Flight question for those who have done Greece

[IzzyBella]

Hello, we’re going to Greece this summer and I’m starting to look at flights. The trip ends in Crete. Do most people fly back to Athens and then fly home the same day? Or should we overnight in Athens? To ask it a different way - how long do we need in Athens between flights? Thank you!

 

[sayhello]

Hello, we’re going to Greece this summer and I’m starting to look at flights. The trip ends in Crete. Do most people fly back to Athens and then fly home the same day? Or should we overnight in Athens? To ask it a different way - how long do we need in Athens between flights? Thank you!

It honestly depends on you. I didn't want the really, really early flight from Crete that would have been required to get to the Athens airport in time to catch a flight home the same day, so I decided to stay a night in Athens (which I was able to arrange through ABD when I did the trip) and then flew home the next day. I'd booked the airfare through ABD, and they ended up telling me the later flight to Athens got cancelled, and moved me to the earlier flight anyways (which I honestly believed was actually because they didn't want to have to do 2 transfers to the airport, but oh well). I actually really enjoyed having the extra day in Athens to do some things I hadn't done on my pre-days.

However, most everyone else flew back to Athens and then home the same day.

These days, I would never book anything with less than a 2 hour layover. For International flights, I actually prefer 3 hours, but that's just me.

The Greece ABD is *fabulous* and still one of my favorite ABDs. Enjoy!

Sayhello

 

[Marthasor]

IMHO, it really depends on the flight schedule. As PP noted, I would have at least a 2 hour layover in Athens once you land from Crete. We did not do ABD, but when we traveled home from Greece, we went Santorini back to Athens and stayed overnight at the Sofitel Athens Airport which is directly across the street from the terminal. It was clean and comfortable and there is a restaurant on-site, so we simply walked over there from our Santorini flight, stayed overnight and walked back to the airport in the morning - it was very easy and much simpler than staying overnight in the city and then getting back to the airport.

 

[abdgeek]

Hello, we’re going to Greece this summer and I’m starting to look at flights. The trip ends in Crete. Do most people fly back to Athens and then fly home the same day? Or should we overnight in Athens? To ask it a different way - how long do we need in Athens between flights? Thank you!

Like @sayhello, when I did the Greece ABD I didn’t like the layover times in Athens. I chose to fly back to Athens and stay two more nights to finish seeing other sites on my list before flying home. Some people stayed extra nights in Crete and some flew home from there on the last day.

 

[AquaDame]

I'd booked the airfare through ABD, and they ended up telling me the later flight to Athens got cancelled, and moved me to the earlier flight anyways (which I honestly believed was actually because they didn't want to have to do 2 transfers to the airport, but oh well).

Did you happen to check and see...? The flight should have appeared as cancelled on the signs in the airport or online. I admit I would have had to find out if I was suspicious!

 

[sayhello]

Did you happen to check and see...? The flight should have appeared as cancelled on the signs in the airport or online. I admit I would have had to find out if I was suspicious!

For some reason, I did not check and see. I really can't remember why. Perhaps I just did not want the hassle of dealing with it? It's not like I was missing anything beyond a couple of extra hours of sleep. But honestly, I can't explain it, because normally, I'd be all about finding that kind of thing out!

Sayhello

 

[floribr1]

I am booked on this ABD in early October (yes, I am one of "those people" who likes to book the flights 11 months out). We want to enjoy the final meal (breakfast) with the rest of the group, so I did not want to have to leave super early on that last day. I booked our return flight on Finnair -- Crete to Helsinki, Helsinki to New York (all on the same day). The flight from Crete is scheduled to depart at 12:05pm, and we'll land in NY at 7:05pm.

I really wanted to complete the trip home on the same day that the ABD ends. We purchased the travel insurance through ABD (the "Vacation Protection Plan"), and that coverage ends on the exact last day of your ABD unless you are paying for extra nights through ABD at the end. The insurance is expensive, so I did not want to forfeit any of the benefits by travelling past the last day of the ABD.

 

[sayhello]

I really wanted to complete the trip home on the same day that the ABD ends. We purchased the travel insurance through ABD (the "Vacation Protection Plan"), and that coverage ends on the exact last day of your ABD unless you are paying for extra nights through ABD at the end. The insurance is expensive, so I did not want to forfeit any of the benefits by travelling past the last day of the ABD.

I believe that if you book your airfare through ABD, that the insurance covers you until you get home, whether you book the post-nights through ABD or not. But there may be some sort of requirement to be flying home from where the ABD ends. But I'm not sure about that, as I haven't bought the insurance through ABD in a LONG time.

Sayhello

 

[AquaDame]

I didn't answer initially since I did Athens and Crete on my own this last summer and not ABD but changed my mind...

There is no reason to go back through Athens unless you already have a flight home from there or want to stop over for some days at the end... the trip may be less travel time overall by flying open jaw/multi-city via a different route. It sounds like you haven't booked yet, so I would just book whatever gets you there and home the fastest!

 

[pindecisive]

Hello, we’re going to Greece this summer and I’m starting to look at flights. The trip ends in Crete. Do most people fly back to Athens and then fly home the same day? Or should we overnight in Athens? To ask it a different way - how long do we need in Athens between flights? Thank you!

This is a great question!

I would at minimum, have any layovers be at least 2 hours. Every single flight (Aegean Airlines) we had from Turkey to Athens to Santorini to Athens to Turkey were all delayed at least a half hour, and at most 1.5 hours.

That being said we spent a day in Athens to do the Acropolis and it was amazing. I highly recommend doing a GetYourGuide tour if it. The earliest one in the morning you can do. We flew in the evening before and did dinner at A for Athens (highly highly recommend) for the amazing view of the Acropolis, then flew out to Santorini after the tour.

Saying I hated Santorini isn't strong enough. There is almost no cell reception. It's way more expensive than San Francisco (expect to pay $10 for water during lunch). The food was terrible. Uber is a flat rate of $39 Euro and generally expect it to be the worst Island you visit. Chios however, is amazing. Drink all the mastic liquor you can!

My general advice is to set up tours for everything in Greece. Don’t do anything on your own in Santorini as you can easily become stranded in over 100 degree heat with no water and no way to communicate. While in Athens you’ll find most people speak English but that's not the case in Santorini. Don't trust TripAdvisor for anything and let your guides lead you to the most trustworthy restaurants and businesses.

 

[Theta]

We flew back through Athens. Our flight to Athens (Aegean) was not a co-share partner with Delta (Athens - JFK), so we had to collect our checked bags at baggage claim and then go through security again once we rechecked our bags in at the Delta desk. I would suggest a 3 hour layover is needed in such a case as this. The security lines were long.

I agree with Santorini. Disliked everything about it. Hot, unbelievably crowded, expensive and hotel was subpar for ABD. Crete on the other hand was lovely.

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

I would schedule at least a few hour layover in Athens. In my admittedly limited travel, the airports in Greece were some of the more stressful I've encountered. They were crowded, WAY too little seating, long lines at security, PITA rules about carry ons (restrictions on weight), etc. I can't remember where we were, but at one airport the check in desk employee had me shuffle around some carry on contents and then ended up fudging the numbers anyway, and then had me go to a different desk to pay for an additional bag since she had no way to charge me. They almost always tried to pressure us into checking carryons, saying they'd check them for free.

I'm pretty sure everyone else on our ABD flew out the morning the tour ended while we headed to Mykonos. We had to fly from Crete to Athens to Mykonos, and let them check a couple carry ons. When we arrived in Mykonos, one of our bags didn't make it. We waited in line with about 20 other people to file missing bag claims, and we were all told that our bags were left in Athens due to weight (despite being assured our bags would make it). When we left Mykonos, the check in person tried to get us to check our carry ons again but I said no thank you because of the previously lost bag. The check in employee said "they would never leave behind bags" like that (as if I were lying).

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

We flew back through Athens. Our flight to Athens (Aegean) was not a co-share partner with Delta (Athens - JFK), so we had to collect our checked bags at baggage claim and then go through security again once we rechecked our bags in at the Delta desk. I would suggest a 3 hour layover is needed in such a case as this. The security lines were long.

I agree with Santorini. Disliked everything about it. Hot, unbelievably crowded, expensive and hotel was subpar for ABD. Crete on the other hand was lovely.

I definitely wouldn't say I hated Santorini, but it wasn't my favorite place. Our cell reception was fine. The ABD hotel on Santorini sucks - super cramped, steep narrow stairs up to the loft, second bed is an uncomfortable pull out, the bathroom flooded every time we showered (despite properly closing the sliding glass shower door), the tv reception was terrible,... I have no idea why they chose that hotel for the ABD. It's not even very conveniently located. We still had a good time, but it's not a place I need to visit again.

I agree, Crete was lovely. The hotels on Santorini and Crete were also night and day - we had very spacious connecting rooms on Crete with huge bathrooms, even our own pool.

We spent a month in Greece (including the ABD), and Crete was hands down our favorite place. (Olympia was also nice.) I'm glad we went to Mykonos (specifically that we visited Delos), but if I had it to do over again I'd have added a day or two on in Crete and spent less time in Mykonos and Athens.