mulling cruise around the Greek Islands

Santorini, she would not be able get onto the tenders to reach the island. It is a great view from the ship.

My husband uses a mobility sccoter, and we have just done a Danube cruise, taking the sccoter with us on BA without a problem.
The cruise was great.
The issues were shore excursions. Where we moored somewhere we could get straight off the boat with the scooter it was fine.
Where there was a walk to the coach, and/or taking the scooter was not practicable, this was a problem.
Half the excursions involved a coach.
And this was a small ship - big ships dock a distance from anywhere, or use a tender transfer.
I don't know the extent of your wife's mobility issues, but some cruises start in the UK.
You might want to start by looking into the destination stops.

We find that a cruise is the best way to see the islands and many ports are easy to access (Mykonos, Crete, Rhodes). Yes, you can get close enough, and there are cars waiting to take you where you might want to go if you don't want to walk. There are cruises to Greece that start in Venice, but those would include Croatia, Montenegro and Turkey too. There are cruises that start and end in Athens, so if you start in Barcelona or Rome, would you drive there? Athens is a fantastic start point, end point, or port to visit, we love it. From there you can visit the Temple of Poseidon, as well as all the other sites in Athens.
Santorini would probably present an accessability challenge as mentioned by another poster above, but it is a beautiful place to visit even if you don't get off the ship. If your wife can manage the tender to the dock, you could take a charter boat ride around the island from the same dock, without having to navigate the steep climb (funicular) to the top.

this is all very helpful. thanks

Cruising is not unstrenuous, especially in these small islands that do not have full cruise ship terminals. Lots of climbing into bouncing tenders and stepping onto piers.

We drove around Greece and absolutely loved it. We went Athens to Kastraki (via Thermopylae). Based in Kastraki, we spent a few days at Meteora and just driving around Thessaly, which I think is Greece's underrated gem - mountains not unlike parts of Switzerland! This part of the country is also not far from Volos, Thessalonika, Corfu, or Delphi.

Then for another few days you could go south and drive around the Peloponnese. We haven't done this yet, but its definitely on our list.

This past February my husband and I took the Viking "Greek Odyssey" cruise. Leaving from and returning to Piraeus (Athens) the cruise circled around the Aegean, with stops at Volos, Thessaloniki, past Mount Athos, Kusadasi (Ephesus), Rhodes, Santorini, and Crete. The weather was spectacular, much better than expected. The included tours we took in Volos and Santorini took us to villages, and the optional tours we purchased--Vergina and Knossos-- were very good. Because we cruised in the 'Quiet Season' the cost was very reasonable. While we enjoy independent travel of our favorites, we find that as we get older cruising allows us to comfortably visit many of our bucket list sites.

Hi Nigel,

Athens may be a good starting and/or ending point. It was modernized for the 100th Olympics, including a modern accessible metro. There is an accessible elevator to the top of the Acropolis, though I can't remember how much of the summit is paved, it is fairly level. The Acropolis Museum is interesting, including copies of the Elgin marbles (where Greece would like the originals to be). Without visiting the museum, you can access the top floor restaurant including a large patio with a great view of the Acropolis. It's not necessary to eat there to spend time on the patio, but it's a very nice setting for an afternoon drink, or a sunset drink or a snack or meal. I thought the prices were reasonable and the food was fine (remember, I'm not a foodie).

You can get to the islands by ferry or plane. I flew into Heraklion from Tel Aviv. It was quite a slog to get to Chania by bus - taxis weren't in my budget. I think you can ferry from Athens to Chania. I did love Chania and quite a bit of it is level, easy walking, very scenic. It's a 2-hour bus ride (minimum, sometimes the bus takes much longer for no apparent reason) to Heraklion with ferries to more islands.

If you take the ferry to Santorini, you will avoid the cruise ship issues others have noted. I booked a private transfer from the port up to Fira and back when I ferried from there to Naxos. I highly recommend it. It's got beautiful beaches and very good restaurants.

I hope Janet - the most knowledgeable expert on the Forum for all things Greece - will chime in soon. All the best advice for my trip to the islands came from her and made my trip unforgettable. If not, PM her.

Thank you Chani, for the endorsement, though other responders have a wealth of experience (particularly the Brits, who are so lucky to be much closer to Greece for more frequent and less costly visits!). My forte is practicality -- finding beautiful places in Greece isn't hard, what's more important is avoiding pitfalls that can mar your experience. And for that, Nigels we need lots more Facts; For instance:

• WHEN would you llike to go? advice much different for hot crowded High Season (july-August) vs late May or Early September.
• HOW LONG would you have? 2 weeks? 3? If you have less than 12 days IN greece, not really advised.
• Nature/extent of wife's disabilty (Important). Does she need to use wheelchair or mobility scooter most of time? Or can she walk but for limited distances, such as 100 yards? Can she do ANY stairs or must she always be on street -level lodgings or bldgs w elevators? Also, does this affect stamina, i.e., is daytime activity limited to 3-4 hours, plus nap (usually if age-related).
• Desired experience/activities? Any beach time, sitting or in water? Is main interest natural beauty, some historic/classicl interests?

As others have touched on , this would affect cruise choices greatly! Those huge mega-cruisers are not for you.. thousands of people crowding, pushing rushing. Ships parked offshore with "tenders" taking you to docks jampacked busses etc. Lin's rave for a Danube cruise was not germane -- small boats on a river, step easily right onto pavement. Even the smallest (and more upscale) cruises would involve several hundred, and deailing with gangplanks to a dock. And the pace of travel for the larger cruises (arrive in morning -- 7-8 hours max on island, back on board before sunset) does not really provide the Greece experience you want.

However, a compromise IS available -- a Greece "tour" that YOU design (with help), and a skilled Greek agency makes all arrangements -- transportation, lodgings, local day-tours, car rentals when desired, etc. If Nigel will share their situation & interests more specifically, I think we "forum-ites" can help him choose a very scenic and feasible itinerary, and there are several well-regarded Athens-based agencies who do a fine job when given facts/interests & budget. This could end up costling less than a cruise, with better experience. A lot of us will enjoy helping Nigel work on this.

As a start, with practicalities -- TIMING -- i think its best to try for 2027.. and in my experience of 13 extended trips, I think the ideal time to go is Mid-May.... and the 2nd option, early to mid-September. As for classic ruins/ landmarks -- I think Delphi would be Very Difficult ... but other famous & fascinating ancient ruins/landmarks are easier to access AND enjoy... in a few days, driving easily on excellent roads and low-traffic byways only a few hours from Athens. And you can have a wonderful "mini-cruise" experience in a daytrip right from Athens, if you choose the right ferry, to the right nearby island.

I hope Nigel will respond with more information, so we can share what we've learned (it's "travel-therapy" for those of us who are not going to Greece this year)