Heavily subsidised ferries encouraged Greek island hopping in the 1960s and the tradition has continued despite recent price rises and the rise of the euro. Once the preserve of backpackers, many now prefer more adventurous holidays. All you need are ferry times and a relaxed attitude to timekeeping.
The Greek ferry system is geared to the needs of islanders, not tourists on Greek island hopping jaunts, so most ferries fan out from the mainland ports of Piraeus, Rafina Lavrion and Volos. Island hoppers normally fly to Athens and ferry hop from Piraeus or fly to one of the main islands and launch their Greek island hopping from there.
The CYCLADES is the ideal Greek island hopping group, having frequent ferries and short journey times. Many who opt for island hopping in the Cyclades will fly to Mykonos or Santorini as these have airports that will take international and charter flights.
Flying to Mykonos can save time, as the island is set in the heart of the Cyclades but Santorini has advantages in being on one of the main ferry routes between Piraeus (Athens) and Crete.
As far as ferry journeys within the Cyclades are concerned Paros and Naxos are the main hubs for the local ferry services, both having good harbours and plenty of overnight accommodation. Most of the other Cycladic islands are within easy ferry hopping distance of Paros and Naxos and many of the smaller islands will have regular daily ferry services.
Isand hopping in the DODECANESE is relatively easy with good connections to many of the island. The Dodecanese offer a variety of popular Greek islands with lots of historical interest plus the possibility of a trip to nearby Turkey or even a ferry all the way to Crete.
Fast ferries link the islands all the way up the Turkish coast from Rhodes, in the south, to Leros, Lipsi and Samos in the north, so Greek island hopping here is probably at its best although the bigger ferries can be expensive. Many of the islands have small ferry boats that have daily routes to the smaller islands either as daily schedules or as tourist excursions.
Daily trips to Turkey are also very popuar among these islands as so many of them are just a few kilometres from the Turkish mainland.
Island hopping in the SPORADES is basically confined to trips between Skiathos, Skopelos and Alonissos. Good hydrofoil and ferry services run between all the three islands so Greek island hopping is pretty well confined to this trio. As the islands are so different to each other it can still make for a decent island hopping holiday.
Skiathos is by far the most popular and has a plethora of sandy beaches along its south coast. Charter planes land here and the port is only a short taxi drive away. Skopelos and Alonissos may not have the beaches but they more than make up for it in atmosphere.
Skyros is part of the same group but another matter as far as island hopping is concerned. It can only be reached via Evia and there are no easy links from here to the other island groups.
The IONIAN islands are hugely popular with holidaymakers with relatively short flight times from the UK. Despite the islands being close together the Ionians don't lend themselves to Greek island hopping.
Ferries are fewer and links not as direct, with many Ionian islands acting only as a port of call for ferries sailing between Italy and mainland Greece . There are regular sailings from Italy that call in at Corfu and Lefkas with links to mainland Greece ports of Patras and Igoumentissa.
There are sailings between Corfu and Paxos, between Lefkas and Meganissi and between Kefalonia and Ithaca, but ferry sailings between the big four - Corfu, Lefkas, Kefalonia and Zante - are few and irregular.
The Greek islands in the NORTH AEGEAN:are well spread out and ferry connections are not particularly good. Those who go Greek island hopping in these waters usually spend a good few hours sailing between the islands.
Thassos has a good daily service from the mainland at Keramouti and less regular sailings to Kavala. Getting to Limnos can be tiresome with long ferry journies and Lesvos is not much better and Chios is even longer.
It is only when you reach Samos, the most southerly island in this group that things get better as it is here that ferry services link with the Dodecanese group of Greek islands which have much more frequent services. From Samos there are also regular daily ferry services to Turkey.
Greek islands in the SARONIC: are very popular with Greece mainland holidaymakers, particularly those staying in the Athens area. Several holiday islands in the Argosaronic Gulf lie just a few miles from the capital and close the the port of Piraeus.
Frequent daily ferry services - particularly to the popular holiday island of Aegina - make these a favourite not only with UK holidaymakers but also with weekending Athenians keen to escape the noise and bustle of the capital. In the summer, Flying Dolphins have daily sailings to Aegina, Methana, Poros and Hydra as well as to Spetses. There is also a regular ferry connection between Aegina and Angistri.
In addition to regular ferry services there are several caiques offering trips between the various Saronic islands as well as excursions organised by travel agencies.
There is not much need to book ferry tickets online unless you really want to be sure of a tickets - necessary mainly to ensure you get back to the island for your flight home. Most tickets can be bought in the port on the day before sailing or even just before the boat leaves. Ferries get more full on Fridays and Sundays when mainlanders travel to the islands for weekend breaks and on public holidays, notably Easter, when ferries can be full.
Planning your Greek island hopping with Greek ferries websites can also pose a few problems.
Spelling - Greek island ferry websites can be very picky about spellings of islands and ports. Heraklion in Crete for example can be listed as Heraklio, Iraklion or Iraklio and islands can be Paxos or Paxi, Lefkas or Lefkhada - so get your Greek guidebook out. before you book and try several spellings
Routes -The main ferry routes radiate from the mainland. If the islands you seek are on one of these radial routes then Greek island hopping is all well and good. Finding which Greek islands are connected is not easy through a website. You are asked for departure and destination ports so, if there's no direct route, you get a blank result even when there can be a convenient island on the way where you can easily change ferries.
Greek Travel Pages (see Find a ferry) is a good place to start as it is the only website I know that lists all sailings by all the ferry companies in one place. Enter departure and arrival ports in the Ferry Shedules for a complete list of sailing days and times. Note that ferry schedules are hard to come by early in the season as they are not finalised until April or May and that sailings may be cancelled without notice in bad weather or because of strike action by Greek seamen.
