9 nights, Piraeus (Athens) to Piraeus (Athens)
Explora's name for it: A Journey of Whitewashed Isles & Emerald Bays
Nine nights, eight stops, no sea days. This is a busy loop out of Piraeus that pairs the marquee Greek names with islands and coastlines most Cyclades itineraries skip. It opens with Athens, the Acropolis a short ride inland with the Parthenon and Ancient Agora clustered within a 10 to 20 minute walk. Then it widens out: Syros, where you dock right in Ermoupoli, a working neoclassical town with an opera house modeled on La Scala, and Paros, a quieter tender call where the Venetians built ancient marble columns sideways into the Kastro walls. The arc swings north to Kotor, where the hour-long sail-in threading the deep bay past Perast is genuinely half the day. Bari adds Puglia: the Basilica di San Nicola and a lane where grandmothers shape orecchiette by hand. It closes with the Santorini caldera.
This itinerary rewards travelers who want range over leisure and who like walking into a town center off the gangway, since most ports here put you steps from the action. It is not for anyone wanting downtime or a slow read of one region. Eight stops in nine nights is a full schedule, and Santorini's cable car can bottleneck badly when several ships share the caldera. If you want a calmer pace, pick a different sailing.
Explora II is all-suite and all-oceanfront. Send me your dates and the suite tier you are weighing, and I will get you live pricing.
The itinerary, port by port
8 calls over 9 nights, round-trip from 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 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
- 2
- 3
- 4 Argostoli (Kefalonia)
- 5
- 6
- 7
- Disembark
Fares on this departure, decoded
Reading the fare fine print is the job. Here's what this sailing currently carries:
- Spontaneous Summer Invitation
- A near-term fare on a small set of summer-season 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 →