Greeks showed this summer that, despite rising costs in accommodation and travel, their passion for island escapes remains undiminished. Rather than giving up their vacations, they are adapting by choosing closer and more affordable destinations, shortening the length of their stays, and booking at the last minute.
The findings come from Ferryscanner, a Greek ferry booking platform, which analyzed travel patterns between June and August 2025. According to the data, Tinos, Paros, Mykonos, Aegina, and Naxos emerged as the season’s most popular destinations. The standout shift was the rise of Aegina, which displaced Syros from the top five, recording a 12.65 percent increase in demand. Other nearby islands also benefited: Agistri jumped by 13.46 percent, Kythnos rose by 5.5 percent, and Kea by just over two percent. Even Mykonos, typically associated with luxury, saw a modest gain of 5.82 percent.
More expensive destinations, however, lost ground. Santorini recorded a decline of 5.33 percent, with recent seismic activity likely deterring visitors, while Chania on Crete experienced a dramatic drop of more than 26 percent. Interest within Crete itself appeared to shift toward Heraklion, which posted a small but positive increase.
The overall picture, Ferryscanner notes, is one of travelers increasingly favoring destinations that strike a better balance between cost and experience. This trend is reinforced by a marked reduction in the length of holidays. Nearly half of all travelers this summer chose short breaks of just one to three days, while 35.6 percent took trips of four to six days. Only 15.2 percent opted for weeklong or longer stays, underscoring the growing preference for frequent but shorter escapes.
Another defining feature of the season was the dominance of last-minute bookings. Almost 60 percent of travelers reserved their trips within the week before departure, up from 56.9 percent last year. A further 12.2 percent booked within two weeks of traveling, and another 15.2 percent within the month. In total, nearly 87 percent of all ferry bookings were made less than a month before departure, with only a small minority planning their holidays further in advance.
