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Ferries - Barcelona to Livorno; Italy to Greece; Greek Isles

Posted by (Oklahoma City, OK, USA) on

I have several questions regarding my son travelling by ferries:

  1. He wants to take a ferry from Barcelona, Spain, to Livorno(near Pisa), Italy, leaving at 23:59, arriving at 19:31 the next day, deck passage (32.50 euros, less 20% for his Eurail pass). Question: - What does "deck passage" consist of? Surely it's indoors...or is it? Have any readers ever taken this ferry, or a similar route? Is it comfortable? Safe? Beautiful? Choppy?

  2. He also wants to take a ferry from probably Bari, Italy, to Patras, Greece (free with Eurail pass, plus seasonal surcharges and port charge). Same questions as above.

  3. He wants to go from Athens to the Greek island of Santorini, then to Thessaloniki. What are these ferries like? Any comments on cost, comfort, safety, or time needed?

I know that's a lot of questions. Thanks so much for any part anyone can share your experience on!

Posted by
9110 posts

Deck passage means that he doesn't have a cabin or even a reserved seat -- he has to plop anywhere he can find a spot. Of course he can go inside.

Comfort can vary. Sometimes there are upholstered seats, sometines what I'd call molded lunchroom chairs, sometimes just benches. Visualize an airport or a train station and you pretty well have the picture. It would not be unusual to see people sleeping stretched out on the interior decks.

Safety wouldn't be an issue.

Beauty at sea is in the eye of the beholder. I've spent time in the Med on cruising sailboats and large ships. Any body of water can go from placid to mean in a wink. He might puke; it won't hurt him.

I've ridden a bunch of ferries, none in the Med (except short hops down the island from France to Sciliy), but this might get you started unitl somebody with concrete knowledge comes along.

Meanwhile, don't worry about him. Kids don't notice stuff like that; it's all part of the grand adventure.

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