Symi, a different way
Posted: 10 Jun 2019, 18:15
We decided to try something a little different this year for our June Symi holiday and thought I'd share my thoughts on the experience in case it helps others with their plans.
This picture might hint at what we did:
Yes, after listening to lots of comments and recommendations from people on Symi, we decided to try the Athens route.
After months of research and weeks spent waiting for timetables to be published we managed to put together an itinery that worked: A Friday afternoon Easyjet flight from Manchester to Athens, two nights in a hotel followed by a Sunday evening overnight ferry from Piraeus to Symi via Santorini, Kalymnos and Kos arriving in Symi at 08.40 on the Monday morning. The return was more conventional: Afternoon ferry to Rhodes and late night Jet2 flight home to Leeds/Bradford.
Despite the complexity of the arrangenents the whole experience was wonderful and I'd strongly recommend it to anyone who fancies trying a different route. If there is a morning flight from your local airport to Athens on a Sunday it would probably be possible to catch the 18.00 ferry and be in Symi early Monday morning after a very comfortable overnight crossing for around the same price as a Rhodes flight followed by an overnight hotel stay and ferry to Symi. Something we have been doing for many years.
We wanted this (our first visit to Athens) to be a special holiday so booked a rather swish hotel and nice cabin on the ferry but even without those frills it would have been an interesting way to get to Symi. A "city break", "cruise" and Symi holiday all in one.
Taxi transfers from the airport to the hotel and then on to the port went smoothly and we were dropped right at the bottom of the ferry gangway where the super-efficient crew member carried our cases to reception where another crew member insisted on taking the cases all the way to our cabin, which turned out to be wery nice indeed with plenty of room and a very comfortable bed. We were extremely impressed. Dinner in the a la carte restaurant was one of the nicest meals I've ever had and I had to keep reminding myself: "I'm on a ferry!!"
The Bluestar 2 is huge by Symi ferry standards and there was no lack of facilities on board. We were very impressed by the level of cleanliness and general upkeep of the vessel and couldn't fault the crew. It was a very pleasant experience.
This picture might hint at what we did:
Yes, after listening to lots of comments and recommendations from people on Symi, we decided to try the Athens route.
After months of research and weeks spent waiting for timetables to be published we managed to put together an itinery that worked: A Friday afternoon Easyjet flight from Manchester to Athens, two nights in a hotel followed by a Sunday evening overnight ferry from Piraeus to Symi via Santorini, Kalymnos and Kos arriving in Symi at 08.40 on the Monday morning. The return was more conventional: Afternoon ferry to Rhodes and late night Jet2 flight home to Leeds/Bradford.
Despite the complexity of the arrangenents the whole experience was wonderful and I'd strongly recommend it to anyone who fancies trying a different route. If there is a morning flight from your local airport to Athens on a Sunday it would probably be possible to catch the 18.00 ferry and be in Symi early Monday morning after a very comfortable overnight crossing for around the same price as a Rhodes flight followed by an overnight hotel stay and ferry to Symi. Something we have been doing for many years.
We wanted this (our first visit to Athens) to be a special holiday so booked a rather swish hotel and nice cabin on the ferry but even without those frills it would have been an interesting way to get to Symi. A "city break", "cruise" and Symi holiday all in one.
Taxi transfers from the airport to the hotel and then on to the port went smoothly and we were dropped right at the bottom of the ferry gangway where the super-efficient crew member carried our cases to reception where another crew member insisted on taking the cases all the way to our cabin, which turned out to be wery nice indeed with plenty of room and a very comfortable bed. We were extremely impressed. Dinner in the a la carte restaurant was one of the nicest meals I've ever had and I had to keep reminding myself: "I'm on a ferry!!"
The Bluestar 2 is huge by Symi ferry standards and there was no lack of facilities on board. We were very impressed by the level of cleanliness and general upkeep of the vessel and couldn't fault the crew. It was a very pleasant experience.