Greece: Where to go?

[SQflyergirl]

Kalimera!

Was thinking of going there and taking it easy. I have been to Athinai, Salonica and Halkidiki as well a few smaller towns close to the Macedonian border (Xanthi, Kavala etc).... but what I'm really after is a sisterhood of the travelling pants type place. (if you've seen the movie)

Where should i go to get that, and what is there to do besides get tanned?

[leo]

LOL I was going to tell you to stay at the Grande Bretagne in Athens but realised the folly of it all

Have a great trip!

[9V-JKL]

paging N_Architect

[Kyo]

I bet Patmos...

[N_Architect]

I don't think I'm the only native Greek here in this forum, so few more people could possibly help plus of course all those of you who have visited the country in the past.

At the moment I am googling "sisterhood of the travelling pants" cause I really don't understand what type of holiday/adventure SQflyergirl exactly wants to have there... I'll revert soon.



Update: No clue on what you really want, SQFG - could you please briefly clarify? This "sisterhood" movie is confusing me, and haven't watched it anyway...

[SQflyergirl]

sorry - what i meant was high cliffs, deep harbour, erm - houses built on the sides of the cliffs that go up winding roads that you can only reach by donkey or foot.

That kind of thing ... i think santorini is a bit like that?

[jhm]

sorry - what i meant was high cliffs, deep harbour, erm - houses built on the sides of the cliffs that go up winding roads that you can only reach by donkey or foot.

That kind of thing ... i think santorini is a bit like that?

If you want easy and convenient, you could try Hydra which IIRC correctly is only about 1-2 hours by hydrofoil from Piraeus. I did it as a day trip. It's rather touristy though (but then so is Santorini!).

[phaleesy]

sorry - what i meant was high cliffs, deep harbour, erm - houses built on the sides of the cliffs that go up winding roads that you can only reach by donkey or foot.

That kind of thing ... i think santorini is a bit like that?

Are we expecting a TR on the donkey ride and hike?

Poor donkey.

[N_Architect]

sorry - what i meant was high cliffs, deep harbour, erm - houses built on the sides of the cliffs that go up winding roads that you can only reach by donkey or foot.

That kind of thing ... i think santorini is a bit like that?

Thanks for clarifying - I am checking what's best for you and will revert. Yes, Santorini is a bit like that but there are some other great options...

[SQflyergirl]

Thanks for clarifying - I am checking what's best for you and will revert. Yes, Santorini is a bit like that but there are some other great options...

Yes - yes! this is the kind of place i wanna go to! thanks N_Architect!

[N_Architect]

Ha ha that shot was from ...Patmos (once again), which I did not initially intend to recommend as first choice, though I now see I was wrong! Glad you liked the picture, it is not of my favorite ones and had never published it before.

Well, let's see what we have in store for you then:

1. Your primary choice should be islands in the Aegean Sea. The climate, colors, and energy there are simply unbeatable, especially during the period May to October each year.

2. The islands of the Aegean Sea are 'divided' in some kind of groups, what we would also call 'counties' or administrative 'prefectures'. You should be mainly interested in two of those areas: Cyclades, and Dodecanese. Now, if you look at a map, you will see that most of these islands are located at the center-south (Cyclades) or south-east (Dodecanese) of the Aegean Sea.

3. I was initially thinking of recommending Santorini to you as first choice; the nature of land/rocks there (volcanic origin) is simply amazing and there is nothing like it anywhere else. The place to stay in Santorini or at least be is Oia (scenery, location, but not for swimming, though prices are hilariously expensive for something good). Just before Oia you can find Imerovigli, another nice spot, small village, with same type of accommodation offered and available scenery.


N_Architect in Oia, Santorini - July 1991.

Of course you may have been to Santorini, I don't know that, and on the other hand it is so popular nowadays that you may not like this and intend to look for something else. Santorini is best enjoyed/visited with your other half, by the way, as it is very romantic. A caution everywhere you go is to check prices, services, agreements as they tend to offer low quality of services in many places, do not generally expect people to treat you 'by the book' like when you check in at a LHW property, for example (I repeat, generally speaking).

Santorini is served from the port of Piraeus with a fast catamaran (should be around 4 hrs non-stop journey) but also with a normal ferry that takes longer than that. Santorini from end of July till 20th of August is strictly to be avoided, unless you really don't mind going out in Oia and not even be able to find a descent place to eat or space to walk in the small alleys...

4. Next choices in turn would be islands like Amorgos, Folegandros, Ios. They are truly beautiful and guaranteed to make you forget about home, work and everything else. I have never visited them, but my friends have a number of times and were repeatedly thrilled. Mind you that the third of these aforementioned islands, Ios, tends to be for pretty young ages, like 21-23 years old. With no offense and/or judgment on your age, I feel I have to say this as you may or not mind something like this, I really don't know.

My friends have plenty of pictures from these islands, and I could possibly ask for some in order to post here, if they have already scanned them. But I guess you can find pictures from any Greek island very easily.

5. The next suggestion would be Patmos, but this island is not that big and in a week or ten days you more or less have seen everything. The differences of this with other islands are distinct and vitally important. First of all, Patmos does not have its own airport. Transportation is provided via ferry operations in the Piraeus - Dodecanese islands line. This makes it special because no 'vacations-on-the-cheap' tourists visit this place and too young or whatever else people that simply want to drink all day long and do nothing else do not come there at all. 'High-society' Greek nationals (incl. politicians and shipowners) have bought properties there and numerous wealthy Italian tourists visit the place every summer. Back in July 2007 Giorgio Armani with his guest Ornella Mutti & co. were visiting and were swimming or having a nice cup of coffee right next to us.



The trip from Piraeus to Patmos via the Dodekanese ferry line takes either 7 hours or around 10 hrs, depending on which company's vessel serves the route that day. This is usually non-stop service, or with maximum one stop to the island of Skyros (which is also worth paying a visit). After Patmos, the ship continues and usually stops to the islands of Leros, Kalymnos, Kos and finally arrives in Rhodes some 10 hours later... Recommended ferry company for this is Blue Star Ferries, they have the most modern ships, but make sure you book a cabin on the return from Patmos as it is a 'red-eye' (phew! using air travel terminology here...)



In case you do not like to travel by ferry, there is always the possibility of flying to the island of Samos or Kos, then taking the small catamaran to come to Patmos. Patmos also has a heliport, for those who want to save time and arrive from Athens in 45 minutes or so.





Next: The outsider - Crete (or Creta).

[SQflyergirl]

Fantastic! I ask a question and get an excellent TR with great pics instead. Thank you soo much!

[phaleesy]

Fantastic! I ask a question and get an excellent TR with great pics instead. Thank you soo much!

That was exactly what I was thinking too! Excellent write up and pics, N_Architect.

I like the sound of arriving in Patmos in a helicopter. Saves time and grief (for those prone to seasickness).

[9V-SIA]

Not to mention a decent leg shot!

Thanks for the TR N_Architect!

Planning a Mediterranean cruise at some stage,

the type with some college professor on board to take you through the history of the region..

[phaleesy]

Planning a Mediterranean cruise at some stage,

the type with some college professor on board to take you through the history of the region..

The Cambridge alumnus, English Heritage or National Trust (can't remember which) send out tour brochures about trips like these! They also do tours on the Galapagos, Jordan, etc, with college professors too! All so interesting and because I do so love smart professors!

I went on a snorkel trip once with a marine biologist but I wasn't paying much attention to what he was saying about corals because he was too cute.