A Greek Adventure: A beginner’s guide to ferry hopping…
I’m on my holibobs and wanted to let you all know about the joy of travelling around Greece on the ferries for an alternative holiday to get “back to basics” and avoid the usual tourist traps
Willkommen! Bienvenue! Welcome!
Sorry I’ve been away for a bit – I’ve had too much on my plate and it’s been too much to write weekly. Rest assured, I’ll be back soon.
Anyway, here goes…
Almost a year to the day I took myself on a Greek adventure. Solo. To say I was feeling a little lost was an understatement.
I was fairly newly single and the break up was hard, I was struggling to work out where I was professionally in the ever-changing world of PR and to be frank life felt like I was wading through treacle in many respects. I was at a roundabout, and I wasn’t sure what exit I needed to take.
One thing was for sure – I needed to get away from it all and have space to think.
Ever the planner, I set about working out a brief for my 9 days away in Greece. I started by finding Mike Bartlett’s amazing travel blog which is an Aladdin’s cave of ideas if you want to head to Greece for a ferry hopping adventure.
Within days of planning, I flew into Athens, took a tour of all the sights in a blacked-out Mercedes Benz across eight hours and lapped up Greece’s capital city before heading to Pireaus and jumping on a ferry.
Truth be told, I was yearning to get to Greece with my ex after we both had crazy workloads coming out of Covid. “Let’s go away for three weeks, put our phones down, use just maps and bum around Greece,” I announced.
“Sure, like you’d be able to put your phone down,” came the reply.
Well, I kinda did.
The brief for the first trip was simple. I didn’t want to see any British people and nobody I knew. I didn’t want to see any familiar faces. If there’s one thing I do very well it’s socialising and tbf I was worn out of not being able to go about my day without bumping into somebody for the obligatory catch up. I needed to escape anything familiar and have a fresh start vibe.
So after my tour of Athens I headed out on my first ferry to Sifnos. For this trip in total I only had eight nights to play with. Two nights in Athens, three in Sifnos and a final stop in Serifos for the final three.
See, the thing about planning a short trip to Greece to experience ferry-hopping for the first time is you don’t want to head too far away, or your limited time will end up being swallowed by travelling and it’s already a short slot of opportunity.
From Pireaus to Sifnos it was just two and a half hours, then from Sifnos to Serifos it’s a speedy 20 minutes and then finally the return is just over two hours back to Athens. The ferries are super easy to navigate, very easy to book and, despite being a little hectic, are quite pleasurable.
I wanted to write about the last two years and my trips to Greece because it ticks so many boxes doing the islands and it’s not overwhelming planning the trip. I don’t get why more people are not doing this…for several reasons.
Firstly, there’s the joy of the Greek islands in a monetary way. It’s like heading back to the eighties. You eat out with wine for less than 25 euros a night. You can have lazy beach days and pick up a chicken gyro if you so wish for just three euros. It’s dead cheap. The hotels aren’t expensive. You can find clean, secure and friendly-owner run hotels for around 100 euros a night.
Secondly, the water of the Aegean Sea is exceptional. Some of you may know I spend a lot of time in Ibiza. This spring I hardly spent any time on the beach as it was hard to find a section of the Med that wasn’t swarming with jellyfish. No kidding.
I genuinely gave up after a month and just stuck to pool time at friends’ houses. The disappointment of travelling up to an hour to a beautiful spot and not being able to go in was beyond boring. There’s a real problem with the over-fishing of the tuna in the Med. And what do tuna eat? Jellies. No tuna - masses more jellies. It sucks.
The water in both Sifnos and Serifos is just magical. Clean, loads of good healthy seagrass growing and lots of marine life. I didn’t stop swimming on both the stops.
Thirdly, you can’t get strong internet in many places. So, you properly switch off. You kinda don’t have a choice. Sure, if you need a work hour you can find a spot to settle down and devour some emails. But the place is made for turning back the clock. Get your book out (not a kindle, that’s just silly) and head to the beach and escape. No expensive sunbeds, no dodgy shite techno playing and just the sound of the birds and the bugs for company.
Anyway, back to me. That first year of being brave and travelling solo was the best. I was in proper Shirley Valentine land. I needed time out, needed the odd cry by myself and needed to just forget about everyone and everything for a minute. It was a thrill to come back with a sense of being healed in some ways.
Let’s now move on to my second trip to Greece for island hopping and where I am right now. I’m writing to you from my favourite little spot in Serifos.
I wasn’t going to ‘work’ as such on this trip. I’ve managed to keep to an hour or so a day. Hilariously, so many projects that involved journalists which I thought had dropped away (like they always do) ALL came back the second I left for my holiday.
Journalists have a hilariously annoying way of fucking you about the minute you decide to take time out. It’s like they can smell you relaxing and must come at you to spoil the chill time. But alas, here I am writing you from my little slice of paradise and I’ve worked out all the needs of the journos.
This time round, I’ve brought my mum (above). Debs, who turns 70 in March, and who I surprised on her 69th by inviting her to come on a Greek adventure with me.
Debs works in a school so can only travel in the holidays and being a widow of a certain age, I fear she never would have travelled like this hopping about in Greece. But she’s fit, healthy and able to walk well – so why the hell not! I’ve always had the best relationship with her and being on holiday together has never been a problem. She’s very easy going and a lot less needy than I am ;-)
We did a week in Sifnos where, to be frank, we did very little. We stayed at the Aglaia Studios in Kamares (where the ferries come in to the island) and couldn’t recommend it more if you just want to properly escape the world. I was taking a mid-morning nap on the sun lounger and a ‘proper’ siesta after lunch pretty much each day. Mum was lounging in the sun and taking a lot of little swim sessions (it has Mamma Mia-esque steps going down to the sea) each day. She also became the chief ferry correspondent for Piper TV and would fill me in on what had happened ferry wise each time I was napping.
We pretty much ate at the same place every night as it was the best for everything. Hats off to O Argiris which we couldn’t recommend more for anyone travelling to Sifnos. There was an Italian lady staying in the same place as us who complained our choice of restaurant was “very pricey”. It was 25 euros a head, love. Chill your boots.
Yesterday we arrived in Serifos which has a completely different feel to the first island. It’s buzzier. You can get a green juice in places. There’s snazzier places if you want to go ‘posh’. The reality, we’ll eat in the old-standing local tavernas and avoid anything that looks like it’s trying too hard. And avoiding the burgers, hot dogs and pizza joints of course. Who the hell comes to Greece with all these amazing fresh ingredients to cook with and orders some shitty old, defrosted burger? Not me!
Today, I splashed out on a private boat trip for us to enjoy. Stopping at various points for swimming around the south of the island. It was a day I will never forget. This water. The vibe. The peace and quiet. Mum looked the happiest I’ve seen her for years which was awesome. And as for me, I’m forever happiest when I’m swimming in the sea. Stat.
Now, doing the Greek ferry thing and going off the beaten track can be daunting. So I wanted to recommend my itinerary and I’m putting rough costs in there too so you know what to expect. Just in case you get the urge to escape the world, get back to basics and enjoy some time out from the ridiculously fast-paced world we all live in. This trip will seriously help you unwind to levels you never knew you could reach.
I’ve hardly had a drink since I’ve been here too. Not even been squiffy. The ideas for life are flowing like the Amazon – get ready, world.
Anyway, in the meantime…YAMAS. And see some of you soon. Here’s the breakdown…
FLY TO: Athens (we went on Easyjet which I booked in winter for £260 pp)
ATHENS TOUR: www.georgestaxi.com – eight hour tour privately is 220 euro.
FERRY BOOKINGS: Booked via https://www.ferryhopper.com – 300 euro all-in for two people. Itinerary: Piraeus Athens – Sifnos – Serifos – Athens
SIFNOS ACCOMMODATION: www.aglaiastudios.gr – email antonishris@hotmail.com. Stayed in Room No7 which has a double bed and a single bed. 120 euro per night.
SERIFOS ACCOMMODATION: We stayed in a Junior Suite which we shared. Price includes the most epic hamper breakfast delivered to your door each day. 230 euro per night. You have a lush pool, super strong internet and you’re literally three minutes walk from the beach. www.galazioserifos.com
SPENDING MONEY: For two people we’ve struggled to spend more than 80 euros per day for food and drink.
BOAT TRIP IN SERIFOS: Worth being super careful on the wind conditions when you book the boat. Tan Cruisers were honest and decent about the conditions and don’t want to take you out in windy high seas weather (some others did and just wanted your cash) www.tancruisers.gr
Until next time, Kids. Or for my Greek subscribers Μέχρι την επόμενη φορά
Loved this post. Have done Sifnos with my children, to a quiet little beach called Vathy. But have been wondering if I could do it on my own so thank you for the nudge.
I want to hop a plane to a ferry right now!! Love this post. Clever, practical and funny. Such fun to read. When we lived in NYC, we spent holidays on Martha's Vineyard in a house on the infamous Chappaquiddick Island. It was a four minute on a three or four car ferry to the "mainland." Love a ferry!