Serifos has no airport, so there is one way in: the western Cyclades ferry line out of Piraeus. That single fact is worth more than any timetable, because it removes a whole set of options other islands give you.
Diagram by Greece Trips. Free to reuse with credit - CC BY 4.0.
The crossing
From Piraeus, on the western Cyclades line. Both conventional ferries and faster services run it in season, and the difference between them is hours rather than minutes.
We print no durations or fares here. They are set per season by each operator and they change; the shape of the route does not. Check the day’s sailings with the operator before you build a connection around one.
What else is on the line
This is the useful part, because the western line is a chain rather than a spoke. The same run takes in Sifnos, Kimolos and Milos, which makes island-hopping down it straightforward and makes Serifos a natural first or last stop.
The obvious pairing is Milos to Sifnos and then up or down from there. Sifnos vs Serifos sets out how the two neighbours differ, which is more than the map suggests.
Where it lands, and what happens next
The boat lands at Livadi, the port on the south-east coast. The chora is not there: it is above you, built up a cone of rock in tiers with a ruined Venetian kastro on the summit.
Two ways up. The bus meets the boats, and there is a stepped path that climbs directly. Walk it if you are unencumbered and it is not the middle of the day, because the walk down at dusk is the thing people remember about the island.
Livadi has the rooms, the tavernas and the beach. The chora has the view and the atmosphere. Where you stay decides which Serifos you get.
Booking, and the seasonal cliff
Sailings on the western line thin substantially outside high season, and out of season Serifos becomes a genuinely quiet place with limited services.
Book ahead in August, when the whole line is busy, and check what is actually open if you are travelling in the shoulder months. What to book ahead covers which parts of a Greek trip sell out first.
When the boat does not run
The western Cyclades take the wind, and a cancelled sailing is a real possibility rather than a remote one. When a ferry is cancelled sets out what actually happens and what you are entitled to.
The practical planning rule is simple: do not schedule a flight out of Athens for the same day you are meant to sail back from an island on this line.
Where this leaves you
One line, from Piraeus, with no airport at the other end and no alternative route in. It lands at Livadi and the chora is above you, reached by bus or by a stepped path. The same line carries on to Sifnos, Kimolos and Milos, which makes Serifos easy to combine and hard to reach any other way. Check the sailings, leave a day’s slack at the end, and take the path up at dusk rather than the bus.
Quick answers
Is there an airport on Serifos?
No. The only way to reach Serifos is the western Cyclades ferry line from Piraeus, which is also why the island stays as quiet as it does.
Which port does the Serifos ferry use?
Piraeus, on the western Cyclades line. The boat lands at Livadi on the island’s south-east coast, below the chora, which sits high above the port on a cone of rock.
What else is on the same ferry line?
Sifnos, Kimolos and Milos, which makes hopping between them straightforward. Serifos works well as the first or last stop on a western Cyclades trip rather than as a destination on its own.
How do you get from Livadi up to the chora?
By bus, which meets the boats, or on foot by a stepped path that climbs directly from the port. The walk is steep and worth doing at dusk rather than in the middle of the day.