens tour?
Day six of the athens mykonos santorini athens tour is a free day in Athens. The night ferry docks at Piraeus in the morning, and the plan books nothing in the city. Four stops fit the day: the Acropolis Museum, the National Garden, the Zappeion and Lycabettus hill.
The Acropolis Museum sends visitors to its top level first, where the Parthenon marbles stand. The north side of the hall looks up to the real temple, Wikipedia notes. Its pediment figures, metopes and frieze slabs turn outward, like their old places on the temple. The athens mykonos santorini athens tour can open the free day here.
The National Garden fills 15.5 hectares between Kolonaki and Pangrati, right behind the Parliament. Queen Amalia commissioned it in the nineteenth century, and a German agronomist designed it. He brought over 500 plant species, plus peacocks, ducks and turtles. Not every plant survived the dry climate. A duck pond gives the athens mykonos santorini athens tour a slow hour.
Part of the upper garden was once a private refuge for the king and queen. The public came in the afternoons. In the nineteen twenties the park opened fully and became the National Garden. Its entrance moved to the twelve palms Amalia planted. Gates stay open from sunrise to sunset, and Roman remains include a villa with a mosaic.
Theophil Hansen, a Danish architect, designed the Zappeion. It was the first building raised only for the Olympic revival, its article states. The donor, Evangelis Zappas, did not see it built, so he named a cousin to finish it. The garden runs on to this hall, so the athens mykonos santorini athens tour reaches it on foot.
Lycabettus tops out at 277 metres, the high point of central Athens. One story ties its name to wolves, because lycos is Greek for wolf. The summit carries a chapel to Saint George that dates to the nineteenth century. Day seven is check-out day and the program ends, so the athens mykonos santorini athens tour can close here.
What does an extra night on the islands add to the athens mykonos santorini athens tour?
An extra night on Mykonos or Santorini adds a slower evening to the athens mykonos santorini athens tour. The plan lets travellers add nights on any island, as ferry connections allow. Mykonos then offers Ano Mera, its only inland village, and Santorini offers Imerovigli, a village on the caldera rim.
A night added on one island moves every later sailing of the athens mykonos santorini athens tour by one day. That works only when a ferry connection exists on the new day. Sailing days change with the season, so the official page of the port gives the current list. Nights in Athens fit before the loop or after it.
Ano Mera suits a second night on Mykonos. It sits inland, the sole village away from the sea, about 7 km to the east of Mykonos Town. Tavernas line three sides of its central square. Wikivoyage names the sixteenth-century monastery of Panagia Tourliani as the highlight. The athens mykonos santorini athens tour gains a calm hour here.
The Armenistis lighthouse still works. Its place, Fanari, means lantern, and Chora lies 6.5 km away. The tower stands for the maritime past of Mykonos. Agios Sostis, on the east side of Panormos Bay, has no rented loungers or umbrellas. It needs your own transport. An added evening on the athens mykonos santorini athens tour fits both.
North of Fira, Imerovigli perches on the caldera edge. Wikivoyage says no other spot on the caldera cliffs stands higher. Nearby, Skaros Rock bears the remains of a Venetian fort. Marco Sanudo had it raised in the thirteenth century, while he ruled all the Cyclades. The athens mykonos santorini athens tour keeps this village for a late stroll.
Below Oia lies Ammoudi, a former fishing village. Wikivoyage lists it among the caldera bays that once hid pirates and now draw sunset watchers. The same page tells the local legend of Atlantis lost to the eruption, a claim historians dispute. The myth echoes the island’s explosive past. The legend adds a story to the athens mykonos santorini athens tour.
What else do travellers ask about the athens mykonos santorini athens tour?
Travellers ask about bags, timetables, night cabins, shoes and route changes. The athens mykonos santorini athens tour has three sailings and one loop. Each answer below stays on the sea and the island lanes of the route. The facts come from Wikivoyage and Wikipedia pages.
What are the luggage rules on a ferry and in a port?
The athens mykonos santorini athens tour has three sailings, and your bags join every one. Wikivoyage’s page on ferries says ferries seldom run a separate baggage check-in or security screen. You carry your own bags aboard. The sources read for this page set no weight limit, so the terms on each ticket decide.
Ports reward a short list. Put a name tag on each bag, and keep tickets, charger and medicine in the small bag. Check the gate or pier on the ticket first. On day five, ask the hotel to hold the big bag during the free time. The athens mykonos santorini athens tour then moves to the port by transfer.
Days one, three and five each include a transfer between port and hotel. Day six has none, because the plan holds no transfer in Athens. Keep photo ID in a small bag for each sailing. Wikivoyage’s ferry page says a domestic route can call for it. The athens mykonos santorini athens tour then runs smoothly at every gangway.
How do I read a ferry timetable, and what if the sea closes a sailing?
Read the craft before the hour. Wikivoyage’s ferry page says a faster boat is more prone to disruption than a conventional ship. Each timetable line for the athens mykonos santorini athens tour carries two facts: the time and the craft. Wikivoyage’s Santorini page adds that ferry departure times differ from day to day.
At Piraeus, Wikivoyage’s Mediterranean ferries page calls finding your boat no small task. Boards at the harbour gates show the ship’s name, so note it when you book. The carrier knows what is happening and what other transport exists, the ferry page adds. If a sailing of the athens mykonos santorini athens tour stops, ask the carrier first.
Bad weather can delay or cancel a ferry, and Wikivoyage’s ferry page says winter delays can run for weeks. Day six is the buffer of the athens mykonos santorini athens tour. A late arrival eats into the free day in Athens, not into check-out on day seven. Official operator pages list the current sailings.
What do a cabin and a seat give on the night ferry?
Wikivoyage’s ferry page says ferries on longer routes can carry cabins close to those of a cruise ship. The page says a cabin is normally an add-on that you book. At busy times cabins run short, so booking can start months ahead. Plan the cabin early for the night sailing of the athens mykonos santorini athens tour.
Wikivoyage says old-school ships hand over a cabin key at the purser’s desk. Modern ships can copy a hotel reception, or give a room code on the ticket. Seats on hydrofoils tend to be assigned, but conventional ships fill seats first come, first served. Ask which rule applies to the boat you book for the athens mykonos santorini athens tour.
Wikivoyage’s motion sickness page says to pick a forward-facing seat near the centre, especially on a boat. It adds that travel at night tends to be worse than travel in broad light. Wikivoyage’s ferry page also advises keeping off the open deck in harsh weather. Day five of the athens mykonos santorini athens tour also allows a day ferry.
What do I wear and carry on cobbled lanes and cliff paths?
Start with the ground. Wikivoyage says ruins cover nearly all of Delos, spreading out from its west harbour. A day trip there on day two of the athens mykonos santorini athens tour is a long walk. Wear closed shoes with grip, not sandals. The page adds that Delos has no protection from the sun.
Cliff paths ask for time and daylight. Wikivoyage places the Fira to Oia walk along the crater ridge and puts it at under three hours. It names rocky ground and steep drops beside the path. Start early on the athens mykonos santorini athens tour, and walk from Fira towards Oia, the direction the page prefers.
Carry less on the lanes. A small bag with a strap across the body leaves both hands free for rails and steps. A bottle of water and a thin jacket for the sea wind complete the kit. Keep the big bag at the hotel on day two and day four. The athens mykonos santorini athens tour rewards light packing.
How does the loop change in the other direction, or with Naxos or Paros added?
Run the other way, the loop swaps its sailings. The long crossing from Piraeus to Santorini opens the trip, and the shorter one from Mykonos closes it. The athens mykonos santorini athens tour keeps its three sailings, but each line has its own timetable. Check every leg on the official page of the operator before fixing the order.
Ferries and catamarans join Paros to Piraeus, Mykonos and Santorini every day, the Wikipedia article on the island states. These are ports of the athens mykonos santorini athens tour. A night on Paros fits between Mykonos and Santorini. Each added night moves every later sailing back by a day.
Naxos adds a food note. The island is known within Greece for its potatoes, says its Wikipedia article. Thyme is the main nectar source of Naxian honey, the same article adds. A Naxos stop added to the athens mykonos santorini athens tour lets you taste both. Added islands depend on ferry connections, so ask for the current list first.