How to Plan an Incredible Greek Island Hopping Adventure

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Island hopping around the Greek Islands has to be one of the most special trips you could take. The Greek Islands hold an unmatchable charm. The images of blue and white, cats curled up on chairs and spectacular sunsets are seared into our consciousness. No matter how many times you visit there is always that pull, calling you back again. Another glimpse at the sugar cube houses, another moussaka….

When I started planning my island hopping trip around Greece I felt really overwhelmed by all the possibilities and options. So I’ve put together my top tips and ideas to help you plan your Greek island adventure.

Pick Your Islands

Obviously the first job is to decide which islands (or which chain of islands) you want to visit. I chose the Cyclades because they were the only ones I had never visited and I couldn’t resist the images of quintessential Greek blue and white any longer! (I also had a yearning to see those infamous windmills).

Top Tips

• Pick islands that are close together. Sounds obvious I know but it makes sense to cut down as much travel time as possible. Some islands would be totally impractical to visit together in one trip.
• Stick to one particular chain of islands, that way they are much more likely to be close together
• Decide what kind of islands you would like to visit: do you want laid back vibes or a party island? Or a mixture?

Once you’ve picked a chain of islands you need to narrow it down to which in particular you want to visit. Of course it depends on how long you want to make your island hopping trip but for me three islands was perfect. You don’t want to have to rush through them all!

The Cyclades Starter Pack

I decided on Mykonos, Paros and Santorini and I like to call this the Cyclades starter pack. You’ve got all the highlights and bucket-list ticks plus one undiscovered gem to explore. So if, like me, you’re new to the Cyclades this is a great selection. Each of these islands has a unique character to explore, Mykonos has the hip, youthful vibes, Paros is the laidback slice of Greece everyone needs and Santorini is all about the wow factor.

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I sandwiched Paros in between the other two islands to give me a quiet, relaxing break between the more popular and more crowded islands. Another option would be to substitute Naxos for Paros as they are both in a similar location between Mykonos and Santorini and both have the same low-key quality. However I have to advocate for Paros because I loved it so much!

How Long Should You Spend Island Hopping?

I mean if you have unlimited days off work and live the life the rest of us only dream of then you could island hop all year long. If, however, you are a mere mortal I think ten days should suffice. Two full days on each island should be enough to explore the highlights. Obviously you have to account for travel days in between islands and potentially travel days at one or both ends of the trip.

Naturally the more islands you wish to explore the longer you will have to extend your trip. Bear in mind that you won’t want to be constantly moving from island to island without properly enjoying them. As relaxing as ferry journeys are you’ll want to keep packing up and moving to a minimum!

How to Travel Around the Cyclades

Once you’ve decided on where you’re going, you need to know how you’re getting there. I had never used the ferry before so it was a whole new world of travel for me, but it’s really easy…

By Ferry

Ferry is the easiest way to travel around the Cyclade islands. Ferryhopper.com is really straightforward and makes it easy to plan your trip from island to island. You can see the timetable and book tickets.

There is a range of different choice of Ferry. You have your slower, large car ferries and your sleeker Catamarans.

The larger ferries are often cheaper and although they are a little slower I find them more relaxing overall. They tend to be more stable and therefore better if you suffer with seasickness or just don’t want to sway about too much. You can also enjoy going out on deck and soaking up sunshine and sea air. So unless I was in a rush I would tend to choose these.

Top Tips

• Ferries are not like trains or buses – there is one or two ferries a day and they do not wait for anyone! Make sure you are there at least an hour before they are due to leave. This is the only bad part about ferry travel: the waiting is kinda tedious!
• Many companies now use E-Tickets so you can simply store the ticket on your phone. If not you’ll have to find the shops at the port where they’ll print the ticket for you. This costs 50p. If you’re confused just ask someone and they will point you in the right direction!

And of course you can buy tickets from those shops on the day but oh my gosh the thought of that makes me so anxious! If you’re a laid back, free-spirited kinda gal sure, why not.

Ferries are very relaxed, they have food and drink, toilets, etc. Everything you need. On the big ones you can sit outside and enjoy the views and the sunshine. They also have luggage racks where you can put your case. It’s always pretty obvious where these are. So once you’re on you can sit back, relax and watch the sea and the islands passing by. It’s not the worst way to travel!

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Getting to Greece

Before you can ferry hop you have to get to the islands first! A lot of flights go into Athens so you could start off your island hopping there. All the ferry routes also start from Athens port so you would be spoilt for choice.

The only problem with that is your essentially wasting a day (or two) travelling. That’s why I decided to fly directly to one of the islands on my list instead. So I flew in and out of Mykonos, which only meant heading back to Mykonos for one extra night at the end but all the rest of my time was pure Island hopping.

If its possible (and the flights aren’t too expensive) the ideal plan would be to fly into your first island and out of your last island, truly maximizing your time on each island. The only island on my list I wouldn’t advise flying to/from is Paros – it only has a tiny airport for local flights!

I always use skyscanner.com to search for cheap flights.

Top Tip

• Do not book a flight the same day as your ferry! Ferries can be unreliable and often run late or get cancelled in bad weather.

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If you want to know more about the islands themselves you can check out my posts below:

Mykonos

Read my full post on my stay in Mykonos here. Beautiful and showy, but is there a heart too?

Paros

Read my full account of my time in Paros here. I had no idea what to expect because it’s much less well known but I loved it!

Santorini

Read my full post about this stunning island here.

Santorini truly is a showstopper and I definitely recommend going – with or without a travel partner!

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Have you been on an island hopping adventure yet? Share your thoughts and tips in the comments…

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