Greece, one of the world’s most attractive summer destinations , is an idyllic place for luxury cruises, as it comprises a peninsula surrounded by 6,000 Greek islands and islets scattered in the Aegean and Ionian Seas, combined with an ideal climate allowing for pleasant sea-travel conditions all year round.

Cruises in the Greek islands offer visitors the opportunity to explore 7,500 km of the country’s coastline featuring a highly diversified landscape made of golden stretches of magnificent beaches, shelter bays and coves, volcanic soil, sea-side caves with steep rocks and coastal wetlands.

Luxury cruises in Greece take visitors to the most famous groups of islands, the Cyclades and the Dodecanese, leaving them with indelible memories of narrow, cobble-stoned alleys, rugged mountain cliffs hovering just above the cruise-ship decks, castles, museums, adventure, education and the pure pleasure of seeing things they have only read about before. Cruises in the Greek islands each of them boasting its own historical and cultural heritage, is an escape to luxury and relaxation. Once ashore, visitors can wander around traditional settlements and villages, castles, museums and galleries, churches and monasteries, or explore ancient cities through winding canals and visit famous boulevards and fabled landmarks for an unforgettable experience.

Santorini, Mykonos, Rhodes, the Aegean and the Ionian islands, are all connected either by ferry or some smaller vessel to provide easy access, featuring all the amenities of a regular cruise-ship with deluxe cabins, restaurants, bars, lounges and even casinos.

Cruises in Greece started in the '60s and since development has picked up at a fast pace, especially in recent years. Cruise ships under Greek flag making short or longer cruises to Greek ports and ports of other countries of the Eastern Mediterranean amount to more than 160,000 GRT units and have a total capacity of over 10,000 passengers. Greek ports, however, are also visited by cruise ships under foreign flags, which annually bring more than 500,000 passengers into the country by sea.

While there are innumerable ports around the country connecting the mainland with the isles, the main port with the heaviest tourist and commercial traffic is the large Mediterranean port of Piraeus, which dates back to the 3rd millennium BC and is the gateway to Athens. Piraeus port, as well as the smaller port of Rafina, both having easy access from most points in the capital, are the link to most Aegean islands with regular sailing schedules for ferries, passenger boats and hydrofoils.

A cruise to the Greek islands, however, can also include: Turkey - ports of call Constantinople (Istanbul) and Kusadasi; Israel - Jerusalem and Haifa; Egypt - Port Said (Cairo) and Alexandria; and, Cyprus - Limassol. Some cruises may even take you as far as the Black Sea through the Bosporus Straights to places such as Yalta and Odessa (Ukraine), and Nessebur (Bulgaria).