6 nights, Piraeus (Athens) to Fusina (Venice)
Explora's name for it: A Journey from Sunlit Cyclades to Adriatic Elegance
Six nights, seven calls, three countries: this is a walking itinerary, not a beach one. It opens at Piraeus for Athens, where the Acropolis, the Ancient Agora, and the Plaka cluster within a 10 to 20 minute walk, so one day covers the essentials. Then it threads three Cyclades islands that most ships skip. Paros tenders you straight to Parikia's old town, where the Venetians laid ancient marble columns sideways into the Kastro walls. Syros gives you Ermoupoli, a working neoclassical city with an opera house modeled on La Scala, not a whitewashed resort. Rhodes drops you almost at the gates of the largest inhabited fortified town in Europe, the Street of the Knights climbing quiet to the Grand Master's Palace before the tour groups land. The arc finishes in Dalmatia: Hvar's hilltop Fortica and its 1612 theatre, then Split, where people never stopped living inside Diocletian's Roman palace.
This rewards travelers who want history on foot and back aboard by evening, not loungers chasing beaches. Note the two gateways. Piraeus puts Athens 10 km inland, and Fusina sits across the lagoon from Venice on the mainland, so an early water shuttle is the difference between the Basilica empty and queuing behind day-trippers. Plan both as transfer days. If you want slow island sun, pick a different route.
Explora II is all-suite, all-oceanfront.
The itinerary, port by port
7 calls over 6 nights, Piraeus (Athens) to Fusina (Venice). 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 Piraeus (Athens) (ATH) 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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- 4
- 5
- 6
- Disembark
Other departures of this itinerary
Same ports, different dates. Fares move between departures, so it's worth comparing.
- June 14, 2027 · from $5,240
- July 5, 2027 · from $5,160
Fares on this departure, decoded
Reading the fare fine print is the job. Here's what this sailing currently carries:
- Invitation to Discover More
- Explora's discovery fare, available across most of the calendar. Onboard credit where the offer applies.
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 →