Greeks are a multi-ethnic nation with a large number of islands and a southernmost point on the Balkan Peninsula. Greece has a population of over 10 million inhabitants. The capital and largest city is Athens, which is centrally located near the coast. From Athens you can connect to almost all Greek islands in the Aegean. There is at least one ferry per day to and from Athens, 365 days a year. There are two ferry ports that serve Athens. Piraeus is closer to the city, and Rafina is closer to the airport. Most travelers will want to use Piraeus, as it is easy to access via central Athens and serves the most ferry routes to the islands.
Naxos, Paros, Ios to Santorini has daily ferries that usually run year-round
Crete to Santorini has daily ferries that usually run from late March to late October. In other months you’ll need to ferry or fly via Athens.
Rhodes to Crete Sporadic has service year-round, often with a overnight service
Rhodes to Santorini, Mykonos, Cyclades provides daily ferries from Rhodes to Athens that will sometimes make stops in a Cycladic island
Corfu to Santorini, Crete, Mykonos has no ferries from the west coast islands
There are summer ferries from the east coast of Italy to the west coast of Greece (Corfu, Igoumenitsa, Patras) but no ferries from Italy to Crete
Multiple connections may need to be planned for some destinations
