Greek Island Hopping

[Knickerthief1]

I'm really tempted by the idea of doing a Greek island hopping holiday next year - May half term. Would be two adults in their early 50's and a 17 year old. Has anyone done this in their more mature years? Am wondering whether it's better to organise it ourselves or do something more arranged. Any advice appreciated. Thanks

Check the timetables first. Eg we were in Naxos in July. Thought we could go to Iod for the day. Not really. 1 ferry there very early. Only 1 ferry back ant 10om arriving extremely late. It’s also very expensive for ferry tickets.
So check that first.
We did Santorini - three Nights, hired a car and went to Naxos for a week. Could have done less time in Naxos and also gone to Ios. Then went back to Santorini and flew home. It was a lovely holiday.

This website might give you some ideas for itineraries. Clearly, they organise tickets etc too. https://www.greeka.com/travel-services/greek-island-hopping/

Here are a couple of ferry timetable sites:

https://www.ferries.gr/greek-islands-ferry/

https://www.ferryhopper.com/en/blog/ferry-news/greek-islands-ferry-schedules

Last time we went island hopping we were aged 64/58 so go for it!

We've been exploring the Greek islands for years and we're now in our fifties too.

The success is all in the pre planning. Ferry timetables and limited accommodation in higher season excludes much randomness sadly.

My advice would be to limit yourself to just a few islands so you're not spending to much time travelling and early morning starts. Pack lightly.

Lots of hoteliers etc will arrange port pick ups.

There's usually competition on the more popular routes. If your looking for quick transfers the catamarans are usually a lot faster. But you're indoors and they can be a bit queasy if there's any wind.

I'd recommend the Cyclades for your first adventure as they are probably the easiest to navigate. You can set off from Athens or fly to one of the more popular islands like Mykonos. It's lovely albeit expensive. Arriving at Neighbouring Santorini on a boat is amazing.

Maybe them choose one of the more chilled islands for a few nights of relaxing. Naxos is less commercial than most with great beaches. But I love Paros.

Have fun.

I don't have much to offer regarding the mature perspective but there are plenty of ferries in the high season as well as organized tours, typically to three islands in a day. The ferries are no longer particularly reliable or cheap I'm afraid. Adjacent islands are affordable but the price for doing a two or three hour crossing can be the same as a cheap flight to the destination island from the UK. this can be off-putting.

From Piraeus in Athens, you can visit Hydra, Paros and another island as part of an organised day trip which includes lunch.

Routes which I used to take as a young person such as Crete to Santorini are simply no longer worth it. It is increasingly common for even Greek residents to take short flights for such a distance.

Yes and I would personally suggest the eastern Aegean - Chios and Lesbos to be exact. History, culture, beauty and Chios is not a tourist trap. You can also pop over to Turky from either of those islands - hourly boats to Cesme.

Avoid Santorini like the plague - full of American instagram influencers.

We used to frequently stay on Poros, not Paros. It still remains unspoiled by mass tourism because it it is harder to reach!

Thanks everyone. That's really helpful. I wouldn't be looking to stay in Santorini as we've had a holiday before but did see it can be a good base to go from. I did see a sailboat trip where they take you between islands and you sleep on the boat but I think the accommodation would be tiny so I'm not sure about it!

We are staying on Skiathos this year and planning a day trip to Skopelos and perhaps a separate night in Alonissos.

We did a day trip on the hydrofoil from Crete to Santorini a couple of years ago and I wouldn’t recommend it. It was mask wearing time and indoors on the boat which wasn’t fun. Santorini itself was v crowded and this was 2021 when many people weren’t travelling so can only imagine how hideously busy it is in non pandemic times. Heraklion port was utter chaos and not for the faint hearted.

I would second Poros as fabulous - although haven’t been there for 35 years! A trip around the Aegean islands would be good.

I was on Skopelos last year. If you can, and I believe it might be part of an ABBA tour, go to the little bay of Agnontas and have lunch there. It's only about a 15 minute drive from the port. The year before I went to Alonissos. The main town, Patitri, is quite drab so it's worth going further afield if you can. The former chora, inland, isn't great either. Holiday homes, knick knack shops and some fairly indifferent restaurants. Agios Dimitrious is a nice, pebbly, beach a bit up the east coast.

In 2019 we did Kos, a.couple nights in kos Town, then ferry to kalymos for 3 nights onto another ferry to Leros for 3 nights and then back to kos for a night before flying back, I found it all relatively straightforward and am looking forward do doing something similar in a couple of years

Late 50s. Last year we did:

2 nights Santorini (for flights - cheaper than Mykonos)

3 nights Paros
8 nights Naxos
2 nights Santorini (Akrotiri - much smaller and quieter than Oia or Fira)

We book everything independently and lasy year we changed one of the ferries on the day.

If you can afford/bear it, Mykonos might be more exciting for the 17 year old but flights are quite a bit more expensive.

Ooh haven’t been to Alonissos for 20 years so may not bother after reading this!