Santorini to Ios Ferries: All Options Explained

You basically have 2 ways to get from Santorini to Ios: by the slow ferry or the fast ferry. To be honest, it’s a very straightforward route but not very cheap in my opinion. In general, ferries in Greece have become extremely expensive the last years and island hopping can become very expensive quickly.

Santorini to Ios ferries take less than 2 hours to reach Ios and this is usually a route that is part of the typical long ferry routes from Piraeus that go through many Cyclades islands (such as Naxos, Paros, Tinos, Sifnos, Ios etc).

If you cannot find any available route from Santorini to Ios on Ferryhopper is because usually the ferry operators announce the available routes and timetables around 4-6 months in advance only every year, so you should better check closer to your dates .

Here are the ferry options you have basically:

There is no airport on Ios island, so there are no available flights between the two islands.

You can always search directly from here the available ferries from Santorini to Ios:

There are several ferries per day from Santorini to Ios that take from 1 hour and 15 minutes to just 35 minutes (depending on which ferry you choose), and it’s a relatively quick and easy way to travel between the two islands.

• Ferryhopper is the largest and safest website in Greece to book your ferry tickets from Santorini to Ios, but you can also use it just for checking timetables and prices between all Greek islands.

READ ALSO

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• Santorini to Milos Ferries
• Best Things to Do in Santorini

It’s obvious that whatever I am explaining in this post applies to the return trip from Ios toSantorini, as well.

Keep reading…

SANTORINI TO IOS TIPS:

• You basically have 2 options of getting from Santorini to Ios: by slow ferry or by fast ferry.

• Best way To get From Santorini to Ios: By slow Ferry (1 hour and 15 minutes) Blue Star because it’s simply so much cheaper than the fast one and it’s really not worth it in my opinion, since the islands are pretty close anyways; even a daytrip between the 2 islands is definitely doable

• Best Website for Ferry Prices & Timetables: Ferryhopper

• Santorini to Ios Ferries depart from Athinios port in Santorini.

• Between April and October there can be more than 4 ferries a day from Santorini to Ios; there are far fewer ferry options in the winter (November-March)

• How long is the ferry ride from Santorini to Ios: it varies from 35 minutes to 1 hour and 15 minutes depending on the ferry operator; the same obviously applies to the ferry from Ios to Santorini

• How much does it cost to take a ferry from Santorini to Ios: it obviously changes every year but in general, it can cost from 19 euros (slow ferry) to 65 euros per person (fast ferry)

• You must book your ferry online and you can then enter the ferry with the barcode that will be on the email that will be sent to you. This will be clearly written on the email you will receive from Ferryhopper and it is now the system that most ferry companies use BUT some smaller companies may ask you to get a printout from a kiosk that is outside of the ferry and it is this print out that will allow you to enter the ferry. As a rule of thumb, if your ticket you got through email from Ferryhopper has a barcode then you can enter the ferry directly.

• Strikes in Greece: strikes can happen anytime in Greece and for any means of public transportation within short notice; usually, they may happen on Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Thursdays; yes, they may mess up your trip but they are necessary for the hard-working people of Greece so that they can have decent salaries and benefits for their lives. So, get over it and try to find some alternatives for your trip.

• Strong Winds – Ferries Cancellations: in case there are strong winds (which can be pretty common in August in Greece), then the Greek Port Authorities may stop all ferries from departing, so bear in mind this is also a possibility that can mess up your trip; as an average there might be 4-5 days during the summer months that this can happen so it’s good to have that in mind

• Business Seats on Ferries in Greece: in my opinion, they are not worth the extra money as you only get a bit more space and a slightly quiet area to sit but even the standard seats are very spacious

• The Ferry Schedule for all Greek islands is announced only 4-6 months before the actual trips, so if you cannot find any scheduled ferries for your trip 3 years from now, please check again 3 months before your actual trip. Ferry tickets to Greek islands never sell out and you will always find a ticket.

Santorini to Ios Ferry Schedule

The Ferry Schedule from Santorini to Ios is only announced a few months before the actual dates of the trips, which means that the times for the busy summer months of May, June, July, August and September are only announced around January or February of the same year.

However, there are not that many changes usually as there are usually ferries that depart sometime in the morning and go through several Cyclades islands.

Here is an Example of a Ferry Schedule from Santorini to Ios in July from Ferryhopper:

This is just an example of a ferry schedule!

For the latest Ferry schedule, always check on Ferryhopper.

The winter ferry schedule is less frequent with probably 1-2 ferries a day.

BLUE STAR FERRIES

Bluestar Ferries are the biggest you can take to go to Ios from Santorini and are the most stable but also the slowest (1 hour and 15 minutes to arrive).

No matter how bumpy or windy it is, you won’t feel much on Bluestar Ferries, but in case there are strong winds the Greek Port Authorities may not allow any ferries to depart, for safety reasons.

The best way to check for the available Blue Star Ferry times schedule is to visit the Ferryhopper website.

Where can you book Blue Star ferry tickets from Santorini to Ios?

I highly recommend you book your ferry tickets online through Ferryhopper before you even land in Greece. It is the easiest and safest way to guarantee you are going to get a seat. In fact, for July, August and September, I recommend you book the ferry tickets online at least 1 month in advance. To be honest, you will always find a seat on a ferry but if you are planning to get your vehicle on the ferry then you need to book very well in advance as there are limited spaces for cars and motorbikes in their garages.

BE CAREFUL THOUGH:

As long as the email you receive from Ferryhopper has a barcode on it, you will be fine to enter the ferry with these ones. It will be very clear on the email you will receive from them, though. Otherwise, you will get instructions on how to get the printout ticket as some smaller ferry companies don’t have a barcode system on their tickets (very old-fashioned indeed…). This is not a problem however and all you have to do is to go to a kiosk outside of the ferry itself and people there will print out the ticket for you. Ferryhopper will give you instructions on where to go exactly.

How much the Blue Star Ferry ticket cost?

For the latest prices always check theFerryhopperwebsite.

SEAJET FERRIES

SEAJET Ferries are the fastest you can take to go from Santorini to Ios and are the less stable and also the most expensive.

The best way to check for the available SEAJET Ferry times schedule is to visit the Ferryhopper website.

In my opinion, it does not make a lot of sense to pay 40 euros more only to be 40 minutes faster to Ios. I would rather take the slow Blue Star ferry between these two islands.

Where can you book SEAJET ferry tickets from Santorini to Ios?

I highly recommend you book your ferry tickets online through Ferryhopper.

FLIGHTS TO IOS

Ios does not have an airport and there are no flights to the island.

CONCLUSION

You basically have 2 options for the Santorini to Ios ferries: the slow and the fast ferry. My honest recommendation is to take the slow ferry instead of the fast one because it’s much cheaper and it’s not worth it in my opinion.

For me, the best way to check timetables and even book your ferry tickets online has been Ferryhopper for the last few years, and I highly recommend it to everyone looking to get a ferry to Santorini to Ios.