20 nights, Fusina (Venice) to Piraeus (Athens)
Explora's name for it: An Extended Journey Across Stories, Shores & Changing Seas
Twenty nights, seventeen calls. This is a dense Adriatic-to-Aegean run that starts at the Fusina terminal on the Venetian lagoon's mainland edge, threads the Dalmatian and Ionian coasts, and works deep into the Cyclades before ending at Piraeus for Athens. The pace is full. Most stops are compact, walkable old towns rather than long transfers, which is what makes the density manageable. The arrival into Kotor is the one call where the sail-in is half the day: the ship threads the fjord-like Bay of Kotor for about an hour past Perast before the walled town appears, so be on deck, not at breakfast. Zadar pairs its Sea Organ and Greeting to the Sun installations at dusk, the single thing that town does that nowhere else does. Volos ties up in the heart of town, where a real tsipouradiko hands you rounds of tsipouro and a different seafood meze each time, no menu. In Bari, the orecchiette lane is grandmothers shaping pasta by hand.
This itinerary rewards a walker who likes working Greek and Italian towns more than postcard resort villages: Ermoupoli on Syros, Thessaloniki's layered waterfront, Volos. It is not for someone who wants a slow trip with few stops. The pace is relentless, the Fusina gateway eats time at both ends, and the marquee Cyclades calls (Santorini's caldera, Mykonos) are tender ports that bottleneck when multiple ships share the anchorage. Want unhurried, pick a shorter run.
Explora II is all-suite, all-oceanfront.
The itinerary, port by port
17 calls over 20 nights, Fusina (Venice) to Piraeus (Athens). Open any port for my full day-ashore guide, what to see, when to go, and how the day actually runs.
Getting there: Flights to Fusina (Venice) (VCE) are already bookable for these dates. I watch the fare for booked clients so you book at the right moment. When to book your flights →
- Embark
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- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13 Argostoli (Kefalonia)
- 14
- 15
- 16
- Disembark
Fares on this departure, decoded
Reading the fare fine print is the job. Here's what this sailing currently carries:
- Founders Fare
- A founding-era fare on a selected set of sailings. Onboard credit where the offer applies.
- Invitation to Discover More
- Explora's discovery fare, available across most of the calendar. Onboard credit where the offer applies.
- Air-Inclusive Fare
- A fare that folds airfare into the voyage price on a smaller set of sailings.
The ship and your suite
This sailing is aboard EXPLORA II, all-suite, every suite with a private ocean-front terrace. Suites run from the entry Ocean Terrace to the Owner's Residence; the right tier depends on how you travel. Compare suites → · What's included →