Sea Tourism

Passenger shipping company Blue Star Ferries has announced new ferry schedules to the Greek islands running until 31 March 2015.

Greek coastal ferry operator Hellenic Seaways will operate between Piraeus and Kavala and serve the islands of Chios, Mytilini and Limnos via the “Nissos Mykonos” vessel as of Friday 26 September.

Greece expects record number of tourists this year. However, the future of tourism, which in recent years has created great expectations for the country, may be in danger, according to a recent report.

A ferry route that will connect Patmos to the islands of Samos (Pythagoras), Kos and Kalymnos will be available as of next year, Greek Shipping Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis informed the local authorities of Patmos during a recent meeting.

As the Greek public holiday of 15 August is near, more and more Athenians are leaving the city and heading to the islands. August is the month that most Greeks take their summer vacation.

The Queen Elizabeth, one of the most luxurious cruise ships in the world, was in Piraeus Port in Greece on 8 August. Piraeus was the ship’s starting point for a seven-day cruise that will end in Istanbul, Turkey.

Yiorgos Gatos, Thodoris Orfanidis and Antonis Fiorakis are three Greeks who noticed a gap in the tourism market and came up with an idea: to create an online platform for those interested in renting a boat for their vacation at an affordable price, without middlemen and the exorbitant fees of intermediary brokers.

Tinos in Greece is expected to be one of the first of the Cyclades island group to welcome seaplanes, as waterway facilities are on their way towards construction at the island’s port.

“A cruise to the Greek Isles takes you to dramatic landscapes where history is on display at archeological sites dating back thousands of years,” USA Today notes.

Hellenic Seaplanes will launch their first seaplane flights in Greece as of May 2015, the Greek company’s vice president and general manager, Mihalis Asariotis, recently revealed.