Wind Star - Greek Isles Under Sail

Where this cruise calls, day by day

6 ports and 2 sea days over 7 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

   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)

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 · At sea

5. Day 5

   Rhodes

   GreecePort

   Rhodes has the easiest arrival in the Greek islands for anyone who dislikes tenders: ships tie up in the commercial harbour with the medieval walls right there, and you walk in through a gate. The Old Town was built by the Knights of St John and has been lived in ever since, so it is a working town rather than a monument - though the main shopping street is given over almost entirely to cruise trade.

   • The Palace of the Grand Master and the cobbled Street of the Knights
   • The Archaeological Museum, housed in the Knights' Hospital
   • Lindos - the acropolis above the village, and St Paul's Bay below it
   • Mandraki harbour and the Acropolis of Rhodes on Monte Smith

   Getting ashore

   Docked in the commercial harbour; the Old Town gates are a 5-10 minute walk. Lindos is about 50km south, an hour each way by road.

   Best months

   Apr-Jun and Sep-Oct; Rhodes stays warm well into late October

6. Day 6

   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)

7. Day 7 · At sea

8. Day 8

   Athens (Piraeus)

   GreeceArrive

   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)