How To Get To Amorgos, Greece

The easternmost island in the Cyclades, Amorgos continues to feel special partly because it has no airport: everyone who comes here has chosen to make the slower, longer journey.

Arriving by ferry is the only option, and the route depends on whether you’re focussed on Amorgos as a standalone destination or weaving it into your Greek island-hopping odyssey.

Budget will also come into play, as ticket prices range from very affordable to surprisingly expensive.

Those who do make the effort get to enjoy a stunning destination with dramatic cliffs, crystal-clear Aegean waters, charming whitewashed villages, and irresistible swimming spots.

In this short explainer, we’ve shared all the essential information to help you understand the transport connections, choose the best option for your own visit, and avoid a common Amorgos ferry terminal mistake.

How to Get to Amorgos

· Fly in via Athens, Santorini or Mykonos

· Ferry connections with Piraeus and various Greek islands

· High-speed or slower, cheaper ferries available

· One-way ticket from €13 to €90

· From Athens / 6-9 hours

· From Santorini / 90 mins to 5 hours

· From Mykonos / 2-4 hours

· From Naxos / 75 mins to 6 hours

· Small Cyclades / 1-3 hours

· Look + book tickets on FerryHopper and Direct Ferries

· Plan ahead with our Amorgos travel guide

The Flight Options

As mentioned, there are no direct flights to Amorgos, so you’ll need to fly to another Greek hub first – usually Athens, Santorini or Mykonos – and then take a ferry.

However, due to flight + ferry schedules, it’s likely that you’ll have to spend a night in the transit hub both before arriving and after departing Amorgos. It’s inconvenient, but this also helps keep Amorgos special and free from overtourism.

For slow or flexible travellers hoping to spend most of their time in Amorgos, rather than island-hopping, the advantages will outweigh the inconvenience; those extra nights offer the chance to sample another Greek destination en route and experience the kind of quieter, less-touristy island that rigid holiday itineraries tend to skip.

Of course, you can also go more casual and combine a few nights enjoying the first and last destinations in their own right, with Amorgos the meat in the holiday sandwich.

We opted to fly into Mykonos from the UK, spend the night at a cheap accommodation near the ferry terminal, then take the morning ferry to Amorgos.

From Athens to Amorgos

It’s 6-9 hours by ferry from the Greek capital, and there are lots of affordable, convenient direct flights to Athens International Airport (here on Google Maps)

From there, you need to travel onward to Piraeus (maps), Athens’ main port and the departure point for most Cycladic ferries.

A taxi ride will take about an hour, whilst there’s also 24-hour express bus that runs directly from the airport to Piraeus port (60-90 minutes). However, you can also do the journey by metro in about the same time (sometimes the quickest if traffic’s bad).

In the summer season there will be at least one daily ferry from Piraeus to Amorgos, with tickets ranging from €50-80 one-way. The price will always come at a premium for the high-speed ferries, and they’re also more likely to sell out on peak travel dates. Your options are:

Blue Star Ferries | The cheapest and slowest boat, offering a comfortable and more stable journey. Usually an early morning departure, but there’s sometimes an overnight boat too. Travel time is around 7-9 hours.

Hellenic Seaways | Quicker and more expensive, they usually leave at a more convenient time in the morning and do the journey in 5-6 hours. More susceptible to delays or a bumpier ride in rough weather.

At time of writing, Seajets no longer operate a direct Athens to Amorgos service.

Check all the ferry schedules and prices here or on Direct Ferries

Travel Tip / If arriving late into Athens, consider spending a night near Piraeus port to catch the early morning ferry feeling refreshed.

Santorini & Mykonos to Amorgos

Amorgos is well-connected by ferry to Mykonos and Santorini, two major tourist destinations in the Cyclades that serve as the main gateways to the smaller, lesser-visited nearby islands.

Therefore, a great option is to fly in to one of them and then take a ferry to Amorgos (exactly as we did).

Flying into eitther of these two over Athens saves time overall, and also opens up your options for an island-hopping adventure in Greece. On this particular trip we were focussed on the Small Cyclades cluster rather than the bigger, busier islands, but it would be perfectly understandable if you also wanted to spend time on them.

Crucially, the fact that you can conveniently fly in/out of each means you can consider booking a one-way flight to Santorini and then your flight home from Mykonos, or whichever combination suits your travel style, plans, and budget – compare prices and routes on Skyscanner.

Travel times and typical prices are:

Santorini to Amorgos | The daily Seajets boat does it in less than 90 minutes (€77), but those on a budget should try to plan around the much less frequent Small Cyclades Line ferry that does the crossing in five hours and costs a lot less.

Mykonos to Amorgos | Up to two departures per day in summer with Seajets, and a travel time of 2-4 hours depending on the vessel. Tickets around €90.

Tickets | As there are four or five ferry companies serving Amorgos, we recommend looking & booking via FerryHopper and Direct Ferries. We used both websites on our trip last summer and, as they list all the departures and routes, it offers a quicker and easier way to compare prices, schedules, and boat type than visiting each of the individual ferry company websites.

If you’re flexible on dates and/or on a budget, make sure to activate the ‘show alternative date & routes’ button on DirectFerries.

The Two Ports

Amorgos has two ferry ports – Katapola and Aegiali – and it’s important to know which is closest to your accommodation before booking your ticket.

Katapola, where we stayed in this fantastic Airbnb, is more central and better for accessing Chora and the south, whilst Aegiali is in the north. Whilst almost every ferry to Amorgos will stop at both ports, they’re up to an hour apart by boat (or a €30 taxi ride) and it would be a real pain to get off at the wrong one with all your luggage.

Note that some ferry company search engines won’t bring up ‘Amorgos’ as a destination, and you instead have to type in one of the two ports.

Plan | The Best Things To Do in Amorgos

The Other Greek Islands to Amorgos

The reality is that most of you will be visiting a few Greek islands on a single trip, and Amorgos might be the second, third, or fourth stop on your island-hopping itinerary.

It’s a glorious, slow, and meaningful way to travel, and we fully recommend it!

Amorgos is well-integrated into the ferry network, and you can easily reach it from a variety of nearby islands:

· Naxos is a major ferry hub and really popular destination, so is likely already on your radar. It also offers the most frequent ferry connections to Amorgos, with prices from just €13 one-way. Crossing time varies a lot depending on the company you opt for, taking as little as 75 minutes with a high-speed to as much as six hours with Blue Star and others.

· Koufonisia, Schinoussa, Iraklia and Donoussa form the cluster of tiny islands southeast of Naxos, known as the Small Cyclades. The Express Skopelitis ferry connects them with Naxos and Amorgos, and we took it a couple of times on our trip (including one very rough crossing to Koufonisia).

The most important thing to bear in mind is that the capacity of this boat is smaller and the ferry doesn’t run daily to/from every island, so factor that into any travel plans between Amorgos and the others and before finalising any accommodation bookings!

· Paros is an island we can’t wait to visit, and it’s got severals daily crossings to Amorgos. Travel time is 2.5 to 4 hours, costing €30-50 one-way.

· Sifnos, Milos, and Astypalea also have ferry routes to Amorgos.

Quick Tips for Your Amorgos Ferry

· The ferry schedules for Amorgos are more frequent during the summer months, but direct connections are not always available daily for each ferry type and company.

· It’s a good idea to turn up at least 30 minutes before the ferry departure

· The famous Meltemi winds are strong, dry northerly winds that blow across the Aegean Sea from June to September, peaking in July and August. They can cause rough seas, ferry cancellations, and flight delays, especially in the Cyclades. For example, the Express Skopelitis was cancelled for three days during our time on the island!

We don’t intend for this to cause concern, but it is a defining feature of visiting these particular Greek islands. Travellers should appreciate that potential ferry disruptions are a risk, and ensure they’ve got good travel insurance – though policies vary on what’s covered for weather-related delays.

For any ferry to flight journeys, make sure to give yourself a buffer for sailing before your flight home.

· Those winds can also make some crossings much less fun than others! The big Blue Star ferries offer more stability than the smaller high-speed boats in choppy waters.

· Last-minute availability depends on the route and time of year, with the high-speed and Small Cyclades ferries more likely to sell out. If you know your dates for Amorgos, then it’s a good idea to purchase your tickets in advance.

· If you’re travelling with a rental car (not something we’d necessarily recommend for the islands), then booking further in advance is essential and will also determine which ferry you can take.

· As mentioned, you can book directly on the individual ferry company websites for Blue Star, Seajets, and Hellenic Seaways, but not for the Express Skopeltis. To ensure you know all the options and find the best value crossing, we recommend looking + booking via FerryHopper and Direct Ferries.