Would you rather wake up on a new Greek island or have several days to explore it? Here’s how cruising and island hopping in Greece compare.
When I started planning our Bucket List trip to Greece, I briefly considered putting together an independent island hopping trip. I figured we’d start in Athens, but then I had no idea which other islands we should visit. Or how we would get from one place to the other.
Instead, Bill & I chose to do an 8-night cruise with extra time in Athens before and after the cruise. The cruise gave us an easy way to sample 6 destinations while letting someone else handle all the transportation logistics between them.
My friend Melanie and her daughter did it differently. They did two weeks of island hopping in Greece and spent several days in each place.
Looking at our two trips side by side makes it pretty easy to see the tradeoffs—and show you which type of Greece trip might be right for you.
Greece Cruise vs. Island Hopping: Quick Verdict
- Choose a Greece cruise if you want an easy introduction to multiple destinations with your transportation between ports already handled. You can see a surprising amount of Greece without planning every logistical detail yourself.
- Choose island hopping in Greece if you want several days in each destination and more control over how you spend your time. You’ll have more hotel changes and transfers, but you won’t have to watch the clock, worrying your ship is about to leave without you.
Kari’s Travel Tip: I don’t think either approach is better. The real question is whether you want to sample a cross-section of Greece or explore fewer places more deeply.
The Two Greece Trips We’re Comparing
Our Greece Cruise
Bill & I spent two weeks in Greece, including an 8-night cruise aboard Celebrity Infinity, plus a few days in Piraeus before the cruise and several days exploring Athens afterward. Our cruise took us to:
- Athens
- Rhodes
- Mykonos
- Thessaloniki
- Santorini
- Ephesus in Turkey
The biggest convenience was obvious: our cabin was both our hotel and our transportation between destinations. We’d spend the day exploring an island, come back to the ship, have dinner and go to bed—and then wake up somewhere new.
We covered a lot of ground without doing much work to get from one place to another.
Curious about the ship itself? My Celebrity Infinity Review: Should You Book This Greece Cruise? covers our cabin, food, entertainment and the places we visited. The Infinity offers 7-8-9-10-14 day itineraries visiting different ports in Greece between March and October.
Melanie’s Island Hopping Trip in Greece
My friend Melanie and her daughter spent the same amount of time in Greece, but they concentrated on fewer destinations.
Their itinerary was:
- 2 nights in Athens
- 3 nights in Mykonos
- 3 nights in Santorini
- 5 nights in Crete
- 1 final night in Athens
That meant three full nights in two places where we only had a cruise port day. They also took ferries between each island except for Crete to Athens when they flew instead.
Melanie said the towns and islands got way less crowded once the cruise ship tourists left in the evening (oops – that would be us!). And they were able to enjoy beautiful sunset dinners while we were getting back on the ship.
And that is really the fundamental difference between our trips. We saw more destinations. They had more time to fully explore the destinations they chose.
Greece Cruise vs. Island Hopping: The Differences That Matter
You can make either type of Greece trip as simple or complicated as you want, but there are some fundamental differences worth considering.
Planning & Logistics
This was one of the biggest reasons the cruise appealed to me.
Once I had booked our cruise, I didn’t have to figure out how we were getting from Rhodes to Mykonos or Mykonos to Santorini. Celebrity handled that part. We went to sleep and the ship did the traveling.
If I were planning my own island hopping in Greece itinerary, I would be researching hotels, ferry schedules, port locations and transportation on each island. I enjoy independent travel planning, but sometimes I just don’t want to spend that much time figuring everything out.
Of course, you don’t have to do it yourself. A good travel agent can arrange an island hopping trip for you, or you can choose an organized Greece island hopping tour where many of those details are handled.
But even when someone else makes the arrangements, you still have to physically move from one hotel and island to the next.
With our cruise, we unpacked once. That was pretty nice.
How Much Time Do You Want in Each Place?
This is where island hopping wins.
Our cruise gave us a taste of Mykonos and Santorini. Melanie had three nights in each. That’s a completely different experience.
A cruise port day of 10-11 hours gives you enough time to explore, take a tour, eat some Greek food and decide whether you like a place. But eventually, you have to head back to the ship.
With several nights on an island, you can have dinner without watching the clock. You can spend a morning wandering around without an itinerary. If you find somewhere you love, you can go back the next day.
Our cruise helped me discover which parts of Greece I’d like to return to. An island hopping trip would give me the time to experience those places more deeply.
How Much Freedom Do You Want?
Cruises are easy, but you trade some freedom for that convenience.
The ship determines when you arrive and when you leave. If you’re having the greatest day of your entire trip in Mykonos, too bad. When the ship sails, you’re going with it.
Island hopping gives you much more control over your days.
You still have reservations and transportation schedules to work around, but once you’re staying somewhere for several nights, you can decide how you want to spend that time.
You can sleep late. Find a beach. Spend three hours over dinner watching the sunset. Go back to somewhere you loved yesterday. Or decide you don’t feel like doing much of anything.
For some travelers, that freedom will matter far more than the convenience of a cruise.
How Many Places Do You Want to See?
This may be the easiest way to make the decision. Do you want to see more places—or know fewer places more deeply?
Our cruise was a sampler platter of Greece. In eight nights, we experienced 6 very different destinations. Melanie’s trip concentrated her time in Athens, Mykonos, Santorini and Crete.
Neither approach is wrong.
For a first trip, I loved sampling several parts of Greece because I didn’t know which places I would love until I actually saw them.
What About Cost?
I wouldn’t choose between a Greece cruise and island hopping based on the assumption that one is automatically cheaper.
You can book an inexpensive cruise cabin or a luxury suite. You can stay in modest apartments while island hopping or beautiful hotels overlooking the caldera in Santorini.
Food, tours, transportation and the time of year you travel can change the numbers even more.
For us, the Celebrity Infinity cruise was a surprisingly affordable way to see several destinations because we booked a last-minute deal. We also chose to skip the ship’s drink and Internet packages, which kept our onboard spending considerably lower.
You need to price out the complete trip you actually want rather than assuming either cruising or island hopping will automatically save you money.
Who Should Choose a Greece Cruise?
A Greece cruise may be the better choice if:
- You want an easy introduction to Greece.
- You want someone else handling most of the transportation between destinations.
- You want to experience several places during one vacation.
- You don’t want to change hotels every few days.
- You already enjoy cruising.
- You’re comfortable having a limited amount of time in each port.
- Planning all the details of a multi-destination trip gives you analysis paralysis.
For me, that last one was important.
I do a tremendous amount of travel planning, and sometimes it’s really nice to let someone else do part of the work. Our cruise gave us a simple way to sample Greece and figure out which destinations we might want to return to someday.
Who Should Choose Island Hopping in Greece?
Island hopping may be the better choice if:
- You want several days in each destination rather than several hours.
- You want more control over your daily schedule.
- You enjoy choosing your own hotels and restaurants.
- You like independent travel.
- You don’t mind transferring between destinations during your trip.
- You already know which Greek islands you most want to experience.
- You want time for slower mornings, evenings and unplanned exploring.
And remember, enjoying the freedom of island hopping doesn’t mean you have to enjoy planning it.
If researching ferry schedules, hotels and transfers sounds miserable, you can always use a travel agent or look at Greece island hopping tours that handle more of the logistics for you.
What Would I Choose If I Went Back to Greece?
For our first trip, I would choose the cruise again.
It gave us exactly what I wanted: a simple, easy and affordable way to experience several parts of Greece.
But here’s the interesting part.
Now that I’ve sampled Greece, I think I’d make a different choice for our next trip.
I’d seriously consider an independent trip with time in Athens, Mykonos and Santorini. Those were the places that most closely matched what I had imagined Greece would feel like before we went—the ancient history of Athens and those beautiful whitewashed island towns surrounded by incredibly blue water.
Instead of another quick taste, next time I’d want more time.
If Athens is part of your plans, our Athens Itinerary 2 Days: Before or After a Greece Cruise shows exactly how we made the most of our time there.
And if this will be your first trip to Greece, my Greece Travel Guide: What First-Time Visitors Need to Know covers all those little practical questions about Euros, Schengen rules, transportation, phone service, electrical outlets and more.
Island Hopping in Greece vs. a Cruise: My Bottom Line
Our Greece cruise gave us exactly what we wanted from a first trip: an easy way to sample several destinations without having to plan every logistical detail ourselves.
Island hopping gives up some of that built-in convenience, but you get something valuable in return—time.
If your Bucket List goal is to experience several different parts of Greece and discover what you love, I’d seriously consider a cruise. It worked beautifully for us.
If you already know you want to explore Mykonos, Santorini, Crete or another Greek island for several days, island hopping in Greece may be worth the additional logistics.
Neither way is better.
The real question is whether you want to sample Greece or explore it more deeply.
More Greece Guides
Here are some more guides about Greece. If you’d like to receive emails when I’ve posted new content to the website, please complete the short form above.
- Greece Travel Guide: What First-Time Visitors Need to Know
- Island Hopping in Greece vs. a Cruise: Which Is Right For You?
- Celebrity Infinity Review: Should You Book This Greece Cruise?
- Cruise Drink Package: Buy One or Go Without?
- Athens Itinerary 2 Days: Before Or After A Greece Cruise
- What to Pack for a Cruise to Greece: Pack Light & Stay Cool
