Greece Travel Index   Greek Islands  

Greek Island Guide
Helpful Travel Information

This page has information on the various ports as well as info on travel agents, sailboat charters, taxis and other helpful tips to making the most of your trip to the Greek Islands.

Mainland Ports

Travel Agents and Info

Guidebooks and Tips

About Matt's Websites

You can find hotels in the Greek Islands by location, price, whether or not it has a swimming pool or is on the beach, and see photos, maps and customer reviews by using this link to booking.com. Excellent prices and many hotels you can book and then cancel with no cancellation fee. For those who want to book without using a travel agency this is the best way to do it.

You can e-mail me if you have questions about the Greek Islands, itineraries, ferry connections, hotels or anything actually- Matt Barrett

Main Ports in Greece

Pireaus
Pireaus is the primary port. The ferries and now the Flying Dolphins leave from the main harbor which people simply refer to as Pireaus. You can take the metro and get off at the last stop, cross the ever-busy street on the new pedestrian bridge and the boats are there. You can also get there by taking the Pireaus bus from Syntagma or Omonia do what I do, take a taxi. It's cheap and easy and he will take you right to your boat. There is a direct bus from the airport and by the time you read this the suburban train may go there directly and you won't have to change in Monastiraki (See www.athensguide.com/airport.html). For a map of where the boats to the different islands are visit the Pireaus page in my Athens Guide. There is a big fat blue shuttle bus that goes from one end of the harbor to the other. If you are going to Crete, or Lesvos get on the one that is going to the right. If you are going to the Dodecanese go to your left or maybe to your right because by the time you read this. There are signs that will point the way. Any other islands you can walk to the boat. There is a large cafeteria behind the ticket offices which are by the public bus terminal. In the cafeteria is internet access and a place to leave your luggage so you can wander around if you have a long wait for your boat. There are other such cafeterias near the boats to the different island chains too. There are some nice working-class restaurants on the backstreets of Pireaus and lots of fastfood places on the main street. I have a page you might be interested in reading called A Step-By-Step Guide to Visting a Greek Island which tells you how to take the metro to Pireaus, buy tickets and so on. There are ticket offices in Pireaus on the main street, by the bus station and even one in the Pireaus Metro station. If you want a cabin you should get your tickets in advance. If you are traveling in July and August or on Fridays in June and going on a highspeed you should probably get tickets in advance too. If you are booking hotels with a travel agency ask them to book your ferries too because it is no extra charge. Most people stay in Athens and just take the metro or a taxi to Pireaus but some people do want to stay in the port. There are a number of good hotels of all category in Pireaus and if you use the Booking.com Pireaus Hotel Search you can find the ones within walking distance to the ferries. The economical Hotel Delfini is the closest to the metro, the airport bus and the ferries. The Hotel Acropole is close and inexpensive as well. The best of the hotels close to the port is the 5-Star Pireaus Theoxenia which has decent prices for a hotel of its category.

Rafina
If you hate flying and don't fancy a ferry trip then you will be happy to know that by leaving from the port of Rafina rather then Pireaus, you can shave off two hours from your time on the ship on trips to the Cyclades. However this only applies if you are going directly from the airport to the islands since it will take you as long to get from downton Athens to rafina and then to your island then it will to get from downtown Athens to Pireaus and to your island. In other words Rafina is closer to the airport and Athens is closer to Pireaus.

There's a high-speed catamaran to Andros, Evia and a few of the Cylades too. If you don't think you have time to visit an island, a visit to Rafina will do. You can sit in the harbor restaurants, eating fried Kalamaria, watching the fishing boats and ferries sail in and out. It's only 45 minutes from downtown Athens. You can take a bus or go with George the Famous Taxi Driver.

The Avra Rafina is a 4-star hotel convenient to the ferries to the islands for those want to avoid Athens and go straight to the islands and spend the first night in Greece in a Greek-island-setting. Nearby the 3-star Hotel Akti also offers convenience for travelers to both the port and the airport.

Lavrion
For getting to the island of Kea as well as some of the Cyclades and even Lesvos, Thassos and northern Greece, Lavrion has become a ferry hub for Attica with the idea that in the future those who want to skip Athens altogether will be able to do it, taking a taxi or bus from the airport and being on your ferry in about half an hour. I know because I do it all the time and even though I love the city there is nothing like going straight to an island and pulling oneself together before coming to Athens after recovering from jetlag.  There are some nice ouzeries, fish taverns and psistarias and if you have enough time before your ferry sails you can take a swim or see the Temple at Sounion. Unfortunately there are no hotels in Lavrion, at least none close enough so that you can walk to the ferry, so you need to stay in Athens and take the bus or hire George the Famous Taxi Driver to take you. You can also stay at the Hotel Aegeion Beach on the beach, right below the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion and have the hotel arrange a taxi for you in the morning. For those with deeper pockets you can stay at the Cape Sounion Grecotel Exclusive Resort.

You can read about Lavrion at www.athensguide.com/lavrion .

Patras in Western Peloponessos
Boats to Cephalonia, Ithaki, Lefkada, Corfu and on to the ports of Brindisi, Bari and Ancona in Italy leave from the port city of Patras on the northwestern coast of the Peleponisos. Tickets can be bought from your travel agent in Athens and usually includes bus service from Athens. The bus trip is about 3 hours.You can also take the train which is more scenic but takes an hour longer. The boat trip to Brindisi is about 15 hours. Ancona is arond 24. If you can afford a cabin then go for it but if you are young and adventurous a sleeping bag and a spot on the deck is fine. Especially with a few bottles of wine and a couple guitars and some new friends. If you are arriving here from Italy you can take a train or bus to Athens. The train is slower but leaves you close to the center. Your ferry company may have buses to Syntagma near the Plaka, so ask on board and if they do take it. The regional buses leave you off in the middle of nowhere. For Hotels in Patras Click Here

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Services and other Info
 

Ferries to the Cyclades, Dodecanese, North Aegean, Saronic islands and Crete leave from Pireaus . In many cases you can buy your tickets at the port but if you are traveling in the months of July and August or you want a cabin it is best to book in advance. Ferry schedules for the whole week can be found in the Athens News. It comes out every Friday and you can find it anywhere newspapers are sold. If you just go to Pireaus before 7 you will probably find a boat going where you want if you are trying to get to the most popular islands. But with the lack of reliable ferry schedules even if you are a budget traveler or a backpacker use a travel agency in Athens to book hotel, ferries and to let you know when you have to be at the port. With the deals they can give you on hotels you will save money and probably stay in a nicer place than you could find on your own. If you need the times for boats weeks or months from now you can still e-mail me and I can give you some idea of the times and frequency of the boats to wherever it is you want to go. There are also the weekly schedules for Pireaus, Rafina and Lavrion at www.athensguide.com/greek-island-ferry-schedules which I try to update every week. Since it comes from the ministry via the Athens News it is pretty accurate.

For ferry tickets and airline ticket information go to www.greecetravel.com/tickets

Travel Agents

Dolphin Hellas Travel Agency
I have found Dolphin Hellas Travel Agency in Athens to be one of the most responsible and reliable in Greece. They are one of the oldest agencies in Greece and go out of their way to make sure their clients have a problem-free holiday. They realize that to be successful you have to have return customers while other agencies believe there is an inexhaustible supply of tourists and just push you through the system which is in great need of repair. They can book hotels, cruises, tours, transfers to and from the airport, hotels, ferries and cruiseships in Greece and all the Greek islands.

See their informative website at www.greecetravel.com/dolphinhellas

Another Excellent Travel Agency is Fantasy Travel owned by ex-Dolphin Hellas prodigy George Gerassimidis and his staff of multi-lingual travel experts. Specializing in the Cyclades, cruises, and combinations of islands where they map out your itinerary and all you have to do is get on the boat (or plane).
The summer is a  busy time in the Greek Islands. It is recommended that you book your hotels well in advance because many islands will be full. Keep your trip uncomplicated by not trying to see every island in the Aegean on your first visit to Greece especially during July and August. One or two islands with good connections to each other is your best bet. If you are having problems getting bookings visit www.fantasytravelofgreece.com and pick out one of the island combinations that looks good to you. They reserve a number of rooms on the most popular islands so there is a possibility that they will have a hotel that another agent or the hotel itself told you was full.
Also have a look at their cruise pages with maps, dates, rates and itineraries.
If you prefer to make your arrangements after you arrive (not recommended in the high season) stop in to their office at 8 Xenofontos street near Syntagma square, You can call for directions at 210 322-8410. Ask for George and identify yourself as a reader of Matt Barrett's Greek Travel Guides for V.I.P treatment. 

Aegean Thesaurus Travel Agency
What began as Sifnos only travel agency has now become one of the most respected and reliable full-service agencies in the Cyclades. Not only can they arrange your trip and accommodations in Sifnos but they can take care of your hotel needs in Athens and on any of the other Cycladic islands. They can also do weddings on the island of Sifnos. For Info and bookings go to their webpage at www.greecetravel.com/aegean

You can find hotels in the Greek Islands by location, price, whether or not it has a swimming pool or is on the beach, and see photos, maps and customer reviews by using this link to booking.com. Excellent prices and many hotels you can book and then cancel with no cancellation fee. For those who want to book without using a travel agency this is the best way to do it.

Taxi Transfers with George the Famous TaxiDriver
There is nothing worse than getting off a ferry or a cruise ship in Pireaus with 300 people and seeing only three taxis there. Pretty bleak situation unless one of those taxis is waiting specifically for you. This is known as a transfer. It's a pre-arranged taxi pick-up. The driver has your name on a card (just like at the airport) and when you locate each other he takes you to your hotel or wherever you need to go. It's more expensive then flagging down a taxi but in my opinion worth every euro. For getting you to an early ferry this service can't be beat and elliminates the anxiety you get when you are waiting for the hotel concierge to call a cab and there are none available. For information on George the Famous Taxi driver see www.greecetravel.com/taxi

Many people on cruises use George for day trips in Athens as well as excursions to Delphi, Nafplio, Meteora, Sounion and the Peloponessos. If you are a group of four you will find that sharing the cost of his cab is cheaper than the tours the cruise ships offer and you will see a lot more without 40 other people to slow you down.

George will also do transfers to the Western Peloponessos for ferries to the Ionian Islands as well as driving all the way to Corfu and Lefkada.

Island-Hopping
Check out Fantasy Travel's Create Your Own Itinerary page where you click to choose the islands and the number of days you want to spend on each, category of hotels, days in Athens, land tours or whatever and submit it to the travel agency. They come back with a price within 24 hours. See www.greecetravel.com/create-an-itinerary

Far from the Maddening Crowd: In response to the travelers who worry that recent demonstrations in Athens may disturb their sleep pattern, at my request Fantasy Travel has put together a 10-Day Athens-Mykonos-Santorini package which includes a tour of Athens and all transfers and ferry tickets. The package starts at 790 euros per person. What makes it unique is for the Athens part of the trip you will be staying by the beach in Faliron, just 20 minutes from downtown by taxi or 30 minutes by bus or coastal tram. For more information see www.fantasytravelofgreece.com/farfromcrowds.html

Domestic and International Flights
Do you know you can book a flight from your home airport all the way to your Greek island destination, with or without an overnight stay in Athens? (Well, not all islands have airports but the main ones do).
For flights from the USA to Greece and to the islands see www.greeceflights.com
For flights from Europe and flights within Greece you can try www.greecetravel.com/tickets
By booking early you can save lots of money.  

Yacht and Sailboat Charters in Greece
Without a doubt the best way to do the Greek islands and coast is on a sailboat. One summer I took a 5-day cruise on a sailboat with 6 cabins and plenty of room and Captain Billy Joe Leck, a true renaissance man from the UK, skilled in the arts of sailing, story-telling, guitar-playing and baby-sitting who knew more about the islands than I could learn in a lifetime! I am not a sailor so I was a little reluctant to go but when the trip was over I wished I had booked 10 days or a month. We swam in sheltered coves in incredibly clear sea and sailed into ports in the late afternoon for dinner and entertainment. (The boat had AC but we never needed it.) This is the best way to see the islands, (like a cruise but you choose your own itinerary). If you like a particular island you stay longer or even return to it. The captain doubles as a guide/host and knows the best restaurants, bars, beaches and is your private interpreter making ordering in restaurants easy. The surprising thing is that it can be cheaper then staying in a hotel and a lot more interesting! Be sure to read my article about my experience sailing in Greece at www.greecetravel.com/sailing

David Econopouly has a company based in the USA called GM Charters that works with several sailboat companies and individual skipper-owners in Greece to find the customer the best and most suitable boats at the best price. Whether you want to charter a large sailboat with some friends with a skipper or on your own, or join a group of boats called a flotilla * , he does the research and gives you the choices. A great service and very helpful whether you know little about sailing or are an experienced skipper bringing a group and looking for the right boat. He also does power yachts and sail cruises. See www.greecetravel.com/sailing/gm-charters

* Note: What is a Flotilla?

Greek Island Cruises

For Cruises to the Greek Islands on big  (and small) beautiful cruiseships which often include stops in Istanbul, Turkey, Ephesus, Italy and Egypt see www.greecetravel.com/cruise or visit the website of Fantasy travel at www.fantasytravelofgreece.com and take a look at their Smart 7 Program which allows you to get on the cruiseship after a couple days in Mykonos, see a few islands and then get off in Santorini and stay a few days there before returning to Athens. It is the best of both worlds.

Economical Cruise Packages

Special offers for the 2011 cruise season by Dolphin Hellas:

- Three cruise package deals including accommodation in Athens in centrally located hotels (Acropolis & Syntagma areas), all local transfers and one of the 3-, 4- or 7-day cruises of Louis Cruises to the Greek islands and Eastern Mediterranean. See www.greecetravel.com/dolphinhellas/dolphin_bargains.html

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Greece Guidebooks and Tips
 

For more information on the Greek islands there are many excellent books and guides. Buy the local guidebooks that will be available to you on each of the islands and in the English-language bookstores in Athens. If you want to buy one Guide book for all your needs in Greece and the Greek islands I suggest the Lonely Planet Guide to Greece, Fodors, Frommers, RoughGuide, Let's Go or National Geographic. You can order these books from my Greek Books page. Keep in mind that the people who write the books are not supermen and updating them at the rate that things change is an impossible task. (Two guidebooks had a hotel in Kea that closed over ten years ago). They can also be opinionated (like I'm not) and they have to be all things to everybody (where I only have to write about what I like). So you can do what many people do which is print out the pages from my website you need and put them together in a big looseleaf and toss them when you are finished. Or you can give them to other travelers. And if you see something I have written that is wrong, please let me know because unlike a guidebook I don't have to wait for the next printing to make changes. I can add and subtract stuff every day (and I do).

If you are traveling in the summer months, it's a good idea to book a room in advance.  Also keep in mind that you can go through the hassle of booking tours and accomodations yourself but if you do it through a Reliable Greek Travel Agency you will save at least 15% because of the special arrangements between the hotels, cruise companies and the Greek Travel agents who give them most of their business. Plus they will save you the enormous hassle of trying to figure out the ferry schedules.  Island-hopping is great when you are young and flexible and don't want to be tied down to a particular program. But it becomes more difficult in the summer when travel agents are scrambling to secure rooms from anywhere they can. If you are young you will be happy to know that there are campsites on almost every island. They cost about 10 euros a night or so. Youth Hostels seem to have disappeared on the islands but 3 or 4 people in a room at a c-catagory hotel can be pretty cheap per person. You can search for hotels by catagory and find cheap ones by using my Booking.com Hotel Search for the Greek Islands. I also have info on Youth Hostels at www.greecetravel.com/youth-hostels but sleeping in a dorm can be inconvenient at times. People used to sleep on the beach but those days are over. If you get caught you probably won't go to jail but being awakened at 6am by the cops and told to pack your stuff is not fun, and if they catch you again they do get annoyed. If you think you are too poor to go through a travel agent think again and read this: www.greecetravel.com/budget-travel

In my opinion there is no need to see five islands in the week you have to spend in Greece. Pick one or two islands that you can book in advance and get to know them. A rolling stone gathers no moss, but it does not make many friends either. You will have a richer experience by experiencing all that one island has to offer, in people, traditions, beaches, scenary and even nightlife, then trying to see every island and feeling like a stranger every day. Greece is a beautiful place for sure. But what makes any holiday special is the people you meet and the new friends you make. For itinerary suggestions see www.greektravel.com/suggestions

What is the best way to book your holiday to Greece? Can you really save by using auto-booking systems or by booking directly with the hotels? Are Travel Agencies a thing of the past? Read my article Endangered Species about the internet and the disappearance of the small personalized-service travel agency.

E-mail me for a free copy of my Greece Travel Newsletter

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About Matt's Websites

This website began as a hobby about ten years ago and since then it has grown in popularity and size. 99.9% of the material on my websites was written by myself. I don't have a staff. I took all the photos with the possible exception of this one, and some of the historical ones. I update the site continuously so unlike a guidebook I don't have to wait for the next printing to fix a mistake. People have been asking me how they can contribute. First of all you can contribute by using the agencies I recommend. Without their support this site could not exist. You can also click on the donation link at the bottom of this page.

Remember if you have any questions about services, itineraries, problems or anything having to do with Greece you can e-mail me at matt@greecetravel.com  and I will respond quickly. There is no fee. All info is Free. 

You can also visit my other Greece websites .
I hope to see you in Greece!
Matt Barrett

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Main Index

Cyclades

Dodecanese

Saronic

Ionian

N. Aegean

Sporades

Other Islands

Travel Info

Donations
If you would like to express your thanks for the information you have found in my guides you can donate by using this link