The corridor from London to the Greek islands carries more passengers than any other between the two countries, and it is more complicated than it looks because five London airports, a dozen Greek island airports and a seasonal charter market all overlap. Getting it right saves a whole day.
Direct or via Athens
From roughly May to October there are direct flights from London to Crete, Rhodes, Kos, Corfu, Zakynthos, Mykonos and Santorini. Outside that window nearly all of them stop, and the islands are reached through Athens.
Even in season, the Athens route is sometimes the better one. Direct island flights often run two or three days a week rather than daily, so a Tuesday departure to a small island may mean waiting until Thursday, whereas Athens has service every day and onward domestic flights of under an hour.
The five airports are not interchangeable
Heathrow and Gatwick carry the full-service carriers and most of the year-round Athens capacity. Luton and Stansted carry the low-cost operators and most of the summer island routes. City has limited range and is rarely relevant here.
In July the fare difference between them can be severe enough that people cross London to save on it, which is worth doing only if you have properly counted the two hours it costs at each end.
Ferries, and the trap
Piraeus to the Cyclades is five to eight hours depending on the vessel, and to Crete it is usually overnight. The high-speed boats are the ones the meltemi cancels, and in July and August that north wind can hold for three or four days without pausing.
The single most common way a Greek island trip goes wrong is a ferry booked to connect with a flight on the same day. Leave 24 hours of margin, or fly the last leg.
The Athens night is worth taking
Because of those timings, most island trips contain at least one real night in Athens, and most people waste it treating the city as a transit lounge. It is a mistake. The pedestrian street under the Acropolis at 10pm, dinner starting at 9.30pm, and the whole centre busy past one in the morning are the reason to build the stopover in deliberately rather than resent it.
Practical
- Athens airport to Syntagma: 40 minutes on metro line 3, faster than a taxi at peak.
- Greece is two hours ahead of the UK all year.
- August empties Athens and fills the islands. Availability inverts completely.
- Cards work almost everywhere; taxis and small tavernas still prefer cash.
Where we work
Athens and Mykonos. Nothing in London, nothing elsewhere in the UK, and nothing outside Greece. There is no British contact or associate, and nobody operates under this name there.
