Getting to Sifnos from the UK
Written by Elena Philippou, who hosts Villa Olivia Clara above Platis Gialos.Updated August 2026
8 min readMost of the people who read this site are in the UK, and the journey is simpler than it looks on a map. There is no airport on Sifnos and no direct flight to anywhere near it. You fly four hours to Athens, sit an hour on the train, and get on a boat.
Look at the ferry times before you book the flight. The last boat out of Piraeus decides the whole day.
Can you get there in one day?
Through Athens, only if you fly early. The ferries from Piraeus to Sifnos leave between about 07:00 and 15:00 and there is nothing after the afternoon boat. So work backwards. You need to be at Piraeus by 14:15. The metro from the airport is an hour, plus the walk and the wait, so land in Athens by about midday. Greece is two hours ahead of the UK and the flight is three and a half to four hours, so you want to be off the ground by about 07:30. Leave after nine and you will miss it. If your flight lands in the afternoon, stay the night in Athens and take the first boat in the morning. You will be at the house for lunch. There is a second way in, through Mykonos, and it buys you about five more hours on the day.
Ferry routes, times and where to bookGetting to Athens
Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and Manchester all fly direct, and more regional airports join in for the summer. Six airlines work the route, British Airways, Aegean, easyJet, Ryanair, Wizz Air and Jet2, so in season there are a few dozen flights a day. Fares are best if you book early. Three and a half hours from London, closer to four from the north. Everything lands at Athens International. The metro station is a short walk from arrivals.
The Mykonos route
SeaJets runs a direct high-speed boat from Mykonos to Kamares. It takes about an hour and fifty-five minutes and sails roughly six days a week from spring through November. The standard sailing leaves at 17:10. The same five airports fly direct to Mykonos, twenty-odd a week from London alone, and the port is fifteen minutes from the airport. Land mid-afternoon and you are on Sifnos for dinner. Through Athens the same evening arrival would have needed a dawn flight. The crossing is roughly double the Piraeus fare, the boat does not sail every day, and if you miss it you are spending the night on one of the most expensive islands in the Cyclades. Mykonos has two ports a couple of kilometres apart and people get it wrong, so check which one your boat leaves from when you book.
Which boat to take
The fast catamaran does Piraeus to Kamares in about two and a half hours. The conventional ferries take about five, cost less, and ride better in a swell. On arrival day pay for the fast boat. You will have been travelling since dawn. Going home there is nothing to rush for, so take the slow one and keep the difference.
Milos is not a shortcut from the UK
You will read that flying to Milos and hopping across is the clever way in. It is a good route if you are already in Greece. Milos has a 1,075-metre runway and takes domestic flights only, from Athens, Thessaloniki and Rhodes, so there is nothing direct from the UK. You connect in Athens anyway, and you have swapped a two-and-a-half-hour boat for a domestic flight, a transfer and a 40 to 50 minute ferry. Do it if the Piraeus timings defeat you. Otherwise fly to Athens and take the boat.
When to come
The English school holidays land on the hottest and busiest weeks of the Greek summer, and the priciest. Bad luck if you are tied to them. If you can travel outside the summer term, come in June or September instead, for the same sea and half the people. They are the best value on the island, and the walking is better.
Sifnos season by seasonThe flight home is the part people get wrong
Ferries run late in August. A delayed boat on the day of a late-evening flight is the most common way a Sifnos holiday ends badly. Take the morning ferry on your last day, or stay the last night in Athens. Neither costs much. A missed flight out of Athens in August costs a lot.
How many days to give SifnosQuestions our British guests ask
Are there direct flights from the UK to Sifnos?
No. Sifnos has no airport, so everything goes through Athens. You fly to Athens International and take the ferry from Piraeus. The only thing that lands on the island itself is Hoper's helicopter from Athens airport, 35 to 40 minutes, in season.
Can I fly from the UK and reach Sifnos the same day?
Yes, if you fly early. The last ferry from Piraeus leaves around 15:00, so you want to be landing in Athens by midday. Fly out of the UK before 07:30. After nine you will need a night in Athens.
How long does the whole journey take?
About nine hours door to door on a good day. Three and a half to four hours in the air, an hour from the airport to Piraeus, some waiting, two and a half hours on the fast ferry, then 20 to 30 minutes up from Kamares to the house.
Which UK airports fly direct to Athens?
Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and Manchester, year-round or near enough, and more regional airports in summer. Between British Airways, Aegean, easyJet, Ryanair, Wizz Air and Jet2 there are a few dozen flights a day in season.
Should I fly to Milos instead?
Only if the Piraeus timings do not work for you. Milos takes domestic flights only, so from the UK you connect through Athens anyway, then a transfer and a ferry of 40 to 50 minutes. You spend less time on the water and about the same time travelling.
How far ahead should I book?
For July and August, months ahead. Flights and the fast ferry both fill, and the house books earliest of all. June and September give you more room, though the good weeks still go early.
Is flying to Mykonos a good way to reach Sifnos?
Often it is the better route. SeaJets runs a high-speed boat from Mykonos straight to Kamares, about an hour and fifty-five minutes, usually leaving at 17:10, and Mykonos has direct flights from the UK. Land in the afternoon and you are on Sifnos that evening. It costs more than going through Piraeus and the boat runs about six days a week, so check your date before you commit.
Where you'd be staying
Villa Olivia Clara is our house above Platis Gialos. It sleeps eight, 20 to 30 minutes from the port and 7 to 10 minutes' walk down to the beach. Send Elena your dates and she will tell you if the connection works.
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