Greek Ferry boats and Liners

December 27, 2007

 Victoria Cruises
Costa Victoria Cruises to Rhodes and other Greek islands – travel advice.

Nautic Euro-Tours
Ferries to Greece.

Ferries
Overview and query capabilities of domestic ferries.

Ocean24 – ferry tickets online
On this site you etc. About the possibility of ferry services from Italy to Greece, from Piraeus to Crete to inform and can also book.

Cruise Sonne.de
Cruises to Greece.

Aferry – ferry reservations
Ferries in real time online reservation – with Eticketing

Agapitos-Lines
Ferries to the Cyclades Islands (including Santorini, Mykonos, Naxos, Paros). The dates and times can be found there on the side “route schedules.”

Anek Lines -
Ferries from Italy (Ancona – Patras and Trieste – Igoumenitsa), and on the track Crete – Piraeus.

Greek Ferries
On this site you will find schedules of many Greek ferries (including Super Fast Ferries-Strintzis Lines, Minoan Lines and Poseidon Lines. There is also the possibility of online booking.

L.A.N.E – Sea-Lines
U.a. Ferries from Piraeus after Milos and of Rhodes and Karpathos on Crete after Piraeus.

Hellenic Mediterranean Lines
Ferry from Italy (Brindisi) to Igoumenitsa, Corfu and Patras.

Otis mini-Lines
Ferries etc. Between Chios – Samos, Samos-Lipsi – Patmos, Samos – Ikaria and Turkey (Chios – Tsesme and Lesbos – Aivali).

Minoan Lines
Ferries from Italy (Venice, Ancona) to Greece (Igoumenitsa, Corfu, Patras), and on some islands (Piraeus – Heraklion / Crete, Piraeus – Cyclades, Thessaloniki – Sporades, Heraklion / Crete – Cyclades).

Poseidon Lines
Ferries from Italy (Bari) to Greece (Corfu, Igoumenitsa) and Piraeus on Rhodes after Limassol, Cyprus.

Super Fast Ferries
Ferries from Italy (Ancona, Bari) to Greece (Igoumenitsa, Patras).

Ventouris Ferries
Ferries from Bari and Brindisi (Italy) to Greece (Corfu, Igoumenitsa, Patras).


Rhodes island tips

December 27, 2007
The island of Rhodes, in the south of the Aegean Sea, is approximately 78 miles long and at the widest point 35 km wide (ca.1300 sq km area total). It is the largest island in the Dodecanese, and the fourth largest in Greece. Rhodes has around 115,000 inhabitants, of which over half (60.000) in Rhodes town lives. A small sketch of the island’s main towns and attractions of the island can be found in a map of Rhodes. In the subsequent descriptions of the sights and excursions is this plan as a guide, perhaps very helpful. On the page are also listed including all the villages.Who Holiday want to make is on the east coast of Rhodes best repealed, because here are the beautiful beaches of the island. Many hotels are located near the town of Faliraki directly on the beach.

We personally prefer the beaches on the west coast is not as good as it is there mainly to rough pebble beaches, and the water from the most westerly wind blowing direction is pretty wavy (for children is not as suitable). Surfers, however, are better here. In a separate section (see left column), many beaches on the island shortly.

The island also has many attractions – not just on the beach in the sun . Ancient sites, monasteries, beautiful bays and a unique city – there’s something for everyone.


Rhodes historical past

December 27, 2007

Being the main port of the Dodecanese, Rhodes is linked with all the other islands of the group during summer time.
Schedules can be found at the EOT and the Municipal Tourist Office of Rhodes.
3 weekly ferries are travelling to Nisyros and Tilos.
2 ferries per week are linking Rhodes to Astypalaia, Kassos, Karpathos and Ibiza.
There are daily boats from Pireaus that generally leave between the hours of 1pm and 6pm. You can get a schedule in the Athens News which comes out every Friday with the weekly ferry schedules and the Kathemerini Insert in the International Herald Tribune. If you are going deck chances are you can get a ticket at the boat but it is best to book in advance so there is no chance of being left behind. If you want a cabin, which is recommended since it is about a 17 hour trip, then do it through your travel agent. The ferry makes stops at Patmos, Kalymnos, Leros and Kos too or various combintaions of these islands. There are infrequent connections to Santorini, Mykonos, Crete and some other islands but not every day. The most popular boat is the Blue Star which takes about 13 to 15 hours they say. The Anthi Maria costs only 17 euro from Piraus but does not have cabins. There is a once a week ferry to Samos, Chios, Lesvos, Limnos and Thessaloniki.Greek Ferries are the primary means of transport to and from the islands, and the trip is an experience to be savored, like a cruise (sometimes). Islands like Lesvos, Rhodes and Crete are best reached by ferry because the trip is overnight and it’s like being in a big moving hotel. A really nice cabin for two should cost about 120 euros or so. Santorini should be appoached by ferry for the view which is breathtaking and worth the 8-10 hour trip, especially if you can get there in the lateafternoon. Unless of course you don’t like being on boats in which case no view is worth 8-10 hours of boredom punctuated by the arrivals and departures from the other islands on the Santorini route.

There are ferries and excursions boats that go to the nearby islands of Simi, Kastelorizo, Kos, Kalymnos, Patmos, Tilos and Leros and these are usually highspeeds. You can do daytrips to the closer islands or overnight trips or even bounce your way back to Pireaus if the schedules work in your favor. These boats leave from Mandraki harbor and you can go there and get schedules or arrange trips through one of the local travel agents. There are also cruises to Lindos (highspeed or slow boat, take your pick) and other places around the island.

In 1309 Rhodes, Kos and Leros sold to the Order of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. A new era begins for Rhodes as the Battalion who first objective was for the treatment of Christians pilgrims in the Holy Land, emerges as a military, economic and commercial power in the region. The Knights that descended from all the Catholic countries have managed to reach agreements with the major powers of Western Europe in order to weaken the Muslim forces had begun to be developed. During the ippotokratias Rhodes was a strong commercial center because of the importance of trade in the Mediterranean season and the geographic location of the island. It was renewed and expanded the medieval city, which remains alive until today and all the major castles, fortifications of the city, and many monasteries and churches. The fleet of Ioanniton control of shipping in the eastern Mediterranean and a constant threat to the Turkish fleet. The Muslims have tried repeatedly to oust the Ioannites from the area while the Knights with a combination of continuous military preparedness, diplomacy and espionage have managed to cope. In 1480 the great siege of the island by the Turks apokroustike by the Knights and the Rhodes population. The next siege in 1522 but by the Sultan Suleiman, despite the brave resistance has not had the same result. The battalion had to capitulate and to leave the island on 1 January 1522.