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Things I Wish I Had for My First Greek Island Ferry Ride
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items Nobody warns you about the wind on a Greek ferry deck at 6 AM, or that the air conditioning inside feels like a meat locker, or that you'll be starving two hours in with nothing but overpriced sandwiches. I figured all of this out the hard way hoppin...
Sections
5
Packing for the Ferry Deck
Snacks and Drinks That Save You Money
Comfort Gear for Long Crossings
Tech and Navigation for Island Hopping
Arrival Day Essentials for the Island
Packing for the Ferry Deck
Spent my first crossing shivering on the deck in a tank top while everyone else looked cozy and smug. These are the things that would have saved me from looking like a tourist cliche.
Throw this in your daypack and forget about it until the wind hits you sideways on the upper deck. Weighs basically nothing and stuffs into its own pocket. I borrowed a stranger's jacket my first ride and vowed never again.
Patagonia Men's Houdini® Windbreaker Jacket
Wear it as a scarf when the wind is brutal, then switch it to a headband when you dock and the sun is frying you. For anyone who hates packing five accessories when one does everything.
Buff Original Multifunctional Headwear
Get polarized lenses or the glare off the Aegean will have you squinting in every photo. I cheaped out on gas station sunglasses and had a headache by Paros.
New Wayfarer Sunglasses | Ray-Ban® USA
Keep these on for quick deck walks and bathroom trips. They dry in minutes when spray hits them. My friend wore leather sandals that smelled like a wet dog for three days after.
Women's Top Logo Metallic Flip Flops
Toss your phone, wallet, and passport in here when you're on the open deck. One rogue wave splash and you'll be glad you did. Learned this watching someone's boarding pass disintegrate.
Ultralight Dry Sack 20 L - Packing Organization Accessory
Fits under the ferry seat, holds snacks and layers, and the handles let you grab it fast when they announce your island. Perfect if you're the type who overpacks a beach bag every single time.
Daypacks and Kånken Totepacks
Use this instead of a baseball cap when you're baking on the top deck for four hours. The brim covers your neck and ears, which you won't think about until you're already sunburned there.
LTM6 Airflo Sun Hat
Snacks and Drinks That Save You Money
Ferry food is expensive and sad. A soggy sandwich cost me 8 euros and I still think about it with regret. Pack your own and eat like a human.
Fill it up at the port before boarding. The ferry bar charged me 3 euros for a tiny water bottle and I needed four of them on a summer crossing. Your wallet will thank you.
Wide Mouth Water Bottles | Made in the USA & BPA Free
Grab a handful and shove them in your bag. They don't melt, they don't crumble, and at hour three when the ferry cafe line wraps around the lounge, you'll feel like a genius.
CLIF BAR Mixed Flavors Variety Pack, 36 Bars
Pick these up in Athens before you board. Little packets of marinated olives that actually taste Greek and don't need refrigeration. Way better than anything the ferry snack bar offers.
Love's Grocery Protein Snack Tray Nutrition Facts
Keep two in your jacket pocket for the early morning ferries when nothing is open at the port. Real ingredients, no weird coating that melts in the heat. Saved me on a 5 AM Piraeus departure.
Shop All Protein Bars
Bring your own coffee from the port cafe and it stays hot through the first hour of open water. Ferry coffee tastes like it was brewed during the Ottoman Empire.
Hydro Flask Mug
Toss a couple bags in your pack for when you want something sweet but not candy-bar sweet. The honey almonds with cranberries hit different when you're watching Santorini appear on the horizon.
Sahale Snacks Glazed Mix Nut Blend Variety Pack
Pack a quick sandwich from your hotel breakfast buffet and stash it in here. Keeps it from getting crushed under everything else. For anyone who refuses to pay port prices for a mediocre panini.
Stasher
Comfort Gear for Long Crossings
A four-hour ferry sounds fine until you're sitting in a plastic seat with zero lumbar support and the AC is set to arctic. These made the difference between misery and actually enjoying the ride.
Wrap this around your neck and nap through the boring middle stretch of open water. Way less bulky than those horseshoe pillows. I watched someone try to sleep against a vibrating window and felt their pain.
Trtl Travel Neck Pillow
Use this as a seat cushion on the hard plastic ferry chairs. Your back will start screaming about two hours in without it. Packs down small enough to clip onto your bag.
Therm-a-Rest Compressible Pillow Cinch | REI Co-op
Layer this under your shirt for early morning and late evening crossings. The ferry interior goes from freezing AC to stuffy and back again. Merino handles both without making you sweat.
Women's Classic Thermal Merino Base Layer Crew
Put these on and the engine drone disappears. Ferries are loud in a way nobody mentions in travel blogs. I tried sleeping without noise canceling once and gave up after twenty minutes.
Sony WH-1000XM5 Premium Wireless Noise Cancelling
Bring this instead of a book because the wind on deck will flip your pages constantly. Glare-free screen means you can actually read in full Aegean sun. Finished an entire novel between Mykonos and Santorini.
Kindle Paperwhite | Graphite | 16GB
Slip these on before boarding if your stomach gets weird on boats. No drowsiness like Dramamine. My partner went green on a choppy crossing to Milos and wished we'd packed these.
Sea-Band Anti-Nausea Motion Sickness Bracelets
Drape this over yourself in the indoor cabin when the AC is blasting. Double as a beach blanket when you arrive. For anyone who runs cold and hates fighting over shared blankets.
Shop Yakima Camp Blankets in Retiring Colors
Tech and Navigation for Island Hopping
My phone died two hours before docking and I had no idea where my hotel was. The port wifi was nonexistent. A little prep saves a lot of panicked wandering with a heavy backpack.
Charge your phone twice over on a long crossing. Outlets on Greek ferries are rare and usually broken. I spent thirty minutes searching for one on the Blue Star Paros and found exactly zero working ones.
Anker 737 Power Bank (PowerCore 24K)
Download the map for your destination island before you lose signal. Cell service drops in the middle of the Aegean and doesn't always come back right when you dock. Saved me from wandering Naxos port like a lost puppy.
Download areas & navigate offline in Google Maps
Use this to book tickets and track real-time ferry delays. Way easier than the port ticket offices where the line stretches outside. Caught a schedule change that would have stranded me on Ios for an extra day.
Ferryhopper
Toss one in your checked luggage if you're storing bags in the ferry cargo hold. Bags come off in a chaotic pile at the port and knowing yours is actually there beats the panic of watching everyone else grab theirs first.
Apple
Get the long one so you can charge from weird outlet positions without sitting on the floor next to it. Short cables are useless on ferries where the only outlet is behind a bolted-down chair.
Anker USB C to USB C Cable, 60W Fast Charging
Skim the island chapters on the ferry so you actually know what to do when you arrive. Better than doom-scrolling TripAdvisor reviews written in 2016. The restaurant recs alone paid for the book.
Rick Steves' Greece: Athens & the Peloponnese
Grab this before your trip so you have data the second you dock. Greek port wifi is a myth. I watched three people frantically trying to load their hotel confirmation on a single bar of signal.
Greece eSIM, from $4.00 USD | World's first eSIM store
Arrival Day Essentials for the Island
You dock, you're sweaty, your bag is heavy, and you have no idea where anything is. These are the things that made the first hour on a new island feel less chaotic and more like vacation actually starting.
Carry this on instead of checking a suitcase. You walk off the ferry, straight through the port, no waiting at baggage claim. For anyone who wants to be at the beach while everyone else is still looking for their roller bag.
Farpoint™ 40 Travel Pack
Stuff your sweaty ferry clothes in here so they don't funk up everything else in your pack. Also works for wet swimsuits after your first beach stop. Tiny when empty, lifesaver when full.
How to dry out a wet backpack
Slather this on the second you step off the ferry because the island sun hits different than the shaded ferry deck. I skipped this once and had raccoon eyes from my sunglasses for a week.
Anthelios Mineral Zinc Oxide Sunscreen SPF 50
Fill up from any tap on the island without worrying. Some smaller islands have questionable water and buying plastic bottles gets old fast. Pays for itself in three days of not buying water.
GRAYL GeoPress 24oz Water Purifier & Filter
Switch into these for the walk from port to hotel. Cobblestone streets wreck flip flops and your feet will hate you in hiking boots. Light enough to pack and breathable enough for 35 degree heat.
Women's Tree Runners - White - Everyday Sneakers
Keep a quick-dry towel in your daypack for spontaneous beach stops on arrival day. Greek hotel towels are tiny and you'll feel guilty taking them to the beach. Dries in like twenty minutes in the sun.
Wise Owl Outfitters Microfiber Camping Towel
Bring this for budget hotels or Airbnbs where the sheets feel suspicious. Weighs nothing, feels cool against your skin, and you sleep better knowing exactly what's touching you. Worth it for every ferry-hopper on a budget.
Silk Sleep Sack for Travel | Ultralight Comfort