Our top 4 destinations to catch a ferry to this holiday season

When selecting our top Christmas holiday destinations for 2025, our travel editors had three things in mind: twinkling lights, cozy nights, and the ideal environments for our readers to have their very own ferrytales. This season, trade the chaos of the airport for the peace of the sea. You’ll arrive at your destination in a much more festive mood.

4. Wild and wintry Corsica, France

Straight from the cover of a fantasy novel. Source : iStock.

Ideal for couples and adventurers

Corsica during the holidays has a quiet kind of magic to it. Think olive groves and pine-covered hills under soft winter light, villages dusted with frost, and the sea always closeby. Crowds vanish, leaving only locals and travelers who come for something real. Like you! At night, church bells echo through cobblestone alleys as polyphonic choirs sing ancient carols by candlelight inside centuries-old chapels. In the villages, families gather around fireplaces for traditional feasts: roast lamb or goat, chestnut-heavy dishes, regional cheeses and sweets like castagnacciu or fiadone, warmed by local wine and laughter.

From mid-December through Christmas and into the new year, towns like Ajaccio, Bastia and Porto-Vecchio hold small, close-knit Christmas markets with artisan stalls, handmade gifts, local food and warm lights — the easy Corsican welcome that earns it a place among our top holiday destinations for Christmas 2025. When the year turns, the island leaves northern frost behind and leans into a Mediterranean New Year. Fireworks rise over the Gulf of Ajaccio, beach towns celebrate in their own quiet way, and mountain refuges offer simple dinners in the cold, clear dark that smells of sea and chestnuts.

How to reach Corsica by ferry

You can reach Corsica from several mainland ports across France, as well as from Livorno, Italy.

❄️Nice → Bastia: ~7 hours 
❄️Nice → Ajaccio:  ~7 hours
❄️Toulon → Ajaccio:  ~10 hours
❄️Toulon → Bastia ~11 hours
❄️Livorno → Bastia ~5 hours

*Crossing times may vary depending on operators and weather conditions.

3. Sun-softened Crete, Greece

Winter finds Crete less crowded and even more hospitable. Source: iStock

Ideal for families and culture lovers

Third place goes to Crete, the Greek island where winter is gentler than most of Europe. The air stays mild and the sea stays blue.  Locals bake melomakarona and kourabiedes, string lights through narrow lanes, and fill tavernas with the low hum of conversation and clinking glasses. In Chania’s old town, Venetian facades glow against the harbor after dusk; in Rethymno, winding alleys smell of warm honey and spice. It’s the kind of understated warmth that places Crete firmly among the standout holiday destinations for Christmas 2025, especially for travelers who want culture without the cold-front. From mid-December, the island’s cities shift into a festive mood with markets, concerts, and small neighborhood celebrations. Chania hosts choirs under the lighthouse and pop-up stalls along the waterfront; Heraklion dresses its central squares with lights, street performances, and children’s events. On New Year’s Eve, fireworks scatter over harbors, and families gather for traditional dinners crowned with the cutting of the Vasilopita, the good-luck cake that marks the first minutes of the year.

How to reach Crete by ferry

Crete is an enormous island with many different ports. The most popular departures are from Piraeus (Athens’ main port). Here are some of the most popular routes.

❄️Piraeus → Heraklion: ~9 hours (overnight common)
❄️Piraeus → Chania (Souda): ~9 hours
❄️Piraeus → Rethymno: ~11 hours (seasonal)
❄️Piraeus → Sitia: ~13 hours

*Crossing times may vary depending on operators and weather conditions.

2. Cozy Sardinia, Italy

The glow of cobblestone streets. Source: iStock

Ideal for food lovers

Coming in second is Sardinia, a winter pick for those looking for something slower paced. The island feels raw and beautiful, and the landscape does most of the talking. Bakeries fill with the scent of pardulas, almonds, honey, and citrus. Christmas here stretches back centuries: it’s a quieter celebration rooted in family tables, midnight masses, and songs that echo through Romanesque churches in towns like Nuoro and Bosa. By mid-December, Sardinia’s cities and coastal towns pick up their own warmth. Cagliari lights its old quarter with strings of gold; Alghero hosts small markets, concerts, and Catalan-influenced festivities that spill into the narrow streets. As New Year’s Eve approaches, fireworks rise over the port cities, but the island is still on the quiet side overall. Sardinian holiday tables are heavy with the island’s deepest traditions. Roasted suckling pig, porceddu, crackles over myrtle branches. Handmade culurgiones—pasta stuffed with potato, pecorino and mint—are folded one by one like small winter gifts. Almond sweets, amaretti and gueffus, come out after dinner with glasses of myrtle liqueur. And in many villages, bakers still shape pardulas with ricotta and citrus, the scent of orange peel drifting through cold streets. See why it’s one of the best holiday destinations for foodies?

How to reach Sardinia by ferry

Regular ferries connect Sardinia to mainland Italy year-round.

❄️Livorno → Olbia: ~10 hours 
❄️Civitavecchia → Olbia:  ~8 hours
❄️Genoa → Porto Torres:  ~11 hours
❄️Toulon → Bastia ~11 hours
❄️Civitavecchia → Cagliari ~13 hours

*Crossing times may vary depending on operators and weather conditions.

1. Glittering Helsinki, Finland

You see why Helsinki is sort of a shoe-in for first place.

When considering architecture designed for the cold, Christmas markets as far as the eye can see, and, of course, saunas, we have to give a Nordic location the #1 spot. For the 2025 holiday season, Helsinki is the place to be. Choirs drift through the older streets. Ice rinks open. Even a short walk feels festive when the snow is fresh and the lights sit low and warm! Helsinki Christmas Market 2025 runs from November 28 to December 22 in Senate Square. Plenty of wooden stalls, local crafts, mulled glögi, warm pastries and a vintage-style carousel bring real holiday spirit to the heart of the city. On New Year’s Eve, fireworks go up over the city center, but plenty of people choose quieter moments — a late meal, a harbor view, or a slow walk through the cold to start the year clean.

How to reach Helsinki by ferry

Helsinki is easily accessed from Estonia, or an overnight ferry from Sweden.

❄️Tallinn → Helsinki ~11 hours
❄️Stockholm → Helsinki ~17 hours (overnight common)

*Crossing times may vary depending on operators and weather conditions.

Book your 2025 holiday ferry tickets right here, with us!

If one of these magic destinations caught your eye, we’re here to help you get there by sea. Booking through Ferryscanner lets you compare every route at a glance, choose the operator that matches your schedule and comfort needs, and travel with flexible tickets supported by an amazing support team ready to help if anything changes. The Ferryscanner app has even more features: track your ferry in real time, store passenger and pet details, save routes and bookings, and unlock perks like early-access deals and birthday surprises.

Happy holidays, passenger.