Hi,
from the ports of Triest, bari, Brindisi, the ferry goes. I don´t know the prices as it has been a few years since I travelled that way. Depending on where in Greece you want to go to you can go to Igouminitsa or further south to Patra. Travelling on the ferry has beome more expensive, although if the weather is good you can even just book a seat or deck place, instead of a cabin. It also depends what ferry you get(how lucky you are) as we once had a really great one that even had a pool.From Bari to igoumenitsa it takes between 10 to 12 hours (try overnight)

hope you have a good trip Greece is great!

Ingrid

I know your question was about ferry travel, but my vote would be to get to Greece by plane, and then use the ferries to get between islands.

We took a plane from Venice to Athens, and then jumped on a ferry to Santorini. I have friends who took the longer ferry from Italy, and while the ships are well appointed (with restaurants and casinos), boredom and discomfort prevailed.

I haven’t tried the ferry per se, so I don’t have the answers you need. I’ve done:
1) the long way ‘round by train with interesting exploratory stops along the way,
2) overnight cruise ship from Naples to Rhodes, and
3) overnight cruise ship from Katakolon to Livorno.

I’d definitely shoot for overnight and have a good, fascinating, page-turner book!

Have a great trip!

Rick

I went from Patra to Brindisi (this was over 20 years ago). As I recall, this was an overnight trip. Mediterranean ferries are a lot of fun, but then again maybe I’m easily entertained, as I never had any organised entertainment or a pool or any ‘fun’ stuff on any ferry I took there. The fun is in the people you meet along the way, the beautiful scenery, the sound of the waves and the engine, sleeping under the stars etc.

If you’re willing to rough it a bit, just book a deck place – it’s like camping out and the people you meet will make your whole trip. If you book a cabin you’ll be more comfortable and it’ll be less noisy but you’ll miss out on some of the human interaction.

If you’re like me you’ll enjoy the company, you won’t mind sleeping out on the deck (get a sleeping mat) and the sound of the waves and the engine will lull you to sleep. It’ll be great!

Hey!

I dont have very much time to write more; i can just point out some webSites of companies u can contact to get the details u ask for..

-minoan lines: www.minoan.gr
-anek lines: www.anek.gr
-blue star ferries: www.bluestarferries.com
-superfast ferries: www.superfast.com

if u need more info in anything i may be of help (although extremely busy these summer days- god plz send me some vacation days…:)) feel free to contact me.

ilias

I did this years ago, more than I want to count-we drove to Igoutmenitsa. What a lovely experience-it’s a very untouristy part of Greece, but very beautiful.

I’m sure the ferries have changed since then, but it was very nice compared to the Greek island ferries we had been on—we just got a deck ticket, no sleeper, but there was a nice lounge and a shower (which we loved, since we were backpacking and found a good hot shower hard to find.)

This ferry goes to Brindisi.

http://www.directferries.co.uk/brindisi_ferry.htm

i wanted to do the same when i was in greece but ferrys between greece and italy are very very long. so i would suggest taking a plane or just choosing to stay in greece and use a ferry to visit the islands. there is a lot to see and experience all over greece. and the people are so nice. and if you really want to get extra countries in turkey and cyprus are near by

Many years ago, I had traveled between Italy & Greece, BUT that was aboard my first ship, the USNS MARIAS T-AO57, while in the USA NAVY. Two years ago, during the 2nd week of JUNE 2006, my family (daughter, 12; son, 15; wife,??) and I flew Alitalia from Rome to Athens. Public transit was available to and from both airports. In Rome, we had stayed in a fantastic hostel, Fawlty Towers (www.faultytowers.org) and an equally great hostel in Athens, The Students and TravellersInn(student-travellersinn.com). Unfortunately, the sole reason for our going to Athens, the Acropolis, was closed due to the EU elections. All of this, and much more, is recounted in Volume 1 of my writings about our trip: La Ruta de Familia Hayburg en Europa y Asia: Con Esposa. (The title is in Spanish, the text is in English.) I hope this helps!—John “Juanito Hayburg” Eyberg

i took a ferry from bari to patra on blue star ferries. the night was really long and i had a difficult time sleeping. i didn’t have a horrible time but it wasn’t the best time either.

i found a flight back to italy from santorini to milano for kinda cheap (under 100 euros but if i would have booked a couple days earlier it would have been around 60 euros) and flew back so i could spend more time in greece. the ferries are such a time waster! i flew aegean airlines (which was fantastic!! awesome customer service and really good in-flight meal. who knew?)

i forget which website i used to find this particular filght, but here are some cheap ones (at least they were cheap 2 years ago):

www.skyscanner.com
www.skyeurope.com
whizair.com

also, when in athens i totally recommend the hostel, athens backpackers!! cannot say enough good things about this place or the owners!! loved it. plus it has an awesome rooftop bar with an excellent view of the acropolis at night. plus it’s cheap and right off the metro stop.

hope this helps!
cheers!