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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 they may have moved them since they were in the process when I was there in July 2007. 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.
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 is may also be a once a week ferry to Lesvos, another to
Volos and Thessaloniki but most of these off-beat ferries now leave from Lavrion which is being groomed to be a major port for the Cyclades. There's a high-speed
catamaran and Flying Dolphins to Andros, Evia
and the rest 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 Smartotel
has
just opened. This is a beautiful Three-star
hotel convenient to the ferries to the
islands. If you want to avoid Athens and go
straight to the islands and spend the first
night in Greece in a Greek-island-setting see
www.hotelsofgreece.com/athens/avra-rafina
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 enoigh time before your ferry sails you can take a swim or see the Temple at Sounion.
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.
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Services and other
Info
Ferries to
the Cyclades, Dodecanese, North Aegean, Saronic islands and Crete leave from
Pireaus
. For more
information see my
Athens Guide
. 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
at least a day or so 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.
Until it drives me crazy I will buy the
NAFTEMBORIKI and you can e-mail me for ferry times for that week. 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
For
ferry tickets and airline ticket information go to
www.greecetravel.com/tickets
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
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
What if I told you that you could sail the Greek islands for 350 euros a week per person! Would you believe me? It's true. See www.greecetravel.com/sailing/budget-charter for more information.
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?
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
Economical Cruise Packages
Fantasy Travel has introduced two low priced cruise packages with prices hard to beat that also include 3 nights in Athens. Choose between a 3 or a 4 day cruise which include Mykonos, Santorini, Crete, Rhodes, Patmos and Ephesus, Turkey. They start at 495 euros per person. This is for the whole package which includes three nights in the very nice 3-star Hotel Central, in the Plaka of Athens, transfers and meals.
See the details by clicking below:
7 NIGHTS / 8 DAYS (ATHENS AND 4 - DAY CRUISE)
6 NIGHTS / 7 DAYS (ATHENS AND 3 - DAY CRUISE)
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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. I also have info on Youth Hostels at www.greecetravel.com/youth-hostels. 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.
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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