“Greece isn’t only about historic temples and ruins and there’s a great way to experience the Greek islands away from the crowds!” |
Our 7-day sailing visited the islands of the Ionian Sea– a different direction than the typical Greek Island Cruises which visit the islands of the Aegean. And as it turns out, not only a different direction, but a completely different experience too! |
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We called on six ports of call in 7 days and had an equal number of swim stops. Swim stops, if you aren’t familiar with the concept, is where your Captain decides that he has found a most idyllic spot just off a secluded beach, with the clearest and colorful water you have ever seen, and your biggest decision is whether to take the zodiac to the beach, swim there, or just dive off the back of your boat. This is something you will not see on a traditional cruise ship.
A typical day onboard this cruise consists of a leisurely breakfast onboard, a swim stop, back onboard for a lunch or BBQ, a few hours of sailing time and then an arrival at a small town for a tour or time to explore on your own, followed by dinner ashore at a local Greek taverna. It’s a relaxing pace that is easy to fall into. And we all did, by design.
Ports of call are towns with about 5000 to 10,000 inhabitants and many times less. You generally won’t see other cruise ships on this itinerary (the only exception is Corfu). This is not a cruise about temples but about understanding the Greek lifestyle. In Kefalonia, we explored Melissani Cave and tasted local wines. An overnight in Paxos allowed us to try local flavors and experience the local nightlife.
On our final day, we called in Aegina, a short sail from Athens. It was there we actually saw our first temple, the Temple of Aphaia. Unlike the Acropolis in Athens, there were no crowds- just the 7 of us in our tour van.