While mainland Greece is criminally underrated (more on that later), the country’s islands are the star of the show amongst tourists. Although most of the larger islands do have airports, the most convenient method of transportation is typically going to be by use of the extensive ferry system.
The ferries were something that stumped me for a while- most of the official websites were in Greek, and I wasn’t sure what the differences were between the ferry companies or the classes of service.
Luckily, the ferry system is fairly straight forward- once you find a trustworthy website.
Where to Book a Ferry for Greece
There are two places that I recommend booking ferry tickets on.
The first (and best) option for booking ferries is through ferryhopper.com. This site is pretty much the holy grail of ferry booking- they offer routes from ports throughout Europe, and even auto populate all available route options for visitors with a little more flexibility in their trip planning. I find the auto populated “direct route” option to be particularly helpful- I’m not a fan of layovers as a general rule.
If Ferry Hopper fails (it can happen, who knows!), I also occasionally use ferriesingreece.com. This site is limited to Greek, Italian, and Turkish ports and lacking that handy auto population feature, but the important thing is that it works and the prices are comparable to those on Ferry Hopper.
You can also, of course, give booking directly a try! Booking directly is usually my number one tip as to how to avoid getting scammed, but in this case, I find the convenience of using the third party booking sites to be well worth it.
When to Book a Greek Ferry
Although ferries run throughout the year, they are much more frequent during the tourism months of April through November- with summer having multiple sailings per day for most of the more popular routes.
Since the sailings increase to keep up with demand, its unlikely that you’ll ever end up stranded on an island due to the ferries selling out, but if you cut it too close, you may find that your preferred departure time has been booked up!
I usually like to book my tickets around the same time that I book my hotels- just so I know FOR SURE that I’ll actually be able to get to the island as planned- but a week or two in advance shouldn’t make too much of a difference. In the summer months, consider booking closer to a month in advance for more popular routes out of islands like Santorini, Mykonos, Ios and Rhodes (though I think Milos will be joining the list soon!)
Which Greek Ferry to Book
There are two ferry companies that service Greece- SeaJets and BlueStar. Although I only have personal experience with SeaJets, BlueStar seems to be the most popular amongst seasoned travelers. BlueStars ships are larger, which makes them the safest bet for those prone to seasickness and also allows them to safely travel through rougher seas which makes them less likely to be cancelled.
SeaJet ferries, on the other hand, are smaller and faster. They’re designed a bit like airplanes, but with more comfortable seats all lined up in rows. Unlike BlueStar, SeaJets didn’t seem to have any proper lounge areas, although I was able to get up to go outside for some fresh air.
As a seasoned traveler, when it comes to booking a specific company- I say: pick whichever one is faster and cheaper. Unless there are extenuating circumstances like seasickness or traveling during rough weather, the company makes no significant difference to me.
How to Get Ready for a Greek Ferry Trip
Once the ferries are booked, you should receive an email from the booking site of your choosing. This email should contain both a reference number for that site and a booking reference number for the ferry company directly (either BlueStar or SeaJet)
Both sites should send emailed updates about any significant changes to the ferry schedules, but it’s always a good idea to check for yourself closer to the date of departure (and especially the night before).
Keep in mind that these booking references are NOT your ticket- you will receive your ticket upon online check in 48-2 hours prior to the ferry departure. Your ticket will have a QR code and a barcode that is scanned upon entering the ship.
What to Expect on a Greek Ferry
I advise getting to the ferry port about 30 minutes prior to the departure time on your ticket. In my experience, the ferries tended to arrive careening into view only a few minutes before their scheduled departure time. The crew would dock the boat, lower the wide ramp, and then there would be a mad dash of travelers racing into the hold.
Most people seemed to leave their luggage in the lower hold and picked it up as they left. Being from New York, and also having all of my worldly positions in one backpack, I chose to keep everything with me. The ships we were on had plenty of space, which made it easy to keep our bags with us so I imagine it may be more of an issue during the busier summer months.
There is no security, but your ticket must be scanned by a crew member before you are allowed into the seating area.
Your ticket will usually have assigned seats listed on them, but they seem to be more suggestions than anything- no one is going around checking that you’re in the correct seat. As long as there are more seats free, you’re able to move around.
Though I’m not prone to seasickness myself, I’d heard so many concerns about it that by the time I got to Greece, I was expecting a boat the size of a shoebox being tossed around amongst the waves. While some of the ferries can be small (like on our trip to Delos from Mykonos), these longer inter-island routes have massive ships that limit the motion of the waves as they move. Even the smaller SeaJets we used were catamarans, so they didn’t get rocked to the same extent as a typical boat would be.
I found it easy to walk around and peruse the snacks available for purchase, and even to go outside for some fresh air and a clear view. There are huge windows everywhere, but they tend to be tinted to help block the sun, and usually a bit wet from sea spray.
While some ships do offer wifi, I never seemed to be able to connect with it. I’d suggest bringing something to entertain yourself with for the length of the sailing- or at least be ready to nap.
If you’d like to follow along with our trip through Greece, start here:
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