Here’s some good news if you were thinking of making a winter trip to Symi or anywhere that Aegean Airways flies to. I had an email from they yesterday announcing their ‘up to 50% off all direct and connecting flights across our network between September 15th, 2026 – March 31st, 2027.’
I am planning a quick trip to the UK for an important birthday celebration in early March, so this is good timing for me. Depending on which day I go and return, I could now make the return trip for under €200. The dates I am considering mean that it would cost me a little more, but nowhere near as much as before this offer, so I intend to make the most of it and buy tickets before the offer ends on September 2nd.
You can discover more info at this link.
Of course, Symi to the UK over the winter period is not as simple as buying a flight and getting on it. There are no charter flights and fewer ferries across to Rhodes, so a ‘quick’ trip is never that quick. For example, yesterday, I looked at a flight that leaves Rhodes on a Thursday morning and arrives in Gatwick around midday. Perfect. Except, this means I must catch the Wednesday early-morning Blue Star and spend a day and a night in Rhodes, waking at half-three the next morning to be at the airport in time for the six o’clock take off. The first stage is to Athens, and the six a.m. flight is more like catching a bus than a plane and has always been an easy trip from a very quiet airport. You often walk across the tarmac to reach the plane, so there’s none of that bus journey of ten feet business. There are later take offs, but not many, and not always connecting to the onward flight from Athens to London.
On the way back, the journey entails a night at or near the UK airport, and some consideration of the flights. There is one around midday, which is good, but then a choice of a quick dash to change at Athens to arrive in Rhodes in the late afternoon, or a later onward flight that gets in around midnight. Either way, there’s no chance of catching a ferry, so another night in Rhodes is needed, followed by another day before the ferry back in the evening. As long as you’ve got the day right. In the winter it’s possible to have to wait up to three nights in Rhodes over a weekend, before being able to get to Symi.
Apart from anything else, this jiggery-pokery adds the cost of three more hotel nights to any trip, so build that into your budget, and then there is the issue of weather. Coming back from a trip to Transylvania in 2013, we were stuck in Rhodes for an extra four nights while the weather calmed enough to allow ferries to travel. Had we known, we’d have stayed in Romania where the accommodation was half the price. The potential for weather delays during a winter trip is a constant, so a week in Symi in March, for example, could end up being a day trip. Then again, it probably won’t, but you never know. Just something to think about.
So, I guess, 50% off suits me as the timing is right. That’s not always the case, though. The free tickets we won on an Aegean Airways New Year’s Day flight this year had to be used by the end of 2026, so that didn’t help me. To have used mine simply for the sake of it would have cost me an unplanned fortune at the other end, so although Neil used his (because he was planning a visit anyway), I gave mine to Jenine. Now, though, I can take my planned trip next year for 50% off. Aegean have been my favourite airline since my first trip with them 100 years ago.
Anyway, I’m not here as an Aegean rep or salesperson, I just thought with everything else naff going on in the world, you might not have heard of this offer, which could, I hope, help others save a little money. Have a fun weekend!
