Seven Seas Mariner - Ultimate Aegean Explorer: Athens to Istanbul

Where this cruise calls, day by day

10 ports and 1 sea day over 10 Nights.

1. Day 1

   Athens (Piraeus)

   GreeceDepart

   Piraeus is Europe's busiest passenger port, and it is a port first and a place second - ferry berths, cranes, and cruise quays spread along a long waterfront. Athens is 10km inland, 30-45 minutes by road in traffic or about 25 minutes on the Line 1 metro. Almost everything you came for sits in one dense square kilometre under the Acropolis, so the day works if you pick a route and commit to it.

   • The Acropolis - the Parthenon, Erechtheion and Propylaia - and the Acropolis Museum below it
   • The Ancient Agora and the Temple of Hephaestus, the best-preserved Doric temple in Greece
   • The National Archaeological Museum, and the marble Panathenaic Stadium
   • Cape Sounion and the Temple of Poseidon, about 70km down the coast

   Getting ashore

   Docked. Terminals sit along Akti Miaouli, and ships shuttle to the port gate; the Line 1 metro ride into Athens is about 25 minutes, but budget close to an hour door to door once the shuttle, the station walk and the queue are counted.

   Best months

   Apr-Jun and Sep-Oct (in Jul-Aug heatwaves the Acropolis and the Agora now close from midday until late afternoon)

2. Day 2

   Chania (Crete)

   GreecePort

   Chania's Venetian harbour, with its Egyptian-built lighthouse and curved arc of waterfront houses, is the reason to come - but ships do not dock there. The berth is Souda Bay, a deep military and commercial harbour about 7km east, so the day starts with a bus. Western Crete's best beaches are genuine but far: Elafonissi and Balos are both long drives on poor roads.

   • The Venetian harbour, the lighthouse breakwater, and the old Turkish quarter behind it
   • The covered municipal market and the leather workshops on Odos Skrydlof
   • Elafonissi or Falasarna beach on the west coast, or the Balos lagoon by boat
   • The Souda Bay Allied War Cemetery and the Akrotiri monasteries

   Getting ashore

   Docked at Souda Bay, about 7km from Chania; ship shuttles, public buses and taxis all run in, 15-20 minutes.

   Best months

   May-Jun and Sep-Oct (hot and dry Jul-Aug; the Samaria Gorge is too long to attempt on a port day)

3. Day 3

   Santorini

   GreecePort

   Santorini is a flooded volcanic caldera, and the towns sit on the rim some 300m above where your ship anchors - which is the whole logistical problem. There is no cruise berth, so you tender to Skala below Fira and then queue for a small cable car, walk up 588 steps, or ride a mule. Arrivals are now capped to thin the crush, but the cable car remains the bottleneck in both directions.

   • Oia on the northern tip, and the caldera-edge path that walks there from Fira
   • Akrotiri - a Bronze Age town buried by the eruption and excavated under a modern roof
   • Assyrtiko tasting at the caldera-facing wineries, Santo Wines and Venetsanos
   • A caldera boat to the crater of Nea Kameni and the warm springs at Palea Kameni

   Getting ashore

   Tender to Skala, the old port below Fira, then the cable car up the cliff - queues of an hour each way are normal on busy days, and the alternative is 588 steps. Excursion tenders often land at Athinios instead, where coaches wait.

   Best months

   May-Jun and Sep-Oct (Jul-Aug is hot, packed, and Oia at sunset is shoulder to shoulder)

4. Day 4

   Mykonos

   GreecePort

   Mykonos is the Cyclades at their most commercial - a whitewashed town that has been a fashion and nightlife destination since the 1960s, with prices to match. Most ships berth at Tourlos, about 2km north of Chora, though when the schedule is full some anchor and tender straight into the old harbour. For many passengers the real draw is next door: Delos, the uninhabited sanctuary island, is a 30-minute boat ride.

   • Delos - the ancient sanctuary of Apollo and its Terrace of the Lions, by boat from the old port
   • Little Venice, the Kato Mili windmills, and the church of Panagia Paraportiani
   • Beach time at Psarou or Platis Gialos, or the party beaches at Paradise and Super Paradise
   • Ano Mera and the Panagia Tourliani monastery, away from the crowds

   Getting ashore

   Two options: most large ships dock at Tourlos (New Port) 2km from town, with a paid shuttle bus or water taxi into Chora; when berths are taken, ships anchor and tender into the old harbour, which lands you in town on foot.

   Best months

   May-Jun and Sep-early Oct (Jul-Aug is crowded and expensive, and the meltemi wind can cancel Delos boats)

5. Day 5 · At sea

6. Day 6

   Bodrum

   TurkeyPort

   Bodrum was ancient Halicarnassus, and the Mausoleum that gave us the word stood here until earthquakes brought it down and the Knights of St John carted the stone off to build their castle. That castle is still on the headland between the two bays, and it now holds one of the best underwater archaeology collections anywhere. The modern town around it is Turkey's yacht and nightlife port.

   • Bodrum Castle and the Museum of Underwater Archaeology, built around the Uluburun wreck
   • The excavated foundations of the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, above the town
   • The ancient theatre cut into the hillside, free to enter and seating about 10,000
   • A gulet day out on the bay, or the bazaar streets behind the marina

   Getting ashore

   Usually docked at Bodrum Cruise Port, with the castle about 1.5km along the waterfront - 20 minutes on foot, or a cheap shuttle boat. Larger ships sometimes anchor and tender instead.

   Best months

   May-Jun and Sep-Oct (Jul-Aug is hot and the town is at capacity)

7. Day 7

   Kusadasi

   TurkeyPort

   Kusadasi is a Turkish resort town that exists commercially for cruise ships, and the terminal delivers you straight into a bazaar built around that. Almost nobody stays: ships call for Ephesus, one of the most completely excavated Roman cities anywhere, half an hour inland. Go early - the site is unshaded marble, and by midday several ships' worth of passengers are on the main street at once.

   • Ephesus - the Library of Celsus, the 24,000-seat Great Theatre, and the Terrace Houses
   • The House of the Virgin Mary on Bulbul Dagi above the site
   • Selcuk: the Basilica of St John and the single standing column of the Temple of Artemis
   • Sirince, a hill village of old Greek houses now given over to fruit wine

   Getting ashore

   Docked at Ege Ports (Scala Nuova) - never a tender port, with room for four large ships. The bazaar is ten minutes on foot; Ephesus is 15km, about half an hour, and is best walked downhill from the Upper Gate to the Lower.

   Best months

   Apr-May and Sep-Oct (Jul-Aug at Ephesus is brutal - no shade, hot stone underfoot)

8. Day 8

   Dikili

   TurkeyPort

   Dikili is a low-key Aegean seaside town with a promenade, a beach and not a great deal else; ships call for what lies 25km inland. Pergamon's acropolis stands on a steep hill above modern Bergama, with a theatre among the steepest to survive from antiquity. The famous altar is not there - it went to Berlin in the 1880s, and only its foundation platform is left.

   • The Pergamon acropolis: the theatre cut into the slope, the Trajaneum and the library terrace
   • The gondola up from Bergama - under four minutes, with the ticket office at the top station
   • The Asklepion, a Roman healing sanctuary 3km from the acropolis and ticketed separately
   • Bergama's Red Basilica and the bazaar streets around it

   Getting ashore

   Smaller ships berth in the town centre and larger ones anchor and tender, but either way you land in the middle of Dikili; Bergama is 25km inland, about 30 minutes by coach.

   Best months

   Apr-May and Sep-Oct (the acropolis is exposed and there is no shade on the climb)

9. Day 9

   Bozcaada

   TurkeyPort

   Bozcaada, the Tenedos of the Iliad, is a small Aegean island off the mouth of the Dardanelles - a fortress on the harbour, a town still legible as Greek and Turkish quarters, and vineyards over most of the interior. It is a wine and beach island rather than a ruins island, and only small ships call, a couple of times a month in shoulder season.

   • Bozcaada Castle by the harbour, rebuilt by Mehmed II after he took the island in 1455
   • Tasting at the island wineries - Corvus, Talay, Amadeus and Ataol among them
   • The Rum quarter's stone houses, left by a Greek community that once numbered thousands
   • Ayazma beach on the south coast, cold because it is fed by springs

   Getting ashore

   Sources disagree and it likely depends on the ship: smaller vessels berth at the ferry harbour, larger ones anchor and tender. Either way the town and castle are a short walk from the landing.

   Best months

   Jun and Sep (it blows hard enough here to run a wind farm, and much of the island shuts out of season)

10. Day 10

    Istanbul

    TurkeyPort

    Galataport put the berth back in the middle of the city: ships tie up on the Bosphorus at Karakoy, with the terminal buried underground so the waterfront stays a public promenade. You step off into Istanbul rather than into a shuttle queue. The catch is scale - the historic peninsula is a tram ride away, and no single day covers Sultanahmet, the bazaars and the Bosphorus properly.

    • Hagia Sophia, now a working mosque with a ticketed upper gallery route for visitors
    • The Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and its Harem, and the Basilica Cistern
    • The Grand Bazaar, shut on Sundays, and the Spice Bazaar below Suleymaniye Mosque
    • A ferry up the Bosphorus, or Galata Tower on the slope behind the terminal

    Getting ashore

    Docked at Galataport in Karakoy, a walk-off terminal, though the underground exit walk can be long. Galata Tower is 10 minutes uphill; Sultanahmet is 5km, so take the T1 tram from Tophane rather than walking it.

    Best months

    Apr-May and Sep-Oct (Jul-Aug hot and humid; winter is grey but far quieter)

11. Day 11

    Istanbul

    TurkeyArrive

    Galataport put the berth back in the middle of the city: ships tie up on the Bosphorus at Karakoy, with the terminal buried underground so the waterfront stays a public promenade. You step off into Istanbul rather than into a shuttle queue. The catch is scale - the historic peninsula is a tram ride away, and no single day covers Sultanahmet, the bazaars and the Bosphorus properly.

    • Hagia Sophia, now a working mosque with a ticketed upper gallery route for visitors
    • The Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and its Harem, and the Basilica Cistern
    • The Grand Bazaar, shut on Sundays, and the Spice Bazaar below Suleymaniye Mosque
    • A ferry up the Bosphorus, or Galata Tower on the slope behind the terminal

    Getting ashore

    Docked at Galataport in Karakoy, a walk-off terminal, though the underground exit walk can be long. Galata Tower is 10 minutes uphill; Sultanahmet is 5km, so take the T1 tram from Tophane rather than walking it.

    Best months

    Apr-May and Sep-Oct (Jul-Aug hot and humid; winter is grey but far quieter)