Map of Greek Islands

In reality, it is much simpler and anybody thinking of travelling to the Greek islands should not be deterred by these numbers. There are in fact, just 78 islands connected by ferry or hydrofoil, with another 40+ islets visited by tour boats and beach boats; beach boats are the kind of vessel used by hotels for example, to ferry guests to and fro from hotel to secluded or private beaches.

The remaining 48 inhabited islands are being occupied by the odd monks, goat herds and shepherds and the occasional shipping billionaire; quite often they will not appear on a map of Greek islands.

The net result of my analysis is that you can get to 120 islands by the use of commercially available boats.

Of course, apart from the growing number of Greek island hopping fans devoting holiday time to 'doing them all', most tourists consider some of the islands worthy of no visit whatsoever.

What you decide to include in your list of Greek islands will be determined by your idea or perception of the ideal Greek island.

This is the fascination of looking at a Map of Greek islands, because the mix of history and geography is different on every one and you can let your imagination run wild.

Any temptation to linger on one particular island is tempered by one's curiosity of what lies ahead on the next one.

The islands fall into six groups (seven if you list Evia separately - but for purposes of ferry connections it is included with the Sporades here).

The most popular are the Cyclades with 26 ferry-linked islands in the group.

With this many islands it is by far the most popular, particularly to those attempting to visit as many as possible during their holiday or vacation.

Next, in terms of the number of islands in the group, comes the Dodecanese with 17 ferry-linked-islands. On a map of Greek islands these can be seen running down the Turkish coast.

The other groups have less mass appeal and fewer islands, but nevertheless they are growing in popularity. The 'most frequently visited award' would probably be bestowed upon the Saronic Gulf Islands.

These are are the islands running south of Athens and can all be contacted with ease, by day-trippers from the capital or by those with a day to spare whilst en route home.

The Eastern and Northern Aegean islands are widely scattered and have much to offer, but you would need more than a couple of weeks to see them all.

The Ionian Islands are the only islands lying outside of the Aegean Seas and for some reason they are very poorly connected with the rest of the ferry system; but they still retain a huge fan base of returning visitors.

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