FROM AUSTRALIA TO SANTORINI – PRACTICAL TRAVEL ADVICE

Many Santorini visitors actually come from from outside EU, from far away lands like the US and Australia. Over the years working on the island as a photographer for many of these couples coming over in long distance flights, I have heard some experiences and gathered a bit of advice on how to make the whole experience better.

How to get to Greece on budget 

At this point it’s no surprise for most people that using a travel agent makes everything more expense. But you don’t have to stop there – using an agent also makes your life that little bit easier with package deals and hotel bookings etc. The secret lies in how to get the best deal. What I’ve heard as an approach is doing some flights pricing research on Skyscanner or Momondo before you sten into any travel agents office. With this information, you can say that you’ve done some online research and are looking for some offers from their side. Don’t show them the prices, but have a printed list at hand. As you negotiate, this will make the travel agent not stop at the deal that is the easiest to find for them, but rather the absolute lowest cost option they can provide.

From Athens to Santorini

When you land in Athens, it is best to plan a couple of days there to fight jet lag (the flight time is nearly 20 hours, so it’s no joke). When you’re ready to come over, I would suggest considering the ferry instead of flying. The difference in tickets is so huge, that most times you’ll be able to get a return ferry ticket cheaper than a one way flight ticket from Athens to Santorini.

Triple check your stuff

Even though it’s self explanatory, I can’t stress this enough. Before you leave, make sure to scan all your itineraries, tickets etc. etc. and save them in a safe place on the cloud. Have printed versions for extra safety, divide them in separate suitcases, just in case. Also, make sure you use mobile apps for flight tickets, if the flight company has one. If you have several suitcases for check-in, divide your stuff strategically – suitcases get lost more often than you think. For a couple, I would suggest sharing space in both suitcases, so that if one gets lost, you each have at least some basic clothing in the remaining one while you’re waiting for delivery.

Hope this helps. The main thing is to have an open mind and adapt to whatever happens along the way. That’s the magic of travelling :)