Serifos and Sifnos are next-door neighbours on the western Cyclades line, and the hop between them is one of the shortest ferry rides in the whole group. Serifos is the wilder of the two, with a whitewashed Chora spilling down a rocky peak above the bay of Livadi and a coast of bare hills and quiet beaches. Sifnos is greener and gentler, known across Greece for its cooking, its pottery and a string of villages joined by old footpaths.
Most people take this crossing as one step on a longer journey down the western islands: Piraeus or Lavrio, then Kythnos, Serifos, Sifnos, and on to Milos and Kimolos. Because the ships on that line call at both islands one after the other, there is plenty of choice, from a Blue Star car ferry for €6 to a Seajets high-speed boat that has you in Kamares in about 20 minutes.
The price gap is bigger than the time gap. Ferryhopper's table of last year's sailings shows Blue Star from €6 and Fast Ferries from €7, while the fast boats of Magic Sea Ferries and Seajets start at €22 and €18 respectively. On a trip of under an hour, the slow ship is often the smarter buy; the fast boats earn their fare when their timing suits your day.
Service runs all year, but the mix changes a lot with the season. Winter relies on the conventional ships, a few days a week each, while from spring to autumn the fast boats join in. Check your exact date in the booking box before you lock in rooms on either island.
