Travel to Astypalaia

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Students arrange their own travel from home to Astypalaia and provide their own travel-medical insurance.  Many international airlines operate routes to Athens international airport (called Elevtherios Venizelos or airport code ATH) but the most important thing is to book the Athens-Astypalaia journey first because options are much more limited and you might not be able to travel on the day you want.  We ask you to arrive in Astypalaia on 29 or 30 June and to depart as soon as possible after the end of the Field School, depending on travel options.

Flying is the quickest option for travel to the island.  Sky Express Airlines have one direct flight most days from Athens to Astypalaia (airport code JTY) and it takes an hour.  They are Greek island specialists, based in Crete.  Sky Express operate small planes with just 42 seats, so it's necessary to book early as availability can be a problem.  Blue Star Ferries has a route from Piraeus (the port of Athens), through several islands of the Cyclades, arriving at Astypalaia as its last stop.  The ferry is great fun but it takes 10 hours and leaves early in the morning from Piraeus.  They are big ships which take hundreds of passengers, so availability is not a problem, but there are only 4 sailings to Astypalaia per week.  Project staff meet students at Astypalaia airport and ferry port and provide transport to the accommodations.  We plan the start date of the field school in relation to air and ferry timetables, but we provide accommodation if students need to arrive a day or two early.

Many students arrange time for travelling around Greece before and/or after the field school.  We can offer advice about interesting destinations.  Most students stay at least a day in Athens, to see the sights.  In any case it is a very good idea to stay a night or two in Athens both before the journey to Astypalaia and after your return, because ferries and small planes do not always run to time.

Do not book any travel until you know you have been accepted for the fieldschool, have paid your fees and have received a final confirmation of your place.  All kinds of unforeseen circumstances may arise and it would not be possible for the project to refund travel expenses.

Please contact Professor Simon Hillson (simon.hillson@ucl.ac.uk) if you have questions about travel to Astypalaia, and travel around Greece in general.  There is a project cellphone which we use as the point of contact in case of cancellations or other problems during travel.