Starting and finishing from Athens, where the old Acropolis citadel towers over Byzantine churches and pop-up warehouse bars, we sail for the largest Ionian island, Cephalonia. At the pretty port of Argostoli, where mandolin-playing musicians soundtrack streets with traditional kantades songs, there’s the chance to go shopping, lounge on a blissful cove or tour inland vineyards and oak forests. Back on mainland Greece, Katakolon is a gateway to Olympia, where the first Ancient Olympic Games were held in 776 BC. Visit the old, ruined stadium and learn from guides about early events such as the boxing-like pancratium.
Often likened to Gibraltar, the tidal island of Monemvasia is a sheer slab of rock that hosts a Byzantine fort and a red-roofed village that can only be seen from the sea. After exploring, we’ll move on to Milos, a volcanic Cycladic island blessed with brilliant beaches, strange rock formations and a litany of picture-perfect villages. No less photogenic is the mainland town of Nafplio, Greece’s former capital and our penultimate stop, before returning to Athens’ cruise port, Piraeus. Below Nafplio’s towering castle, Venetian houses line narrow lanes as romantic tavernas serve freshly-grilled fish or mezze platters along the waterfront.
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