Decoding Greek Ferry Schedules

Greek ferry schedules can be bewildering to the first-time visitor. Here's help on decoding the average Greek ferry schedule.

• Departure times are given in military, 24-hour clock time. 23:50 is 11:50 pm, or nearly the next day. Be careful - in space-saving newspaper ferry schedules, it's not unusual to see the Greek Island 2 departing at 1:30 - which to a novice island hopper may look like a ferry called the Greek Island departing at 21:30.
• Most - but not all - ferry schedules indicate just the name of the island, not the name of a particular town or port on the island. This is because the name of the island, the capital of the island and the harbor are often one and the same, given that the Greeks have relied on the sea for much of their livelihood for the past five thousand years or so. But sometimes this isn't the case, and if you're looking for a specific island, it may seem to be missing.

  Some examples of this are Mytilene, the main town on the island of Lesvos (also called Lesbos or, sometimes, Mytilene which was an older name of the island itself), and the main towns on the big island of Crete (generally listed as Kriti) - Chania (also called Xania, Hania); Iraklio (Heraklio), and Sitia (Siteia). Some relatively small islands, like Amorgos, may have two ports in use. Make sure you know which one is most convenient for you.

  Other "invisible" island destinations include:

  • Diafani - on the Greek island of Karpathos
  • Evdilos - on the island of Ikaria
  • Karlouvasi - on Samos
  • Vathi - on Sifnos
  • Katapola - Main port on Amorgos
  • Aigiali or Aegiali - Secondary port on Amorgos
  • Marmari - on Evvia (which is also called Euboea, Evia, Evoia)
  • Fournoi or Fourni - An island and the name for a small group of islands between Samos and Ikaria. The others are Thymaina and Agios Minas.
  • Korseon - On Fourni (the island itself; Korseon is also an obsolete name of Forni.)
  • Santorini - yes, surprise! The most popular island in Greece also "hides" under the name Thira or Fira in ferry schedules.

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