Getting from Spetses to Antikythera

If you are heading to Antikythera from Spetses you are making your way from a car-free island in the Saronic Gulf to one of the most remote islands in Greece, sitting in the strait between Kythira and Crete with around 30 to 40 permanent residents. It is known to the world for the Antikythera Mechanism, a 2,000-year-old bronze analog computer recovered from a shipwreck in 1900 and now considered the most sophisticated device to survive from antiquity.

Take the ferry

There is no direct ferry from Spetses to Antikythera. Antikythera is served by a ferry running from Piraeus through Kythira to Antikythera, continuing to Kissamos in Crete. Getting there means taking the Saronic ferry from Spetses to Piraeus, which runs up to 10 times daily and takes around 2 to 3.5 hours, and then boarding the Piraeus to Antikythera ferry, which takes around 8 to 10 hours, or flying from Athens to Kythira and taking the short ferry from Kythira to Antikythera, which takes around 1 hour 30 minutes and runs a few times per week.

Getting there by air

Antikythera has no airport, only a helipad. The nearest airport is Kythira, with connections from Athens. Spetses has no airport. The nearest airport is Athens. Taking the Saronic ferry from Spetses to Piraeus, flying from Athens to Kythira and then taking the short ferry from Kythira to Antikythera gives a total journey time of around 5 to 6 hours. In Greece, airlines do not operate direct inter island flights.

Your best option

Take the Saronic ferry from Spetses to Piraeus and fly from Athens to Kythira, then take the short ferry across to Antikythera. Check the ferry schedule before booking your flights as the Kythira to Antikythera service runs only a few times per week. Bring everything you need as the island has almost no facilities and that is rather the point of going. Note that Spetses is car-free so if you are traveling with a car it would be at the mainland port of Kosta, from where you can drive to Piraeus and board the Piraeus to Antikythera ferry.