The Odyssey filming locations you can actually sail to

Christopher Nolan refused to fake the sea for The Odyssey, in cinemas from 17 July. He put IMAX 70mm cameras on the deck of the Draken Harald Hårfagre, a real ocean-going longship, and sailed it through the same waters Homer wrote about. One of the oldest stories in Western literature, filmed exactly where it belongs, at sea.

We have been matching travellers to the right luxury cruise since 1970, and we know these coastlines the way the film crews came to know them, from the water, in all weathers. Nolan chose small harbours, island chains and quiet stretches of coast that big ships cannot touch. Which is why this list exists. The film blogs can tell you where the cameras went. We can get you there, and every sailing below is real and bookable.

One promise before we start. And that's better food than Odysseus had, and no one turning your crew into pigs.

Why small ships make this voyage possible

Nolan's location scouts and the itinerary planners from our favourite cruise partners are chasing the same thing, coastline without clutter. Look at what he picked. Pylos, a fishing town on the Peloponnese. Trapani, on Sicily's western tip. The Aeolian Islands, a volcanic scatter where the roads run out, and the ferries get small. These places have shallow anchorages and harbours built for fishing boats, and the ships that visit carry a few hundred guests at most. A large resort ship sails straight past. A small ship noses in, stays longer and often has the port to itself. If you want to stand where the cameras stood, ship size is the whole game.

Troy: Aït Benhaddou, Essaouira and Marrakesh, Morocco

The film opens at Troy, and Nolan built his Troy in Morocco. The fortified mudbrick village of Aït Benhaddou, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that has stood in for ancient cities from Gladiator to Game of Thrones, provided the city walls, with further filming around Essaouira and Marrakesh.

Silversea's Spain and Morocco sailing featuring Casablanca aboard Silver Nova is the one to book, thanks to an overnight in Marrakesh. A night ashore opens Morocco up properly. Essaouira becomes an easy trip and Aït Benhaddou, Nolan's Troy itself, is around three hours by road. Few sailings hand you this much of the film's opening act.

Ithaca and the Cyclops: Pylos and Methoni, Greece

Nolan's Ithaca is not Ithaca at all. The production was filmed around Pylos in the southwest Peloponnese, using Methoni Castle, a Venetian fortress that runs straight into the sea, along with Almyrolakkos beach at Yialova and Nestor's Cave above Voidokilia beach for the encounter with the Cyclops Polyphemus. This corner of Greece is one of our favourites, well off the main cruise circuit and all the better for it.

There are three ways to get there. SeaDream calls at Pylos just twice, including on this Adriatic and Greek Isles voyage, a yacht-style sailing for those who want to feel like the ship is all theirs. Seabourn runs excursions to Methoni Castle itself on its Dalmatian Gems, Montenegro and Greece itinerary. And if you want to go this year, Explora's Journey Through Legendary Marvels gets you there in pure contemporary style.

For more ideas across the islands, our guide to the best small-ship Greek island cruises covers the region in more detail.

Acrocorinth: the fortress above Corinth

Some scenes were shot at Acrocorinth, the vast citadel rock above ancient Corinth, just minutes from the Corinth Canal. The canal is a highlight in its own right, a sheer-walled cut through the isthmus, barely 25 metres wide, and only the smallest ships can transit it. SeaDream, Windstar, Emerald and Ponant all squeeze through.

Ponant's Landscapes and Historic Sites of the Peloponnese is our pick here, built around exactly the classical sites the film draws on.

Scheria: Corfu & Kefalonia

A small confession. Neither Corfu nor Kefalonia appears in the film. But, hear us out, both earn their place in this list. Tradition names Corfu as Scheria, the island where a shipwrecked Odysseus washes ashore and meets Nausicaa. The Ionian island has claimed the story for centuries, and once you have seen the west coast of Corfu, you will understand why.

Kefalonia is thought to be the true home island of Odysseus, rather than the neighbouring island of Ithaca.

Ithaca itself rarely appears on luxury cruise itineraries, but Regent's Ionian Interlude calls at both Corfu and Kefalonia, so this cruise will get you as close to the source as any cruise will take you.

The Land of the Cyclopes: Sicily and Trapani

Sicily has been identified as the Land of the Cyclopes since antiquity, and Nolan honoured the tradition, filming in the Aegadian Islands just off Trapani. The Aegadians themselves are not on any cruise itinerary, which is rather fitting for the Cyclops's home, but Trapani puts you within sight of them.

Sea Cloud's Naples to Valletta voyage calls at Trapani and sails the Aeolian Islands under real canvas, which is about as Homeric as modern travel gets. Ponant's short Sicilian Interlude suits those with less time, while Windstar's Sicilian Splendors covers both Trapani and the Aeolians in one sailing.

At sea: the Aeolian Islands

The film's sea scenes were shot throughout the Aeolian Islands, around Lipari, Basiluzzo and Vulcano, with Stromboli smouldering on the horizon. This is the home of Aeolus, keeper of the winds, and it remains one of the most cinematic stretches of water in the Mediterranean. Sailing it at dusk, volcano glowing off the bow, you will see exactly why Nolan brought his cameras here.

Emerald's Amalfi Coast, Sicily and Malta yacht sailing threads through the islands, as do the Sea Cloud and Windstar voyages above.

For the wider region, our guide to the best Italy cruises is the place to start.

Calypso's island: Malta

Malta served as a production base, and Gozo's Calypso Cave, looking down over the red sand of Ramla Bay, is the legendary spot where the nymph kept Odysseus for seven years. Plenty of cruises start or finish in Valletta, but we would argue for a ship that calls here mid voyage instead. A turnaround day is a poor way to treat an island this rich.

Crystal's Piraeus to Civitavecchia sailing calls at Malta as a full day ashore on the way from Athens to Rome, so you get time to explore Gozo rather than just a few hours in Valletta.

Hades: the Snæfellsnes Peninsula, Iceland

For the underworld, Nolan left the Mediterranean entirely. The black sand beaches of Iceland's Snæfellsnes Peninsula became his Hades, all dark volcanic shoreline under a vast grey sky. Seeing it from the water, you will concede he had a point.

Several small ship lines sail here, including Windstar, whose Around Iceland itinerary runs multiple departures and circles the island properly rather than clipping a corner of it.

Scotland: the Moray coast

The production also filmed along Scotland's Moray coast, at Findlater Castle and Culbin Forest, around 90 minutes from Inverness. Hebridean Island Cruises' Voyage Through the Great Glen takes you through the heart of the Highlands aboard one of the smallest luxury ships afloat, with just 48 guests. Add a night or two around Inverness, and the film's Scottish locations are an easy drive away.

Begin your own voyage home

Homer needed 12,000 lines to get Odysseus back to Penelope. You need one phone call. Tell us which chapter of the story speaks to you, the Peloponnese, the volcanic islands, the far north, and we will match you to the sailing that does it justice.

Speak to us today on 020 7399 7670 or send us an enquiry here.