Greek Islands

We love the less-visited islands. Begin your research by getting a copy of Thomas Cook's Greek Island Hopping book. It describes the various island groups, or chains. It shows which islands are connected to each other by ferry. You will quickly see that it makes most sense to plan your trip within one island group. Become familiar with the ferry websites. I like http://www.gtp.gr/. Our last trip was planned around the big Blue Star ferry routes:
http://www.bluestarferries.com/site/content.asp?sel=624&loc=2 Ferries are generally pretty reliable, although bad weather can ground them for a day or so. And schedule changes can happen. It helps if you can be a little flexible. You will find more ferries available in the summer ... schedules tend to ramp up in May and back down in September. We usually travel in September, and make reservations at our first (and sometimes last) island, but leave the others fluid. We'll call a day or two in advance to reserve a hotel on the next island. As for which islands to visit ... read about them in the Thomas Cook book, the Lonely Planet Greek guidebooks, and Matt Barrett's Greece website, and see what appeals. Our two favorite groups are the Dodecanese (Kastellorizo, Rhodes, Tilos, Nisyros, Leros, Patmos) and the Eastern Aegean (Samos, Ikaria, Lesvos). We like flying into Athens and directly to our first island; and since we're usually on the eastern edge, we usually fly back to Athens as well. If you prefer to travel by ferry, be aware that Piraeus is the main port in Athens, but for some islands, the port of Rafina is more convenient. Be sure to plan a full day in Athens (2 nights) at the end of your trip, in case of last-minute transportation issues. After you do your preliminary research, post your next questions on the "To The East" forum, where more Greek travelers will see them. Have fun!

Thank you so much for your prompt reply. This is incredibly helpful. We are off to buy Thomas Cook's guide book.

The best islands are the ones with no airport. (Like Symi) That way you keep away from the "bucket & spade brigade"! :-)

Ok, I just googled this ... the bucket and spade brigade refers to low-end package tourists. I agree, places that cater to package tourists generally don't appeal to me. But even on islands with airports, it's not difficult to avoid this sort of resort.

Hi Charlene, I was wondering the same thing! I'm guessing it refers to little children. I really like your idea of flying to the first island, but I also like the idea of traveling to places that are more remote and harder to get to. We were definitely put off last time by the hoards of people getting off the larger cruise ships, and we will want want to avoid cruise ports as much as possible on this trip. It sounds like Roger is suggesting that avoiding islands with airports is also something to consider, and we will put that idea into the mix. We are also considering a side trip to Crete. Ever been there? Worth it?

Nancy, we haven't been to Crete. It's the largest Greek island; you could easily spend a couple of weeks there. Some of its cities are cruise ship stops and are filled with package tourists. So it's not exactly my kind of place. If you want to visit Crete, your other islands should be nearby. Check the Island Hopping guide ... I think in high season, you can get to Crete via ferry from Milos and Santorini. So to include Crete, you might make it part of a Sifnos>Milos>Folegandros trip, or something similar. Not all islands with airports are also cruise ship stops. I have been to 3 examples (Kastellorizo, Ikaria, Leros) and I'm sure there are more. A good itinerary would be Rhodes>Kastellorizo>Tilos>Nisyros> and upward through the Dodecanese for as long as you can travel. Rhodes is very large and busy, but the other islands are tiny and exactly what I think you're looking for. Kastellorizo is incredibly picturesque. Tilos is quiet and kind of grows on you. Nisyros has an active, but not erupting, volcano and was absolutely fascinating. You can get on the Blue Star Ferry in Kastellorizo and ride it all the way to Athens, stopping at various islands along the way. Another good trip was Samos>Ikaria>Patmos>Leros. From Samos we took a great day trip to Ephesus in Turkey. We intended to visit Lipsi as well but ferry problems caused us to scrub that and we had some adventures on Leros instead. One of our all-time favorite trips was to Lesvos, the 3rd largest Greek island. We spent 3 weeks, staying at 4 different places on the island, so it was like island-hopping without the ferries. It has very few tourists, beautiful scenery, friendly people, great food, low prices. We found a wonderful, low-key resort there that we love (Hotel Votsala), and will be making our 4th trip there in September. Have fun planning!

Hi Charlene, thanks again for all the info. You are better than a travel agent!

You're welcome. Obviously I love Greece and have had fun planning our visits. There are other island groups that are probably equally wonderful that I'm not familiar with, so I encourage you to get advice from others as well. Whatever you choose, I hope you have a wonderful trip.