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Luxury Cruises in Greece - Cruises in Greek Islands |
Greece, one of the world’s most
attractive summer destinations , is an idyllic place
for luxury cruises, as it comprises a peninsula
surrounded by 6,000 Greek islands and islets scattered
in the Aegean and Ionian Seas, combined with an ideal
climate allowing for pleasant sea-travel conditions
all year round.
Cruises in the Greek islands
offer visitors the opportunity to explore 7,500 km of
the country’s coastline featuring a highly diversified
landscape made of golden stretches of magnificent
beaches, shelter bays and coves, volcanic soil,
sea-side caves with steep rocks and coastal wetlands.
Luxury cruises in Greece take visitors to the
most famous groups of islands, the Cyclades and the
Dodecanese, leaving them with indelible memories of
narrow, cobble-stoned alleys, rugged mountain cliffs
hovering just above the cruise-ship decks, castles,
museums, adventure, education and the pure pleasure of
seeing things they have only read about before.
Cruises in the Greek islands each of them boasting its
own historical and cultural heritage, is an escape to
luxury and relaxation. Once ashore, visitors can
wander around traditional settlements and villages,
castles, museums and galleries, churches and
monasteries, or explore ancient cities through winding
canals and visit famous boulevards and fabled
landmarks for an unforgettable experience.
Santorini, Mykonos, Rhodes, the Aegean and the Ionian
islands, are all connected either by ferry or some
smaller vessel to provide easy access, featuring all
the amenities of a regular cruise-ship with deluxe
cabins, restaurants, bars, lounges and even casinos.
Cruises in Greece started in the '60s and since
development has picked up at a fast pace, especially
in recent years. Cruise ships under Greek flag making
short or longer cruises to Greek ports and ports of
other countries of the Eastern Mediterranean amount to
more than 160,000 GRT units and have a total capacity
of
 over 10,000 passengers. Greek ports, however, are
also visited by cruise ships under foreign flags,
which annually bring more than 500,000 passengers into
the country by sea.
While there are innumerable
ports around the country connecting the mainland with
the isles, the main port with the heaviest tourist and
commercial traffic is the large Mediterranean port of
Piraeus, which dates back to the 3rd millennium BC and
is the gateway to Athens. Piraeus port, as well as the
smaller port of Rafina, both having easy access from
most points in the capital, are the link to most
Aegean islands with regular sailing schedules for
ferries, passenger boats and hydrofoils.
A cruise
to the Greek islands, however, can also include:
Turkey - ports of call Constantinople (Istanbul) and
Kusadasi; Israel - Jerusalem and Haifa; Egypt - Port
Said (Cairo) and Alexandria; and, Cyprus - Limassol.
Some cruises may even take you as far as the Black Sea
through the Bosporus Straights to places such as Yalta
and Odessa (Ukraine), and Nessebur (Bulgaria).
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