I just took a fast ferry with Seajets from Santorini to Athens, and it was quite different from what I’m used to, having mostly travelled across the English Channel on much slower ferries before now. In the Aegean, though, you have two options when moving between the Greek Islands, either a slow or fast ferry.
Your first instinct may be to save time and just book the fastest option, while for others the priority is travelling on a budget, in which case a slower (and generally cheaper) journey might be preferred. But beyond these obvious considerations, there are other things that you need to know before booking, no matter what your initial priorities may be.
So, welcome to my warts an all guide on taking the fast ferry from Santorini to Athens. I’m going into detail about my experience from Thira to Piraes, including boarding, SeaJets staff, the route we took, on-board amenities, and the best place to book your own ferry tickets for a Greek island-hopping adventure. So grab a lifejacket, and get your towels ready, cos we’re hitting the seas…
SANTORINI TO ATHENS BY FERRY WITH SEAJETS - A DETAILED REVIEW
Who are Seajets and which of their ferries did I take from Santorini to Athens?
Seajets have the largest fleet of high-speed ferries in the Aegean Sea, with a total of 29 different vessels. The majority of their fleet was manufactured in either Australia or Italy. I travelled on their Express Jet ship, which is capable of 38 knots at maximum speed, and able to carry up to 500 passengers. At only 52 metres long and 13 metres wide, the Express Jet is the fourth smallest passenger ferry in the entire Seajets fleet.
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Itinerary and Trip Details
I booked the 13:30 from Thira (Santorini) to Piraes port in Athens, with a scheduled arrival time into the Greek capital at 19:05. En-route the ferry made stops on the islands of Folegandros, Milos, Sifnos, and Serifos. My ferry was around 20 minutes late to arrive into Santorini, and at journey’s end we arrived into Athens at 19:54 – 49 minutes behind schedule.
Thira Port & Boarding in Santorini
I took the public bus from the capital of Santorini, Fira, to Thira port. The fare costs 2.50 EUR per person and took about 25 minutes. The buses from Fira to Thira are usually scheduled in line with that day’s departing ferries, so there will always be one which gets you to yours in time.
On arrival to the port, I located the SeaJets office to print out my ticket, but I didn’t need to as I already had a QR code on my ticket. I then grabbed a coffee in one of the port-side cafes, before walking over (30 seconds!) to the dock to begin boarding once my ferry had arrived.
The port in Santorini is very small, and you can walk from one end to the other in about 5 minutes. As a result, there’s always plenty of time to grab yourself a last minute coffee or souvenir from one of the locals shops, pretty much right up til boarding.
Our ferry arrived about twenty minutes late, presumably due to the relatively rough sea conditions on that day. My first impression as I boarded, was that the Seajets staff did a fantastic job of getting everyone on as quickly as possible given how much the ferry and its boarding bridges were swaying against the dock.
Yes, they issued VERY firm instructions to all boarding passengers, but given that safety is of paramount importance when getting large numbers of passengers onto moving ships, I was totally OK with this. In fact, I rather enjoyed watching the shocked faces on some of the most ignorant of our species as they were told rather directly where they needed to be and precisely what they needed to do!
Once on-board, we were then instructed to find seats anywhere so that loading could finish and we could leave as quickly as possible. Naturally, most people stuttered and clogged up the gangways rather than listen, so voices had to be raised and more urgency infused into the situation. Again, this was fine with me, but I could also see how some people, whose feathers had already been a little ruffled, could take it the wrong way.
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THE JOURNEY: DO YOU GET SEASICK ON THE FAST FERRIES IN GREECE?
Not going to lie, the sea conditions made this quite a challenging journey. But before I get into it, it’s important to note that because my ferry was one of the smallest in the entire Seajets fleet, it was getting tossed around on the sea much more than a deeper-hulled larger ferry would have…
Anyway, my suspicions that this may be a rough journey were first raised while waiting to board. I spotted a lady disembarking in Santorini, walking down the gangplank, repeatedly dry heaving. The sense of relief exuding from this woman as she reached dry land once again was palpable, even from 30 meters away. ‘Ah f@ck, this is gonna be a long 5 and a half hours’, I thought to myself.
However, I had bought some travel sickness tablets the day before, which I resisted taking until about an hour into the journey. Until then I’d been keeping my head as still as possible trying to fight off my gradually encroaching (albeit pretty minor) motion sickness. Eventually though I gave in and took them, as I actually wanted to enjoy the remaining 4 and half hours of the trip.
On closer inspection of my travel sickness packet a little later, I realised that I’d bought ginger-based herbal pills, rather than the more well-known antihistamine versions, like Dramamine. Anyway, placebo or not, the tablets worked a treat – I immediately felt better and was free to really enjoy the trip! My travel companion didn’t even need any.
However, I’d be remiss not to mention the many people I saw heading to the toilets to vomit, especially in the first hour. I imagine that on a rough sea day, anyone prone to travel sickness, without any form of mitigating that (i.e travel sickness tablets), would likely find the smaller fast ferry journeys hellish. There were certainly quite a few on my ferry that were suffering.
SeaJets Staff
This brings me onto my review of the SeaJets staff members who worked on-board my ferry.
A few days before my trip, I took a cursory glance at some of SeaJets’ Google reviews. For the large part, these filled me with fear, but unjustifiably so, although it wasn’t until I’d travelled with Seajets myself that I understood why.
Most complaints I read were about the unequivocal and direct boarding instructions given by the SeaJets staff, which, as I’ve already mentioned above, I don’t think were justified. These people deserve a bloody medal for what they do on those rougher sea days. Not only do they board people as safely as possible, while trying to keep each ferry on schedule, but once on-board these same staff members are often compassionately guiding passengers to and from the bathrooms to manage their sea sickness, and generally working their arses off.
I saw several of them carrying sick bags to the bins, and they were constantly keeping the toilets clean and tidy, despite how much they were in use by the greenest of passengers. Theirs is not an easy job to do at all, and I certainly couldn’t do it myself, so well done to them – you have my full respect!
My advice to anyone travelling with SeaJets, therefore, is to expect very direct boarding instructions, not to take getting barked at personally, and to just park your ego for a few minutes for the benefit of getting away on time! These are the same people who’ll take control and direct you to safety when the zombie apocalypse comes, so give them a break. Once aboard you’ll likely see a more compassionate and patient side to these same team members anyway.
On-board Amenities
On both decks of my Expressjet there were small cafeterias from which you could buy a few snacks and drinks. Nothing amazing but certainly enough choice to quench the thirst and hunger of passengers. Note that during rougher sea conditions these aren’t manned, so it’s always a good idea to bring your own back-up water and snacks in case you get stuck without the option for your whole journey.
OTHER SANTORINI TO ATHENS FERRY OPTIONS
Seajets are of course not the only option you have when booking a ferry between the Greek Islands. The other companies which operate the Athens to Santorini route are Blue Star Ferries, Fast Ferries, and also Golden Star Ferries. Additional companies also operate other routes between the different Greek Islands, so having one central location to bring together all possible options is important here.
In my experience, the best place to search for all Greek Island ferry routes is with Ferries In Greece. They are specialists in accumulating all possible ports, islands and routes into one place, giving you the best prices and a very easy-to-use system as well.
If you want the easiest, and best-value ferry tickets in Greece, then use Ferries in Greece, no matter where you’re headed, be it Mykonos, Naxos, Paros, Santorini, Crete or wherever else!
GREEK ISLAND FERRIES: FAQ
Expect a journey time of around 5 and a half to 6 and a half hours if you choose a fast ferry, or between 9-11 hours, depnding of course on the number of stops en-route and the prevailing sea conditions on the day you travel.
If you’re not rushed for time, and the threat of potential sea sickness worries you, do keep in mind that there are several other options for slower travel between Athens and Santorini, and throughout the Aegean in fact. Companies like Blue Star Ferries, Fast Ferries and even Seajets themselves have several larger ferries as part of their fleets.
Between Santorini and Athens specifically, it is Blue Star Ferries that offer the largest number of these slower journeys.
If you are prone to travel sickness then there’s a decent chance of it, yes. However, this can be mitigated by taking a larger and slower ferry instead of. faster one. On the slower ferries you generally have more possibilities to sit outside on deck in the fresh air, which can help to ease your symptoms.
I also strongly recommend picking up some travel sickness pills, either herbal or antihistamine based, to help you out in case you need it on your trip.
Ferries in Greece not only have the cheapest prices, but also the widest selection of possible ferry routes between the Greek Islands, as well as the most user-friendly booking system.
Alternatively, Direct Ferries also have a very comprehensive route network between the Greek Islands, but I do find their website a little clunkier to use.
SANTORINI TO ATHENS WITH SEAJETS - CONCLUSION
So there you have it. My review of what it’s like travelling on a fast ferry in Greece.
Without doubt, Seajets have one of the most comprehensive network of fast ferries between the Greek islands. Their staff work very hard to keep passengers safe, and it’s probably worth keeping that in mind in case you find yourself getting barked at cos you dawdled your way up the gangplank!
The bottom line here is that the obvious advantage of a much faster journey between islands must be tempered with your own tolerance of travel sickness on those rougher sea days. If you are worried, and taking those extra few hours to arrive fits with your wider travel plans then keep in mind that as well as Seajets, you have other options between Athens and Santorini (as well as all the other Greek islands) when booking your tickets with Ferries In Greece.
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