Which Way To Go: The Cyclades
Explore the Greek islands independently or by cruise ship
ABlue Star Ferry the size of an intergalactic spaceship thunders towards the Athens dock, sparking chaos as refrigerated trucks belch to life and port police blow whistles. Having landed, the rear yawns wide, gobbling up travellers with wheely bags and campervans. You never forget your first Greek island ferry.
While this sounds off-puttingly apocalyptic, it’s exciting in the most visceral way. What dock will the ferry arrive at? (Ports can be the size of small towns). Will I be run over by a Vespa? Will that truck make it under the roofline? So. Many. Questions.
The ferries are as varied as the islands they visit.
There’s the sprightly little ferry tootling between Santorini and tiny Folegandros, high-speed hydrofoils and these gargantuan, weatherproof Aegean work horses. But nothing can dull the free feeling of traversing the waves. The journey is as important as the destination, a rite of holiday passage.
Snap up a Eurail Greek Islands Pass (from $129 up to 27 years) for four or six-day usage over a month, the latter including a sleeper ferry option from Venice or Ancona.
‘We discovered there would be six cruise ships at Santorini, so we decided to switch the itinerary to be in Patmos instead,” says Captain Johannes Tysse of small ship Azamara Quest.
Since Santorini reopened its doors to cruising, on a multi-ship day Oia’s whitewashed alleys become a seething hotbed of human soup.
Not only instead were we the sole ship in disarmingly beautiful and rustic Patmos (too shallow for larger ships) but our departure was deliberately delayed as, “everyone was having so much fun dancing”.
A ship with flexibility, that considers dance floor stability a priority, is a winner. Patmos is a prime example of why to cruise. This can be a tricky island to access (there’s no ferry between Santorini and Patmos) and ship itineraries can link islands otherwise impossible to visit together. Then there are the other aspects of cruising; unpacking once (pure joy), ship-only benefits (such as a private Azamara classical music concert in an ancient amphitheatre) and a sense of camaraderie. Michael Pawlus, head of itinerary planning at Azamara Cruises, says: “Another plus of smaller ships is meeting many like-minded guests who are looking to explore the world in a deeper way”.
But don’t discount the big ships, especially if a family. Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas, visiting popular ports like Santorini and Mykonos, is kid-tastic. It’s stuffed with waterslides, climbing walls, surf simulator, ice skating rink and activities.
Another plus of smaller ships is meeting many likeminded guests