How to get to Santorini from London

How to Travel from London to Santorini?

Planning on travelling from London to Santorini? You'll find several ways to travel between these destinations, including flights, buses, trains, and ferries. However, the most cost-effective way of getting to Santorini from London is without a doubt to catch a flight. Santorini is widely considered to be one of the most visually appealing islands in Greece. Its volcanoes, ocean views, and white-washed properties create a breathtaking backdrop for many a photographer.

Millions of travellers flock to this city every year to experience some of the best sunsets in the world, not to mention the landscapes, archaeology, as well as the food and wine on offer. If you choose to fly from London to Santorini, expect your travel time to be between 6h 30min and 9h 30min, depending on layovers. If you choose ground transportation, your trip could end up taking as long as three days.

What is the Cheapest Way To Get From London to Santorini?

If you're looking for the most affordable way of travelling between London and Santorini, you'll generally find that flying is your best option, and also the quickest. Currently, British Airways offer direct flights from London Heathrow International Airport to Santorini (Thira) National Airport, though this is slightly more expensive than some of the flights with a layover along the way.

Lufthansa Airlines, Austrian Airlines, and Swiss Airlines offer cheaper flights with a single layover in either Zurich, Athens, or Vienna. Aegean Airlines also offers cheap flights with a single stopover in Athens or two layovers in Munich and Athens. If you decide to use ground travel from London to Santorini, you can expect your trip to take close to three days and cost two to three times more than a flight.

What is the Fastest Way to Travel from London to Santorini?

Flying from London to Santorini is without a doubt the quickest way to travel between these two destinations. The distance between the two is around 1628 miles (2625 km) and ground travel can take as long as three days to make the journey.

Currently, your quickest option is a direct flight provided by British Airways which leaves from London Heathrow International Airport and arrives at Santorini (Thira) National Airport in roughly 4h. British Airways is the only airline offering direct flights at the moment. You can find flights through Aegean with a single layover in Athens and a travel time between 6h 15min and 7h 30min depending on the length of the stopover. Swiss Airlines also offers flights with a single layover and a travel time of around 9h.

Santorini Couple. Source: Shutterstock

Find the best tickets from London to Santorini and book with Omio

When looking for the best travel deals on a trip from London to Santorini, Omio is the perfect place to start. Firstly, Omio offers its very own magazine that provides useful tips to customers to help them discover the best ways to travel. Secondly, the platform provides consolidated information from a variety of websites and companies and displays several of the best options on a single page for you in your home language, without you having to trawl a whole bunch of sites to find the right information. Using Omio to figure out your travel itinerary is the best way to ensure you get the best deals for your trip.

Trains from London to Santorini

As an adventurous traveller interested in seeing the sights rather than getting to your destination as quickly as possible, you may want to look at travelling via train from London to Santorini. These trips come with multiple stopovers and changes along the way. Your first trip will be via direct Eurostar train from London St Pancras to Paris. This trip typically takes around 2h 30min on a high-speed train. Once you arrive in Paris, you'll need to take a TGV train from Paris Gare de Lyon to Milan Italy. There is typically only one trip a day at around 2:30 p.m. and the trip will take roughly 7h 30min. From Milan, you'll jump on a Frecciarossa ferry and make the three-hour journey to Ancona, Italy.

Train travel from London to Santorini with Eurostar

When taking a train from London to Santorini, your first leg of the journey will be via high-speed train from London St Pancras to Paris Gare du Nord operated by Eurostar. Eurostar is currently one of the only high-speed trains offering direct trips from the UK to France, The Netherlands, and Belgium and also offers no restrictions on luggage or food on your journey. Your trip from London to Paris will generally be around three hours with the fastest trip between these two destinations being close to 2h 30min, one of the fastest ways to get to Paris from London.

Santorini Building. Source: Shutterstock

Flights from London to Santorini

If you're flying from London to Paris, you can expect to find several flights travelling between these two locations on a daily basis, up to 14 different flights are offered daily. Currently, British Airways are the only airline offering direct flights from London to Santorini leaving from London Heathrow International and landing at Santorini (Thira) National Airport in around 4h.

If you fly from London Stansted, you'll find direct flights offered by Ryanair, while easyJet offers direct flights from London Gatwick Airport. If you're travelling with Aegean or Lufthansa, you can expect your flights to have at least one layover along the way, sometimes two if you're with Aegean. These journeys can take anywhere between 6h and 10h depending on the length of the stopover. These flights all depart from London Heathrow International Airport. You'll also find flights from Heathrow with a single stopover offered by Swiss Airlines and Austrian Airlines that'll get you from London to Santorini in around 9h 30min.

Flying from London to Santorini with British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair

If you're travelling from London Heathrow International Airport to Santorini (Thira) National Airport, you'll find cheap direct flights offered by British Airways. This journey will get you to Santorini in roughly 4h. British Airways offers a wide range of services for all their customers including premium lounges and in-flight entertainment to rival the best. If you're travelling from London Gatwick Airport, you'll find direct flights offered by easyJet, while direct flights from London Stansted Airport are typically operated by Ryanair. Both of these companies offer safe and reliable travel for all of their customers.

To Santorini by train/ bus/ flight—travel tips

Once devastated by a volcanic eruption in the 16th century BC, Santorini now stands as one of the most popular and iconic islands of the Cyclades in the Aegean Sea offering a plethora of sights to see and activities to indulge in. Head to one of the west-facing settlements such as Fira or Oia and enjoy a front-row seat to some of the most exquisite sunsets in the world. Oia is home to the city's signature cave houses, as well as an array of beautiful vistas and incredible restaurant terraces, it's also home to art galleries, museums, and castle ruins.

If you're on the island to experience the beach and surf, make your way to Perissa or Red Beach and frolic in the waves. If you're a history buff, there's no shortage of places to see in Santorini. Make your way to the Museum of Prehistoric Thira and explore the local artefacts from prehistoric digs or head to Akrotiri and explore the ruins of this prehistoric village. Regardless of what you're on the island to do, you're likely to find it in Santorini.