Help!! Med by ferry

If you have looked, then you may have figured out that ferries alone may not get you there. Ferries tend to be pretty direct routes and transfer from one to another difficult to match up without a stay in port. That said, I think you could get to France or Northern Italy from Barcelona, Corsica or Sardinia (or both) would be nice. Sicily is easy to get to by ferry as well, you could then head to someplace like Tunisia, but then it may be difficult to keep heading East from there without heading back to Italy. It may be easiest to go overland to Italies East coast, from there you could hit Croatia, but again, to get to Greece may mean backtracking to Italy. Corfu is a common stop, but then most ferries will only get you the the West coast of Greece, requiring you to go overland again to catch ferries to the Aegean. Aside from that, Malta is rumoured to be a neat trip, I liked Majorca, but again, those stops would be there and back as opposed to someplace to pass through. That should give you a few ideas, you might consider a flight or two as well,a good way to take a hop quickly. My personal opinion is that ferries are OK transportation, but best for short hops. The infrequent nature (one a day, or only a couple a week) make scheduling a chore, they are slow, sometimes rough (especially the jet ferries in choppy water), and keep in mind that they are really more bus than cruise ship. If you accept them as basic transport and little else, then you will do well and have a good time.

Thank you for your input. I agree with Barcelona - Italy, corsica, sardinia and sicily. So, we would probably need to fly somewhere to get to the Greek islands... Maybe fly back out of Istanbul or Athens? The bus analogy concerns me but I am only looking to get from place to place to spend 1-3 days... Haven't actually nailed down the most likely stops yet... That will be half the battle...
Dan

I agree with previous poster. We took a cruise from Barcelona and it took 36 hours to get to Italy. We were on a cruise ship with friends and plenty to do so the time passed quickly. A ferry would be an extremely boring way to spend that amount of time and would not be as smooth of a ride. If you are determined to start in Barcelona, you should seriously consider taking trains to South France and into Italy, then take ferries from southeast Italy. The initial ferry to Greece would be long, but overnight to pass the time while you sleep. Once you get to Greece you could try to match up the ferry schedules to hop around. You might want to consider what we did and take a Greek Island cruise. We liked it because we saw a lot of islands in a short amount of time. If you want to spend a long amount of time in one island, then that might not be a good option for you. I hope this helps.

Charles, thank you so much for your input. Everything helps... And Inagree I will have weigh ferry vs. train... Or even car..
Looking for all the ideas and input I can get...

Malta is terrific. I was there on an intensive 5-day tour and there's lots we get to see. Millenia of fascinating history, incredibly elaborate churches and unbelievably scenic villages, 2 of Caravaggio's best paintings, good food.

For ferries in the Meds check with directferries.com. We took Grimaldi Lines from Barcelona to Civitaveccia, just outside of Rome. That was one great cruise! From there there are many ferries to Corisca and Sardinia - and Sicily. Or you travel to a port on the Italian Adriatic coast by train (e.g. Bari) to catch a ferry over to Greece...

I happen to be reading the 'Pillars of Hercules' written by Paul Theroux which is about his travels by road and ferry through the Med - somewhat similar to what you are planning on doing. No doubt his travels were from the mid-90s, but it may give you some insights/tips. I suggest you get a copy if you haven't already read it.

There is a ferry from Brindizi to Corfu and then down to Patras. Corfu is a great island. Pam

Hey, that is great advice... Love it. And then from there through to the Greek Islands...???!!!

From Corfu and Patras, you would need to take the bus from Patras to Athens/Piraeus, from there, all of the Aegean islands are accessible.