The Complete Guide To: Greek island hopping

WHY HOP?

WHY HOP?

To drift across sparkling seas, past dramatic coastal scenery, to visit dazzling white villages and meet welcoming people. Provided you aren't addicted to precise timekeeping or exacting itineraries, Greek island-hopping brings with it a real sense of freedom: quite apart from the joy of not being locked into spending a fortnight in a hotel or location that might not be to your taste, there is a lot to be said for any holiday where you can wake up each morning and have the option of moving on. Add to this the fact that English is widely spoken, good-value rooms are easy to find and ferry links on the main routes are frequent, and you have the ingredients for a superb budget holiday.

The traditional mix of sun, sea and sand has been augmented by a growing list of holiday activities. Popular islands such as Santorini and Paros now boast water parks, mountain-bike trails and diving schools, while islands such as Naxos, Lefkas and Rhodes are noted windsurfing destinations. The islands still retain a laid-back atmosphere, and even on the most popular it is possible to escape the crowds. If the mix of features isn't to your taste, then the next island up or down the line is rarely more than a couple of hours away.

WHEN DID GREEK ISLAND HOPPING START?

About 5,000 years ago, but the modern network of ferries was established in the early 20th century. In the Sixties, Greece became a popular destination for up-market jet-setters. Next came the budget travellers, who cottoned on to the advantages of cheap living and sunshine in hedonistic hippie destinations such as Ios and the south coast of Crete. Both groups discovered the local ferry system, which at the time was heavily subsidised so that relatively poor islanders could keep in touch with the large number of relatives who had migrated to Athens (home to some 40 per cent of the country's population).

The tourist boom accelerated in the Seventies thanks to the arrival of cheap charter flights, the increase in popularity of Inter-Rail travel and the greater availability of budget accommodation. Greece has not looked back, and tourism has become the mainstay of almost every island. Despite the abiding backpacker image, the market has changed considerably: the typical island-hopper these days is more likely to be a middle-income earner moving between the growing number of quality hotels. Families (often with teenage children) searching for adventure make up a growing proportion of the market.

WHERE DO THE FERRIES GO?

Most islanders are only interested in one thing: travelling to and from Athens. As a result, the ferry system has evolved with the Greek capital (particularly its ports at Piraeus, Rafina and Lavrio) at the hub of the wheel, while the islands, which line up in neat chains, provide the spokes.

The system has become more complicated in the last five years with the arrival of new high-speed ferries and catamarans. The latest trend is to run fast boats direct to the most popular islands - for a price - with the slower ferries providing interconnecting services to the other links in each chain. The net result is a cut in journey times between Athens and the main islands, but fewer sailings to less popular destinations. Ferries, catamarans and hydrofoils are augmented, in high season, by day excursion boats. These are also pricey, though departure times are often more convenient than those of ferries. Crossing to different chains without returning to Athens has always been tricky because connecting services are usually limited to a few boats a week, even in high season. More planning is needed if you are going to do this, if only to ensure that you get back to your starting point in time for your return flight.

WHERE SHOULD I START?

More than half of all tourists visiting Greece fly in via Athens, for example on easyJet (0870 600 0000; www.easyjet.com). The ferries are an obvious draw, but the Olympics cleaned up the city and saw the development of fast new transport links that have turned central Athens into an appealing destination in its own right. Of course, you don't have to visit the capital. Crete, Rhodes, Kos, Santorini, Mykonos and Skiathos are all viable starting points thanks to their international airports, though they are not so good if you want to visit more than one chain of islands.

WHEN DO THE BOATS LEAVE?

As an outsider it is sometimes difficult to find out. Islanders tend to know the times of boats thanks to a mix of experience and local networking; as a result, Greece has yet to acquire a full-blown printed ferry timetable. The nearest to it is a monthly publication called Greek Travel Pages. Most ticket agents in Greece have a copy, or you can go to www.gtpnet.com. Other useful online sources are the Athens newspaper Kathimerini (www.eKathimerini.com), which is printed in English and carries the day's departures from Piraeus and Rafina. If you can read Greek capital letters, then the Port Authority site (egov.yen.gr/eng/info/01-dromo/01-piraeus) is worth checking for Piraeus departures several weeks in advance.

Branches of the Greek National Tourist Organisation (known locally as EOT) also provide photocopied lists of the current week's departures. The best of these are available from the Athens offices (located on the arrivals floor of Athens airport and at 26 Amalias Street in the city centre), and cover departures from Piraeus and Rafina.

On the islands, information is scant. Ticket agents will have posted up all departures for their island, but obtaining information regarding others does require you to ask around. Thanks to an integrated computer booking system, it is now possible to buy tickets for any number of hops in advance, but you can do this only through an agent. You are dependent on the agent's knowledge or willingness to look up details on their system.

WHAT TYPES OF TICKET EXIST AND HOW DO YOU BUY THEM?

In the past, fares were fixed by the government. Today, the free market is taking hold and things are more complicated. Prices are still controlled, but companies are now able to charge different fares for the same "deck" ticket according to the age and speed of the boat. Traditional (slow) ferries more than 10 years old are the cheapest way of moving around; you can expect to pay €8.50 (£6) for a typical two-hour hop to the next island. More modern regular ferries are usually 20 per cent faster and command a similar hike in fares. The high-speed ferries and catamarans, which are twice as fast as the old ferries, command double the regular ferry fare. Even so, ticket prices for short hops remain low, and the faster boats are popular with the locals. So much so that in the summer, or for weekend journeys to or from Piraeus, it is usually necessary to buy tickets a day or two in advance.

Packaged island-hopping holidays remain thin on the ground. The unpredictability of the ferry links makes putting such packages together difficult, but one firm that does is Island Wandering

Holidays (01580 860733; www.islandwandering.com), which offers a range of options, from set routes to accommodation-only go-as-you-please trips.

A GOOD ITINERARY, PLEASE

Most hoppers visit three, four or five islands on a typical fortnight's holiday, usually starting and ending in Athens. On a typical trip down the most popular line, the first stage is from Athens to Paros. From Paros, it is possible to take a day-trip to neighbouring Antiparos before heading for Naxos.

On Naxos, you can take advantage of excursions to the small Cycladian islands of Iraklia, Delos and Koufonissia. From Naxos it is another easy hop to Ios or Santorini. Ios is usually the best choice, as Santorini is accessible from here on a day trip - as long as you get up for the early boat. From these main islands you can then pick up an overnight boat to Athens.

The pace might sound rather hectic, but in practice it is all fairly relaxed. By day-tripping to neighbouring islands (thus keeping accommodation changes to a minimum) and confining your itinerary to popular destinations with plenty of ferry services, you can achieve a lot with little effort. Even if you only have a week at your disposal you can do some serious hopping. When time is this limited, there is a lot to be said for taking overnight boats and sleeping on them.

But the longer you stay, the more enjoyable hopping becomes. With three weeks or more you can wander off around the Aegean, taking in the smaller and remoter islands and enjoy your time on them without worrying too much about how you are going to move on: if there isn't a ferry for a couple of days it just becomes part of the adventure.

ARE THERE ANY OTHER WAYS OF MOVING AROUND?

Flying is slowly becoming a more attractive option, despite the fact that tickets set you back at least £50. Deregulation has resulted in new operators offering domestic flights - though inevitably most are Athens-focused. Inter-island flights are rarer: the main carriers provide flights from Crete to Santorini and Rhodes, and occasionally longer domestic flights visit other islands en route.

Currently the only operator ready to provide a more substantial inter-island service is AirSea Lines (www.airsealines.com). Armed with three 19-seater seaplanes, it will be taking advantage of the weak ferry links in the Ionian islands by providing flights between most of them this summer. It will even offer a connecting service to the one inhabited Greek island that never makes the guidebooks: the daily flight between Corfu and the lake-side university town of Ioannina will make inter-island hopping to this tiny destination possible for the first time.

CAN I GO OFF-SEASON?

As the system is geared to the needs of the islanders, the main services remain in operation throughout the year. The summer season, from May to mid-September, offers the widest range of sailings, although a few extra sailings are put on over the Orthodox Easter period which falls on 1 May this year. Ferry operators are given licenses to run individual boats on specified routes all year. The trade-off for being allowed to make a small fortune during the summer is that they are expected to make twice-weekly calls at loss-making islands during the rest of the year. But although you can visit small islands, you may not be able to find many places to stay or eat when you get there.

Frewin Poffley is author of 'Greek Island Hopping 2005' (Thomas Cook, £12.99) and runs the website www.greekislandhopping.com