At this time there are non-stop flights to Athens from JFK (New York) and Newark. Going to Europe, you do save money buying a round-trip ticket, so pick a base city (like Athens) and then book separate flights to Santorini.
Historically, the best time to book is 6 months before the trip, which would be near the end of March.
There are also inexpensive non-stop flights between Santorini and several other European cities including London, Edinburgh, Madrid, Rome, Venice, Dublin, Paris, and many other cities. Also, the flights between Santorini and Athens run almost every hour and are usually under $100.
Keep in mind that you will save substantial money on a round-trip ticket vs buying two one-way tickets. So it is wise to pick a base city. You can also pick a multicity fare and get the benefits of a round-trip ticket. If you need advice, please reach out to me.
Some examples of Itineraries would be:
- Buy a round trip ticket to Dublin, spend some time there, Take a one-way flight to Athens and spend two days there, take a one-way flight to Santorini and spend at least 3 days there. Then take a one-way flight to Dublin, to hook up with your return flight.
- Buy a round-trip ticket to Athens, arrive in Athens in the morning, and stay in Vravrona for the night. Take a flight the next day with a one-way ticket to Paros and spend three days there. Take a ferry from Paros to Santorini and spend four days there. Take a one-way flight to Athens and spend two nights in Athens. Fly back home.
- We are spending two weeks there and Found a great fare on British Airways;
Boston to Athens and Prague to Boston on British Airways $730 round trip
We then bought a 1 way ticket to Santorini after a few nights in Athens $50
We then take a boat to Milos or Paros $60
We then buy a one-way ticket from (Milos or Paros to Athens $80 and stay in Athens for a night.
The next day we are flying to Prague for 3 days and then going home.
I do worry about having time for connections and you do not want to miss your flight going back so if you have to connect with an unaffiliated airline, it is a good idea to have a cushion (I prefer an overnight stay)
Inter-Island Flights
For flying interisland I recommend Aegean/Olympic Airlines since they offer the most flights daily and will be able to get you to your destination more quickly if there is a problem with your flight. They are also a little better than Sky Express. Airlines like Volotea and Ryanair have fewer flights on any give day and tend to charge you for just about everything.