When I read this book, I thought I was in heaven. As a confirmed Greekophile and having lived in Greece, here was everything I ever wanted to know about ferry lines, timetables and the Greek islands themselves in a nutshell, well a 615gram/720 page nutshell!
A labour of love it may be but this monumental guide did not exactly appear out of the ear of Aphrodite. It is the culmination of many years research which this year, 2007, reached its 17th edition. Frewin Poffley certainly earns my admiration for the painstaking research in compiling this book.
In essence the book represents a clash of cultures. Beautifully mapped shipping routes and highly detailed timetables are laid out with clarity and arranged logically. The Greeks did logic two thousand years ago and have long since thrown it out of the window realising it doesn't suit a hot climate. I, like others, have packed my bag and left the hotel early in the morning to catch the 4am ferry and six hours later, it duly arrives! Yes, the ferries get hopelessly behind schedule and ferry lines pull out of routes completely if they are not proving viable. The Greeks know better since they phone the port authorities before setting out to get an up to date arrival time. It all works in the end and everybody gets to where they are going eventually! By eventually, I mean within a day or so. Island hoppers often plan their schedule to catch the final ferry back to the airport city at the last moment. How many have missed their flights I shudder to think, even travel companies have got themselves into trouble this way. All this and more is spelt out in the introduction. It would be a criminal act to skip this section.
The guide book section deals with all of the 68 islands connected by ferries, a monumental task in itself. There are sections on all the holiday essentials, Greek food, bus services, car hire etc, all the information you would expect in a guide book. Particularly well treated are the various ancient sites with more than enough detail for all but the most enthusiastic. I checked out only those islands that I know really well and I found myself saying, yes, yes in most cases until I read Lesvos. Somehow, Frewin Poffley has completely missed the essence of the island. It is an island of great natural beauty and lies on an important bird migration route. It is one of the top places in Europe, indeed in the world for bird watching and should Frewin Poffley go to the island in late April or early may, he would find it hard to get a room, especially in Skala Kallonis. For Lesvos, this period is a mini high season.
Grumbles aside, I would not go island hopping without this tome but I look forward to the day when I can download it to my ipod!
At least you can keep up to date via the Thomas Cook web site
Greek Island Hopping 2007 17th edition published by Thomas Cook publishing ISBN 978-1-84157-660-2
reviewed by Brian Anderson