Båtar till Milos

[Maje]

Är det ngn som har erfarenhet av hur båtarna går till Milos? Man kan ju inte ännu se ngr tidtabeller. Vi är 2 familjer (9pers) som ska åka ner den 10 juni men kommer med flyget så sent att vi tänker bo över i Aten på natten för att ta första bästa båt till Milos från Pireus.
Tacksam för svar

[Pia]

Hej,
Jag och mina barn åkte till Milos nån vecka in i juni förra året. Vi hann med färjan till Kreta, som gjorde ett stopp på Milos. Snabbt och smidigt. Båten gick 19.00 från Piraeus. Vad jag minns går det minst en båt per dag, så om ni stannar över natt i Aten så hittar ni säkert en förbindelse nästa dag.

Pia

[YsterSyster]

I höstas (september) åkte vi med High Speed katamaran 1 från Pireus till Sifnos klockan 07.30 på morgonen. Båten fortsatte sedan till Milos.

Det gick även en vanlig bilfärja vid elva någon fång på fm. Vill ni komma iväg så fort som möjligt på morgonen och det bara gäller en övernattning är det kanske enklare att bo i Pireus istället för Aten.

[Maje]

Ursprungligen postat av YsterSyster

I höstas (september) åkte vi med High Speed katamaran 1 från Pireus till Sifnos klockan 07.30 på morgonen. Båten fortsatte sedan till Milos.

Det gick även en vanlig bilfärja vid elva någon fång på fm. Vill ni komma iväg så fort som möjligt på morgonen och det bara gäller en övernattning är det kanske enklare att bo i Pireus istället för Aten.

Tack för svar. Det verkar ju vara lite olika tider som gäller. Kanske är det så att jag måste vänta o kolla i tidtabellerna när nu de läggs ut..! Jag är väl bara mest orolig för att det inte går så många turer/dag till Milos.
Vi kommer att bo i Pireus så vi kommer snabbt att vara på plats på morgonen.

[Jesper Johansson]

Hittar du/ni några båttider,priser så maila mig gärna info. skall åka i juni den 10. hittar inga tider ännu. /tackar

[Jesper Johansson]

tjenare. hittade denna sida... fortfarande aktuellt för er?
http://www.pireas.com/tourism/transp...dual/milos.htm

ha det så bra. vi åker ner den 7 juni (2006)

The easiest way to get to Milos from Athens is by airplane. It's just a 30-minute trip from Athens International Airport to Milos airport.

The only catch: because of government subsidies, the fare to Milos is relatively cheap (40-45 Euros/person or less, one-way) and thus very popular. This means you may have to book several weeks in advance in order to reserve a seat on the 36-seater, dual-prop DASH-8 aircraft. The plane trip is usually early morning or afternoon.

The best alternative would be the catamarans, High-Speed or SpeedRunner (around 40 Euros/person). They call on on other islands on the way so they take 4.5-5 hours to get to Milos, but the trip is comfortable. I heard the High-Speed lines would even have wireless internet available on board this season.

There is also the SpeedJet. This cute little boat goes from Piraeus (the port of Athens) directly to Milos in 2.45 hours. The downside: Because the SpeedJet is a smaller vessel, it may not be permitted to sail in inclement weather, forcing you to change your schedule.

For the romantics, there are always the conventional ferries, for half the price (around 20 Euros). They take 7.5 - 8 hours to get to Milos, calling on other islands on the way. Think of such a trip as a poor man's cruise, lol!

Arguably, the best of the conventional ferries are the Cretan ferries, most notably Ierapetra, which goes directly to Milos from Piraeus, 3-5 times a week, in just 5 hours. It is comfortable, reliable and punctual, but with the drawback that it always sails at 7:00 PM and arrives in Milos at midnight, meaning you get to spend an extra night at the hotel in Milos.

As for getting to other islands from Milos, there is always a way, but the schedules change every year, as well as from month to month. Naturally, it is a lot easier to get from Milos to the nearby islands, such as Kimolos, Sifnos, Serifos, Folegandros, even Ios and Santorini. The Cretan ferries such as Ierapetra, even continue to faraway islands such as Karpathos, Kassos and Rhodes. Crete is 6 hours away from Milos. To get to most other Cycladic islands from Milos, you either take a conventional ferry that calls on several other islands before reaching your destination, or get creative: catch a speed ferry to say, Sifnos, Serifos or Santorini, wait a few hours, and get on a different boat from that island to the island of your destination (Ios, Paros, Naxos, Syros, etc.)

My advice to visitors is usually the same: Forget about the common practice of island-hopping. This made sense decades ago, when most islands were under-developed and there was very little to do in each one. Today, ferry schedules are improved, but still, island-hopping means you waste far too much time packing and traveling and not enough time in the hotels, the restaurants, the museums or on the beach. In other words, each year, I'd pick an island and stick with it for the duration of my vacation. Milos, in particular, cannot be fully enjoyed in 4 days. Your vacation in Milos will be largely squandered in if you stay on the island less than a week.

[Såof]

Har märkt att det är många som funderar kring förhandsbokningar till Milos från Pireus (och inte bara den rutten). Jag har dock inte hittat någon ännu som undrat det jag undrar - så här kommer det.

Vi ska åka från Helsingfors till Aten 18.6. Vi kommer att komma till Aten tidigt på morgonen den 19.6. Vi vet med säkerhet att vi hinner med en båt som går 7.25 från Pireus till Milos.

MEN ska vi boka på förhand? Kan man lita på de grekiska hemsidorna och betala med kreditkort över dem? Finns det biljettförsäljningsställen som är öppna så tidigt som kl 7 på morgonen? Kan de här båtarna vara fullbokade 19.6 på morgonen?

Hoppas på svar!

[Kalimera]

Finns det biljettförsäljningsställen som är öppna så tidigt som kl 7 på morgonen?

Ja, det finns öppna ställen i Pireus.

Kan de här båtarna vara fullbokade 19.6 på morgonen?

Det kan jag inte tänka mig. Jag skulle inte boka.

[Såof]

Tack för ditt jättesnabba svar! Vad skönt att veta att man inte behöver boka på förhand. Det är första gången jag och min sambo skall åka till Grekland - och vi ser sååå fram emot det. Din sida har varit till mycket stor hjälp för oss!

Vi har tyvärr märkt att dina e-guider inte går att beställa till Finland. Är detta något som kunde fixas på något sätt?

[Kalimera]

Vi har tyvärr märkt att dina e-guider inte går att beställa till Finland. Är detta något som kunde fixas på något sätt?

Den stora CD-guiden Mera Kalimera går att beställa från Finland, det är många finländare som gjort det.

Ursprungligen postat av Såof

Har märkt att det är många som funderar kring förhandsbokningar till Milos från Pireus (och inte bara den rutten). Jag har dock inte hittat någon ännu som undrat det jag undrar - så här kommer det.

Vi ska åka från Helsingfors till Aten 18.6. Vi kommer att komma till Aten tidigt på morgonen den 19.6. Vi vet med säkerhet att vi hinner med en båt som går 7.25 från Pireus till Milos.

MEN ska vi boka på förhand? Kan man lita på de grekiska hemsidorna och betala med kreditkort över dem? Finns det biljettförsäljningsställen som är öppna så tidigt som kl 7 på morgonen? Kan de här båtarna vara fullbokade 19.6 på morgonen?

Hoppas på svar!

It is indeed possible not to find any seats available on the High Speed or Speed Runner to Milos if you try to purchase your ticket in the morning of departure, but generally, in June this is unlikely. This year, however, things are different. The deregulation of the shipping industry and the retirement of several, older ferries means that there might be a shortage of seats on morning ferries to the islands. In any case, if you do not have your ticket reserved in advance, there are ticket agents very close to the boat inside the port, so you do not have to go look for tickets in the busy travel agencies in Piraeus or Athens.

Advance reservation of a hotel is ALWAYS recommended. As for trusting your credit card with greek websites, I cannot speak for everyone, but generally, yes, you can. All hotels listed on kalimera are trustworthy, carefully selected establishments, so you can trust them. I would not trust 3rd party websites that do automated reservations on the internet, however, not because of credit card problems but because it is impossible for them to really know what is available and when. About the ONLY way to properly reserve a hotel in the greek islands in my opinion, is through PERSONAL customer service, that is, direct communication with the owners via email (recommended) fax, or telephone.

Most hotels ask that you deposit some funds in order to reserve your room, say, 10% or 1-2 nights' stay in advance. The most often used downpayment method is via an IBAN bank money transfer. If you have internet banking, then an IBAN transfer is your best bet.

If you'd rather use your credit card, you'll find most hotels in the greek islands prefer not to accept them because they get charged an additional 7% or more by their banks. However, there are still ways to do it. Some establishments are starting to use PayPal and/or VISA direct. Using either one of those electronic money transfer methods does NOT disclose your credit card number to the recipient, so it is a very safe way to send money to anyone. VISA Direct will cost you 3 Euros per transaction, while PayPal is free.

I personally help a few hotels with their reservations, so I handle electronic transfers myself, on behalf of the hotel. Most of our guests prefer the IBAN bank money transfer method, even though some have opted to use PayPal. I am not yet set up to accept credit cards via PayPal, only money transfers from your PayPal balance. I can accept VISA Direct money transfers, however.

If you'd like help with reserving a hotel in Milos, I'd be glad to assist you. You may peruse the listings on kalimera and decide for yourself which one you'd like to stay at, and I'd be able to help with the electronic transaction if you'd like me to. I am in Milos from May through October.

- Andreas

[Kajsa]

Hi,
So you believe that we do not take any risk by not booking our ferry tickets in advance? We will arrive in Athens on the 28th June and will have to take the 16.30 ferry to Milos.
Thank you!
Kind regards
Kajsa

Ursprungligen postat av Kajsa

Hi,
So you believe that we do not take any risk by not booking our ferry tickets in advance? We will arrive in Athens on the 28th June and will have to take the 16.30 ferry to Milos.
Thank you!
Kind regards
Kajsa

The risk is minimal. My information shows that on Wednesday, June 28, the 16:30 ferry to Milos will be the Speed Runner 1. Outside July and August, you generally run the risk of not finding a seat only on Fridays, when the demand is greater than any other day of the week. If there is an unusually high demand for seats on the Speed Runner 1, however, you run the risk of finding available seats only in the smoking section. As people start getting off in islands along the way, however, there will be plenty of non-smoking seats.

The Speed Runner 1, btw, is my favorite boat since it has a rather large, main seating area that is designated as smoke-free. The much smaller, smoking section, is located at the back of the boat, and is separated from the non-smoking area, unlike the High Speed boats, where the smoking and non-smoking areas are right next to another, without any effective separation.

- Andreas

[Kajsa]

Thank you!
Have you got an idea of how much time we need to get from Athens airport (arriving 11h) to the Piareus port? And is it easy to get directrly from the airport to Pireaus?
Thank you for taking your time to answer my questions Andreas.
We look forward to come to Milos (will continue to Sifnos after 6 days)
Kind regards,
Kajsa

Ursprungligen postat av Kajsa

Thank you!
Have you got an idea of how much time we need to get from Athens airport (arriving 11h) to the Piareus port? And is it easy to get directrly from the airport to Pireaus?
Thank you for taking your time to answer my questions Andreas.
We look forward to come to Milos (will continue to Sifnos after 6 days)
Kind regards,
Kajsa

Yes! It is very easy. Since the preparation for the Athens 2004 Olympics, the city's transportation systems have been revamped, transforming Athens into a modern European city. The trains are fast, clean and safe, among the best in Europe at this point. You can take the blue line right from the airport. There is a train departing every 20 minutes or so. The fare is 6 Euros/person. Make sure you get on the "Metro" as opposed to the "Commuter" or "Proastiakos" as the locals call it. You purchase the ticket at the counter and have to validate it in the punching machines available prior to entering the train platform.

The Metro blue line takes approximately 55 minutes to the center of Athens. You need to switch trains (keeping the same tickets, valid for 90 minutes from initial time of validation) at either the Omonoia station, or Monastiraki (the last blue line stop) station to the green (or HSAP) line to Piraeus. It is no more than 25 minutes then from Monastiraki to Piraeus. (BTW, the green line cars are not air-conditioned). So, all in all, including walking and waiting on the train platforms, it should take you about 90-100 minutes from the airport to Piraeus by train, which is the recommended transportation.

Other options include the bus which goes directly to Piraeus (no need to switch buses along the way) as well as a taxi cab. The cab fare to the center of Athens is about 25 Euros. It will be almost twice as much to Piraeus (plus a few Euros extra for the luggage) while the train will cost you 6 X 4 = 24 Euros for a family of 4.

- Andreas

[Kajsa]

Thank you very much for all this information!
Kind regards
Kajsa