How to get to Greece

Most scheduled flights from the UK to Greece come into Athens or Thessalonika airports, but in the tourist season there are charter and low-cost flights to many of the main island groups and smaller mainland cities.

From island airports, transfer times to resorts – except on the very biggest islands – are mercifully short. If you’re travelling independently, however, you may need to reach islands by boat or hydrofoil, and you may find yourself island-hopping, between islands comparatively close to each other. This is one of the great pleasures of any Greek holiday, though – children love the bustle of small island harbours, as somnolent ports are transformed, in the run-up to the ferry’s arrival, by the hustle and bustle of travellers and traders. When the ferry finally arrives (often impressively on schedule), there’s 15 minutes of mayhem as cars, mopeds, trucks carrying anything from marble to cattle, and foot passengers are disgorged on to the quayside, to be met by a throng of relatives, workmen and (very civilized) touts offering rooms. If you’re travelling on the boat, your kids (and you) will enjoy the thrill of discovery as they begin to discern, from the deck, terrain, villages, beaches, landmarks and hotels.