Greece Travel Index Greek Islands
Greek Island Guide
Cyclades Islands
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Greek Island Guide
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The Cyclades islands are the most well known of the Greek Islands and include Santorini and Mykonos which are the two most popular islands in Greece. Ferry trips are four to five hours to the closest islands (Kythnos, Syros, Tinos, Mykonos, Sifnos) and from eight to ten hours to the furthest (Santorini) depending on how many stops it makes. The highspeeds take half the time but cost twice as much. There are daily ferries from Pireaus to all these islands, with the exception of Kea which you get to from Lavrion and Andros which you get to from Rafina. Click on these links or scroll down. Many of these islands can be included in an isand-hopping itinerary in the summer. It gets harder in the off-season though. If you know which islands you want to visit try using the Create-an-Itinerary page and you can find out what is possible and also how much it will cost.You can use the top button to return. When you finish you can use this link or the link at the bottom of the page to return to Greek Island Synopsis Main Menu |
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You can e-mail me if you have questions about the Greek Islands, itineraries, ferry connections, hotels or anything actually- Matt Barrett
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Amorgos See also www.greektravel.com/greekislands/amorgos Andros: See my Andros pages at www.greektravel.com/greekislands/andros For Hotels and more information on Andros contact Fantasy Travel or see Hotelsofgreece.com or or search Booking.com Folegandros Even though I have never been there you should still see my Guide to Folegandros For bookings contact Aegean Thesaurus
Travel Judith Grodowitz will be teaching her workshop in the Alexander Technique. The class has been held annually since 1996. For more info e-mail: jkgrod@earthlink.net Ios For bookings also contact Aegean Thesaurus Travel or Dolphin Hellas or search Booking.com Read my review of Ios: Where Spring Break lasts All Summer
Kea or Tzia
I know this island
really well because we live here so see my website for Kea at
www.greektravel.com/greekislands/kea
CULINARY
TOURS Kythnos For hotels and travel information contact Aegean Thesaurus Travel Agency in Sifnos. But first see my Guide to Kythnos. (It has great photos that will make you want to go here)
Milos See my webpage for Milos at www.greektravel.com/greekislands/milos For bookings contact Aegean Thesaurus Travel or see www.hotelsofgreece.com or search Booking.com Mykonos
For hotel bookings at discounted rates, cruises, and island hopping packages that include Mykonos visit Fantasy Travel or Dolphin Hellas or Aegean Thesaurus Travel Visit the website of the Princess of Mykonos Hotel on Saint Stefanos Beach where I stayed. I loved it. Fantasy Travel has special discounted rates there, probably cheaper than you will find anywhere else. Also check out the new Grand Beach Hotel which is on the beach and within easy walking distance of the nightlife of Mykonos town. I recommend Fantasy Travel's program The Pursuit of Pleasure which is 12 Days and 11 nights in Athens, Mykonos and Santorini including hotels, ferries, transfers, tours, admission to archaeological sites and breakfast starting at 940 euros per person. These are in good centrally located hotels in Athens and the islands. You can't beat this price for these hotels and this itinerary. See My review
at
www.greektravel.com/greekislands/mykonos For more descriptions and photos of hotels see www.hotelsofgreece.com/cyclades or search Booking.com |
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Naxos For hotel bookings and rates and island hopping itineraries visit www.fantasytravelofgreece.com or Aegean Thesaurus Travel See my Naxos Guide at www.greektravel.com/greekislands/naxos For more descriptions and photos of hotels see www.hotelsofgreece.com/cyclades or search Booking.com
Paros
The ferry
trip is about 6 hours from Athens and
continues on to Naxos and Santorini. There are
several daily connections to Mykonos, Ios and
Santorini in the summer. There are also less
frequent connections to Crete, the Dodekanese,
Ikaria, Samos, Amorgos, the small Cyclades
islands, Skiathos, Crete and Thessaloniki.
There are also Hydrofoils, Catamans, sea-jets
and other strange and speedy craft that stop
at just about every island around. The travel
agencies in the port list the daily boats and
this is about the only accurate way to keep
track of them all. For programs that
include Paros with or without other islands
see
www.fantasytravelofgreece.com
and see their Island
Hopping section.
For
bookings you can also contact
Aegean Thesaurus Travel
or
Dolphin
Hellas at
www.greecetravel.com/dolphinhellas For hotel descriptions and rates visit www.hotelsofgreece.com or search Booking.com See my Guide to the Island of Paros at www.greektravel.com/greekislands/paros Antiparos
has nice
beaches and cafes and is more relaxed then
Paros. There is also the gigantic Cave of
Antiparos which is the most popular site on
the island. There are ferries connecting the
two islands leaving every half hour or so from
the town of Pounta, plus excursion boats that
leave every morning from Parikia. For Hotels and transportation visit Aegean Thesaurus at: www.greecetravel.com/aegean See my guide for Antiparos at www.greektravel.com/greekislands/antiparos Santorini 
Visually
spectacular. Should be approached by sea to get
the full effect of sailing into a giant crater
so don't fly there and arrive before dark.
Thira is touristy, Oia is a little quieter but
the island is the most popular in
Greece and for good reason. The daytime action
is at the beaches, Perissa and Kamari. Good
Raki and domatokeftedes (fried tomato-balls) are culinary favorites.
Ruins of Ancient Thira are worth the trip if
you are unimpressed by the most spectacular
sunsets on this planet. Most people want to
stay in the beautiful hotels overlooking the
caldera but if you have children you will
sleep a lot easier a few meters inland rather then on the edge of a 1000
foot cliff. Great nightlife, excellent
beaches, spectacular scenary and romance make
this one of the world's top destinations for
honeymooners and weddings too. The ferry ride from Pireaus
is about 8 hours with stops along the way at
Paros, Naxos and Ios and sometimes Sifnos. The highspeeds only take about 5 hours.
Daily connections to Mykonos and Crete and other Cyclades in the summer by Highspeeds. There are less frequent ferry connections
to Crete, Thessaloniki, Kos, Rhodes, Karpathos,
Milos, Folegandros, Kassos and Halki. There is
also an international airport.For hotel descriptions, bookings and rates visitand programs that include Santorini visit Fantasy Travel or Dolphin Hellas or to work with a small local Travel agency specializing in Santorini, Sifnos and the Cyclades visit Aegean Thesaurus Travel (especially if you want to combine Santorini with a less touristy island like Sifnos which many people do). Honeymooners! Before you commit to anything (besides each other of course) take a peak at Fantasy's VIP Honeymoon Package on their website. Santorini is also the island that everyone wants to get married on since it is one of the most beautiful and romantic places in the world. For wedding information visit www.greecetravel.com/weddings or check the wedding programs on Fantasy Travel's website. The Volcano View Villas on the Cliffs of Santorini, with 3 swimming pools and a view so spectacular you may never leave the premises. Also have a look at the new Petit Palace, also on the caldera, with private pools and the Caldera's Liliam Villas The Ether Traditional Houses are in the village of Oia which is a little quieter. It is also inexpensive with Caldera View rooms for 115 euro and sometimes cheaper when there is a special. If you are looking for an affordable house to rent on a weekly basis check out the selection at www.greecetravel.com/villas For more hotels on Santorini with reviews and photos see www.hotelsofgreece.com/cyclades or search Booking.com Far from the Maddening Crowd: In response to the travelers who worry that recent demonstrations in Athens may disturb their sleep pattern, at my request Fantasy Travel has put together a 10-Day Athens-Mykonos-Santorini package which includes a tour of Athens and all transfers and ferry tickets. The package starts at 790 euros per person. What makes it unique is for the Athens part of the trip you will be staying by the beach in Faliron, just 20 minutes from downtown by taxi or 30 minutes by bus or coastal tram. For more information see www.fantasytravelofgreece.com/farfromcrowds.html I recommend Fantasy Travel's program The Pursuit of Pleasure which is 12 Days and 11 nights in Athens, Mykonos and Santorini including hotels, ferries, transfers, tours, admission to archaeological sites and breakfast starting at 940 euros per person. These are in good centrally located hotels in Athens and the islands. You can't beat this price for these hotels and this itinerary.
Visit
my Santorini page at
www.greektravel.com/greekislands/santorini Sifnos 
Visually
attractive and still Greek. For the thirty and
older crowd, single or married with children.
Apollonia, in the center of the island, has
fun nightlife. Great beaches all around the
island. Fantastic food and wine. My favorite island
for almost 30 years. Port of Kamares is nice
combination of beach, restaurants and a few
bars all within walking distance. The newly
rennovated
Stavros Hotel is great place to stay with
a view of the beach and harbor from your
balcony. The cleanest port in the entire
Aegean. Houses and villas for rent all over
the island.
Pension Morpheas is a bargain. Vathi is
quiet with excellent food at Manolis Taverna.
Kamares is one of the best beaches in Greece
for families because it is a long sheltered
bay that is very shallow so you don't have to
worry if you turn your head for a few moments
while your child is playing in the sand (and
you are sitting in the Kima Cafe a
few feet
away.) People who visit Sifnos come back year
after year. My Sifnos Guide was the first
website I ever made and it is still one of my
favorites.
There are
daily ferries doing the 5 hour trip from
Pireaus and there are daily connctions with
Serifos, Kythnos and Milos.During the summer
there are daily or almost daily connections to
Santorini, and in good years to Paros,
Naxos, Mykonos, Ios, and Syros by Highspeed.
There is also a daily or almost daily
highspeed that gets you from Pireaus to Sifnos
in just over two hours.Visit my Sifnos page at www.greektravel.com/sifnos (It is one of my best sites because I go here often) Aegean
Thesaurus Travel Agency For my suggested itinerary that includes Sifnos and Santorini see www.greecetravel.com/tours Serifos To meet Babis Bobolis and stay at the Hotel Maistrali see www.hotelsofgreece.com/cyclades/serifos/maistrali For bookings contact Aegean Thesaurus Travel Sikinos Syros
For reliable travel agencies that book Syros contact Aegean Thesaurus Travel or Dolphin Hellas or Fantasy Travel Take a look at my Syros web page at www.greektravel.com/greekislands/syros
Tinos Don't stay in Tinos town. Go to the area of Ag Ioannis Porto on the eastern tip of the island an area of small farms, summer homes and a smatering of hotels and fish tavernas. We stayed at the Porto Raphael Apartments and it would be hard to imagine a better run, friendlier, clean, well located place to stay, right above the beach. See www.hotelsofgreece.com/cyclades/tinos/porto-raphael For more hotels or rooms in Tinos see www.hotelsofgreece.com or contact Aegean Thesaurus Travel or Dolphin Hellas or search Booking.com Be sure to visit my website for Tinos at www.greektravel.com/greekislands/tinos There are actually about a dozen baby Cyclades, but only four are inhabited in our times: Donoússa, Páno Koufoníssi, Skhinoússa, and Irakliá. They are strikingly different from one another, each with their particular clientele – though none now rank as undiscovered, and all of them, given limited accommodation, are no-go areas from mid-July to September 1 unless you have a rooms reservation – or are happy to camp out. Athens agencies are unlikely to be able to help with advance lodging reservations, except on Páno Koufoníssi and Skhnioússa which have some luxury complexes. Páno Koufoníssi also has the best beaches, with Donoússa not far behind; Irakliá has the best walking, with again Donoússa running second. Accommodation can be on the cheap side, but dining out is definitely not – little islands do not mean little prices. While all four have a bank ATM apiece, best not rely on these but come equipped with plenty of cash. For more on these islands see Marc Dubin's Guide to the Little Cyclades Many of these islands can be included in an isand-hopping itinerary in the summer. It gets harder in the off-season though. If you know which islands you want to visit try using the Create-an-Itinerary page and you can find out what is possible and also how much it will cost. If you are a budget traveler and you think you are too poor to go through a travel agent think again and see this page: www.greecetravel.com/budget-travel I recommend Fantasy Travel's program The Pursuit of Pleasure which is 12 Days and 11 nights in Athens, Mykonos and Santorini including hotels, ferries, transfers, tours, admission to archaeological sites and breakfast starting at 940 euros per person. These are in good centrally located hotels in Athens and the islands. You can't beat this price for these hotels and this itinerary. |
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Like Santorini, a volcanic island with spectacular rock
formations and hot springs. Bikes or car
useful if not essential. This is a beautiful
island with fantastic beaches like
Paliochori, Hivadolimni and the tiny cove of Sarakiniko, one of the most interesting places to swim on earth. The village of Pollonia has great swimming, restaurants and you
can take a boat to the island of Kimilos. The
main village of Plaka is made up of the cubic
white houses which the Cyclades are known for.
The island is rich with archeological sites
including Christian catacombs, a roman
ampitheatre, venetian castles and museums.
Those of you who took art history should
recall that the famous
Expensive,
decadent, and fun for gays, staight people and
familes too. Intense nightlife with clubs that
never stop, and if you can't handle it there are
frequent boats to escape to other less wild
islands. For a little culture there are trips to
the uninhabited ancient island of
Less wealthy neighbor of Sifnos. Relatively undeveloped
outside of main port. Really beautiful beaches. Like
Sifnos, Milos, and Kythnos, for older
travelers though they have an excellent campground at Livadakia near the port. I finally went there summer of 2006 and loved it and have returned since. I stayed at the Hotel Maistrali right in the port. Great location and very friendly owner whose passion happens to be Serifos and can give you directions to some of the best beaches in the Cyclades. Their main village on a mountain overlooking the bay is one of the most spectacular villages in the Cyclades. Serifos is about 4 hours from
Athens by ferry and there are daily
connections to Sifnos, Milos and Kythnos.
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