MeghanInNYC

Hello friends!

YES, I know it's early. And YES, who knows what is going to be happening in Greece this summer. BUT, I'm working on reserving a few places in August and need to sort general timings. Well over a year without a holiday has us feeling eager, to say the least.
Does anyone have any intel on what the Alonissos ferry schedules usually are? Meaning, "Oh, they never run on Tuesdays, or they're notoriously late. Or "Oh, you need to leave from Volos not Ag. Agios Konstantinos beginning this year."
We're not Greece newbies, but we've never been to the Sporades. Getting a handle on whether arriving in Athens at 10am and getting to Alonissos same day is feasible would be fantastic.
Many thanks in advance.

Heimdall

I don’t think you need to worry about ferries in summer, but I can’t find any timetables loaded for Agios Konstantinos yet, while there are daily ones already scheduled from Volos. How do you intend travelling to the port?

The flights to Skiathos (for a ferry connection to Alonissos) with Olympic Air all seem to depart either before your arrival at Athens Airport or late at night.

There are several experts on the TripAdvisor Sporades forums who would have a good answer for you. Either browse the board to look for answers or join TripAdvisor and ask the question yourself. EDIT: Alonissos is a sub-forum of the Sporades forum.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForu...-Sporades.html

MeghanInNYC

Super helpful! Thanks very much.

We were going to drive (or bus or private car) to Ag. Konstantinos. But if it's Volos, that changes things as far as distance from Rafina (we go to Andros next). Ordinarily, we would stay on islands that are a bit closer together, but we're meant to meet two sets of friends, so just trying to work it all out.

Heimdall

Years ago I took ferries between Agios Konstantinos and Skiathos. They were the old Russian hydrofoils (flying dolphins) that didn’t take cars. Here is the company’s website:
https://www.aegeanflyingdolphins.gr/...metables-erato

There is a bus from Athens that stops at Agios Konstantinos, and foot passengers got off there for the ferry. An Athens tour company called Alkyon Travel used to arrange bus and ferry tickets for that service. Every ferry I know of stops at Skiathos first before going on to Skopelos and Alonissos. I haven’t heard much from Alkyon Travel lately, but they still have a website.

I don’t understand why Olympic Air (part of Aegean Airlines) has such awkward departure times from Athens, but if you are willing to bide your time until the evening departure you would get to Skiathos the same day. When you arrive on Skiathos you may have to wait until the next day for an onward ferry to Alonissos, I don’t know how late they run.

As you can see, getting from Athens to the Sporades isn’t as easy as going to the Cyclades. To bide your time while waiting for the evening flight you could go to Rafina for lunch and check out the ferry port as well. You would even have time for a quick trip into central Athens if you prefer.

if you wish you can go on openseas.gr and wind the calendar back to summer 2020. Enter All ports in Departure, and Skiathos or Alonissos in the Arrivals block. You can also use it to find when ferries were running between Skiathos and Alonissos. I didn’t see Agios Konstantinos on the list of departure ports, but you never know.

MeghanInNYC

Fabulous intel! Thanks very much. I love the idea of winding the ferry calendar back; I actually tried that w/o success, unfortunately. I'm really hoping that it's just early days and ferries from Agios Konstantinos *will* be running (it's the Volos trek that may be a bridge too far).

And agree that the Sporades are hard to get to; it's why we're going The combination of Sporades + Andros locations is complicating things, for sure. But the allure of seeing friends from across the world will be well worth it. Fingers crossed we can work it out!

Thanks again.

Heimdall

The best islands are the ones hardest to reach. The marine park on Alonissos fascinates me, but I have never been there.

I see you have signed up on TA, but no replies to your post yet as of earlier today. I have sent a message to SkiathosLover1, a Destination Expert for Skiathos, calling attention to your post and asking for help. There are no DEs for Alonissos—maybe you can become one after your visit.

I see on the Aegean Flying Dolphins website they are only showing departures from Volos. Believe it or not I took a day trip from Skiathos to Athens via the port at Agios Konstantinos, so know how much easier it is than Volos.

Seriously think about flights to and from Skiathos for your trip to Alonissos. They are so much easier, and when you get back to Athens Airport you are only 20 minutes by taxi from Rafina.

MeghanInNYC

Yes, I joined TA about 15 yrs ago, I think Thanks very much for the nudge re: an answer to my question. Again, just maybe too early in the year for an informed reply.

And the flight idea is a good one, I'll definitely look into it. I'll just have to sort that final ferry to the Alonissos. It's August, I know there's no way there will only be a 7am-ish ferry.

MeghanInNYC

Also, the calendar rollback DID work on openseas.gr, but that was the ONLY place I could get it to work. Thanks for the tip.

MeghanInNYC

I've just finished booking all our travel and thought of this thread and your helpful suggestion to fly to Skiathos—that is, in fact, what we're doing. Going to make for a long, sleepy travel day (and about 8 hrs (!) in Athens after we arrive from JFK, and before our eve flight to Skiathos), but appreciate your help!

Heimdall

Thanks for the update, Meghan, and best wishes for your trip to Alonissos. If you aren’t up to going into Athens during your layover, recommend spending the day in Rafina. It’s easy to reach from the airport, and there are some nice restaurants overlooking the port. See if you can check in your bags early. I have done that myself with a long layover in Athens.

MeghanInNYC

That's a great idea, but we're going to sleep at the Sofitel for a few hours before our evening flight. The husband (understandably) gets crabby after an overnight flight—he's "blessed" in that, no matter how much he naps, he gets right into the swing of things with little jet lag.
Anyway, we'll be back at Rafina when we head to Andros later in our trip. And we'll be back in Athens for a night before we head home so we can hit a few fav spots. In short, all bases covered Thanks, again.

neckervd

According to the actually published timetable, the Sporades bound slow ferry (no car transport) leaves Agios Konstantinos Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 10.15. As it goes from Skopelos to Evvia Island (Mandouri) before reaching Alonissos (at 20.30), it would be easier to change at Skyathos to the catamaran coming from Volos (dp 14.15) and arriving at Alonissos at 17.35.
Easiest way from Athens airport: Sky Express flight dp 10.30 to Skyathos ar 11.10 plus above mentioned catamaran.

MeghanInNYC

Thanks for this detail. We've decided to fly. Traveling a circuitous route this trip, but coordinating with friends and the effort is worth it, to us, after almost 2 years (!) of no travel.

neckervd

"We've decided to fly."
That's what I recommended above: "Easiest way from Athens airport: Sky Express flight dp 10.30 to Skyathos ar 11.10 plus catamaran Skiathos dp 16.10 - Alonissos ar 17.30.

MeghanInNYC

You did, indeed! @Heimdall recommended it earlier in the thread (and it's what prompted me to take that route) so, you know, great minds...