Greece – Tourist Fees & Cruise Ship Limits Starting in 2025

As you know from my articles, the media, and probably your own travels, overtourism is becoming a serious issue. It adversely affects not only your experience but the locals’ as well, including stresses on infrastructure never designed to handle so many people at once.

Greece has just announced that starting in 2025 it is going to charge 20 euros per person for each cruise passenger visiting Mykonos or Santorini. (If you visit both you will pay 40 euros.)  While not yet announced, Rhodes, Corfu, and Heraklion (Crete) are expected to follow suit.

It is said that the funds will be used to improve infrastructure.  

In addition, Santorini is going to limit the number of cruise passenger visiting per day to 8,000.  At its peak this season, there were 17,000 cruise passengers in one day! If you have been to Santorini when multiple ships are in port it can be so crowded you can hardly move; forget about enjoying Fira, Oia, the historic sites, or the beaches.

There also will be a digital berthing allocation at various Greek ports, which will stagger ship arrivals throughout the day in a further effort to reduce overcrowding at peak times.  Preference will be given to ships that are “green” and which stay longer or overnight as they will spread out the rush to tourist areas and have a lower overall environmental impact.  This may well impact who you choose to sail with in 2025.

While I do not believe the fees will impact the decisions of the luxury travel market, it may well on the mass market, where those fees may amount to a significant percentage of their cruise fare. When coupled with the potential for reduced time in port, it may cause some significant mass market cruise itineraries.

It does not appear that there will be any such fees or berthing allocation structure for Piraeus.