Aerial of a jetty at Mykonos town.

Explore the Greek islands by hopping on ferries across the seas © proslgn / Shutterstock

Scattered like pearls beyond the shimmering Aegean and Ionian seas, the Greek islands have lured in many travelers. From Jason and his adventuring Argonauts to Frankish Crusaders and Mamma Mia film crews, myth and enchantment envelop the islands much similar their ribbons of saccharide-soft sand.

There's zero quite like spotting the shoreline from a dominicus-drenched ferry deck or sailing into a vibrant port. In Greece, getting there is an essential part of the run a risk and, thankfully, isle hopping is a breeze.

Introducing the Greek Islands

When is the best time to go to the Greek islands?

While the Greek islands are stunning at any time of twelvemonth, aim to visit between Orthodox Easter (usually April) and the end of May, or from September to mid-Oct. During these times, services and amenities are upwardly and running, temperatures are balmy and crowds are thinner. From June until the finish of August, you will definitely have warm ocean water and hot conditions, just you'll exist sharing it with the masses, paying top beak, and the meltemi (dry northerly wind) can play havoc with ferry schedules. In the low winter flavour, many ferry routes terminate to operate, and hotels and restaurants shut up shop.

Depending on which Greek islands you're hoping to visit, it's a skillful idea to also check the local calendars forpanigyria. These Greek summer festivals are unique cultural experiences that can be a lot of fun, but they as well might affect ferry schedules, opening hours at attractions, and produce crowds and parades that can otherwise complicate the logistics of getting around.Panigyria on Ikaria, for example, occur all summer long on diverse saints' days, and some of the festivities run from dusk until dawn.

View over a blue dome church on Santorini, Greece

It'due south a practiced idea to programme out some of your Greek island-hopping adventure, but exit room for flexibility © Ihor_Tailwind / Getty Images

Should you plan your Greek island-hopping trip in advance?

In reality, it'due south best to plan a little and leave a little to chance. A bit of planning tin can definitely take you a long way. Deciding where y'all desire to go and understanding the ferry schedules before you lot go volition accept the piece of work out of your vacation. Having said that, Greece is known for its laid-back attitude, and it's worth emulating this while island-hopping. Ferry schedules are e'er subject to change, even pre-booked and pre-paid journeys. Anything from windy weather condition to worker strikes tin can mean delay or cancellation at brusque notice. Building a little flexibility into your schedule is wise.

Two large ferries in the port of Piraeus, Greece

Evening in the port of Piraeus, the starting indicate for many Greek island-hopping trips © Milan Gonda / Shutterstock

What are the best Greek island-hopping routes?

You tin can definitely selection a few options from diverse groups of Greek islands and create your own route; however, many ferry lines service specific island groups, so planning can exist easier if you stick to a single area. All flights lead to Athens – or so it seems – and arriving in the capital not only gives yous the opportunity to have in its jaw-dropping sights, but it also brings yous close to the port of Piraeus for boats to the Cyclades, Saronic Gulf islands and even more than remote island groups like the Dodecanese. Athens besides neighbors the port of Rafina for routes to the eastern Cyclades and further afield. To visit the Northeastern Aegean islands, land in Thessaloniki, Greece's second metropolis.

If you're planning to spend most of your fourth dimension in a specific island group, information technology'south worth catching a domestic flight from Athens to get you started – it volition salvage you both time and coin. Practicality aside, at that place's nil quite similar descending in a twin engine onto a tiny airstrip in the middle of the vivid bluish body of water.  Some isle destinations are also served by international flights in loftier season.

Woman wearing a hat looks at the island of Santorini from a ferry

Arrival into the port of Fira on the caldera edge of the stunning Santorini island in the Cyclades © Murat An / Shutterstock

Which Greek islands are best to visit?

Cyclades

The entreatment of the Cyclades is undeniable, and information technology's here that yous'll find some of the about popular islands. Exist prepared to share, peculiarly in high season. From Piraeus, hop a ferry to Mykonos, the virtually glamorous of the Greek islands. Overlooked by its iconic windmills, you'll rub shoulders with the famous every bit you lot explore the flower-filled lanes and boutique shops and cafes.

From here, day-trip to the tiny island of Delos with its ancient dominicus-bleached ruins. Carry on to Naxos, the largest of the Cyclades, with a walled seaside majuscule surrounding a hilltop castle. Even further south, you'll attain Santorini with its iconic sunsets, black-sand beaches, vineyards and incredible Minoan site. Complete the loop with a stop in laid-back Milos, with dozens of beaches and mannerly villages to explore. At the end of the twenty-four hours, hop a ferry back to Piraeus.

Yacht moored in a secluded cove on Kalymnos island, Greece

An island-hopping yacht moored in a secluded cove on Kalymnos isle in the Dodecanese © Matt Munro / Alone Planet

Dodecanese

In the Dodecanese, you'll see and taste the historical influences of the parade of cultures that accept passed through, from Romans and crusading medieval knights to Byzantine and Ottoman rulers. Think plenty of pasta, sugary baklava, stunning minarets, walled cities and crumbling mountaintop castles. The catamaran service that regularly connects the islands makes isle-hopping elementary. Begin by communicable a flight to Rhodes, which abounds in sandy beaches, ancient history and a buzzing metropolis life.

Visit volcanic Nisyros to hike through its verdant forests and into its steaming caldera, and Karpathos for its timeless hilltop village of Olymbos. Kalymnos will call climbers and divers with its undersea wrecks and limestone cliffs, while Patmos has an ethereal quality, where life is in melody with the monastery bells and where St. John experienced his revelations. If you're visiting around Orthodox Easter, Patmos is the identify to be. Loop back to popular Kos for an countless strip of brown-saccharide sand, nightlife, hands cyclable roads and an drome with regular flights to Athens.

View across the rooftops in Corfu, Greece

Looking across the rooftops of Corfu © Oleg Voronische / Shutterstock

Ionian Islands

Nestled along the declension of the Peloponnese in the Ionian Sea, the Ionian Islands have a slightly cooler climate, abundantly forested mountains and countless stands of olive and cypress trees. From Athens, you can fly to Corfu where y'all'll be wooed by Parisian-style arcades, Venetian alleyways and Italian-inspired delicacies. Corfu is large enough to escape the crowds to cypress-studded hills, lofty villages and sandy coves.

The next island is tiny Paxi, with cute harbor villages, rolling hills and ancient olive groves. Visit Lefkada for its sandy beaches and Kefallonia to kayak along the magnificent cobalt-blue bays. Take in time-forgotten Kythira for carbohydrate-cube architecture and unspoiled wilderness. Far flung to the s, you can ferry back to Piraeus from hither.

Travellers board a ferry in the port of Aegina island in the Saronic Gulf, Greece

Travelers board a ferry in the port of Aegina island in the Saronic Gulf © Rolf M Wackenberg / Shutterstock

How to book ferry tickets

With a network roofing every inhabited island, the Greek ferry system is vast and varied. The wearisome rust buckets that once plied the seas are nearly a matter of the past. High-speed ferries are increasingly mutual and cover most popular routes. Local ferries, excursion boats and tiny private fishing boats (chosen caiques) often connect neighboring islands and islets. Meanwhile, plush catamarans can drastically reduce travel time and cope better with poor weather. For long-haul ferry travel, you lot can travel in serious comfort.

Many ferry companies have online booking services. Non surprisingly, loftier-speed boats sell out faster than slow chuggers. For overnight ferries, it'southward always best to book alee. These resources are useful for planning and booking:

  • Danae TravelA good site for booking boat tickets.
  • Greek Travel Pages Useful search selection and links for ferries.
  • Greekferries Search ferry schedules, including accommodation options and multi-leg journeys.
  • Open Seas Reliable search engine for ferry routes and schedules.

A fishing boat laden with nets in the harbor in Lesvos, Greece

A fishing boat laden with nets lolls in the harbor on the Northeastern Aegean island of Lesvos © Tan Yilmaz / Getty Images

Tips for traveling the Greek islands

  • When you volume a ticket, yous'll notice that deck-class is just that: access to the deck and interior but no bunks, berths or cabins. Keep in mind that unless you state otherwise, you volition automatically be given deck class when purchasing a ticket. For more luxurious or overnight accommodations, prices climb with aeroplane-manner recliner seats correct up to private cabins with bathrooms.
  • If you are considering taking a ferry overnight, it's worth remembering that a bed for the night in a cabin from Piraeus to Rhodes can be more expensive than a discounted airline ticket. It'south worth shopping around, depending on where y'all land in the Venn diagram of considerations similar price, travel time, comfort and a desire to experience of sailing the high seas.
  • If you're traveling around Greece with kids, children under 5 years of age travel for gratuitous on many ferry services, and tickets for those aged between five and ten are usually half toll.
  • Food on ferries can exist overpriced and underwhelming. Bring your own snacks and water, or salve your appetite for the famously robust food scenes in destinations similar Rhodes and Symi.
  • You might not take much appetite if you veer towards seasickness. The water can be rough, so stare at the horizon, non the sea. Stay on deck for fresh air and don't exist tempted to read or employ binoculars.
  • If you're hoping to explore the Greek islands by car, note that bringing a automobile on the ferries is expensive and generally requires accelerate booking. Car rental on the islands is relatively inexpensive and possible on almost every island.
  • If you lot've got some free energy left, or actress room in your itinerary afterwards returning to the mainland, remember that Piraeus is more than than just the gateway to the Greek islands. You lot can hands spend a whole mean solar day in Piraeus itself, or at the very least check out the urban center's vibrant nightlife at popular clubs like Beluga and Madama afterwards you disembark the ferry.

This article was originally published in September 2019.

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