Booking a ferry from Athens to Crete?

August 17, 2010 7:31 PM

How should I book an overnight ferry from Athens to Crete via the Internet?

I'll be traveling to Greece next month, and part of our tentative itinerary includes an overnight ferry trip from Piraeus to Hania (aka Chania), Crete. The date we wish to travel is fixed, and from my research there is a ferry I can take every night, so schedules shouldn't be a big issue.

From what I've heard, its generally a good idea to make a reservation for overnight ferries so I'll be certain to get a cabin. However, most sites also say that the ferry system is complicated and unregulated, so you need to be very sure that the person you get the booking from is reliable and will get you the ticket and reservation.

I'd prefer to do the booking online. So far I've found several ferry booking sites, but I have no idea which ones are the more reliable ones. Does anybody have advice on how I should go about doing this?

posted by destrius to travel & transportation (7 answers total)

I used this one. Looks like bookings are open for the route you want. Search under 'Chania'.

You should be able to pick up the tickets in Piraeus, although that depends on the ferry line.

Have fun. We went for our honeymoon.
posted by randomination at 7:59 PM on August 17, 2010

...oh and if you are worried still, their headquarters are in central Athens and you can pick the tickets up from there. I used this company to book Piraeus --> Folegandros --> Santorini --> Iraklio, three tickets all on different liners and it was fine.
posted by randomination at 8:04 PM on August 17, 2010

Sounds like the sort of thing a travel agent will do.
posted by jrockway at 9:04 PM on August 17, 2010

Last summer I booked a cabin online on an overnight ferry from Piraeus to Chania on Anek Lines (anek.gr). I was able to book it before we left the US and had no problems.
posted by bajema at 9:33 PM on August 17, 2010

Have done this; in short, not if you become sea-sick easily. Then again, that's probably obvious and unhelpful. Enjoy, and traveling mercies!
posted by alexandermatheson at 11:14 PM on August 17, 2010

These guys have good coverage of the various ferry companies. Their web design is a little dated, but their service is pretty good - I have used them several times in the past. For many companies you can pick up your ticket at Piraeus, although a few don't do this and will charge an extra fee for sending the tickets by courier.

(Note that I haven't actually tried the courier route, since I am in Greece and just have the tickets sent over by regular post.)

You can also try going directly to the ferry companies. Off the top of my head, ANEK, Minoan Lines and Blue Star Ferries are the main carriers for the Piraeus - Chania route, all three are major companies I wouldn't have second thoughts about making an on-line reservation with.
posted by Dr Dracator at 12:33 AM on August 18, 2010

Thanks for the replies; I've decided to use DANAE travel services to do my bookings. Will follow-up on the experience when I come back from Greece!
posted by destrius at 6:56 PM on August 22, 2010