Ferries, routes and regions

Heart Greece is about moving through the country: from the ports of Piraeus and Rafina out across the Aegean, between the island groups, and back to the mainland regions most visitors drive straight past. Every time and fact here carries its source.

Open the Island Hopper: live sea and wind at the hub ports

Greece by numbers

Rick Steves puts Greece's islands and islets at roughly 3,000, of which 227 are inhabited. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Greeka says Piraeus is Greece's largest passenger port, with almost 18 million passengers a year; Rafina handles about 2 million and Lavrio about 180,000. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Discover Greece says Crete is Greece's largest island and the fifth largest in the Mediterranean, with about 1,000 km of coastline and around 630,000 people. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Discover Greece says the Dodecanese chain has 15 large islands, although the name means 12 islands in Greek. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Greeka gives the sea distance from Piraeus to Santorini as 127 nautical miles (236 km), and Santorini as 80 nautical miles north of Heraklion. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Greeka calls Naxos the largest island of the Cyclades, lying almost in the centre of the Aegean. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Discover Greece says Halkidiki has 550 km of coastline and that Mount Olympus (Mytikas, 2,918 m) is Greece's tallest mountain and first national park. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Three Ionian islands, Corfu, Zakynthos and Kefalonia, have airports, according to Discover Greece. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Discover Greece says the Evros Delta in Thrace is home to 316 of the 420 bird species found in Greece. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)

The mainland ports and where they go

Port	Serves	Getting there	Source
Piraeus	Greece's largest passenger port, with sailings to the Cyclades, Dodecanese, Saronic islands, North Aegean islands and Crete, plus Kythira, Antikythira, Porto Heli, Ermioni and Methana. Gates by island group: E1 Dodecanese; E2 Crete, Chios, Lesvos, Ikaria and Samos; E7 Cyclades and Rethymno; E8 Saronic islands; E9 Cyclades, Samos and Ikaria.	12 km from central Athens and the only Athens ferry port on the metro: Green Line from Omonoia and Monastiraki, Blue Line from Syntagma and Monastiraki, with the station across from the harbour. From the airport: Blue Line metro direct in about an hour, the suburban railway (Proastiakos) direct in about 60 minutes, or bus X96, which runs 24 hours and takes about 90 minutes. City buses 040 from Syntagma and 049 from Omonoia also serve the port area. A free shuttle bus links the gates for ferry passengers.	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Rafina	Andros, Tinos, Mykonos, Naxos, Paros and Santorini, with Fast Ferries, Seajets and Golden Star Ferries. Greeka says it lies closer to the northern Cyclades than Piraeus. One terminal and no numbered gates.	32 km from Athens and close to the airport. From the airport: KTEL bus from outside the arrivals hall, between Exits 2 and 3, about 30 minutes; taxi about 20 minutes. From central Athens: KTEL buses from outside Nomismatokopio metro station and from Pedion tou Areos near Viktoria metro (Green Line), about 1 hour 15 minutes and roughly hourly; or bus 134 from Doukissis Plakentias metro (Blue Line), about 1 hour.	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Lavrio	Kea, Kythnos, Syros, Folegandros, Ios, Kimolos, Milos, Paros, Sikinos, Naxos, Kavala, Agios Efstratios and Lemnos. Operators named: Blue Star Ferries, Seajets, Goutos Lines, Triton Ferries and Karystia N.E. No numbered gates.	50 km from Athens. KTEL buses from Pedion Areos (walk from Viktoria metro, Green Line) and from Nomismatokopio metro station take about 2 hours. From the airport, KTEL with one change at Markopoulo, about 60 minutes.	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Patras (Greeka: Patra)	Kefalonia, Ithaca and Italy (Ancona, Bari, Venice).	Suburban railway or intercity bus from Kifissos KTEL station in Athens, about 3 hours. Domestic sailings run daily in high season.	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Igoumenitsa	Corfu and Italy (Ancona, Bari, Venice).	Daily KTEL buses from Kifissos station in Athens, about 7 hours. Through buses from Athens to Corfu board the ferry at Igoumenitsa, which Greeka says is easier than changing at the port.	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Kyllini (Greeka: Killini)	Zakynthos and Kefalonia, from a small port in the western Peloponnese.	KTEL buses for Zakynthos and Kefalonia leave Kifissos station in Athens and board the ferry at Kyllini; about 4 hours to the port.	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Volos	The Sporades: Skiathos, Skopelos and Alonissos.	Bus from Liossion KTEL station in Athens, about 5 hours, roughly every 1 to 2 hours.	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Agios Konstantinos	The Sporades: Skiathos, Skopelos and Alonissos.	The Lamia bus from Liossion KTEL station stops here; about 2.5 hours from Athens, roughly every 2 hours.	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Thessaloniki	Usually islands of the Eastern Aegean.	Train from Larissis station in Athens, 4 to 6 hours, about four a day; or bus from Kifissos or KTEL Attikis, about 6 hours.	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Kavala	Islands of the Eastern Aegean and the Dodecanese.	Bus from Kifissos station twice a day, about 8 hours. Kavala also has an airport with flights from Athens.	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Alexandroupoli (Greeka: Alexandroupolis)	Samothraki.	Bus from Kifissos station via Thessaloniki, about five a day, about 10 hours. The city also has an airport linked with Athens.	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Gytheio (Greeka: Gythio)	Kythira, Antikythira and Kissamos on Crete.	Bus from Kifissos station, about 5 hours, three or four a day; some direct, some via Sparti.	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Neapoli (Greeka: Neapolis, Laconia)	Elafonissos and Kythira.	KTEL from Kifissos station on the Sparti service, about 6 hours, daily. Not every Sparti bus continues to Neapoli, so tell the ticket office where you are going.	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Kymi (Evia)	Skyros.	Bus from Liossion KTEL station in Athens, about 3 hours, around three a day.	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)

The island groups and their ferry networks

Group	Hubs	Network	Source
Cyclades (links with the mainland)	Not named on this page	Mainly Blue Star and Seajets from Piraeus and Golden Star from Rafina, with both conventional and high speed boats. Most of the Cyclades are reached from Piraeus, but Andros, Kythnos and Kea only from Rafina or Lavrio. Sailings increase in high season and are more limited in low season.	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Cyclades (Naxos)	Naxos, which Greeka calls a meeting point and a crossroads for many ferry routes	Naxos links with many islands of the Cyclades, the Eastern Aegean, the Dodecanese and Crete. The local Express Skopelitis runs all year between Naxos, the Small Cyclades (Koufonisia, Iraklia, Schinoussa, Donoussa) and Amorgos.	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Cyclades (Santorini)	Santorini, which Greeka calls an ideal island hopping destination	All ferries except those from Thirasia use Athinios (New Port), 8 to 9 km from Fira. Besides Athens and Crete, Santorini links with Mykonos, Naxos, Paros, Tinos, Sifnos, Milos, Syros, Ios, Folegandros, Amorgos and other Cyclades, and with Rhodes and Kos; some links run only in parts of the summer.	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Dodecanese	Not named on this page; Rhodes and Kos are listed as the best known islands	Every Dodecanese island can be reached from Piraeus all year, only on conventional ferries and on long crossings, so cabins are worth booking. Blue Star is the main operator and frequency changes little in summer.	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Dodecanese	Rhodes and Kos are named as the most popular islands	Reached by boat from Piraeus or Kavala and from other Aegean islands; Rhodes, Kos and Astypalea also have airports with daily flights from Athens and Thessaloniki.	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
North Aegean	Not named on this page	Piraeus links all year with Chios, Samos, Ikaria, Lesvos, Lemnos, Fourni, Psara and Inousses on conventional ferries, mainly Blue Star. Greeka still advises booking a month or two ahead.	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Sporades	Not named on this page	Volos and Agios Konstantinos serve Skiathos, Skopelos and Alonissos; Kymi on Evia serves Skyros.	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Saronic	Not named on this page	Daily sailings from Piraeus on two main lines: Aegina and Agistri; and Poros, Hydra and Spetses. Saronic Ferries, Alpha Lines and Hellenic Seaways operate in the gulf. Aegina is around an hour away and Spetses about 3 hours.	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Ionian	Not named on this page	Boats leave ports on the western mainland daily or every other day: Patras for Kefalonia or Ithaca, Kyllini for Kefalonia or Zakynthos, Igoumenitsa for Corfu and Paxi. Lefkada is joined to the mainland by a bridge, and Corfu, Zakynthos and Kefalonia have airports.	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Ionian (Kefalonia)	Kefalonia's main ports are Poros, for Kyllini, and Sami, for Patras and Astakos	None of the Athens ports serves Kefalonia; all ferries leave western mainland Greece. Seasonal ferries from Bari in Italy call at Sami, and local boats link Kefalonia with Ithaca and, in season, Zakynthos and Lefkada.	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Crete	Heraklion, Chania and Sitia are the ferry ports named	Regular sailings from Piraeus to Chania, Heraklion and Sitia all year, links with many Cyclades and Dodecanese islands, and more sailings in summer, including Rafina to Heraklion.	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Crete (Heraklion)	Heraklion, which Greeka calls the biggest port on Crete and one of the busiest in Greece	Heraklion links with Piraeus and with Mykonos, Santorini, Ios, Milos, Naxos, Paros, Syros, Tinos, Rhodes, Karpathos, Kasos and Sitia. Minoan Lines and Blue Star run conventional ships from Piraeus; Blue Star and Seajets run high speed boats.	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)

How long the classic crossings take

As each source states them. Times vary by boat and weather; check the operator before you travel.

Route	Conventional ferry	High speed	Source
Piraeus to Santorini	Greeka gives 5 to 9.5 hours for all vessel types together	Not split by this page	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Piraeus to Santorini	Blue Star Ferries 6 hours 10 minutes to 9 hours 10 minutes; Fast Ferries about 10 to 11.5 hours	Seajets 5 hours to 6 hours 10 minutes	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Piraeus to Mykonos	Blue Star about 5.5 hours	Seajets about 3 hours	Source (search engine copy, read 4 Oct 2026)
Piraeus to Mykonos	Blue Star 4 hours 40 minutes in the October 2026 listing; whole route 2 hours 40 minutes to 5 hours 50 minutes	Seajets 2 hours 40 minutes in the October 2026 listing	Source (search engine copy, read 4 Oct 2026)
Rafina to Mykonos	Fast Ferries about 4.5 hours	Golden Star about 2.5 hours; Seajets 2 hours 40 minutes	Source (search engine copy, read 4 Oct 2026)
Rafina to Mykonos	Fast Ferries 4 hours 20 minutes; Golden Star Ferries 4 hours 30 minutes (October 2026 listing)	Seajets 2 hours 25 minutes (October 2026 listing); whole route 2 hours 5 minutes to over 4 hours 40 minutes	Source (search engine copy, read 4 Oct 2026)
Piraeus to Naxos	Blue Star around 5.5 hours	Seajets 4 hours 20 minutes. Greeka gives 3.5 to 9.5 hours across all Athens ports and vessels, averaging 5 hours	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Rafina to Naxos	Fast Ferries 5.5 hours	Seajets 4 hours 15 minutes	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Lavrio to Naxos	Blue Star 9.5 hours	None given	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Piraeus to Heraklion	Blue Star and Minoan Lines, 8 hours 45 minutes to 9 hours 30 minutes in the indicative timetable; whole route 7 hours 50 minutes to 11 hours 20 minutes	Seajets 7 hours 50 minutes in the indicative timetable; Blue Star also runs high speed boats on the route	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Santorini to Heraklion	Blue Star; Greeka gives 1 hour 35 minutes to 4.5 hours for the route depending on vessel	Seajets 1 hour 35 minutes in the indicative timetable	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Mykonos to Santorini	Not given separately	2 to 3.5 hours, on high speed boats of Seajets, Blue Star and Golden Star	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Mykonos to Paros	Fast Ferries, about 1 hour 25 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes in the indicative timetable	Seajets, Blue Star and Golden Star; Greeka gives 40 minutes to 1 hour 25 minutes for the route	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Mykonos to Naxos	Fast Ferries, about 1 hour 15 minutes in the indicative timetable	Seajets and Blue Star; Greeka gives 35 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes for the route	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Paros to Naxos	Blue Star runs conventional and high speed boats; Greeka gives 30 minutes to 1 hour 50 minutes for the route	Seajets about 30 minutes in the indicative timetable	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Santorini to Naxos	Blue Star; Greeka gives 1 hour 20 minutes to 2 hours 25 minutes depending on vessel	Seajets; same overall range	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Santorini to Ios	Not split by the source	Not split by the source; crossings from 35 minutes	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Milos to Santorini	Conventional ships several times a week; route takes 2.5 to 7 hours depending on company and vessel	Seajets sails daily in summer; within the same 2.5 to 7 hour range	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Naxos to Heraklion	Not stated	Seajets about 3 hours 30 minutes	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Rhodes and Heraklion (either direction)	Blue Star, around 12 hours from Rhodes; the same page says around 10.5 hours from Heraklion; two sailings a week in high season	None listed	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Naxos to Astypalea	Blue Star, 4 hours 5 minutes, three or four times a week	None listed	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Piraeus to Aegina; Piraeus to Spetses	Aegina around an hour; Spetses 3 hours (vessel type not split)	Not split by the source	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Athens port to Hydra	Less than 90 minutes by boat (vessel type not stated)	Not stated	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Kyllini to Zakynthos	1 hour 15 minutes (Levante Ferries)	None listed	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Kyllini to Kefalonia (Poros)	1 hour 30 minutes (Levante Ferries)	None listed	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Patras to Kefalonia (Sami)	3.5 hours (Levante Ferries); the indicative timetable on the same page shows 3 hours	None listed	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Astakos to Kefalonia (Sami)	2 hours 20 minutes (Ionion Pelagos Lines)	None listed	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Kefalonia (Pessada) to Zakynthos (Agios Nikolaos)	1 hour 20 minutes; seasonal, usually late May to late September	None listed	Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)

Who runs the boats

Blue Star Ferries: With Seajets, the main Cyclades operator from Piraeus; the main operator to the Dodecanese and to the North Aegean islands. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Seajets: High speed boats; Ferryhopper says it is the only high speed operator on Piraeus to Santorini, taking 5 hours to 6 hours 10 minutes. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Golden Star Ferries: The main Cyclades operator from Rafina. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Fast Ferries: Large conventional ferries, including Piraeus to Santorini in about 10 to 11.5 hours, with cabins available. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Minoan Lines: One of the two main companies linking Athens (Piraeus) with Crete. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
ANEK (Anek Superfast): One of the two main companies linking Athens (Piraeus) with Crete. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Hellenic Seaways: Sails in the Saronic Gulf from Piraeus, alongside Saronic Ferries and Alpha Lines. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Saronic Ferries: Saronic Gulf sailings from Piraeus. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Alpha Lines: Saronic Gulf sailings from Piraeus. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Levante Ferries: Conventional ferries from Kyllini to Poros on Kefalonia and from Patras to Sami; also Ithaca to Sami. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Ionion Pelagos Lines: Astakos to Sami, Ithaca to Sami, and the seasonal Kefalonia (Pessada) to Zakynthos link. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Small Cyclades Lines (Express Skopelitis): Local line linking Naxos with Koufonisia, Iraklia, Schinoussa, Donoussa and Amorgos all year. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)

Booking, seasons, the meltemi and other practicalities

Summer timetables. Companies announce summer timetables in March and tickets go on sale from then; schedules can change from year to year. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Booking ahead. For high season (June to mid September) Greeka suggests booking as early as you can: two months ahead suits most islands, three to four months for Santorini or Mykonos. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Arriving early. In high season be at the port at least an hour before departure, and 1.5 to 2 hours if you are taking a car or motorbike. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Arriving early with a vehicle. Ferryhopper suggests reaching Piraeus 1 to 1.5 hours before a Santorini sailing, and at least 90 minutes before if you have a vehicle. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Piraeus gates. Piraeus is large and your gate is printed on the ticket; Greeka says going from one side of the port to the other can take an hour, and a free shuttle bus runs for ferry passengers. Rafina and Lavrio have no gates. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Meltemi. The strong summer winds in the Aegean (meltemia) affect high speed boats, causing delays and seasickness, while large conventional ships such as Blue Star's are hardly affected. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Weather and changing schedules. Rick Steves warns that bad weather can cancel sailings, more often out of season, and that schedules change often; check online before you go, then confirm with a travel agency once in Greece. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
If a sailing is cancelled. Ferryhopper says you can usually move to another departure of equal value or ask the operator for a full refund. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Strikes. Ferryhopper keeps a travel alerts page with live updates on strikes, weather disruption and suspended services. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Deck, seats and cabins. Conventional ferries offer deck or economy places, aircraft style seats in economy or business, and cabins with or without a view. High speed boats mostly have numbered aircraft style seats only and no outside deck. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Cabins on long routes. Only conventional ferries run to the Dodecanese and the crossing is long, so Greeka points out that you can book a cabin and rest. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Cabins to Santorini. Blue Star and Fast Ferries conventional ships to Santorini offer cabins of one to four beds; the high speed boats have none. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Taking a car. Conventional ferries have a garage for cars and motorbikes; some Seajets high speed boats do too. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
E tickets. Booking through Ferryhopper, you can check in online and board with an e ticket on your phone, with no paper ticket to collect at the port. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Luggage. There is no luggage check in; Seajets and Blue Star allow up to 50 kg, according to Ferryhopper. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Children and discounts. Ferryhopper says infants and children up to 4 travel free, and some groups, including children aged 5 to 10, get up to 50 per cent off; terms vary by company. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Winter service. Most routes that run all year leave from Piraeus. To the Cyclades, sailings are more limited in low season. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Winter service to Santorini. At least six Piraeus to Santorini crossings a day in high season (May to October), falling to two a day in low season. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Overnight sailings to Santorini. Late ferries usually leave Piraeus between 23:00 and midnight and reach Santorini between 05:20 and 10:45. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Ferry or plane. Rick Steves notes that flights are faster, more frequent and less often delayed or cancelled than boats, but often cost more. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Piraeus information line. Greeka lists a 24 hour telephone information service, 14541, for Piraeus arrivals and departures. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Santorini port. All ferries except those from Thirasia use Athinios (New Port), 8 to 9 km from Fira; it is small and gets very crowded in high season. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)
Mykonos port. All ferries use the New Port at Tourlos, about 2 km from the main town. Source (page, read 4 Oct 2026)

Island hopping routes the guides suggest

Greeka 9 day package: Athens, Mykonos, Paros, Santorini

Stops: Athens (Piraeus), Mykonos, Paros, Santorini, back to Piraeus
Days: 9
Why: Greeka's own packaged first hop from Athens, with two nights on each island: Blue Star from Piraeus to Mykonos, a high speed boat to Paros, Blue Star on to Santorini and back to Piraeus.

Source (search engine copy, read 4 Oct 2026)

Greeka 14 day package: Mykonos, Paros, Santorini, Naxos

Stops: Mykonos, Paros, Santorini, Naxos, back to Mykonos
Days: 14
Why: A loop from Mykonos airport with three nights on each island: Seajets for Mykonos to Paros and Naxos to Mykonos, Blue Star for Paros to Santorini and Santorini to Naxos.

Source (search engine copy, read 4 Oct 2026)