A few details up front:
a.) 2 very active people (both Australian) flying into Athens on 8 Sept
b.) 3 weeks vacation in total (leave 28 Sept)
c.) not interested in the 'party scene', but rather more culture / sport activities / diving / mountain biking / music etc
d.) not interested in 'racing @ 100 miles an hour' --> quality vacation planned, with some relaxation!
e.) transport indifferent --> public, scooter & / or car hire
f.) accommodation --> bed & breakfasts or pensions, private families
g.) we have a copy of the latest Lonely Planet Greek Islands book
h.) experienced travellers
i.) basic understanding of Greek
As such I would welcome any suggestions on the sequence we should visit the following places using Athens as the start and finish point:
Naxos
Chios
Samos
Kusadasi (day trip ok or overnight from Samos)
Peloppenese region (maybe a day trip to Zante)
Given our preference to use ferries for most of these transfers and not really understanding all the 'can do' and 'cannot do' routes between these islands, I thought that people may have a few tips!
Thanks in advance.
There are daily ferries from Piraeus to Naxos so that's not a problem. The tricky bit is that there is not direct connection from Naxos to Chios so you better go to Samos first. From Naxos almost every day the F/B Dimitroula departs at 07:50 to Karlovasi Samos arival at 13:50. From Samos there are ferries to Chios every Tuesday 16:45 from Karlovasi,Thursday 15:30 from Vathi and Sunday 09:30 and 09:35 from Vathy.Now if you want a day trip to Turkey you can go from Chios to Cesme, departures Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 16:00 and from there by road to Kusadasi and return to Samos. From Peloponesse you can go to Zakynthos from the port of Kyllini (4 departures per day) .You can get a bus to Kyllini from Patras, you can call the KTEL (Greek buses) of Patras at 2610-623887 for more info about bus departures. Have a nice holiday in Greece.
Responder #1 - thank you for the tips and information. I found the same problem re: Naxos to Chios (or vice versa) so it would seem that the way to go is indeed Naxos - Samos - Chios, with day trip / overnight to Kusadasi and then back to Samos or Chios for a return to Piraeus.
Do you have any tips on great / good places to stay on any of these islands? Bed & breakfast, pension-style or with a family would all be fine.
An interesting choice of islands, covering the Cyclades, N.E. Aegean and Ionian Islands.
The skip over from the Cyclades to the N.E. Aegean is not a regular route, although there are departures fron Naxos to Samos [GA Ferries] a couple of times per week.
The best route would be-
Naxos-Samos
Samos-day trip to Kusadasi
Samos-Chios [3 times or so per week]
Chios-Piraeus [serviced with a new fast vessel accessible in 8 hrs/Nel lines]
Arrive in Athens, pick up a rental car, tour the Peleponese.
Your time frame is limiting, considering the fact that Naxos and Chios are large islands with many sites to see. Chios in particular has many sites and villages covering all parts of the island [one week is recommended, especially as you don't want to rush your holiday]. The same applies to Naxos, although many sites/museums are concentrated in the main town, it is the largest island of the Cyclades, with a wealth of history and picturesque villages.
Zakynthos is easily visited ex Kyllini [near Patras] with regular daily connections, although hardly worth it for a day visit -
Accordingly, one week is a good time frame for the Peleponese -
a regular poster here has provided an excellent detailed sample itinerary here [just click on to the Peleponese]here
some sites for ferry timetables gtp or openseas
Ferries are fine and cheap, but I would still look into air travel, particularly for the leg from Samos to Chios, even if it were from Samos to Athens, then bus and ferry to Chios. Try Aegean Air, fares are generally in the 50 Euro per person range, one way, into or out of Athens. Samos/Athens/Chios would be 100 Euro PP roughly.
I don't understand slat1040 referring about a Samos-Chios air link... perhaps I'm reading it wrong.
Looking at your list, as I mentioned before in a different forum, your logical sequence would seem be to -- fly to farthest point, hop back. Thus fly to Samos. Ferry to Chios and back (car hire while there). Do your day trip to Kusadasi before Chios or after depending on what works best with ferry skeds. Ferry to Naxos and then to Athens. Bus to Nafplio & Back to Athens (car hire in Nafplio).
A switch on this depending time of year, and whether you want to do mainland first ---
When u come into Athens airport, u could hire a car immediately (of course that could be more expensive) and drive direct to Peoloponnse. At end of your Pel. exploraion drive back to airport,drop car, Fly to Samos... then do the island sequence as above.
I don't understand slat1040 referring about a Samos-Chios air link... perhaps I'm reading it wrong.
Looking at your list, as I mentioned before in a different forum, your logical sequence would seem be to -- fly to farthest point, hop back. Thus fly to Samos. Ferry to Chios and back (car hire while there). Do your day trip to Kusadasi before Chios or after depending on what works best with ferry skeds. Ferry to Naxos and then to Athens. Bus to Nafplio & Back to Athens (car hire in Nafplio).
A switch on this depending time of year, and whether you want to do mainland first ---
When u come into Athens airport, u could hire a car immediately (of course that could be more expensive) and drive direct to Peoloponnse. At end of your Pel. exploraion drive back to airport,drop car, Fly to Samos... then do the island sequence as above.
I'll certainly try to add some clarity. Virtually all Aegean Air flights seem to either be to Athens or from Athens, in the case of Samos to Chios, Fly Samos to Athens, then connect to a flight from Athens to Chios. Seeing that the itinerary seems to be Athens, Ferry to Naxos, Ferry to Samos, I suggest flying Samos to Athens. I love ferries in small doses, but overnight or all day makes flying an option. From Athens though, I'd hit the peloponnese or Delphi on my way to Chios by land and ferry from Patras or other port.
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