Key facts
South Aegean at a glance
Areas and places
South Aegean area by area
Each area has its own page, with its own character, plans and map.
Plan the trip
South Aegean, step by step
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
When to go to South Aegean
June and September are the best months: the sea is already warm, ferries run daily and there are fewer people than in August. May and October are good for walking, with the water still cool. In July and August the meltemi blows and everything costs more. From November to March there are few boats and most beach hotels close.
How you travel
South Aegean your way
The ways of travelling that suit South Aegean. We are writing a guide to each one: where to stay, how to get around and which services you will need.
By carBy planeCampingBackpackingCar-freeLuxury
Nearby
Near South Aegean
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
35.52° N · 24.02° E
Crete
By carBy planeCar-freeLuxury
37.98° N · 23.73° E
Attica
By carBy planeBackpackingCar-freeLuxury
37.12° N · 22.59° E
Peloponnese
By carBy planeBy campervanCampingCar-freeLuxuryOn footBy motorbike
38.48° N · 22.50° E
Central Greece
By carBy planeCar-free
Tips
Worth knowing first
- 1Buy your return ticket when you arrive
In July and August the boats fill up, especially with a car. If you can't get a place, you miss your flight.
- 2Leave a day's margin before your flight
With the meltemi, a fast boat may not sail. Sleep in Athens the last night.
- 3Choose the beach by the wind
Check the forecast in the morning and go to the sheltered side of the island. On Milos the town council itself recommends this.
- 4Akrotiri and the museums, with e-tickets
The sites on the Cyclades close earlier in winter and some one day a week. Check the Ephorate of Antiquities timetable before you go.
You spend more hours at the port than on the beach. Better two islands properly seen than five from the deck.
Santorini, Naxos or Milos?
All three are Cyclades, dry islands of white houses in the middle of the Aegean, but they have nothing else in common. Choose by what you have come to do:
- Santorini, if you come to see the caldera. It is what is left of a volcano that collapsed in the Bronze Age: white villages on the edge of a 300-metre cliff, black-sand beaches on the other side and the Minoan city of Akrotiri under the ash. Three nights is enough. It is the most expensive and the most crowded; sleeping outside the caldera, in Kamari, Perissa or Pyrgos, you pay much less.
- Naxos, if you want a sandy beach, good food and getting around by bus. It is the largest of the Cyclades, with long beaches in the west, marble villages inland and Mount Zas, the highest point of the archipelago. It works with small children and without a car, and has campsites right on the beach. Allow four or five nights.
- Milos, if you like unusual coves and volcanic scenery. White rocks at Sarakiniko, sea caves at Kleftiko, fishing villages with painted boats and more than 70 beaches. The Venus de Milo was found here in 1820. You will want a car or quad bike and three or four nights.
If it is your first time and you have a week, combine two: Naxos and Santorini are a little over an hour apart by fast boat, and Naxos sits in the middle of almost all the routes.
How do you get there from Spain?
By flying to Athens, which has direct flights from Madrid, Barcelona, Málaga and, in season, other cities. From there there are two ways:
By plane. Santorini and Milos have airports with flights from Athens: about 45 minutes to Santorini and about 30 to Milos, on small Aegean and Sky Express aircraft. Vueling also flies direct to Santorini from Barcelona in season, in about three and a quarter hours. It is the quickest option, but in summer the tickets go up early.
By ferry. They leave from the port of Piraeus, in Athens, and some from Rafina, closer to the airport. Approximate times:
| Island | Fast | Conventional |
|---|---|---|
| Milos | about 3 h, stopping at Sifnos or Serifos | 4 h – 4 h 30 |
| Naxos | 3 h 30 – 4 h 30 | 5 h 30 – 6 h |
| Santorini | about 5 h | 7 – 8 h |
The fast ferries are run by Seajets and other companies and usually carry passengers only; the conventional ones, from Blue Star or Minoan, carry cars. Buy on the ferry company's website or on a ferry comparison site, and in July and August book weeks ahead if you are taking a car. Keep your boarding pass on your phone.
How do you hop from island to island?
By boat. From Naxos it is 25 to 50 minutes to Paros and a little over an hour to Santorini by fast boat. Milos lies to the west, on the line that runs down through Sifnos and Serifos: before booking, check whether there is a direct boat to your next island that day. Leave half a day for each change between hotel, port and crossing. Two islands in a week and three in ten days is a pace you can enjoy.
Within each island, the KTEL bus covers the main places. On Santorini all the lines leave from Fira (€2.20 to €2.80 a journey); on Naxos, from the Chora next to the port, and you buy the ticket before boarding. On Milos the bus reaches Adamas, Plaka, Pollonia, Sarakiniko and Paleochori, but some lines run only a few times a day. For the coves of southern Naxos, the wineries of Santorini or almost all of Milos, hire a small car for a couple of days. The quad bike is popular, but on narrow roads with traffic it is the most exposed option: check what the insurance covers.
What about the meltemi?
It is a strong north wind that blows on many days in July and August. It stirs up the sea, can delay or cancel the fast boats and brings swell to north-facing beaches. When it blows, look for the south coast and sheltered bays: on Milos, Paleochori and Kleftiko; on Naxos, the south-west beaches. In June and September it blows less.
How much does it cost?
It is the most expensive part of Greece, above all Santorini in July and August, with hotels over the caldera at luxury prices and sunset dinners that have to be booked days ahead. Naxos is the cheapest of the three, with campsites and beach apartments. Some reference prices: Akrotiri, €20; the day catamaran to Kleftiko, from about €130 with lunch; the bus, €2 or €3 a journey.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Which Cyclades island should I choose with small children?
Naxos: Agios Georgios is five minutes' walk from the Chora, and Agios Prokopios and Plaka have long sand in front of the apartments, with a bus to the centre.
Are there direct flights from Spain to the islands?
To Santorini, with Vueling from Barcelona in season. To Naxos and Milos you fly via Athens, or carry on by ferry from Piraeus.
Can you see the Cyclades without a car?
Yes on Naxos and on Santorini if you sleep near Fira or the Chora. Milos is of limited use without a car: if you go without one, sleep in Adamas.
How long does the ferry from Athens to Santorini take?
About 5 hours by fast boat and 7 to 8 by conventional ferry. By plane from Athens it is about 45 minutes.
Are they open in winter?
Partly. There is at least one boat a day to Naxos and the Chora stays lively, but from November to March almost all the beach hotels, many tavernas and the excursion boats close.