Athens to Folegandros Ferry: Piraeus, Times and Tips

Athens to Folegandros means Piraeus to Karavostasi: 4–6 hours on a high-speed vessel, 7–11 hours on a conventional ferry, in a fare band of roughly €40–85 one way. It is the only route that works twelve months a year.

Three operators cover it in one form or another — Blue Star Ferries, SeaJets and Zante Ferries — with three to seven sailings a week in summer and a thinner service the rest of the year.

The conventional ferry does not run in a straight line. It threads the western Cyclades, calling at Kythnos, Serifos, Sifnos, Milos and Kimolos before Folegandros; which of those it stops at decides whether your crossing is seven hours or eleven. High-speed vessels skip most of them and operate roughly April to October.

Some seasons put a sailing out of Lavrio instead of Piraeus. Check which port your ticket names — they are on opposite sides of Attica. Every alternative route is in our guide to getting to Folegandros.

Piraeus is a big commercial port with numbered gates spread over several kilometres, and the gate for the Cyclades changes from year to year and even from ship to ship. Ask at the port kiosk or check your ticket on the morning you sail; do not assume last year's gate.

Leave at least an hour of slack. Boarding usually closes around half an hour before departure, and finding the right gate on foot with suitcases always takes longer than you expect.

The high-speed boat buys you half a day and loses it again with the first meltemi. The conventional ferry is more comfortable than people expect: you can walk out on deck, eat something, watch five islands go past and arrive rested.

The conventional ships on this line have run both evening and morning departures over the years. An evening departure means arriving in the small hours or early morning; a morning one puts you into Karavostasi in the afternoon. Which pattern exists in a given year changes, so look at the current season's schedule before you book a room.

The overnight option buys you a day of holiday and a hotel night, but it has a cost: you arrive at a dark port, the buses are not always there, there are only one or two taxis on the whole island, and rooms are rarely ready before midday.

We deliver to the port whatever time your ferry docks — and if the sailing changes, we change with it.

If your hours are worth more than your euros, fly from Athens to Santorini or Milos and finish by sea. The flight takes something like half an hour to forty-five minutes, and then you have 45 minutes to 1h30 by high-speed boat from Athinios, or 45 minutes to 1h15 from Adamas.

The combination usually costs more than the direct ferry and adds one more place where things can go wrong: two bookings, two check-ins, one weather system. Leave at least three hours between landing and the ferry's departure, or better still spend a night on the intermediate island.

It works well when you wanted to see two islands anyway. The detail of the Santorini connection is in our Santorini to Folegandros ferry guide.

Ferryhopper shows all three operators in one search; their own sites work just as well. Summer schedules usually appear in late winter and change during the season, so check again shortly before you travel.

• In July and August, book as soon as your dates are fixed; weekends go first.
• Tickets are electronic with most operators now, but keep a screenshot too: the signal in the port is poor.
• Change and cancellation rules differ by operator; read them before you pay.
• Take water and something to eat on the long crossings, especially if you change ships at an intermediate island.

The full plan for the trip, with every route and airport, is in our Folegandros travel guide.

After seven or eleven hours at sea, the last thing you want is to wait. Karavostasi is a quay with a beach and a few tavernas; Chora is 3 km and about 10 minutes uphill. Buses meet most ferries, but there are only one or two taxis on the whole island.

We deliver to the port free of charge, whatever time your ferry docks, with helmets, an island map and 24/7 assistance included. See what is at the port in our Karavostasi port guide, and what a scooter in Folegandros costs.