Europe - Connecting through Athens from Crete- Acropolis trip possible?

My husband and I are going to Greece and Italy this coming September. We will be staying on Crete for 3 days and connecting back through Athens on our way to Florence. My plan was to take a morning flight from Crete into Athens so that we could plan a trip downtown to see the Acropolis and anything else of interest before heaidng back to the airport for our evening flight to Florence, but am I crazy for thinking this?

1) First, it turns out our hotel (SPG Blue Palace) is an hour to an hour and a half from the HER airport on Crete. So, in order to make the 8:30 or 9:00am flight options people are suggesting we leave our hotel by 5:30 or 6 am to allow enough time for the drive, returning the rental car, and check in. Is HER that bad of an airport at 7:30 or 8:00 am on a Saturday late in September (22nd to be exact)?

2) I saw someone post in another forum that it took them 70 minutes to go from the Athens airport to the Acroplis via the metro. The Athens metro site says it is 45 minutes, but that must not allow for stop times or something. Is the metro the best way to go?

3) I'm thinking/hoping we'll be able to check in for our evening flight when we check in at HER and check our bags all the way through. I have a note into Aegean to find out. Anyone done that between Aegean and AlItalia? I know it all just comes down to if they have a baggage agreement. It would certainly save us some time when we're heading back to the airport if we already had our boarding passes and if our bags can be checked through.

4) There is an 11:00 flight from Crete that would get us in around noon, so we could get a bit more sleep, but I figure we need to allow at least 2.5 hours for the round trip metro ride, plus 1-1.5 hours to get checked back in (if we can't check our bags through from Crete), so that would only leave us 2.5 hours downtown...which doesn't seem like much.

Am I crazy to think we can make this work? As much as I hate to say it, I think that doing one of the morning flights is going to be our best bet. Any other tips or advice on how to make this work? Also, what else in Athens would you particularly recommend given our small time window.

Thanks so much!
Susan

There is baggage storage at ATH if you can't check your bags all the way through.

If you would like a full day in Athens but don't want to get up in the middle of the night... how about taking the overnight ferry instead of flying? That's what we did a couple of years ago. The only problem with doing this is that you need to find somewhere to store your bags... we took them to the airport and then took the Metro back into Athens.

I breifly looked at the ferries, but didn't go too far with them since they were more expensive and I really didn't know how the accomodations, etc. were. How was it? Which ferry line did you go with? I've also heard stories of the strikes that ferry lines go on, or how they cancel due to weather sometimes. I didn't know if either was more or less likley in September and started to just wonder if we should go with an airline. Did you book your ferry through the www.ferries.gr site? SEems sort of awkward to me and I almost didn't trust it. They have such limited information on the ships and all it seems. Anyone able to provide more info on the ferry option? It's not a bad one since we'd get into Athens super early. It would be a hassle to take our luggage all the way out to the airport, but might give us some more time.

Personally, I would find an acceptable hotel very close to the airport for your last night rather than spending a lot for a very fancy and expensive resort hotel that you must leave before breakfast. The airport itself is rather old without good access roads unless it has improved recently. Returning the rental car could take some time, including getting into the parking lot and finding a space to leave it. Aegean check in is likely to be quite pleasant and efficient. September is the end of high season here, with many hotels shutting for the season at the end of October.

To return to the airport, you basically need to drive the length of the island on a primarily three land road with many slow and heavy trucks as well as motorbikes. In places you will, IIRC, go through old towns with congested narrow streets where delivery trucks just stop in the middle. I would allow lots of extra time for traffic problems. Also, it will take more time if you are not accustomed to driving patterns and conditions here. In particular, be ready for the expectation that you will drive halfway off the road on the right (to allow others to pass) but then be confronted by the sudden appearance of stone bridge walls that go just about up to the edge of the regular lane so that the berm disappears totally. Directions are generally posted in English, but not 100%.

We're staying on points, so it would actually cost us more to stay at a hotel near the airport, but thanks for the suggestion. Would have been a good idea otherwise.

I breifly looked at the ferries, but didn't go too far with them since they were more expensive and I really didn't know how the accomodations, etc. were. How was it? Which ferry line did you go with? I've also heard stories of the strikes that ferry lines go on, or how they cancel due to weather sometimes. I didn't know if either was more or less likley in September and started to just wonder if we should go with an airline. Did you book your ferry through the www.ferries.gr site? SEems sort of awkward to me and I almost didn't trust it. They have such limited information on the ships and all it seems. Anyone able to provide more info on the ferry option? It's not a bad one since we'd get into Athens super early. It would be a hassle to take our luggage all the way out to the airport, but might give us some more time.

I would definitely go for the overnight ferry. From Heraklion there are about four competing ferry companies that have daily service to Piraeus. I would contact a Greek travel agent about selecting the ship which has the best overnight accommodations.

Regarding your concerns about strikes....you're just as likely to have the airport hit with a strike as a ferry line, so don't worry. The weather in September should be good. Most problems occur in the Spring, when the Mistral winds blow in from the north. And, frankly the Heraklion-Piraeus ships are so big, they'll sail under all but the most extreme weather conditions.

Luggage storage can be done at the train station in Athens. Monastiraki, Omonoia, and Larissis Metro Stations have large storage lockers.

We used Anek Lines, and as far as I remember (need to check) we booked on their own web site. Can't remember an awful lot about our cabin but do recall thinking that it wasn't much different from the cabins on our local ferry service from Harwich to Hoek van Holland (i.e., perfectly acceptable!)

I think the problem with the metro is that there is only a train every 30 minutes, if you miss one, your journey takes 30 minutes longer. On a Saturday morning, the fastest way is probably a taxi. You have to weigh $$ savings by taking the metro vs potential time gain when on a tight schedule. To go back to the airport, be aware that not all taxis will take you where you want to go. Athens was the city I've seen more taxis than anywhere else refusing taking pax if they are not going where the taxi wants to go (of course this happens only when you hail down a taxi on the street, when taking from a dedicated waiting spot, you won't have this problem). 2.5-3 hours for the Acropolis should be sufficient, but will not allow you to see many things around, but I'd prefer this over sitting in an airport lounge for a couple of hours.

I think the problem with the metro is that there is only a train every 30 minutes, if you miss one, your journey takes 30 minutes longer. On a Saturday morning, the fastest way is probably a taxi. You have to weigh $$ savings by taking the metro vs potential time gain when on a tight schedule. To go back to the airport, be aware that not all taxis will take you where you want to go. Athens was the city I've seen more taxis than anywhere else refusing taking pax if they are not going where the taxi wants to go (of course this happens only when you hail down a taxi on the street, when taking from a dedicated waiting spot, you won't have this problem). 2.5-3 hours for the Acropolis should be sufficient, but will not allow you to see many things around, but I'd prefer this over sitting in an airport lounge for a couple of hours.

Any idea how much a taxi from the airport to the Acropolis would be? I just was going with the metro since I thought it might be faster. Like you said though, on a Saturday morning it might be better to do a taxi, especially if the trains only run once every half an hour.

As far as the comment about you'd "rather do that than si in an airport lounge", we could do a much shorter layover and skip Athens altogether, but I was specifically making the long stop over so that we could see the Acropolis thinking it would be worth it since I don't know if we'll ever make it back. We've seen the ruins in Rome, and will be going back there later in this same trip, so I have considered just bagging the Acropolis for easier travel, but again, not sure when we'll be back so I sort of feel like we should try to make it happen. Agree?

Any idea how much a taxi from the airport to the Acropolis would be? I just was going with the metro since I thought it might be faster. Like you said though, on a Saturday morning it might be better to do a taxi, especially if the trains only run once every half an hour.

As far as the comment about you'd "rather do that than si in an airport lounge", we could do a much shorter layover and skip Athens altogether, but I was specifically making the long stop over so that we could see the Acropolis thinking it would be worth it since I don't know if we'll ever make it back. We've seen the ruins in Rome, and will be going back there later in this same trip, so I have considered just bagging the Acropolis for easier travel, but again, not sure when we'll be back so I sort of feel like we should try to make it happen. Agree?

I have never taken a taxi from ATH airport downtown, but I would expect to pay something between 30-35 Euros. Taxis in Athens are relatively cheap compared to other European cities.

As far as the Acropolis is concerned, IMO Rome is way better maintained than Athens, but if you never were in Athens and don't know if you ever will return, I would definitively do the Acropolis. And if you have time afterwards stroll through the small streets of Monastiraki and Plaka before going back to the airport.

Any idea how much a taxi from the airport to the Acropolis would be? I just was going with the metro since I thought it might be faster. Like you said though, on a Saturday morning it might be better to do a taxi, especially if the trains only run once every half an hour.

As far as the comment about you'd "rather do that than si in an airport lounge", we could do a much shorter layover and skip Athens altogether, but I was specifically making the long stop over so that we could see the Acropolis thinking it would be worth it since I don't know if we'll ever make it back. We've seen the ruins in Rome, and will be going back there later in this same trip, so I have considered just bagging the Acropolis for easier travel, but again, not sure when we'll be back so I sort of feel like we should try to make it happen. Agree?

Don't waste your money on a taxi. Your ship will arrive at half-past dawn. Even if you miss three metros, and spend 90 minutes looking for an available storage locker.....you're still going to get to the Acropolis before it opens in the morning.

Relax. The archaeological sites in Athens will be worth the effort.