Island Hopping Aboard Le Ponant, From Athens To Dubrovnik

Lavrion - aka Lavrio,Laurium, Laurion, Laureion, Thoricum, Ergastiri - is a town in south-east Attica, Greece and is famous in Classical antiquity for the silver mines, the silver used for coinage, and the mines were notorious for the treatment of the slaves who worked them. It has small port situated on a bay overlooking the island of Makronisos (ancient times - Helena) to the east. The ancient workings, consisting of shafts and galleries for excavating the ore or extracting the metal, may still be seen. Read more about Lavrion, Greece

Spetses is a port and small Grecian island lying about 90 km SW of Athens (and named by the Venetians for its position on a major trade route.) It lies just a few kilometres off the Corinth Peninsula facing the southern Aegean Sea. The town itself has a permanent population of just 4000, stretching from the Old Port to Dapia with its ferry terminal. The town is notable for its lack of cars – six taxis excluded. Read more about Spetses, Greece

Pylos is the name of a large bay and a town on the west coast of the Peloponnese Peninsula in southern Greece. It consists of two distinct settlements several kilometres apart. Old Pylos is situated on the NW of the bay, and New Pylos on the SE. Read more about Pylos, Greece

The village of Fiskardo is the northernmost port of the Ionian island of Kefalonia, a short distance from Ithaca, in Greece. Part of its intrigue is the fact that it was the only town on the island not to have been devastated by the earthquake in 1953. Hence all the traditional and Venetian buildings have been preserved, and this results in its unique beauty and atmosphere. Read more about Fiskardo, Greece

Paxi is the smallest island group within the Ionian Islands. In Greek it is a plural form. The largest islands are Paxos and nearby Antipaxos. Read more about Paxi Island, Greece

Located along one of Montenegro's most beautiful bays is picturesque Kotor. The bay is the deepest natural inlet in the Adriatic Sea, and the scenery around it is spectacular. Its well-preserved Old Town - surrounded by an impressive city wall - nestles at the head of southern Europe’s deepest sunken river valley. Read more about Kotor, Montenegro

Dubrovnik, a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea coast, is a prominent tourist destination. The city joined the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1979. An outstanding feature of the Old Town of Dubrovnik is its intact city walls that run uninterrupted for 1,940m encircling the city. Read more about Dubrovnik, Croatia