Escape the airport and live a little

[dimitri]

come on viewers you claim to want a great Greek experience,whats better than a day in Athens sightseeing ,then the madness that is Piraeus.The ferry is a fun way to arrive but the journey is better.The last time i was on the boat,there was a fight between a waiter and a crew member over a cup of coffee.Only on a Greek ferry!
The sight of Crete coming over the horizon in the morning is priceless,the bustle at the ports is intoxicating and will provide great memories for years to come.
You only live once,dip your toes into the melee that is everyday life in Greece,not just the side you see as a package tourist.Zorba will be proud of you!

[Rodger]

Today's Guardian travel section had a feature "5 best hotels near ferry ports".

Oddly enough, none of them were in Piraeus.

[George]

This suggestion seems to imply that Athens airport is more efficient than other Greek airports, otherwise it wouldn't be worth it. Is this true (I've never been there)? My experience of many Greek airports (island and other) is that they are pretty well as bad as one another and make Gatwick look like a model of efficiency.

On another airport related theme, is a 15kg luggage allowance the norm now for package airlines and tour operators? From what I have seen it is, although most are offering an extra 5kg for varying fees (£3.99 from Olympic and £15 from Manos). As I have a problem making 20kg, let alone 15kg, from my perspective it is just another charge, although some are dressing it up as a "green" measure.

Mike

I know that Pete & Dawn got there tickets last week, and their allowance is 15kgs. Pete didn't say anything else, so perhaps that's it!!
That's XL Airways by the way, although I would expect it to be across the board now!

george g...

[dimitri]

Today's Guardian travel section had a feature "5 best hotels near ferry ports".

Oddly enough, none of them were in Piraeus.

No Rodger the idea is you fly into town in the morning then catch the boat,you sleep on the boat arrive on said island next morning.
As a Guardian reader you would surely know Greece is not known for hotels of any sort,let alone top ones.It"s a cheap and cheerfull destination,they dont do quality.Even the Brittania in Athens is a bit of a dive,i have stayed in many hotels there and find them just not worth the money.Better to source a good room with a decent family and have a lot more fun,than get ripped off and poisan"d by the Elecktra type hotels.
What im suggesting is that instead of flying in as normal,try something different and increase your enjoyment and experiance.

[Rodger]

Today's Guardian travel section had a feature "5 best hotels near ferry ports".

Oddly enough, none of them were in Piraeus.

No Rodger the idea is you fly into town in the morning then catch the boat,you sleep on the boat arrive on said island next morning.
As a Guardian reader you would surely know Greece is not known for hotels of any sort,let alone top ones.It"s a cheap and cheerfull destination,they dont do quality.Even the Brittania in Athens is a bit of a dive,i have stayed in many hotels there and find them just not worth the money.Better to source a good room with a decent family and have a lot more fun,than get ripped off and poisan"d by the Elecktra type hotels.
What im suggesting is that instead of flying in as normal,try something different and increase your enjoyment and experiance.

yes yes I know all that.  It was just meant as a humorous/ironic observation.  it's that dry British humour that doesn't always come across in the internet context.

I'm still not quite sure how you expect people to get to Athens without flying.  I once got there by train from Munich, with a stopover in Belgrade, but it's not something I'd want to do every year (particularly as the Belgrade-Athens leg was spent in the  corridor).

[dimitri]

dont you have any work to do Rodger?
Fly to Athens,it"s a fun airport as are all Greek airports.
Driving is the best way to get to crete,a great trip now Yugoslavia is less dangerous.Not as crazy as it sounds,the sights are fantastic and the people you meet on the journey will warm your heart.
i have hitch hiked,driven and flown to Crete,not at the same time you understand,but driving is by far the best.I plan to cycle there when i get a bit of time,fancy it?

[Noopsy]

It's very easy to get from the airport to the port, 1 bus, you need to get you ticket before you get on the bus. Al

After having a look at the Anek website I went on to discover that you can also get to Piraeus on the Athens metro, changing at Monastiraki.

[StephenIcarus]

It's very easy to get from the airport to the port, 1 bus, you need to get you ticket before you get on the bus. Al

After having a look at the Anek website I went on to discover that you can also get to Piraeus on the Athens metro, changing at Monastiraki.

Yup, did the Metro route to Piraeus in 2005, it was a doodle.  I was never in Athens before the '04 Olympics, but it certainly has a great airport and a superb public transport system these days.  Incidentally, there are two sides to Piraeus - the area between the metro stop and the ferry docks is indeed fairly crappy, but just a short walk north over the hill is the old (that is to say, Ancient) port, and that's a lot more fun, with marinas and swish waterfront bars and the like.  

Also, as others here have said, there is nothing quite as fine as taking a long ferry trip on the Aegean.

[georgeh]

An option we found particularly enjoyable - we had several hours to kill in Athens - was to take the Metro from the airport to Monastiraki, stow our luggage in the left-luggage lockers there (it's one of only 2 or 3 Metro stations that has these lockers) and walk up to the Acropolis: an easy climb through some very attractive corners of old Athens. Then the Metro again from Monastiraki to Piraeus. You have to change trains anyway at Monastiraki.

A word of warning however: the cheapest way to do this appears to be to get a ticket from the Airport to Piraeus and just break your journey at Monastiraki (a ticket for 2 people costs €10).  DON'T!  The Metro tickets have to be validated by sticking them in a time-stamping machine before you board the train: they are then valid for travel for all of 90 minutes.  Even if you're simply changing trains at Monastiraki, rather than actually breaking the journey there, you may well only just about complete the trip in 90 minutes.  And if you're caught with an "expired" ticket the fine is €40 per person.  You can appeal by email (tricky, because the Inspectors will give you the wrong email address) when you get home, and if you do so nicely, the fines office *may* let you off.  But the whole procedure takes a lot of time and leaves a rather unpleasant flavour.  As you may have guessed, I speak from experience!  Get one ticket to Monastiraki; then when you get back there after your wanderings, get a new ticket to complete the journey.

Flying to Athens.  For those who haven't tried it, it's much easier and cheaper than flying to Crete!! You don't have to travel with dear old Olympic if you don't like them: BA go from Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester; EasyJet from Gatwick, Luton and Manchester; Aegean (haven't seen many mentions of them on this forum but perhaps I'm going blind) - "Airline of the Year 2008" - from Stanstead, and they're better all round as well as cheaper than Olympic.

If the fast ferry is the only option to Rethymno when you're going and it doesn't appeal, some *very* plush Anek ferries go overnight to Haniá and, I believe, to Iraklion.  IMHO it's MUCH the best way of getting to Crete....

Sorry this has been so long - hope it gives someone some help/ideas.

[travellingran]

An option we found particularly enjoyable - we had several hours to kill in Athens - was to take the Metro from the airport to Monastiraki, stow our luggage in the left-luggage lockers there (it's one of only 2 or 3 Metro stations that has these lockers) and walk up to the Acropolis: an easy climb through some very attractive corners of old Athens. Then the Metro again from Monastiraki to Piraeus. You have to change trains anyway at Monastiraki.

A word of warning however: the cheapest way to do this appears to be to get a ticket from the Airport to Piraeus and just break your journey at Monastiraki (a ticket for 2 people costs €10).  DON'T!  The Metro tickets have to be validated by sticking them in a time-stamping machine before you board the train: they are then valid for travel for all of 90 minutes.  Even if you're simply changing trains at Monastiraki, rather than actually breaking the journey there, you may well only just about complete the trip in 90 minutes.  And if you're caught with an "expired" ticket the fine is €40 per person.  You can appeal by email (tricky, because the Inspectors will give you the wrong email address) when you get home, and if you do so nicely, the fines office *may* let you off.  But the whole procedure takes a lot of time and leaves a rather unpleasant flavour.  As you may have guessed, I speak from experience!  Get one ticket to Monastiraki; then when you get back there after your wanderings, get a new ticket to complete the journey.

Flying to Athens.  For those who haven't tried it, it's much easier and cheaper than flying to Crete!! You don't have to travel with dear old Olympic if you don't like them: BA go from Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester; EasyJet from Gatwick, Luton and Manchester; Aegean (haven't seen many mentions of them on this forum but perhaps I'm going blind) - "Airline of the Year 2008" - from Stanstead, and they're better all round as well as cheaper than Olympic.

If the fast ferry is the only option to Rethymno when you're going and it doesn't appeal, some *very* plush Anek ferries go overnight to Haniá and, I believe, to Iraklion.  IMHO it's MUCH the best way of getting to Crete....

Sorry this has been so long - hope it gives someone some help/ideas.

Georgeh ,

This all sounds great but is way out of reach of the financial and time restrictions that many of us have.
There seems to be a misunderstanding about the use of the word Olympic.

We are referring to Olympic Holidays which is a separate entity to Olympic Airlines.

Olympic Airlines has also just been privatised so it remains to be seen how they will fare in the future.

Meanwhile Olympic Holidays, having found themselves the only package tour operator to Plakias , have become complacent , it would appear , as none of their studios or hotels in Plakias have made any obvious internal or outward improvements for the last three years. Therefore their stock of accommodations is looking decidedly shabby against all the other newly built and well maintained non-Olympic property.

Heather.

[Noopsy]

An option we found particularly enjoyable - we had several hours to kill in Athens - was to take the Metro from the airport to Monastiraki, stow our luggage in the left-luggage lockers there (it's one of only 2 or 3 Metro stations that has these lockers) and walk up to the Acropolis: an easy climb through some very attractive corners of old Athens. Then the Metro again from Monastiraki to Piraeus. You have to change trains anyway at Monastiraki.

A word of warning however: the cheapest way to do this appears to be to get a ticket from the Airport to Piraeus and just break your journey at Monastiraki (a ticket for 2 people costs €10). DON'T! The Metro tickets have to be validated by sticking them in a time-stamping machine before you board the train: they are then valid for travel for all of 90 minutes. Even if you're simply changing trains at Monastiraki, rather than actually breaking the journey there, you may well only just about complete the trip in 90 minutes. And if you're caught with an "expired" ticket the fine is €40 per person. You can appeal by email (tricky, because the Inspectors will give you the wrong email address) when you get home, and if you do so nicely, the fines office *may* let you off. But the whole procedure takes a lot of time and leaves a rather unpleasant flavour. As you may have guessed, I speak from experience! Get one ticket to Monastiraki; then when you get back there after your wanderings, get a new ticket to complete the journey.

Flying to Athens. For those who haven't tried it, it's much easier and cheaper than flying to Crete!! You don't have to travel with dear old Olympic if you don't like them: BA go from Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester; EasyJet from Gatwick, Luton and Manchester; Aegean (haven't seen many mentions of them on this forum but perhaps I'm going blind) - "Airline of the Year 2008" - from Stanstead, and they're better all round as well as cheaper than Olympic.

If the fast ferry is the only option to Rethymno when you're going and it doesn't appeal, some *very* plush Anek ferries go overnight to Haniá and, I believe, to Iraklion. IMHO it's MUCH the best way of getting to Crete....

Sorry this has been so long - hope it gives someone some help/ideas.

Thanks georgeh, some very useful information here.

The travel agent from whom I bought my tickets this year rated Aegean very highly - she had travelled on them herself.  So I am travelling with them on the Athens - Iraklio leg of the journey, and if they are as good as I have been led to believe, who knows: next year I may make the trek out to Stansted to fly with them all the way to Crete.

Noopsy

[Graham_and_Karen]

Agaean are more expensive than Easyjet but they fly every day (via Athens) which opens up the possibility of adding an extra few days over our usual 2 weeks  . Their website is excellent. If we return to Plakias in 2010 (here's hoping   ) we'll definitely consider Agaean. The only downside is that, being Greek based, on any particular day, the return flights are earlier than the outbound flights. The route via Athens, seems ok as it's overnight so no usable time lost. In fact, arriving later, around 7 or 8am is better than 2 or 3am when you then pay a premium for night pick up of a hire car.

[John R]

Agaean are more expensive than Easyjet but they fly every day (via Athens) which opens up the possibility of adding an extra few days over our usual 2 weeks

Easyjet fly to Crete on more than one day of the week from most of their airports. We usually go out on a Friday and come back on a Tuesday giving us an additional 4 days. Once went out on a Tuesday and back on a Friday. This time we are sticking to 2 weeks - Tuesday to Tuesday. We find their Manchester flights to be superb - much better than the BA flights which they took over (using same terminal, same plane and same crew).

John R

[Noopsy]

Agaean are more expensive than Easyjet but they fly every day (via Athens) which opens up the possibility of adding an extra few days over our usual 2 weeks  . Their website is excellent. If we return to Plakias in 2010 (here's hoping   ) we'll definitely consider Agaean. The only downside is that, being Greek based, on any particular day, the return flights are earlier than the outbound flights. The route via Athens, seems ok as it's overnight so no usable time lost. In fact, arriving later, around 7 or 8am is better than 2 or 3am when you then pay a premium for night pick up of a hire car.

Quick update on Aegean having flown with them now.  Yes, their website is good: I was able to check-in on-line at Athens Airport, saving me hanging around waiting for the check-in desks to open.   Their ground staff are also good, they provided a large aircraft for the short hop to Crete - unlike the flying sardine can usually laid on by Olympic - and there was a pleasant atmosphere on board.  My travel agent also informs me that they provide a business class on the flight from the UK - an important consideration for me - so I shall definitely consider them as an option for next year.

Noopsy

[Rowena & Carl]

Agaean are more expensive than Easyjet but they fly every day (via Athens) which opens up the possibility of adding an extra few days over our usual 2 weeks  . Their website is excellent. If we return to Plakias in 2010 (here's hoping  ) we'll definitely consider Agaean. The only downside is that, being Greek based, on any particular day, the return flights are earlier than the outbound flights. The route via Athens, seems ok as it's overnight so no usable time lost. In fact, arriving later, around 7 or 8am is better than 2 or 3am when you then pay a premium for night pick up of a hire car.

Quick update on Aegean having flown with them now. Yes, their website is good: I was able to check-in on-line at Athens Airport, saving me hanging around waiting for the check-in desks to open. Their ground staff are also good, they provided a large aircraft for the short hop to Crete - unlike the flying sardine can usually laid on by Olympic - and there was a pleasant atmosphere on board. My travel agent also informs me that they provide a business class on the flight from the UK - an important consideration for me - so I shall definitely consider them as an option for next year.
Noopsy

Hi

We would definately advise Aegean, we flew with them in December outbound & inbound on New Years Day fantastic (Complimentary Champagne on both flights for the New Year.) Flight times were good with 3 hours in Athens on journey out & 1 on the return, but Athens is a great airport so 3 hours passed very, even too quickly!

Yes they do offer a very small area for business class so book ahead if you want but it.

Too sum it up Aegean are one of the best airlines we have travelled with & we will always look ay their prices first.

Rowena & Carl