Cruising_Christine Posted July 17, 2017 #1 Share Posted July 17, 2017 Hello All, We are toying with an idea of doing Greek Isles next summer. What is your favourite stop and why? Which ones would you skip and why? Thanks so much, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare KeithJenner Posted July 17, 2017 #2 Share Posted July 17, 2017 My favourite Greek port, by some way, is Rhodes. The old town is a great place to walk round. Really lovely port, with the option of other places on the Island if you want to go further. Others that we really enjoyed are Santorini (although it can be really busy), Katakolon (Olympia is somewhere that I had always wanted to visit) and obviously Athens. Mykonos is also nice, and Crete looked OK, but we were there during a holiday and the town was packed. The sail away was really nice though. We really weren't fussed about Heraklion or Limmasol. Three non Greek ports that often turn up on these cruises are Split, Dubrovnik and Kotor. I think I actually prefer all three of those to the Greek ports. You can't really go far wrong with any of them though. Even the ones that we weren't to fussed about are ones we could have enjoyed more, but they are relatively big towns and there are interesting archaeological sites nearby if you are willing to travel. We didn't because of being busy at other ports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JandRtravel Posted July 17, 2017 #3 Share Posted July 17, 2017 We loved Crete. We did a Jeep mountain adventure and it was one of the coolest things to date. https://safariclub.gr Mykonos was neat if you do a walking tour and learn the history. Otherwise it's known for being a party town. Athens could have been knocked out in 1 day but our boat docked for 2. We were supposed to see Istanbul but the cruise had to modify the itinerary and eliminated Istanbul for Athens instead. Once we saw the sites in Athens we were satisfied. We didn't even get off the boat day 2. Santorini was beautiful, but jam packed. I would get a sailing that includes Kusadasi (Ephesus) turkey if you can, it was amazing. Also Rhodes [emoji177] Our sailing started in Rome (Civi) and the Amalfi Coast was our first stop. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruising_Christine Posted July 17, 2017 Author #4 Share Posted July 17, 2017 Thank you for the info. So if you could choose only one, Athens or Santorini, which one would you prefer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare John Bull Posted July 17, 2017 #5 Share Posted July 17, 2017 Katakolon and Kusadasi are great only if you want to visit Olympia and Ephesus respectively, both about a half-hour from their ports. Ditto Volos for the hilltop monastery some hours from that port But if ancient Greek history isn't your thing, neither of those ports have anything else to offer. There are frequent threads on here by folk asking about what else to see because they've already been to Olympia and Ephesus. Santorini is spectacular. Google to learn about the huge (world's biggest?) volcanic eruption and consequent tsunami thousands of years ago. Mykonos is beautiful, laid-back and "different". And like many other small Greek islands both are good for a day but with little other than sun and beach for those visiting for more than a couple of days. Which makes them ideal for a cruise itinerary. Just MHO as always JB :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cruisemom42 Posted July 17, 2017 #6 Share Posted July 17, 2017 Rated from the point of view of someone who's not a beach person and is very into ancient history. Favorite Greek ports (from most liked to least liked): Athens (for the history) -- been there about 7-8 times now Nauplion -- nice town (modern Greece's first capital) and access to Mycenae and Epidauros Mykonos -- only for Delos Thessaloniki -- remains of a Roman imperial palace, great museum, proximity to Vergina Monemvasia -- as yet (relatively) unspoiled and beautiful walled city Iraklion/Heraklion -- for spectacular museum on Minoan culture; Knossos site Katakolon -- only for Olympia Rhodes -- for the old town and for Lindos Kavala -- for ancient site of Philippi Volos -- for the "hanging" Greek monasteries at Meteora Santorini -- pretty, but not that interesting Corfu -- pretty (in a different way than Santorini) but not that interesting Chania (Souda) -- not a big fan; 20 minutes at the Venetian harbor is plenty for me Ithaca -- home to Odysseus but not much to see Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruising_Christine Posted July 17, 2017 Author #7 Share Posted July 17, 2017 Thank you all very much for your replies. Cruisemom, just like you, we are more history than beach people. Looks like, from you answer, that we would get more value out of Athens than Santorini. I would love to see both; but if we had to choose, I guess we would go with the former.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare KeithJenner Posted July 17, 2017 #8 Share Posted July 17, 2017 Katakolon and Kusadasi are great only if you want to visit Olympia and Ephesus respectively, both about a half-hour from their ports. Ditto Volos for the hilltop monastery some hours from that port But if ancient Greek history isn't your thing, neither of those ports have anything else to offer. There are frequent threads on here by folk asking about what else to see because they've already been to Olympia and Ephesus. I certainly agree with you about Katakolon. Now we've been to Olympia I don't see any need to return. I quite like Kusadasi though. We've been there a couple of times. Once we went to Ephesus, but the other time we enjoyed wandering round the town. There are a few restaurants etc along the beach area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare KeithJenner Posted July 17, 2017 #9 Share Posted July 17, 2017 Cruisemom, just like you, we are more history than beach people. Looks like, from you answer, that we would get more value out of Athens than Santorini. I would love to see both; but if we had to choose, I guess we would go with the former.:) I'd agree with that completely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Hlitner Posted July 17, 2017 #10 Share Posted July 17, 2017 Thank you all very much for your replies. Cruisemom, just like you, we are more history than beach people. Looks like, from you answer, that we would get more value out of Athens than Santorini. I would love to see both; but if we had to choose, I guess we would go with the former.:) If you are about "history" then Athens is the place to go (for your first visit to Greece). That being said, DW would tell you that Santorini is one the must stunning romantic islands in the world. Hank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyTheSaint Posted July 17, 2017 #11 Share Posted July 17, 2017 For best scenery it has to be Santorini. Most of the images of Greece you see in travel magazines, brochures, etc are from Santorini. If you get a day there when there's only one ship in port you'll have a great time. If you get there and there are two or three ships then it will get crowded as the streets are very narrow. Rhodes is another really good port. You can walk in to the old walled, historic town in two minutes from the ship. Again very pretty and lots of history with the Knights of the Crusades. We've been to most of the places listed in this thread and they all have their attractions but Santorini and Rhodes stand out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sippican Posted July 18, 2017 #12 Share Posted July 18, 2017 As others have pointed out, the ports are so different that it really depends on what your personal preferences are. We loved Athens and could have easily spent more than one day there - but again, it was about the history and the ruins. It helped that we had an incredibly knowledgeable guide, who happened to be an archeologist. She truly made history come alive. We enjoyed Santorini, but it really is a mob scene, and we hated wasting time in lines for the tram up and down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grant2000 Posted July 21, 2017 #13 Share Posted July 21, 2017 Corfu is a pleasant place to visit. There's quite a lot to see in Corfu Town which is within walking distance of the cruise port. http://cruiseports.ca/greece/corfu-cruise-terminal.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leongcpa Posted July 21, 2017 #14 Share Posted July 21, 2017 Santorini (so pretty) Hydra (aka Ydra; pretty walks between towns) Mykonos (for Delos) Athens Argostolion (aka Kefalonia; Melissani Caves and beaches are great) Corfu Chania Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iancal Posted July 21, 2017 #15 Share Posted July 21, 2017 We like Santorin. But only in off season. We really liked it in the 80's but there are too many tourists like us now and far too many cruise ships. We like Crete, Rhodes, Sifnos, Naxos, Monemvasia, Nafplio, Athens, among other stops. We have done four Med/Greek Island cruises and multiple independent trips to Greece/Turkey. We enjoyed the cruises but our all time favourite is simply flying to either Athens or Istanbul (then to the Med coast) and then making our way to Crete via the ferry system. Staying in area/islands as long as we want or until the next convenient ferry to our destination happens to come along. Each time we consider a Med cruise we keep going back to doing our own thing on the local ferries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamchops Posted July 22, 2017 #16 Share Posted July 22, 2017 (edited) I've been lucky enough to visit a few towns in Greece on our last 2 cruises. Athens is our favourite because of all the sites to see. We liked them all and don't regret stopping at any of them. Chania Rhodes Thessaloniki Volos Katakolon we visited Olympia and the museums. Nafplio. We really enjoyed walking the promenade and climbing the 999 steps up to Palamides castle. Our favourite Greece stop outside of Athens. We will be visiting Athens, Santorini, and Heraklion on our October cruise. Edited July 22, 2017 by lamchops Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrJ Berkshire Posted July 24, 2017 #17 Share Posted July 24, 2017 For a spectacular arrival it has to be Santorini, the place is amazing. Rhodes has a lot to offer, with the town having a range of possibilities for sights, shopping, boat trips, beaches and excursions to Lindos as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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