Greece---Do a Cruise or Mainland Tour?
 

Greetings! I've never done a cruise to Greece, thinking the most important sights are on the mainland. But should I be earning my "sea" major and take a cruise to the islands this June? Thanx!

Not quite right, Robert -- the most important sights are BOTH on the islands AND the mainland.

The important thing is, though, that you won't really "see" the Greek islands, on a standard cruise.

As a Fodor's Editor, you of course know that cruises are actually sea voyages, with brief stops at ports. Sometimes the stops are only for 4 hours (including the time required to file off the ship or wait in line for the launch to bring you ashore and the same coming back).

This is only enough time to walk around the port town, take some snapshots, buy a piece of jewelry, have lunch, and head back to the ship -- to have dinner with the same people you saw at breakfast. These people go home and say "I saw Mykonos" or "I saw Rhodes". Not really.

Furthermore, because cruise ships are so large, they can only go to deep- water ports, which limits them to 6-7 stops: usually Mykonos, Santorini, Heraklion in Crete, Rhodes, Patmos, Istanbul.

Now, I don't decry cruises per se, they're wonderful for sea voyages, and for people who just want a taste of a few places, and to have all those onboard services.

There IS a newer cruise alternative for a somewhat more extended island experience. It is a bare-bones operation called "easy Cruise". No meals on board unless you buy them, no "luxe" touches, but a bargain price. Every day it docks at a new island,smaller ports than the above ... such as Sifnos, Paros, Amorgos.

The ship stays in port until midnight or later -- so one can have 12 hours on shore... and sunset dinner in a taverna, not the same-old on the ship. Many travel forums have comments on this experience.

It might be something to consider, although it's not on the same level of amenities expected by the average Fodor-Guide demographic (I may be wrong on that assumption).

What company operates "easy cruise"?

Just type in Easycruise... and google .

- it's the same company as runs EasyJet:

http://www.easycruise.com/

I'm sure lots of people love cruises but they have never appealed to me - I'd feel trapped on board and like to visit and stay in places at my own pace. I'd be even less inclined to use EasyCruise. Their philosopy is for "no frills" and I believe it appeals to a younger "good time" crowd.

If you have limited experience of Greece, then the mainland has as much to offer as the islands, with the added advantage of being easy to tour round by car. There are many classical sites to tour, mountains and mountain villages to explore and wonderful beaches to relax on.

The islands are fantastic too but if you can't settle on one or two and wish to be on the move, a tour of the mainland would provide plenty of interest.

I would do a 'land' and see Athens and some of the mainland and then take the ferry and or fast cat to some of the islands and spend a couple of days on each. I did Mykonos and Santorini and ended up in Crete but you might find others more to your liking.

Royal Caribbean runs a great cruise leaving from Venice. We did this one last November and our ports were Mykonos, Athens, Olympia, Corfu, and Split Croatia. And of course Venice on each end. Very nice cruise with plenty of time in each port.

When we go to Greece, we use a Greek travel agency. He books the hotels, gets the ferry tickets, and 1/2 tours or 2 day CHAT tours if you are interested. Greek islands are easy to do on your own. The agent I use in Greece is John Terrell at [email protected]. He makes travel easy and effortless. He calls it "guided independence"You tell him the type of hotels, etc. and he makes suggestions if you don't know much about the islands. He's an American who has lived is Greece for years. He's highly educated and knowledgeable (Standford Univ.) A real delight. Even suggests taverenas and wines.

No need to take a cruise to see the islands - Greece has an excellent ferry system. And come to that, Aegean Air often has good rates on flights, but you may have to go back to Athens to change islands. My six weeks in Greece I split four weeks mainland and two weeks islands - overnight ferry to Crete, flight to Rhodes, ferry to Kos (for ferry to Bodrum). Rhodes in particular was mobbed when the cruise ships were in port, but the passengers all cleared out before dinner.

Spend some time on Matt Barrett's website, www.greektravel.com, or with an island-specific guidebook picking your islands, and then figure out the ferries. I went in April-May, but by June the full schedule will be in operation. You can have one of the Athens' travel agencies book your tickets if you don't want to do it yourself.

Lots of good advice from fellow fodorites helped me plan my trip last May. We wanted some "sun" time so we went to Rhodes and Samos with a day trip to Ephesus. Flew Aegean and Olympic -- flying much quicker than the ferries if time is an issue -- cost was not that much more and who wants to spend 13 hours or longer on a ferry?

We took short day boat rides to smaller nearby islands (Symi - Lindos)... We were ready for Athens after the quietness of the islands and enjoyed the energy of the city. Took a bus tour to Delphi and Meteora -- loved it so I hope you have time for both if you can. Our trip was 17 days - really design around transportation options.