Italy to Greece Travel

One thing to consider with the ferry is that it stops on the island of Corfu (at least, it did in 1981 when I did it). However, if you do this, it takes 2 days to get to Patras, and I would recommend taking an opportunity to enjoy Corfu.

We splurged for a sleeper on the ferry, but plenty of folks just slept on the upper deck, under the stars and seemed to enjoy that, too.

Again, this is very old information, and I was fresh out of college, so things might be a bit different now.

Hi Alex,
You will love Italy and Greece. I took an overnight Ferry between Brindisi and Patras. It was great falling asleep on the ship and enjoying the sea air. There were euro pass holders that used their pass for deck passage. I highly recommend getting a cabin. It's a great way to travel falling asleep in one place and waking up in another. 5 days in greece doesn't give you much time however. I have always felt that the islands are the greatest place to be in Greece. You might consider taking a shorter hop to the greek island of Corfu. It's close to Italy and might give you that taste you want... or perhaps taking a plane directly to Santorini. It's touristy but it's wonderful. Crete would be a good option too. 5 days could easily be spent on Crete. If you fly directly to Santorini you might be able to sneak in another hop to a nearby island. If you end up in Athens by either taking the ship or flying there, you might just want to take in some mainland sights and take in a day trip to an island like Aegina or Hydra.
Have fun!

Thanks guys. :)
Sleeping under the stars... might be fun. But cold and windy?

It may be a lot more commercialized since you visited, but what I've read about Corfu doesn't appeal to me. It sounds like its really touristy and an expensive resort town. And when I made an itinerary for a longer trip to Greece, it had many islands but I think to get the best glimpse of real Greek culture in just a couple days it might be good to head on over to the Peloponese - Finikoundas and Nafplio - for three days with some trips to the nearby historic sites before heading into Athens and flying home. Would that be good?

If I could add some more time, how many days would be ideal for this little glimpse of Greece?

Alex

Fly. Cheap airlines . A couple hours. Less then 100 euros probaly.

Greek ferries are not all very nice. I spent 8 hours on one that was gross.. and no where to sit but out on deck,, which is fun for like 2 hours,, LOL and food,, well it made airplane food look good. LOL

You will still have to take a ferry to islands,, but thats way easier then the overnighter from Italy.

Maybe I am jaded, but the Greece/Italy ferry was dreadful. Nice life experience, but nothing I would repeat. To take that route, figure getting to the station in Naples, Train to Bari, Night Ferry to Patras, then Bus or train to where ever you are going. Time wise...24 to 30 hours, really seeing very very little of interest. Cost..you have the 130 euro plus trains, if you can get from Naples to where you want in Greece, maybe 200 plus euro. As Pat mentioned...Fly. Aegean Air in conjunction with Meridiana did fly Naples to Athens, but Aegean Air does fly Rome to Athens for 150 Euro in two hours. Basically, you can leave Naples in the morning and be sitting in the Plaka sipping Ouzo late afternoon.