Greece: to cruise or not to cruise?

Hello,

I just got a cruise itinerary from my travel agent that departs from Rome with stops to Santorini, Athens, Mykonos, Nauplion, Katakolon and then off to the southern coast of Italy.

2 questions:

1) Should we reconsider cruising the greek isles? I keep hearing that we might be selling ourselves short with just spending a day at these stops in Greece vs a few days per island.

2) if we do go, we can depart either early or late September. Any suggestions.

TYIA

BDQ

Santorini, Mykonos, Katakolon I reckon a day is enough.

For Santorini & Mykonos, a second day (for instance another cruise which includes either of them) gives the option of something else to do at both.

But Katakolon is really just for Olympia, and I've seen plenty of threads from folk who've been to Olympia before asking what / where else would be of interest from that port on an up-coming cruise. Answer is that there's not a lot else.

Athens it depends how deep your interest in ancient history. Even a heathen such as I found a second day in Athens was worthwhile.

Land vacations in Greece tend to be about about sun, sea and tavernas rather than sight-seeing.

Any time in September should be good, the weather breaks sometime in October or later.

Just MHO, as always.

JB :)

We have done both. Med cruises and island hopping. Four Med cruises, probably 6 or 8 trips to Greece and Turkey.

To answer your question...last time we did our own thing. After touring Peloponnese by rental car, including a side trip to Hydra, we went to Pireus, boarded a ferry, and did some island hopping. This was late Sept/early Oct. Worked our way down to Crete where we spent a week traveling around on our own We have done this before and have included Turkey-travelling from Rhodes to Marmaris, then along theTurkish Med coast to Antalya.

Depends on they type of traveler that you are but we much preferred island hopping on our own. You get to see and experience far more. In terms of scenery, food, and accomodation. We also found an added benefit-it was far less expensive than cruising. We spent the same but we went for much longer. You do need to gain an understanding of how the ferries are organized and how they operate between the various groups of islands.

I expect we may do this again next fall. We want to spend time in Albania, then Corfu, hen move on for more island hopping.

Those busy island cruise stops....at night and in the early AM prior to the cruise ships arriving it is like you are on a different island. Same with Adriatic ports like Dubrovinic and Kotor, etc

I don't think either is wrong. We wouldn't have discovered our love for Crete & Santorini if it weren't for a cruise so for a first timer, I certainly wouldn't say you're wrong picking a cruise. Now that we've done Greece several times by ship we have a tendency to just rent a villa or hotel stay on one island.

You have asked a great question....but the answer is simply dependent on the type of travel you prefer. We have been to Santorini on numerous cruises and also spent some quality time on the island while staying in a nice hotel located in Oia. While a cruise stop can give you a snapshot visit to the island, spending a few days (or a week) allows you to enjoy dinner in some of the decent restaurants, sample some night life, and give you time to enjoy the entire island. As JB says, Kusadasi is an OK cruise port but we would not want to spend even 1 night in that part of Greece. Mykonos is a decent resort island and staying there a few days offers a chance to visit multiple beaches and sample some of the decent restaurants. Nauplion is a pretty good cruise destination and also a part of Greece that is enjoyed by some of us who like driving trips.

Personally we will continue to enjoy various Greek Islands on both cruises and some DIY trips.

Hank

Kusadasi is an OK cruise port but we would not want to spend even 1 night in that part of Greece.

 

Hank

maybe because it’s in Turkey? 😜

We have done numerous trips to Turkey. One of our favourites is to rent a car and drive along the Med. coast. We especially like the Antalya area. Then come back. Drop the car off in Marmaris and take the ferry to Rhodes.

maybe because it’s in Turkey? 😜

Greece, Turkey, Earth, Mars......they're all the same.

We have done both. A cruise is good to see a lot of places, but for some places you just barely get a sense of what they are like. We particularly like Crete and have been three times for two weeks each time. We find Crete has the best of all worlds, great sights to visit: Phaestos, Malia Palace, Knossos, monasteries and great beaches. This spring we are going to northern Greece. We like to go to the different areas, Cyclades, Sporades, Ionian islands etc. The people are really lovely.

As for timing we were in Crete last year late September, early October and it was lovely. But to be on the safe side I would go earlier in September.

For us a cruise works well.

This way we get to see a lot of places and should we like one or more we can return.

Keith

We are not expert travelers but our family really enjoyed the cruise. We had the opportunity to visit different places and get a taste of different cultures. After our Santorini visit, we are thinking of visiting Greece again, so that we can visit more islands and spend more time there. September seems to be the ideal month, as it’s less crowded and not very hot.