Ferries from Italy to Greece

Twenty-three scheduled crossings link Italy with Greece, so the corridor rarely fails on availability. The decision is made at the Italian end instead: each of the four gates trades sea time against time on the autostrada, and the choice of Greek landfall then settles how much of Greece is left to drive.

Four gates down the Adriatic

Venice carries the longest sea leg and the shortest approach for anyone coming over the Alps from the north. The ships need about 26 hours to Igoumenitsa and roughly 32 and a half hours through to Patras, twice a week in each case. They do not leave from the historic city: check-in is at Terminal Fusina, on the mainland edge of the lagoon.

Ancona is the working compromise and the densest of the four. Ancona to Igoumenitsa runs six days a week, between 16 hours 30 minutes and 21 hours 30 minutes depending on the sailing, with two departures on some days; Ancona to Patras takes 20 to 25 hours on five days a week.

Bari and Brindisi invert the deal: a long haul down Italy, then a short night at sea. Brindisi to Igoumenitsa is the shortest crossing in the corridor at 8 to 9 hours, daily and twice daily at peak since Grimaldi Lines put heavier ro-pax tonnage on it. Bari to Igoumenitsa sails daily from about 9 hours, Bari to Patras daily in about 16 hours 30 minutes, and Bari to Sami reaches Cephalonia direct in around 14 hours.

Igoumenitsa or Patras

Igoumenitsa is the closest Greek port to Italy and the natural landfall for Epirus, Corfu and the north. Patras costs several more hours on the same ship, but it lands you at the mouth of the Peloponnese within an easy drive of Athens and spares the whole run down western Greece. For the Ionian islands both work: Corfu is reached direct in summer, while Cephalonia and its neighbours hang off Patras and Sami.

Cabin, seat or deck

Anek Superfast grades its Adriatic fares from economy through aircraft-type seats to inside and outside cabins, with separate cabins for passengers travelling with a dog. The grading matters more the further north the ship starts. A reclining seat is defensible on the eight-hour Brindisi night; Venice to Patras is a day and a half at sea, and there a berth decides whether you arrive fit to drive.

Season, and travelling without a car

Summer is a different timetable rather than a busier one. Calls at Corfu are a seasonal addition, and Ventouris Ferries publishes its Bari services via Corfu and Sami for the July to September window, in low, middle and high season bands. Outside those months the corridor runs on the Igoumenitsa and Patras trunk routes. Without a car the southern gates read better: Ancona, Bari and Brindisi sit on the Italian main line, whereas Fusina lies outside Venice and off the railway. Minoan Lines sells the Grimaldi sailings in Greece, which is worth knowing when a booking made in Italy has to be changed at the Greek end.