Guide to Greek Island Ferries ⛴️🇬🇷
Honestly, taking a ferry through the Greek islands is something I think everyone should experience at least once. There is something completely different about traveling through Greece by sea. Grab a coffee, find your seat or head outside, look over the Aegean and watch the islands appear in the distance. THIS feels like Greece. 🇬🇷 Ferries connect Athens with many of the islands, but they’re also one of the best ways to island-hop. Depending on your itinerary, you can travel between islands like Mykonos, Paros, Naxos and Santorini without having to go all the way back through Athens every time. Sometimes flying makes more sense, especially when time is limited, but when the ferry works with our itinerary, I love it. You’re getting transportation AND an experience at the same time.
If you’re taking a ferry from Athens, MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHICH PORT YOU’RE LEAVING FROM. Athens has multiple ferry ports, including Piraeus, Rafina and Lavrio, and they are NOT the same place. Please do not discover this while standing at the wrong port with your entire family and all your luggage. 😂 Check your ticket carefully before you leave and make sure your driver knows exactly where you’re going. Piraeus in particular is HUGE, so this isn't necessarily a situation where you pull up, get out of the car and your ferry is sitting directly in front of you. Give yourself plenty of time to find your gate and GET TO THE PORT EARLY.
Greek ferry ports is organized chaos. 😂 There are people, buses, taxis, motorcycles, cars, trucks and suitcases everywhere, while enormous ferries somehow unload hundreds of people and vehicles and then load hundreds more incredibly quickly. It looks impossible, and yet somehow it works.
And now let me prepare you for one of the craziest parts of Greek ferry travel: THE AMAZING RACE: GREECE EDITION. 😂🇬🇷
CHECK THE FERRY INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE YOU GO. We’ve had to pick up our tickets from one of those little ticket offices near the port that looks slightly more like somewhere you’d buy tickets at the fair than the entrance to a giant ferry. Then you head toward the ferry and suddenly there are lines of people, luggage, cars, motorcycles and even huge buses all waiting to get onto the same boat. You give your tickets to a person that is organizing the boarding onto the ferry. You need to give them the ticket for the vehicle. If you are not taking a vehicle you will need to give the paper ticket to someone once you are on board.
If you're bringing a car, this becomes a whole different experience. You drive toward the ferry following the crew's directions, and passengers are asked to get out while the driver takes the vehicle onboard. GET OUT before the vehicle gets on the boat! They pack those vehicles into the ferry like SARDINES. Cars can be so close together that once they're parked, opening the doors may be difficult or impossible. The crew does this every day, so just follow their directions. They'll tell the driver exactly where they want the car, even if that appears to be approximately three molecules away from the car beside it. 😂
Before you leave the car, take anything you'll need during the crossing with you—phones, wallets, medications, passports, baby supplies, chargers, snacks and anything valuable or important. Everything else can stay locked in the car. You will not be able to get back into the vehicle.
Also, check with your rental-car company before taking a rental car onto a ferry. Rental-company rules and insurance coverage can vary, so make sure you're actually permitted to take that particular car between the mainland and islands or from one island to another.
If you're boarding without a vehicle, this is when you may witness the moment when everyone at the port suddenly decides the ferry has only six seats. 😂 One minute everyone is calmly standing around with their luggage. Then boarding starts and EVERYONE STARTS MOVING. People are rolling suitcases, families are rushing and everyone suddenly seems VERY concerned about getting onto this enormous ship before everybody else. THERE ARE PLENTY OF SEATS so do not run. Don't panic when the crowd suddenly takes off like the captain just announced that the last person onboard has to swim to the island. Keep your family together, keep track of your belongings and move with the crowd. You'll get on. Greek ferry boarding is an experience all by itself!
Once you're onboard, the larger ferries are generally pretty comfortable. You'll usually find seating, bathrooms and places to buy coffee, drinks, snacks or food. Depending on the ship, there may also be outdoor areas where you can enjoy the view. Get the coffee. Go outside when you can. Look at the Aegean. Watch the coastline disappear behind you and eventually another island start appearing in the distance. There is something about arriving on a Greek island from the water that flying simply can't recreate. It makes getting there feel like part of the vacation instead of something you just have to get through.
Another thing I didn't completely understand until we started traveling around Greece is that not all ferries are the same. Depending on your route, you may have a choice between a high-speed ferry and a larger conventional ferry. Obviously, the high-speed option can save time, while the larger ferries can offer more room to move around and may have outdoor areas and more onboard space. Look at the actual ferry you're booking, not just the departure and arrival times.
Now let's talk about the Aegean. It is absolutely gorgeous, but it can also remind you very quickly that YOU ARE ON A BOAT. 😂 Ferries can get bumpy, particularly when the wind picks up. If you know you're prone to seasickness or motion sickness, take whatever motion-sickness medicine works for you before you're already feeling terrible. Once you're green, staring at the horizon and questioning every decision you've ever made, you're a little late. 😂 And don't assume that because the water looks perfectly calm when you leave that it's going to stay that way for the entire trip. Conditions can change as you travel between the islands.
One HUGE advantage of taking the ferry is LUGGAGE. If you're an overpacker, this is for you. 😂 You generally don't have that same little-island-plane situation where suddenly your suitcase needs to lose ten pounds before it's allowed to travel with you. Rolling luggage is a MUST, though, because you're going to be moving it through the port and onto the ferry yourself.
If you're traveling without a car, larger luggage is generally left in designated luggage areas when you board, while you take your smaller belongings with you. My rule is very simple: ANYTHING IMPORTANT STAYS WITH ME. Passport, wallet, medications, jewelry, electronics, money and anything else irreplaceable goes in my smaller bag and stays with me. Your big suitcase is basically joining the general population. 😂 When everyone gets off, people grab their luggage and go, so make yours EASY to recognize. Tie on a bright scarf, luggage strap or something else obvious. When hundreds of people start getting off at once, this is not when you want your family asking, “Wait...was ours the black suitcase?” THEY'RE ALL BLACK SUITCASES. This is exactly why I have bright pink luggage. Whether I'm at an airport or a ferry port, I can spot that thing from approximately another country. 😂
Getting OFF the ferry can be its own adventure too. When your island is getting close, start getting your things together before it's actually time to leave. Theres no reason to get up and wait in line. It doesnt save time. Theres going to be traffic off the boat and out of the port no matter what. Know where your luggage is and try to keep your group together. If you're traveling with a larger group, choose a simple meeting spot in advance in case everyone gets separated—something like, “Meet halfway down on the left.” Don't make the meeting point complicated. When hundreds of people, suitcases and vehicles are all moving at once, simple is better.
If you brought a vehicle, unloading becomes another obstacle course of people, motorcycles, trucks, cars and luggage. Somehow everyone gets through it, you step off the ferry, look around and suddenly...
YOU'RE STANDING ON A GREEK ISLAND. 🇬🇷❤️
Whatever chaos just happened immediately becomes worth it.
People always ask whether it's better to fly or take the ferry, and I really think it depends on the trip. I love flying when it saves us a huge amount of time, especially going from Athens to an island, but once you start island-hopping, ferries can make so much sense. Look at your ACTUAL itinerary. Where is the port compared with the airport? Did you rent a car? How long is the ferry ride? Is there a direct flight? What time does each option leave? How much luggage do you have? Are you traveling with children? Are you bringing a car? Do you get seasick? Once you look at all of that, sometimes the answer becomes pretty obvious.
Most importantly, don't make your Greek travel schedule too tight. Leave yourself some room for Greece to be Greece. Get to the port early, double-check which port you're leaving from, know what kind of ferry you're booking, check your ticket requirements ahead of time, keep your important belongings with you and don't panic when 400 people suddenly start behaving like they're competing for the last lifeboat. 😂
Once you're onboard, RELAX. Grab a coffee, look out over the Aegean and watch the islands go by. You're not just getting from one place to another.
You're traveling through Greece, and getting there is part of the adventure. 🇬🇷⛴️❤️
