Island hopping around Santorini in 2018

Santorini is by far the most renowned among the Greek islands and the most popular one. The picturesque villages along with its breathtaking view and the iconic sunset provide a unique travel experience. Santorini is connected to Piraeus with several ferries per day, especially during summer where ferry timetables are really dense.

However, if you are visiting Santorini you can as well upgrade your travel experience by doing some of island-hopping in the surrounding islands. In this article, we aim to give you some ideas on the nearby (and well connected to Santorini) destinations. A short visit in any of these islands will truly blow your mind.

Santorini to Folegandros

Folegandros is a small island which has become fashionable during the last years, but still an authentic and quite untouched piece of Greece. Folegandros has four small villages; Karavostasi (the port), the Chora, Ano Meria and Agali Beach, that are connected by paved roads and regular public buses (during summer). The Chora of Folegandros is considered to be one of the most beautiful among the Greek islands.

In Folegandros, you can have a nice sleep in hotels, in one of the apartments to rent (there are quite a lot) and in its organized camping.

As for summer season, Folegandros is connected to Santorini with two high-speed ferries per day. One early in the morning and another late in the afternoon. The total trip duration is 50 minutes and standard tickets cost around 45€ per passenger.

Santorini to Ios

There is no island in Greece like Ios. There is no place in the world like Ios! The island of Ios is an all-out international party of college-age people, lasting from June until the end of August. And for those of you who are older and can do without the partying, Ios in the off-season is like any other Greek island: The best place you have ever been. 

Ios is connected to Santorini with several ferries per day. In fact, the timetables are so dense that ferries depart at a rate of one per hour in the morning. There is also a ferry that facilitates travelers preferring to travel during the night. The trip from Santorini to Ios lasts less than an hour and the price is around 25-30€ per passenger. If you happen to visit Santorini this summer, don't miss the chance to pay a short visit to one of the most beautiful of the Greek islands, Ios.

Santorini to Anafi

Anafi is a small island on the east of Santorini, well known for its stone masons of the 19th century, having left their signature in the island’s architecture. Even if the island was quite poor back in those days, the legacy of stone masonry is still reflected on Anafi's beautiful buildings. If you visit Anafi, do not miss to visit the beautiful Kalamiotissa Monastery, built on top of the second largest rock of Europe.

Anafi is connected to Santorini with four to five ferries per week. The total trip duration is between 1-1:30 hours. As for summer season, some of these routes have already been announced and of course, you can find these timetables in Ferryhopper!

Santorini to Amorgos

Introducing Amorgos to the international travelers is quite easy since the beautiful sea of Amorgos has played a key role in the French movie "Le Grand Bleu"  (akan"The Big Blue"). Amorgos is the largest island of the Small Cyclades (or Mikres Kyklades) and well known for its beautiful beaches.

Amorgos is a nice destination for island-hoppers as it has beautiful villages with a quite unique culture and several camping places that facilitate the stay of the backpackers.

From June till September, Amorgos is connected to Santorini with daily ferry schedules. A high-speed catamaran (SeaJet2) operated by SeaJets is serving this route. The total trip time is a bit more than an hour and the ticket price is almost 50€ per passenger.

Santorini to Heraklion

Even if visiting Heraklion is not exactly the definition of island-hopping, taking a ferry from Santorini to Heraklion is a very good choice. Introducing Crete and Heraklion in this article is a bit out of scope though, as we would need pages to describe just a bit of the beauty that you will find there.

Ferry selection does not require much of an effort for this trip. Santorini is connected to Heraklion via two large high-speed ferries, operated by SeaJets and Hellenic Seaways. The trip duration for both is approximately ~1:30, while the price is pretty much the same (to be fair, the first one is cheaper by 0.2€ per passenger).

You can read more on this trip in our post for the route between Mykonos - Santorini and Heraklion.