Traveling to Greece in June for a buddy's 40th birthday. Curious the best way to get there. Couple flights with layovers or fly somewhere direct and take a train? Never been so we're open to different options that others have experienced.

Helluva trip to celebrate a friends bday.

Ain't no train worth a damn taking to Greece. Your options are as follows:

Nonstop into Athens
Nonstop into any major airport in Western Europe, then easyjet/lower cost airline into Athens.

Depending on where in Greece you're going, then possibly Aegean air from Athens to paros, Mykonos, Crete or Santorini.

We'll be in Mykonos so I figured Athens then smaller airline into the island.

Fortunately we just have to get there and he's taking care of the rest! Hard to pass up

You could also take a ferry.

When I was there in the 80s, they had these wild looking hydrofoils on some of the ferrys. Looked very James Bond villain at the time.

Non-stop to Athens. Aegean air to Mykonos. It's a very easy transfer in Athens and about 1.5 flight to Mykonos. Ferrys work great but I top out at 2-3 hrs max and Athens to Mykonos is much longer than 3 hrs, so fly.

OilManAg91 said:

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Non-stop to Athens. Aegean air to Mykonos. It's a very easy transfer in Athens and about 1.5 flight to Mykonos. Ferrys work great but I top out at 2-3 hrs max and Athens to Mykonos is much longer than 3 hrs, so fly.

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This.

Depending on what time in June you could be getting into heavy Meltemi wind pattern which can sometimes delay ferries and boat travel.

Plus, getting down to the seaport from the airport can be a bit of an adventure. Take the Aegean air flight to Mykonos and be settled.

Also, try and convince him to do an island other than Mykonos unless you're ready for a rave party and to be tripping over instagram influencers.

AA has nonstops from DFW to Athens. I would imagine United has ones from IAH.

Appreciate the insight!
Honestly, his vibe is closer to instagram influencer and rave (which is complete opposite from me) but there will be enough of my kind of people at the villa he's booked to give me a reprieve!

Mykonos is cool. I'd personally take a ferry from Athens because I love being on the water. If you can spend a day in Athens, there is obviously a lot to do there. We recently did a cruise that concluded in Athens, and some people told me just come home, but we added two nights in Athens and were very glad we did.

Bluecat_Aggie94 said:

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Mykonos is cool. I'd personally take a ferry from Athens because I love being on the water. If you can spend a day in Athens, there is obviously a lot to do there. We recently did a cruise that concluded in Athens, and some people told me just come home, but we added two nights in Athens and were very glad we did.

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If not planning on going back, definitely spend a bit of time in Athens - no more than 2 days as it's an absolute cesspool having been the gateway to the west and civilization for a few millennia.

Or, I may also suggest spending some time in the Peloponnese or seeing other islands.

If it's really just a birthday trip to Mykonos, well, enjoy!

ChoppinDs40 said:

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If not planning on going back, definitely spend a bit of time in Athens - no more than 2 days as it's an absolute cesspool having been the gateway to the west and civilization for a few millennia.

Or, I may also suggest spending some time in the Peloponnese or seeing other islands.

If it's really just a birthday trip to Mykonos, well, enjoy!

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If you stayed in the wrong part of town, I could see a negative opinion. We stayed in a wonderful AirBnB at the base of the Acropolis (for like $120/night). The neighborhood was wonderful, clean, walkable... definitely not a cesspool. Not even close.

Bluecat_Aggie94 said:

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ChoppinDs40 said:

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If not planning on going back, definitely spend a bit of time in Athens - no more than 2 days as it's an absolute cesspool having been the gateway to the west and civilization for a few millennia.

Or, I may also suggest spending some time in the Peloponnese or seeing other islands.

If it's really just a birthday trip to Mykonos, well, enjoy!

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If you stayed in the wrong part of town, I could see a negative opinion. We stayed in a wonderful AirBnB at the base of the Acropolis (for like $120/night). The neighborhood was wonderful, clean, walkable... definitely not a cesspool. Not even close.

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maybe it's changed but last time I was there you basically had to beat the immigrants trying to sell you stuff with a stick... at the base of the Acropolis.

Street vendors trying to rob you blind in the bazaar near the base. Drugged out homeless and lots of places.

The Acropolis is all the city really has to offer so they try and keep it cleaned up. Again, 1 or 2 days on the front or back end is ideal.

TheClaw07 said:

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We'll be in Mykonos so I figured Athens then smaller airline into the island.

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When we went in 2022, we took Delta from DFW to ATH, layover was in Atlanta. Spend a few days in ATH, then flew Aegean Airlines to the islands.

We were there in early November last year, and we didn't see any of that stuff. To be honest, it felt a lot like walking around the cobblestone streets of Rome, only I didn't like Greek food as much as Roman.

We may get there a day early and spend the afternoon/night in Athens. We're only going because of the birthday so we aren't going to extend it any more than that. Really appreciate all the input!
Right now looking at AA into Athens with a stop in Orlando as the best option for us.

Corfu and Rhodes are my favorites. Not so much a party place like Santorini or Mykonos, still great. Can highly recommend using train transportation in the Greece mainland and in the whole Europe as well. The quality of the services is really different to Amarica and lner customer service is always there for the customers, in case some troubles/issues/questions come up.

Fly into Rome. Then, take a short flight to Athens.

From which airport would you be flying? That factors into whether a non-stop flight is even available.

We flew Houston-DC-Athens once....and another trip we were in Italy beforehand and flew Agean airlines from Rome to Athens.

2 days in Athens is perfect. If you like rugs visit The Loom and have them shipped home.

We use Sea Jet to travel to the islands.

Flying out of Dallas so it looks like one stop is the best option from what I've seen

TheClaw07 said:

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Flying out of Dallas so it looks like one stop is the best option from what I've seen

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I thought there were non-stops? Maybe Covid killed that. Usually it's a stop in ORD or PHI.

Whatever you do, make the layover in the US. Don't land over there and have to connect after a red eye in the summer.

I'll be in Athens, Santorini & Naxos in three weeks.

We loved Naxos. Make sure you rent a car and go up into the mountain village. We loved it up there.

We stayed at 18 grapes and did their wine/vineyard trip. If you are a small group I highly recommend doing this. It is very authentic and enjoyable time in the family vineyard. Not sure if the wine is any good but a very memorable experience.

Following...will be in Athens at the end of a cruise in early July.

Spending 2 nights there, so it sounds like plenty.