How to Hop Between the Greek Islands

Island hopping in Greece works best inside one island group. That is how the ferries run: Paros and Naxos are 25 to 30 minutes apart on SeaJets, while Heraklion on Crete is 9 h 30 from Piraeus on Minoan’s overnight ferry and Rhodes from 15 h 40 on Blue Star, so for a short trip, fly to those two. Lonely Planet’s advice for a week is one group and two or three islands; no official body sets a number.

One tour listed here adds Santorini to a stay on Crete without a change of hotel. Cretan Odyssey’s day trip crosses from Heraklion port by SeaJets fast ferry, about two hours each way by the listing’s timetable. On Santorini a guide and coach take you to Oia and Fira, about 5.5 hours on the island in all. It costs from $214 as of October 2026 and is rated 4.5 from 2,171 reviews. Pickup is from set points on Crete’s north coast between Agia Pelagia and Sisi. Food, drinks and the optional volcano boat (€20, run by SeaJets) are extra, and it is not suitable for wheelchair users.

The ports and who sails from them

Piraeus is the main link between the mainland and the Aegean islands and Crete. Its gates are spread along the harbour and the port maps we read disagree on which line uses which, so go by your ticket. Rafina, “very close to Athens airport” in Golden Star’s words, has boats to Andros, Tinos and Mykonos all year and on to Paros, Naxos, Ios and Santorini. Lavrio is the main port for Kea and Kythnos. The Ionian islands have no ferries from any of the three: Zakynthos and Kefalonia (Cephalonia) are reached from Kyllini, Kefalonia also from Patras and Astakos, and Corfu from Igoumenitsa. The Sporades sail from Volos.

SeaJets runs high-speed boats, mostly from Piraeus; Blue Star Ferries, part of Attica Group with Hellenic Seaways and ANEK, runs conventional ones. Minoan Lines and ANEK sail to Crete, Levante from Kyllini to Zakynthos and Kefalonia, and Hellenic Seaways, Alpha Lines and Saronic Ferries to the Saronic islands. Each publishes its own timetable; openseas.gr is a private booking engine, not an official timetable.

How long the crossings take

Times are each operator’s own figure for its own route, except on the Ionian routes, where the operators publish departures only and the times are the usual crossing as booking sites list it.

Inside the groups the hops are short. SeaJets gives Mykonos to Paros as 35 to 50 minutes, Naxos to Santorini 1 h 10 to 1 h 30, Paros to Ios 1 h 25 and Santorini to Milos 1 h 55. Golden Star gives Ios to Santorini as 40 minutes, and Rafina to Mykonos as 2 h 30. The car ferry from Pounta on Paros to Antiparos takes about 10 minutes and leaves every 15 (the Paros municipality’s figures).

Wind: the meltemi and sailing bans

The meltemi, or etesian wind, is the Aegean’s summer northerly. The Hellenic National Meteorological Service defines it as blowing from early May to mid-October, most often in July and August, often at gale force in the Aegean; the National Observatory of Athens recorded it strong on 24 of 30 days in June 2025. It is funnelled between islands, notably in the Kafireas Strait and between Paros and Tinos, and it does not stop in September: the prevailing north wind at Naxos averages 13.3 knots in July and 14.5 in October (1955 to 2010 normals).

When it blows hard, port authorities issue sailing bans, usually from force 7 to 8 on the Beaufort scale depending on area, route and ship, and small and high-speed boats stop first. On 14 August 2026 ships were held in Rafina and Lavrio until 16:00 while Piraeus sailed normally. SeaJets advises a spare day before a flight home in July and August.

Summer-only links and the off season

The ferry year runs from 1 November to 31 October, with summer and winter timetables inside it. Some links are summer-only: Fast Ferries sailed Rafina to Paros only from 13 June to 13 September 2026, and its Piraeus line to the western Cyclades runs three or four times a week, six only from 29 June to 30 August. Others run all year with fewer sailings: Rafina to Andros, Tinos and Mykonos (one or two a day in winter, up to three from 25 May to 30 September 2026), Kyllini to Zakynthos (four a day from 1 November 2026) and the Saronic fast boats, whose winter sailings are often cancelled for weather. Flights thin out too: Mykonos airport’s runway is shut every Thursday from 19 November 2026 to 18 March 2027, apart from a few holiday dates, and Corfu’s from 20 to 28 January 2027.

Combinations that work

Two islands:

• Paros and Naxos: 25 to 30 minutes apart, both with flights from Athens, and Antiparos 10 minutes off Paros. Naxos vs Paros compares them.
• Crete and Santorini: SeaJets crosses from Heraklion in about 1 h 35 to 1 h 40 and Blue Star in 3 h 15 to 3 h 50, all year on some days of the week; or take the day trip above. Crete vs Santorini weighs the two.
• Kefalonia and Ithaca: Sami to Pisaetos in 31 minutes (GNTO), on Levante or Ionion Pelagos.
• Rhodes and Symi: 45 minutes to 1 h 30, daily with Dodekanisos Seaways from Kolona port since 1 April 2026; Blue Star, SAOS and Sebeco also call.

Three islands:

• Mykonos, Paros and Naxos: fly in to Mykonos, which takes international flights, and hop on from there.
• Paros or Naxos, Ios and Santorini: fly home from Santorini, which also takes international flights.
• Sifnos, Milos and Folegandros in the west: SeaJets runs Piraeus to Serifos, Sifnos and Milos, and Fast Ferries’ conventional boat goes on to Kimolos, Folegandros, Sikinos, Ios and Santorini.
• Kefalonia, Ithaca and Zakynthos: GNTO lists 1 h 35 from Agios Nikolaos on Zakynthos (the port, not the Cretan town) to Pessada on Kefalonia, and both big islands take international flights.
• Poros, Hydra and Spetses: one Hellenic Seaways line serves all three from Piraeus all year. Alpha Lines times Piraeus to Poros at 1 h, Hydra at 1 h 15 direct and Spetses at 1 h 50 via Hydra, though its page is undated. This Poros is the Saronic island, not the Kefalonia port.

Between groups, fly or take the long boat

Between the Ionian and the Aegean you fly via Athens or cross the mainland to Kyllini, Patras or Igoumenitsa. A few long lines join the Aegean groups: SeaJets links Heraklion with Thira (Santorini), Naxos, Paros and Mykonos, and Piraeus with Samos, Patmos and Kos among other stops, while Blue Star’s Piraeus to Rhodes line by Santorini, Heraklion and Karpathos is also the sea link between Crete and Rhodes.

Domestic flights are run mainly by Aegean Airlines, its regional arm Olympic Air and Sky Express. GNTO gives the flight from Athens as 40 minutes to Milos, 45 to Mykonos, Paros and Naxos, 50 to Santorini, about an hour to Zakynthos and about 1 h 15 to Corfu. None of our sources prices the flights.

How many islands in a week or two

Lonely Planet’s “How Many Greek Islands Can I See in a Week?” (updated December 2025) advises one island group and two or three islands a week. None of our sources gives a figure for two weeks; Lonely Planet’s weekly pace would make it four to six (our arithmetic). Each move takes part of a day: even the fast boat from Piraeus to Naxos takes 4 h 20, before you count getting to the port.

By cruise ship

A cruise covers several islands without repacking, at port-call pace. Since 21 July 2025 each cruise passenger pays a fee at every Greek port where they go ashore, whatever their age: €20 at Santorini and Mykonos from June to September (less the rest of the year) and €5 or less elsewhere, normally passed on in the fare. Mykonos and Santorini were the busiest cruise ports after Piraeus in 2025, with about 1.2 million cruise passengers each. Santorini plans for at most 8,000 a day by allocating berths months ahead, counting each ship at full capacity from 2026, and Milos keeps a limit of 1,500 a day at Adamas; we found no cap at Mykonos.

One base, a second island for a day

Three trips listed here add an island and bring you back the same day:

Prices, ratings and review counts from our October 2026 data check; operators use seasonal pricing, so treat them as the shape of the market, not a quote.

Questions people ask

What is the best way to island hop in Greece?

By ferry inside one island group, by plane between groups and to Crete or Rhodes from Athens, and with a spare day before your flight home in the windy months.

Which Greek islands are best for island hopping?

The ones close together on the same lines, as in the combinations above: Paros, Naxos and Antiparos, Santorini with Ios, the western Cyclades, Kefalonia and Ithaca, Rhodes and Symi, and the Saronic islands near Athens.

How much does Greek island hopping cost?

Each move costs a ticket and usually a new room. Our sources give few fares: SeaJets lists Piraeus to Mykonos from €80 (indicative, for May 2026), and Saronic Ferries’ conventional boats from Piraeus cost from €12 to Aegina and €17 to Poros, one way. Every room also carries the climate resilience fee, charged per room per night; the cheapest Greek islands has the rates.

Should I fly or take the ferry from Athens to Naxos?

Olympic Air flies Athens to Naxos, and GNTO gives the flight as 45 minutes. By sea it is 4 h 20 on SeaJets from Piraeus, 5 h 20 to 5 h 50 on Blue Star, or 4 h 20 from Rafina on Golden Star. None of our sources prices the flight, and Naxos’s airport had no international flights in 2025.

Every island page has its own featured tour: Santorini, Crete, Mykonos, Milos, Paros, Naxos, Rhodes, Corfu, Kefalonia, Zakynthos and Hydra. Where each island sits is on the Greek islands map, and the least touristy Greek islands covers the smaller ones.

Sources: the ferry operators; the Piraeus Port Authority; GNTO; the Hellenic National Meteorological Service and the National Observatory of Athens; Fraport Greece and HCAA; the cruise-fee decision, the port funds and the Hellenic Ports Association; Lonely Planet. Tour details from the listings. Checked October 2026.