Shortlist · Ranked
The best ferry routes in the Mediterranean for a first crossing
Five crossings worth taking for their own sake, ranked by how easy they are to plan, how often they sail and what you get for the fare.
The Mediterranean has hundreds of ferry routes. Most of them are a means to an end: a 20-minute hop to an island with a beach. A handful are better than the destination they serve, and those are the ones worth planning a trip around.
Ranked by how easily you can plan the crossing, how often it sails, and what the crossing itself gives you for the fare.
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Piraeus (Athens) → Santorini
The classic Aegean crossing, and the one where the choice matters most: a conventional ferry is slower but stable and cheap; a high-speed catamaran halves the time and doubles the wind sensitivity. The arrival into the caldera port of Athinios is the moment the trip becomes the holiday.
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Split → Hvar
The most useful short crossing in Croatia: a catamaran puts you in Hvar Town in about an hour; a car ferry puts you on the other side of the island. It is short enough for a day trip and frequent enough that a missed sailing is not a disaster.
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Ancona → Split (overnight)
The Adriatic overnight: you board in Italy in the evening and wake up in Croatia. It replaces a flight and a hotel night with one ticket, and it is the most civilised way to cross between the two countries if you are not driving.
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Barcelona → Palma de Mallorca
A city-to-island crossing that removes the airport from the equation. Longer than the Greek and Croatian hops, sold by more than one operator, and a genuinely pleasant way to arrive in the Balearics with a car.
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Naples → Capri
Fifty minutes, several operators and a very high frequency: the easiest crossing on this list to improvise. It is also the one where buying the wrong ticket at the wrong terminal is most common.
The shortlist at a glance
| Crossing | Time | Sailings | Operators | Walk-on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athens (Piraeus) → Santorini | 4h 55m – 9h 30m | daily in summer, thinner in winter | 3 | Yes |
| Split → Hvar | 50 min – 1h 50m | car ferry 5–7 a day; catamarans seasonal | 3 | Yes |
| Ancona → Split | 11h 30m overnight | about 4 a week in summer, ~1 in winter | 1 | Yes |
| Barcelona → Palma de Mallorca | 3h 30m – 7h | daily overnight; fast ferry seasonal | 2 | Yes |
| Naples → Capri | 50 min – 1h 20m | very frequent, year-round | 3 | Yes |
What this list does not solve
Timetables change with the season and fast ferries stop running in winter. Check the operator's timetable for your dates before booking.