Travel Information

Greece ports

Being a peninsula surrounded by numerous islands, Greece is renown for its shipping prowess and ports are countless. Ferry connections are abundant not only between the islands and the Greek mainland, but also providing links to Italy, Cyprus and even Israel. There are far too many ports and ferry companies to list them all comprehensively here. The following is a snapshot of some of the largest ferry companies operating in Greece, as well as a selection of popular ports. Destinations can be broken down into four large areas: mainland Greece (port of Piraeus and Igoumenitsa), the island of Crete (ports of Heraklion and Chania), the Peloponnisos islands (port Patras) and Ionian Islands (port of Cephalonia).

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Piraeus has been the port of Athens since ancient times. The ferry companies ANEK Lines, Bluestar Ferries, Hellas Flying Dolphins, Dane Sea Line, Lane Lines and Minoan Lines operate numerous routes connecting Piraeus with Crete, the Cycldes Islands, Peloponnisos and Ionian Islands. Sailings are frequent, however, vary seasonally - with many more sailings during the peak summer months. For example, the sailing to Chania and Heraklion takes 8 ½ hours, to Santorini 7 ½ hours, to Rhodes 14 hours and Naxos 6 ½ hours. Poseidon Lines operate an international connection to Haifa in Israel, returning to Piraeus via Limassol in Cyprus. The whole journey takes roughly 80 hours and is serviced once a week during the summer months.

Igoumenitsa, which is situated to the east of Corfu, is one of Greece's main western ports and a major hub for Adriatic sea traffic. From here, the following ferry companies operate connections within Greece as well as Italy: ANEK Lines, Fragline Ferries, Ventouris, Blue Star Ferries, Agoudimos Lines, Hellenic Mediterranean, Minoan Lines, Maritime Way and Superfast Ferries. ANEK Lines offer connections to the Italian ports of Ancona and Trieste up-to six times a week, with a journey time of 32 hours. Minoan Lines services Ancona and Venice daily. Frangline, Maritime Way, Hellenic Mediterranean Lines, Superfast Ferries and Agoudimos Lines service the Italian port of Brindisi daily in the summer, with a journey time of 7 hours. Ventouris Ferries and Superfast Ferries connect the Italian port of Bari twice daily during the summer. Blue Star Ferries sails to Venice four times a week.

Crete boasts numerous ports, but the two busiest are Heraklion and Chania. From Heraklion, ANEK Lines offers a multitude of ferry services that connect many of the Greek Islands, as well as a daily sailing to Piraeus, with a journey time of 8 ½ hours.
Chania is the principal town in the west of Crete. Again many ferry companies offer intra-island connections, with ANEK Lines offering the most frequent sailings from Chania.

The city of Patras is the most important commercial centre of western Greece. The ferry companies that service Patras are: ANEK Lines, Superfast Ferries, Blue Star Ferries, Hellenic Mediterranean, Minoan Lines and Maritime Way. ANEK Lines is the only company to sail to Trieste in Italy, almost once daily, with a journey time of 32 hours. Several ferry companies sail to Ancona: ANEK Lines, Superfast Ferries, Blue Star Ferries, and Minoan Lines. Departures are daily and take 20 hours. The following companies service Brindisi and Bari: Superfast Ferries, Hellenic Mediterranean, Maritime Way and Minoan Lines. Sailings take roughly 20 hours. Venice is serviced by Blue Star Ferries and Minoan Lines.

Cephalonia is the largest of the seven Ionian islands. Blue Star Ferries is one of the principal ferry operators in the Adriatic and Aegean and offers many ferry routes around the Greek Islands, mainland Greece and the east coast of Italy. Their Patras-Cephalonia route takes 2 ½ hours. Hellenic Mediterranean Lines has a ferry service from to Brindisi with up-to six sailings per week, with a crossing time of 14 ½ hours.