Båtar till Milos

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.

[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