Oia, Santorini

Photo’s are here or you can just click on the photograph above.

The Greek islands have it all!

Greek yoghurt drizzled in orange flower honey, fresh figs, Greek salad with salty feta cheese drenched in peppery olive oil, sea bream and sea bass fished from the Aegean mere hours earlier, giant shrimp sautéed in olive oil and fresh herbs, charcoal-grilled vegetables, syrupy orange cake and honey-soaked pistachio Baklava … Gin-clear turquoise waters in rocky bays and rustic family-owned tavernas on sandy golden beaches or nestled under the shade of plane trees in mountain villages.

Island-hopping was a long-awaited bucket list dream which lived up to expectations in some cases, exceeded expectations in other ways, and failed entirely in others 😉

1. Mykonos:

Photos from Mykonos are here.

We flew in to Mykonos at the start of the second week in September and the weather was fabulous as we landed. It was warm, dry and in the mid 70°‘s-80°‘s F (23°C-27°C). Perfect except for the howling 20-30mph winds which greeted us and which make Mykonos the notoriously “Windy Island” of the Cyclades. The Meltemi winds are famous here and blow their worst in July and August. I was hoping by September that they’d be receding. As we walked across the tarmac at the airport I fought to keep my dress down at a respectable level but I’m pretty sure every single member of the ground staff at the airport had a full view of my knickers despite my best efforts and I was blinded as my hair was whipped into a frenzy around my face.

Thankfully, the strong winds only blew for a couple of days before they receded to a lighter, more manageable breeze. The wind direction is of critical importance here for every decision you make: where to visit, which beaches to avoid and which to prioritize on any given day. For us the stronger winds blew mainly from the north and the northwest. No point, then in visiting beaches on the north coast unless you want to be sandblasted. Instead, it is far better to head to the beaches on the south coast which are more protected and far more likely to be as calm as a millpond. On the few days that the north winds dropped sufficiently we braved visits to the north coast beaches and they were also picture perfect. For beachgoers, the water is warm enough to swim (even for Floridians) in September because so late in the season, the seas have benefitted from the long days of summer heat and sun. The sea is as clear as glass and the beaches vary between golden sand and grit to stones and smooth pebbles. The terrain is harsh. Nothing seems to grow on the island at all. The only living vegetation was a barrier of tall green pampas grass reeds we saw thriving by the edge of an almost dry stream as we descended the hill to Lia Beach. There are no olive groves, no trees, no shrubs … just dry brown grasses growing wild in clumps and the occasional cactus.

We were staying in a 2 bedroom apartment with a jacuzzi on the terrace and a shared pool with LLB Luxury Villas (the designation of luxury is more a Southern European one than ours 😉). The villa is way up in the dusty, barren, rocky hills and affords fabulous sunset views and long distance vistas over Mykonos Old Town and the port. The roads are challenging everywhere on the island. They are rough and very narrow but at least it was only a 15 to 20 minute drive to almost everywhere else on the island which was fortunate!

Highlights:

a. Old Town Mykonos! I loved it … Geoff quietly tolerated the crowds 😁 We came to Mykonos for the unique famous Cycladian architecture – for the whitewashed cube buildings, ultramarine blue and turquoise doors, colorful staircases in blues, red and yellows and for the ubiquitous pink bougainvillea trees cascading over white walls. Old Town Mykonos with its winding alleyways in the Little Venice quarter and its sweeping harbour did not disappoint. It was absolutely stunning! Of course, for that reason it is also by far the most popular (hence the busiest location) on the island. You’d do well to get there early (by 8.30am at the latest!). We visited a couple of times and parked in the free car park just right of the old port. It only takes a couple of minutes to stroll along the famous waterfront before you reach the Old Town. There were 4 cruise ships moored up every day during our week in early September and by 10am they were transporting their passengers to the old town in ever increasing numbers. Even so, we did not find it difficult to wander off the beaten track away from the tour groups. We meandered through the back streets of Little Venice and discovered tiny, narrow cobblestone and whitewashed alleyways with staircases decorated with pots of pink and red geraniums. There are courtyards with colourful cushions for residents to sit and watch the world go by chatting over their morning coffee. Laundry dries in the breeze in narrow alleyways amongst the gnarled trunks of ancient pink bougainvillea vines clinging to the walls.

Some areas are undoubtedly instagram heavy or are clearly on the tour bus trail. Once spotted, we headed off in the opposite direction and found our own equally beautiful and peaceful locations. The Church of Panagia Paraportiani was busy with professional photographers even at 8.45am doing shoots for tourists who want better than average holiday shots … which is fine, of course … except that we found ourselves caught up with them a couple of times and they do rather like to hog the scene for a disproportionate amount of time as they snap 200 variations of the same pout 😉 The famous Windmills were probably the busiest location of all because most tours head directly there from the cruise ships … but time it right and you can still escape the masses if you’re there early enough!

When it became too crowded we found refuge at the Mykonos Brunch Club in Little Venice for coffee. Note – don’t bother with the oat milk – it tasted like dirty dish water and was absolutely undrinkable. SiaMo Coffee shop was a very cute and peaceful coffee shop in the back streets of Little Venice – popular for a reason – the coffee was good. The most famous bakery in town is the Gioras Wood Medieval Bakery which dates back to 1420. We picked up supplies for lunch – both the spanakopita (cheese and spinach filo pie) and the soaked orange cake were delicious.

For the purposes of photography the Old Town and Little Venice are spectacular – just keep heading away from the main streets lined with shops and you can enjoy it pretty much alone early in the morning 😁 If you want to see the waterfront without the crowds then do that first thing in the morning – the best view of the old buildings with the waves crashing over the narrow stone pathway is from the terrace at Cerise Bar.

Loved it all! You just have to visit early, time it right and have some patience and you won’t end up with photographs filled with hordes of (other) tourists 😉

b. Ano Mera is billed as a more traditional town and lies pretty much in the centre of the island not far from our villa (in the enclave of Panagia Faneromeni ). To us, it seemed that all roads crossed through the town whichever beaches we visited on both the north and the south coasts. The small town square is pretty enough but not worth of a lengthy investment of time. It’s on the tour bus trail but if you time it right it will also be almost entirely empty of anyone other than locals after the buses have pulled out and moved on to their next stop. To be fair, they don’t stay long anywhere on the island because they’re only on whistle-stop tours around strategic locations. We stopped for coffee and cake at Artisti Prozymi Bakery en route to the beaches one morning … overwhelmingly locals and a fraction of the price of coffee in the Old Town and Little Venice – 2 coffees and a slab of chocolate cake for the same price as one coffee in town – not bad! Sunday lunch at Odos Araxame in the village was very popular especially with locals – it was good but not overly memorable except for the atmosphere and the pretty terrace shaded with grapevines.

c. The majority of the beaches on Mykonos are famous for their Ibiza-style “beach clubs” which are ubiquitous – especially close to the Old Town. Obviously, since we’re pushing 60, we were not on the island for the party vibes nor for the beach clubs banging out music from 9am until the early hours 😉 Regardless, whichever beach you lay your towel upon, the water is fantastically warm and crystal clear …

… still not all beaches are made equal!

• Kalafatis beach is a hotspot on the tour bus trail. It was blowing a gale when we passed by, the waves were rolling in and it didn’t warrant a lingering stop. Opposite the beach is the peninsula of Cape Tarsanas with a tiny fishing village – it looked abandoned aside from the 3 or 4 fishing boats moored in the harbour and was far more interesting than the famous beach.

• Platios Gialos is close to Old Town. It is very pretty. Yachts are moored just offshore and the whitewashed hotels and restaurants which line the beach were glowing in the morning sunlight and reflecting in the transparent teal water … but it was very noisy. The music blares out even first thing in the morning. It was fine for a quick dip but we moved on pretty quickly with Ibiza club music still ringing in our ears.

• Paradise Beach (with one of the most famous beach clubs on Mykonos) was horrible as expected – and a very, very long way from our vision of paradise 😉

• Kala Livadi was the first of several beaches we liked – in spite of the sun loungers and music! If you park halfway along the carpark behind the trees growing in the centre section of the beach then you’ll be directly in between the two beach clubs – you’ll be pretty much alone and can enjoy a swim in relative peace and quiet.

• If the wind drops and is not howling from the north you can risk a visit to Paralia Ftelias which is at the end of a dusty, dirt track with little else other than a couple of equally dust encrusted villas. You might imagine that it would be prime real estate land for building a hotel except it is as rough as the Atlantic Ocean in a hurricane on a typically windy day on the “Windy Island”. We drove down there on a day when the wind had dropped completely. There were a few locals sunbathing and swimming – who else would visit this obscure swathe of sand without any facilities, tavernas or any shade whatsoever? I’ll be honest the water was incredible (but then pretty much all of the water on the island was incredible) but the wind clearly blows a lot of trash and plastic into the enclosed bay which was a distinct downside.

• Fokos Beach is another locals favorite which lies on the north coast – whilst we were happy to visit and swim there as it is a beautiful, relatively secluded bay with fewer people than everywhere else on the island (save for Paralia Ftelias), it is, however, extremely stony underfoot to the point of abject agony. Water shoes would have been a distinct bonus for both walking on the beach and wading into the water … it’s a pity we had left them back at the villa by mistake 😉 Fokos is totally undeveloped – not a sun lounger or umbrella in sight (which was appealing) and it also boasts one of the most well-known tavernas on the island. Fokos Taverna was excellent for lunch. It has a more traditional family-run feel than the trendy restaurants in Old Town. The spinach, feta and leek pie was fabulous and the grilled shrimp with olive oil, parsley and garlic “drowned in wine” was unbelievable!

• Paraga beach is another popular place with trendy restaurants and more sun loungers and umbrellas than grains of sand but it was pretty quiet when we stopped for late lunch at Tasos Taverna – good food, a feet in the sand kind of place and with the Aegean Sea glistening in the sunlight.

• Lia Beach in the southeast of the island was by far our favorite beach on the island – we drove out there to swim several times. It was quite the breath of fresh air after all of the busy club-style beaches. It’s all very tasteful and understated – there are a few umbrellas and sun loungers for rent but they’re in the colors of the surrounding cliffs and the golden sand (no clashing colors allowed here!). The sea is transparent ultramarine and was as calm as a goldfish bowl – it was our happy place 😁 Lia Tavern is a few steps back from the sand – very instagram-appealing with its bright white tables and fresh cut flowers and colorful flowerpots on every tabletop. The wooden chairs are painted in shades of white and sky blue and padded bench seats are scattered with blue and yellow cushions. It is immaculate. It is also pricey (at least if you’re going for the grilled fresh fish option) and it was by far our favorite dining experience on the island. It was also probably the best grilled sea bream we’ve ever eaten. The sour cheese saganaka in filo with sesame seeds and honey was also the best we’ve ever eaten and the sesame halva with currants and ice-cream was divine. Absolutely loved both the beach and the restaurant!

At the end of the week we caught the Seajet Ferry from Mykonos to Paros where we found ourselves rubbing shoulders (amongst other body parts) with a variety of different island-hopping travelers including unwashed backpackers to tour groups and to fellow Generation X’ers. Being cautious we arrived at the ferry terminal an hour before the scheduled departure. This was a total waste of time. The ferry terminal is chaotic, hot and generally unpleasant – with hindsight we could have turned up 5 minutes before departure and we’d have been fine. Boarding is even more chaotic, overcrowded, hot, sticky and just plain awful. We deposited our suitcases in the metal racks at the carport level. The racks are labelled according to destination and I sent up a prayer that they’d still be there when we disembarked in Paros. We were kicked and pushed in the stampede to board the ferry and I lost count of the number of times my pristine white OnCloud sneakers were stamped on or, worse, run over by the greasy, dirty wheels of someone else’s suitcase. We found brief respite on the top floor in the Club lounge and were very relieved we’d bought the upgraded tickets. Thankfully, almost as soon as were settled into our reclining leather seats, we were called back down to the carport level to retrieve our luggage for disembarking. It was mercifully a quick 40 minute journey across the Aegean but not one we particularly enjoyed.

2. Paros:

Photos from Paros are here.

At first blush Paros is a much prettier island than Mykonos. There are trees dotted on the hillsides and abundant greenery in comparison to inland Mykonos which is brown, dry and quite bleak with dry stone wall terraces and no sign whatsoever of any kind of agricultural life. In the Paros countryside, in contrast, there are small vineyards, fig trees, tiny olive groves and pomegranate trees with ripe crimson fruit. There are avenues of eucalyptus trees (especially on the west coast) and the villas have flowering gardens with pink bougainvillea and oleander trees. Yes, it is definitely much prettier than Mykonos!

We stayed at Sivanis Boutique Apartments (bijou but very clean and very new which is always an advantage in the southern Med!). I had booked it, not for its luxuriousness, but for the simple reason that we could walk into Naousa town in 5 minutes instead of having to drive out for dinner and drinks every night. I had a niggling suspicion when I booked it that it would be very appealing to the millennial generation due to its trendy, minimalist style and as feared, we were old enough to be our fellow neighbours grandparents. No matter, we weren’t there to sit by the pool with the youngsters in their thongs, we were on the island to explore!

a. Naousa is the primary reason we came to Paros! We arrived late afternoon on the ferry from Mykonos starving and in search of sustenance. It was hot, windy (again!) and Geoff was desperate for a beer. We dropped our bags and followed up a recommendation I had for Notos Aegean Restaurant which is opposite the water in the outer harbour. It was probably one of the top meals of our month island-hopping in the Cyclades (so good that we returned for dinner one evening). The chef is far more inventive than average because she combines Asian and Greek. It was very high quality and super fresh without just being a repetition of every other Greek restaurant in the islands.

The highlight of Naousa village is the spectacular inner marina with its colourful bars and restaurants lining the waterfront. There are quiet, peaceful times there when you can be almost alone and there are not so quiet times when the nightlife is vibrant and the restaurants and bars are filled to capacity. There are effectively 3 waterfront sections in Naousa and each is entirely different. There is the outer harbor with the yachts and commercial fishing boats. Then there is the famous inner marina with small immaculately hand-painted “caiques” boats surrounded by equally immaculate posh restaurants and even posher bars (Barbarossa is apparently the place to be seen) selling €30 cocktails to the young, trendy and very glitzy. Last, but not least, there is the more laid-back waterfront section where you’ll find rustic tables and chairs on the small sandy beach – this is the location of the well-known Come Back Bar, Agosta and Christo Gastro Bar where you can watch the waves lap at the shore. All fabulous environments and atmospheres in their own way! We had cocktails at Christo (Geoff’s was really good, mine was very average) but the setting is amazing.

We loved Naousa for the quality of its light, the almost blindingly white buildings glowing in the sunshine, the blue shutters and the famous pink door and window frames of Methystra Bar and Linardo! Whilst these bars are very beautiful they have dreadful reviews so best to admire from afar! Linardo is instagram famous for its pink bougainvillea vine which is a little laughable since it’s made from plastic 😉 It was quite breathtaking seeing the marina for the first time in the early morning light when it was just us and a few fishermen mending their nets before setting out to sea. Again during the late afternoon (when the trendy young things are back at their hotels getting primped for their posh dinners and cocktails) the marina and the town are very tranquil before the restaurants and bars start opening their doors at 6pm for the evening.

We pushed the boat out for dinner at Sigi Ikthios with a waterfront table one evening – undoubtedly the best table in the house – with unforgettable views across the marina from all angles. Dinner was very good but it came at a premium, of course! Still, the food at Notos Aegean was the best we ate on Paros but you really can’t some here without eating in the famous marina!

b. Lefkes is a very pretty village with a distinctly more authentic feel than pristine Naousa. There are well-loved houses with pots of flowers and there are not-so-well-loved abandoned properties waiting for the right buyer to come along and breathe new life into them. We wandered through the back streets and although the car parks surrounding the small village were absolutely packed, the only place we came across any significant numbers of other tourists was in the central square. The central square is very pretty and it was packed with people sitting under the shade of the trees eating late breakfasts and sipping coffee. There were seats with colored blankets and cushions and the local kitties were as relaxed chilling out on the cushions as the locals and visitors alike. We stopped for coffee there at Agiazi Coffee which was great. We should have tried their homemade soaked orange cake … it looked amazing! Whatever you do, don’t waste you time with Ramnos Cafe slightly out of the main town. It’s very popular but unless you like burnt acidic coffee it won’t impress.

The highlight of a trip to the village is wandering through the quiet back streets, stopping at the famous “bougainvillea house” and visiting the Byzantine Church of the Holy Trinity which has lovely views and a spectacular frescoed ceiling. It has an imposing bell tower and marble walls with a peaceful graveyard with views over the hillside at the rear. We loved the village for its whitewashed buildings and traditional feel. I was very tempted to buy one of Todd Marshard’s modern organic ceramic vases. They were absolutely beautiful. He is an ex-fashion photographer from Northern California who moved to Lefkes and took up ceramic art. If only we weren’t traveling for another month in Europe and then back again in the UK before flying home to Florida!

c. Piso Livadi is a reasonably attractive fishing village – although more modern looking than the traditional white villages. It is popular for its sheltered beach – a beach within a harbour – which is good for a dip if you’re overheated as the water is very calm. You’ll be sharing the thin strip of sand with a fair few locals and holidaymakers from the apartments in the village but overall it’s not a particularly busy place. It is popular for its short stretch of restaurants facing the beach. We ate at Ouzel Halaris which was pretty good. Definitely worth a stop!

d. Marpissa is tiny but perfectly formed. Beautiful! Narrow flagstone alleyways, friendly street cats and enough balance between well-maintained properties with small courtyards filled with pots of flowers and older properties in need of renovation and some TLC to convince you that it’s an authentic lived-in village. There is a sense that it doesn’t need tourism to survive but also doesn’t mind the odd instagrammer so long as you don’t intrude on the tranquility of the residents for too long. Without doubt a quiet and tranquil place. We passed a couple of other tourists, a local resident sipping coffee whilst reading a book on a cushion outside of his house and two elderly men chatting and smoking in the otherwise empty taverna in the centre of the village. Overall we passed more street cats in Marpissa than people 😉 Best to wander aimlessly through the alleyways and up and down the winding flagstone pathways to soak up the ambience. Don’t miss the beautiful Pink Door House (you’ll actually find it on Google maps) nor the pretty white churches. You don’t need to spend more than an hour or so meandering in the peace and quiet but it was a definite highlight of our week on Paros for a slice of authentic Cycladic village life.

We stopped at Oasis Coffee and Bakery for coffee on the main road outside of Marpissa but it was dreadful. You’d be better off driving 10 minutes further uphill to Lefkes and grabbing a coffee there. As an aside, coffee shops in Greece are a very mixed bag. Generally they’re good (or very good) if you’re in a trendy, touristy town with lots of trendy wealthy tourists! Generally they’re bad (to dreadful) if you’re outside of town where the Greek locals go … the coffee is (mainly) awful quality and you’ll be sharing the patio with the local Greek men who chain smoke 24/7 and don’t seem to care how much smoke they’re blowing in your direction.

e. Aliki must be the sleepiest village on the island! We stopped there after visiting Faragas Beach on the south coast. The small harbor is lined with fish restaurants. We ate at To Balconi tou Aki. There are tables on the sand and tables laid out on the skinny pier jutting out into the water. It was great for a relaxing lunch watching the boats bobbing on the water and feeding the local kittens fresh lobster 😉 Not the best food on the island but our lucky kitties for the day didn’t seem to mind … it’s a good option if you’ve worked up an appetite swimming in the sea!

f. Although we loved Paros for many reasons, little has been more disappointing on our Greek Island hopping trip than the beaches of Paros. Even the better beaches wouldn’t make it to anyone’s shortlist if they’ve done much traveling (or indeed if they live in Florida!). Most of them have dark gritty sand and look like building sites … a lot of the rest of the coastline is rocky and unappealing with waves battering the shore and washing up seaweed and bits of trash. A few of them have decent enough sand and calm enough water to swim depending on wind direction … but most of them cannot hold a candle to the beaches of Mykonos.

• Paros’ reputed top “posh” beach is in the far south, sheltered from the north winds. As you approach Faragas beach from the main road it promises translucent ultramarine waters between golden rocky headlands. It looks very pretty from afar. Very likely it is the top beach on the island simply because competition is pretty low. Having said that, the water was very clean and clear. The sand is dark golden in color and the Faragas Beach Club isn’t too intrusive if you want to stop for a swim. We enjoyed it but it shouldn’t really make it to anyone’s list of “best beaches in the world” 😉
• Its most famous beach by far is Kolymbithres Beach. When first impressions count you aren’t going to feel terribly optimistic about it when you pull into the carpark. However, clamber over the debris and take a left from the car park (as you face towards the sea) and you’ll find a small beach (covered in the ubiquitous sun loungers and umbrellas for which much of Greece and Europe is renowned). If you get there before 10am you might almost be alone snapping pictures and grabbing a dip without too many other people ruining the view … 😉 By 10.30am the water shuttle from Naousa will deposit the first crowd and soon the car park will be crammed full. It is a beautiful beach with crystal clear turquoise water although the sand is dark – typical of Paros. It was great for an easy swim on a calm day between the huge rocks for which it is famous.
• Lageri beach – best to visit when you need a dip on a windy day when it’s blowing from the north as the bay is protected whilst the beaches up north towards Naousa will be battered by waves. If you walk a short distance over the headland on the right there is a small naturist beach which is great for topping up the tan without the irritating bikini lines! There were only 2 or 3 other similarly naked people sunning on the sand when we went for a quick dip.
• Piso Livadi beach is worth a stop if you need to cool off. It is calm and protected by the harbour and is a good option if the wind is blowing from the north and battering the beaches on the north of the island.
• Golden Beach is OK – good by Paros’ standards otherwise nothing too remarkable. The sand is dark (“golden” if you’re being very generous) and the water is reasonably clear. You might think it would be a safe bet when the north winds are blowing because it is somewhat protected by the headlands and its orientation along the coastline but the reality is that you’ll be chewing on sand which is periodically blasted all over you in gusts of wind from the sand dunes at the rear of the beach.

Awful beaches to be avoided:

• The inexplicably popular Paralia Monastiri (by popular I mean that there are so many people there they have to provide valet parking). The beach is just past the shipyard a couple of miles from Naousa. Follow the endless lines of ATV rentals and you can’t miss it – dull, churned up, murky water and way too many sun loungers and umbrellas for a very small stretch of muddy looking sand. Truly horrible …
• Plage Siparos – great if you want to be sandblasted and battered in the waves crashing onshore.
• Tripiti is small and unattractive. The drive south along the coast with expansive views across the Tripiti coast and the Mediterranean to the island of Naxos is, however, very beautiful. Just don’t get your hopes up down at beach level and keep your expectations well in check!

Honestly, if you have dreams of glorious Greek beaches, you’d best look elsewhere than the island of Paros … come for Naousa and it’s breathtaking harbor and the cute villages of Lefkes and Marpissa but don’t come only for the sea and the sand 😉

Antiparos:

It seems counter intuitive to say that one of the best things to do when you’re in Paros is to catch a ferry to somewhere else! 😉 However, our day trip to Antiparos was an absolute highlight of our week. We took our rental car on the 7 minute ferry from Pounta on Paros to Antiparos.

The island is the summer home of Tom Hanks and various other celebrities. It is more laidback than Paros with notably better beaches! The old town was super quiet until mid-morning. There were a few other early-risers snapping photos of the bougainvillea and the pretty cafes. We had coffee and cake on the patio at MAZ where Geoff cuddled the island’s heftiest street cat, his legs bowing under the weight … obviously the kitty wasn’t a stranger to the kibble bowl 😉 On that note, both Paros and Antiparos have impressive cat charity schemes whereby they prioritize neutering and spaying of stray cats to keep numbers down and the street cats are well cared for and well fed. This made us very happy!

Antiparos’ best beach is Faneromeni Beach which is way down in the southern tip at the end of a long, bouncy, rough, dusty dirt track. Don’t be put off by the drive – it was well worth the effort. It was unsurprisingly busy since it’s a very small stretch of sand in a very narrow bay (and we didn’t arrive until midday which is peak sunbathing time) but the water was fabulous and definitely worth the excursion. Even if you don’t make it as far as Faneromeni there are others you can stop at: Paralia Sostis was larger but also very pretty with protected waters or there is Soros Beach (although that is a typical beach club environment and didn’t appeal). The drive en route to the far southern tip is very pretty with views over the bays and finger-like spits with the island of Paros in the distance.

It is a very pretty island with lots of greenery and seapine scrub and literally more bougainvillea trees than I’ve ever seen in my life! Pink and red flowers cascading over almost every building – quite spectacular! Head for St Nicholas Square in the centre of town and you’ll catch many of the highlights – white chapels, famous instagram-worthy shopfronts and colorful street scenes. Loved it!

If you want an excellent chilled out day trip from the big island then Antiparos is unmissable!

Santorini:

Photos from Santorini are here.

Time to move on to Santorini but the expected onward journey from Paros didn’t go entirely as planned.

Go island hopping in Greece for a month, I thought … we can hop on the ferries which criss-cross the Aegean and it’ll be so much easier than bothering with airports …

Island-hopping in Greece … it sounds so romantic and carefree and uncomplicated! How wrong I was!

We were scheduled to leave at 10am on a 1½ hour fast ferry with Seajets from Parikia in Paros to Santorini. I don’t like ferries very much, if I’m honest, but if you can keep the crossing under 2 hours I’ll give it a go. Two days before our scheduled sailing we received the first of many subsequent texts from Seajets. Out of the blue they had canceled our quick direct ferry and moved us to a 10am slow boat to China which would take 5½ hours and stop in multiple ports … yuck What choice did we have? It was too late to arrange a flight from Paros to Athens and Athens to Santorini … anyway, what a faff that sounded! So, reluctantly, we drove to the ferry terminal and dropped off our rental car with Giorgios at Notos Rental Cars in Parikia. It was a few hundred yards, a very short walk from the rental office to the ferry building. We dragged our cases towards the ferry terminal with a sense of foreboding and found ourselves in a vast ocean of similarly stressed people whose ferries had been canceled, delayed and tripled in travel length. The atmosphere was positively fraught. We fought through piles of abandoned luggage, suitcases and legs. There were bodies strewn across the pavements (seating was in short supply). I was dosed up with seasick pills and absolutely dreading the journey ahead …

We could see that the seas were churning in the harbour as we received another text … there was now another hour of delay before departure and the journey time was getting longer and longer. With the roiling seas and the 50mph predicted wind gusts it was guaranteed to be a puke fest on what transpired to be the windiest day of the year in the windiest islands in Greece. Great …

Rather than join our fellow travelers sitting on our bags on the tarmac under the beating sun we dragged our bags and suitcases back to Giorgios’ office and asked him to look after them for us. We were lucky, he was very amenable. He liked us. We had washed and polished and dusted his filthy old banger which, truth be told, could barely make it up the hills on Paros without stalling. When we returned it to him it was in considerably better shape than it had been when we’d collected it a week earlier 😉 Since we had more than enough time for lunch and coffee we took a shortcut down through the backstreets into the old town and found a seat in the shade at Maroon cafe under a trailing pink bougainvillea where I tried to calm myself for the forthcoming ordeal.

Geoff, however, had another idea! He was googling quietly as we waited for our coffee and orange cake … then he wandered away and chatted on his cellphone. He wandered back to the table where he googled some more, sent a few texts, made another quick call and returned with a smile to tell me that an executive decision had been made whist I was sipping my latte and prodding miserably at my cake …

Rather than spend 5 hours vomiting into a small bag in abject misery with 1,000 fellow travelers in a confined space (no doubt all simultaneously vomiting into their own bags) we were instead chartering a private helicopter to Santorini! A tad excessive perhaps, but that sounded like much more fun! The only downside was that we had to hotfoot it back to Naousa at the other end of the island (where we had come from only a few hours earlier when we checked out of our hotel). So the immediate problem was the matter of transport. We texted Giorgios to let him know of our change of plan and asked if he could kindly call us a cab to the helipad and that we’d be back shortly to collect our bags.

We sat chatting with Giorgios back at the office while we waited for the cab … and waited … and waited … Giorgios kept calling but received no response. We were getting more and more nervous that we would miss our shockingly expensive flight. Suddenly, he grabbed his car keys and told us he’d drive us to the meeting point. Bless him … he drove us 35 minutes north to an obscure dusty patch of land behind a gas station in the middle of nowhere and waited with us until our pilot arrived. He wouldn’t take any money from us for his gas or his time. Sometimes it really pays to return a ratty old rental car in better shape and much cleaner than it’s been in its entire rental life since driving off the car dealership forecourt however many years earlier 😉

So, rather than arrive in Santorini clutching a bag of warm vomit we had the flight of a lifetime with the most incredible views as we flew over the deep blue caldera. When the world famous white hilltop village of Oia came into sight it was breathtaking! It was certainly a significantly more stylish arrival than the one we might otherwise have had. The reality is that we could both have flown business class back to the USA for the price of a private 30 minute helicopter flight but what the hell!

I loved Santorini – not all of it, of course – but there were some spectacular highlights. The beaches, generally speaking, are awful and are not amongst the highlights of the island. Worse even than in Paros! Most visitors are acutely aware that Santorini’s appeal does not lie with its volcanic beaches but some were mysteriously highly rated.

Anyway … the best of Santorini In order of fabulousness (because it is a fabulous island!):

a. Oia (pronounced “ear”)

I know I wasn’t really supposed to like Oia because it’s fantastically touristy and can be quite busy but honestly we absolutely loved it! There are certainly times of the day when the trails of cruise-shippers with their name tags stuck to the front of their t-shirts will drive you nuts as they snake their way slowly through the narrow, winding passageways. When they’re not clogging up the painted stairways and hogging the top photo spots for endless photo sessions then they’re stomping on your feet seemingly hopelessly oblivious to anyone else around them at all. The good news is that you really can avoid them if you put in the effort! There are plenty of obscure little passages you can dart down and find yourselves pretty much alone although I suspect this might not be the case in June, July or August, in the height of season. Anyway, I loved it all – the Cycladic architecture, the colors, the ultramarine blue of the volcanic caldera contrasted with the blinding white of the cave houses, shops and hotels which look like they could tumble into the sea at any moment … and the quality of the light is truly stunning!

The views across the village are breathtakingly fabulous … morning, noon and night …

However, to avoid the crowds you need to be up and about early. If you want to see the famous Three Domes of Oia then get there before 7.45am (you’ll still wait 30 minutes for the primo photo spot so you might as well bite the bullet early and avoid the otherwise inevitable 90 minute wait). In any case the light will be in the wrong place if you wait until the afternoon.

Oia’s sunsets are legendary … I wouldn’t quite go that far (we have more colorful, dramatic sunsets on the west coast of Florida) but it’s an undeniably iconic view from the castle. Since it is also reputedly crazy busy at sunset, I dragged poor Geoff up to the 15th century Venetian Castle ruins viewpoint a full 2½ hours before sunset and sat in the baking sun melting off the wall until the big event (which was over in minutes). I would hesitate to suggest that it wasn’t really worthy of the massive investment of time because it probably was simply in order to witness the white cave dwellings turn yellow and gold in the Golden Hour just before sunset … although Geoff didn’t necessarily agree … still … when in Oia …

Anyway we loved Oia! It’s absolutely unmissable and if you can get there early in the morning and then hang out at your villa between 11am and 4pm away from the crowds then you’ll appreciate it all the more when you head back in for those iconic evening sunset shots. We spent 3 nights in Oia to allow 2 full days to explore the village (including some downtime) which we didn’t regret at all! The villa was new but in an unexpectedly rustic and inconvenient location for the price but that’s Oia for you! St John Oia Private Hideaway had the benefit of a heated pool and a fabulously peaceful location overlooking the Aegean Sea in the distance – the opposite direction to the highly-prized caldera views. The owner was a remarkably good host who delivered breakfast to the patio each morning and, on our last morning, when the power had been out all night and was still unaccountably out the following morning, he brought us a camping Primus Gas Stove (borrowed from his mother-in-law) to heat enough water to make 2 cups of tea … because he understood that it’s impossible for a Brit to start the day without a cup of Earl Grey!

Food is varied according to budget. Phyllon is a fantastic bakery on the outskirts of town with a small patio and the feel that you’ve been transported to a chic French sidewalk cafe – it served excellent chocolate croissants (bear in mind chocolate isn’t chocolate in Greece – it’s Nutella 😉), a divine chocolate tart and good coffee. KooKoo Bar and Restaurant also on the outskirts of town is highly rated, always packed for dinner and was reasonably good but nothing spectacular. Vitrin Creperie and Cafe in the thick of the village has a fabulous view over the whitewashed cave houses and caldera and is a great location for taking a few minutes downtime in a world class location but the coffee was absolutely awful. I was more relieved that we didn’t order food – it looked bland, colorless and utterly boring.

b. Ammoudi Bay! We grabbed a cab for the princely sum of €20 for the steep descent to Ammoudi Bay from the main road in Oia. Obviously this was daylight robbery, as was the €15 return journey to the top of the hill but, at the time, we didn’t know that we could have driven halfway down the hill to a dusty carpark from where we could then have hopped on a free shuttle to the waterfront restaurants … you live and learn … Ammoudi Bay is, unsurprisingly, quite touristy but absolutely striking for its incredible location and its transparent ultramarine waters. If you look up from the waters edge you can see Oia at the top of the cliff. From a waterfront table at one of the resaurants you will have a world class view out into the caldera where you can watch yachts and tour boats passing by with the sunlight glinting off the water around them. We ate lunch at Ammoudi Bay Fish Tavern. It was expensive (location, location, location!) but it was very high quality and absolutely worth the time, effort (and expense) to get down there. Absolutely unmissable!

c. Pyrgos is one of the smaller, less touristy villages in the centre of the island. Tour buses will start arriving mid-morning but it’s relatively peaceful before that. The morning light is wonderful with the village and its various blue-domed churches lit against the blue sky. The real treat is the view from Franco’s Bar (the coffee was awful and shockingly overpriced for the quality). The terraces at Franco’s overlook the entire island – south to Akrotiri with its ancient prehistoric ruins, along the full sweep of the skinny island, across the caldera and all the way to Fira, Imerovigli and a long distance clifftop view of Oia. Utterly spectacular! The narrow alleyways weaving between the houses up towards the churches and the Kasteli are positively tranquil by Oia standards. Most people come here for the peace and quiet and to wander the back streets of somewhere a little bit more authentic than Oia (but for glamour and iconic views, Oia still beats everywhere else on the island). The coffee was far better at Penelope’s Ouzeri tucked under a church tower with blue-painted chairs overlooking our favorite church view in Pyrgos. Admittedly, it was very slow service and it was service with a sneer and about as much disinterest as we saw over the entire month in Greece but it was worth it to sip our latte & americano against a backdrop of one of Santorini’s most beautiful villages. Pyrgos Bakery (family run for decades) back down at the main road was a very good choice for snacks.

d. The village of Megalochori is absolutely stunning. Small, compact with a central square and a couple of restaurants and art galleries. We loved it for its tranquility, authenticity and its highly photogenic bell towers! The first has a very tall arch through which you pass to enter the central square, the central hub of village life. Continue on through the village and you’ll find a gem – a 3 tier, 6 bell tower framed by tumbling pink bougainvillea. We visited late afternoon on our arrival day and there were barely any other tourists and, even better, the light was perfect for photographing the famous bell towers. We stopped for drinks and a late afternoon snack at Olio which was great. We chatted with a few locals (mainly about the street cats 😉) and absorbed the peace and quiet. Loved it! It’s small but definitely unmissable 😁

Megalochori was our home for the second half of the week in Samsara Luxury Villa. The villa is on the outskirts of the village, a 5 minute drive to the centre of the main village. To be fair, “luxury” in Santorini isn’t necessarily luxury USA style but the villa was nice with a fabulous huge patio and pool overlooking a vineyard and the village with a distant view to the sea. After the power failure earlier in the week at Oia we weren’t expecting another sudden loss of basic services so we were surprised to wake one morning to find that we had no running water. In typical Greek style the owner didn’t really care much … we were told “it happens” without any indication of what the problem might be or, more relevantly, when it would resume. We were heading out for the day and the attitude of the owner hadn’t filled us with confidence that we would have any fresh water at all for the rest of the day (contrary to Tassos in Oia who had tackled our power service interruption problem head on and furnished us with the aforementioned Primus stove). So, albeit that the pool water was unswimmably freezing we grabbed a bar of soap and took our morning “shower” in the villa’s pool 😉 Almost the entire day passed with half-hearted responses as to progress on resolving our water supply issue but by late afternoon when we returned all was back to normal which was a relief because we didn’t really want to take our second “shower” of the day in the icy pool water.

After our various excursions, we hung out in the villa most afternoons with a super friendly stray kitty whom we initially named Stavros until we discovered he wasn’t a Stavros but she was a Stavroula 😉 She certainly knew which side her bread was buttered and quickly discovered that we were suckers for a hard luck cat story so we fed her as much salmon, kibbles and Whiskas as she demanded (leaving cans and bags of food for the next guests arriving at the villa). In exchange she turned on all of her charm and wedged herself between us on the sun lounger for cuddles. Whilst there are a lot of stray cats in the Greek Islands we were considerably heartened by their good treatment from the locals. Historically, cats have been highly revered in Greece and considered important contributing members to the local community keeping rodent populations down and protecting food crops and, as such, they were considered symbols of good fortune. Every town and village we visited across the Cyclades had charity boxes to which we contributed in order to help the residents provide food. We saw trays of food for the kitties on street corners and outside houses and we even met a local guy in Megalochori who spoke great English and who frequently took in strays which needed medical attention. We also discovered there were programs for spaying and neutering which goes straight to the heart of the problem – absolutely fantastic. Other far wealthier countries in Europe could learn from their good example – yep – I’m talking about you Spain … and you Italy …

e. Red Beach was our favorite beach on Santorini by far. As I’ve alluded to, beaches in Santorini are not very memorable. Red Beach, however, was very visually striking. From the car park it’s a 5 minute hike over a rocky peninsula and down a pebble slope to reach the waters edge (not best done in flip-flops but not impossible). There are ropes and random wobbly metal poles you can use to assist clambering over the worst of the rocks but it is definitely worth the effort for a swim in the bay. The backdrop to the emerald green and teal water is a stunning cliff of red rock, black volcanic rock and, in the distance, grey rock. The best light to capture the myriad of shades and to appreciate the sparkly red and black pebbles which make up the beach is mid-to-late afternoon. It is a narrow strip of beach and understandably gets very busy because it’s the best (and the most famous) beach on the island! By late afternoon the bay started to fill up with the day cruise catamarans doing the “Red Beach, Black Beach and White Beach” tours. By the time we left around 4pm there were 25 yachts and catamarans in the bay!

Another distinct advantage of hanging out for the day at or near Red Beach is the tiny string of waterfront fish restaurants at the bottom of the hill just around the headland from the beach. We had an excellent “fish of the day” lunch at The Cave of Nikolas Fish Tavern – sea bream with capers and sun-dried tomatoes in an olive oil wine sauce and charcoal-grilled vegetables which would have been worth the trip alone. This is old Greece … the kind of authentic family-run business you dream of finding in the Greek Islands. No frills, rustic wooden tables and chairs set on a terrace mere feet from the sea and seafood fresh out of the water that morning.

Places we liked, but are not totally unmissable if you are short on time:

a. Messaria is a pleasant village not far from Pyrgos and Megalochori which doesn’t cater for tourists at all. There isn’t much to see other than to wander a few of the back streets up to the church which dominates the skyline. It is an opportunity to see a slice of ordinary life in Santorini where the locals are so surprised to see visitors that they greet you with a friendly “Kalimera” (Good morning!). If you’re passing with 15 minutes to spare then it might be worth a stop on the way to or from Pyros or Megalochori.

b. Imerovigli is deemed unmissable by every blogger I’ve ever read. Aside from the beautiful views over the caldera I’m not sure we would agree. There are great views over the village which are reminiscent of Oia but you could see the entire village in about 15 minutes. There are clearly some nice hotels with spectacular views but I wouldn’t make a special trip if you are short on time. It is well-known for the rocky promontory which pokes out into the caldera, Skaros Rock. The promontory is famous for its sunset views and as a destination on the Oia to Fira caldera hike. Coffee and cheesecake at the pretty insta-worthy terrace cafe of Confetti on the outskirts of the village were good. They specialize in ornately presented cakes and desserts 😁

c. Paralia Vlichada is a black sand beach with volcanic pebbles, good for swimming with rolling waves set against a spectacular lunar-look landscape with sand-colored volcanic cliffs eroded by the wind into caves and pinnacles. Fine if you’re in the area (or if your water supply is off at your villa for the day) and you need to cool down … but other than that …

Places and beaches we didn’t like and wouldn’t recommend:

a. Fira. We were a little baffled by Fira. It makes it to most visitors list of unmissable places to visit but if you’ve seen Oia then you don’t need to see Fira if you’re short on time. It doesn’t compare. It is the main port of entry for the cruise ships and has a somewhat down at heel feel to it in places. There is a panoramic viewpoint at the top of the cable car running up and down from the port which looks south towards the old village. It is grungy, dirty and the surrounding sidestreets are literally thick with donkey poo. Shockingly, tourists still exploit donkeys by riding the poor creatures up from the port along a long, steep, hot pathway when they could take a perfectly serviceable 5 minute cable car instead. We found our way to the central plaza in Fira and were equally unenamoured. The shops along the way were cheap and touristy (not that Oia is immune to that either but they are interspersed with considerably more attractive, upmarket stores for the wealthy visitors). I don’t know what we missed which might have improved our experience but frankly I’d skip it and hang out in Oia instead any day! We meandered uphill from the panoramic viewpoint to the famous view over the Three Domes of Fira which wasn’t quite the romantic experience portrayed by bloggers. For one thing, we should have saved the hot slog through the residential area and driven up instead; secondly, it was packed with tour buses. The light was great in the morning when it illuminates the domes against the glittering blue Aegean but you’ll probably be fighting for a spot to take a quick snap.

b. Kamari Beach was our least favorite place on the island. It is another black volcanic beach which receives far higher ratings than it actually deserves. Very disappointing. Uncomfortable pebbles, slabs of stone and wall-to-wall cheap bars, sun loungers and umbrellas (most of which were free if you spent the day buying the bar owners food and drink). Yuck. Horrible beach.

Time to move on to Crete. With hindsight and our knowledge of Greek ferries we would have taken the long route – a flight to Athens and a connection the following day to Crete (or we might not have bothered at all with Crete as it turned out) but it was all too late for that level of major rescheduling and so we were faced with another awful turbulent ferry trip to get to Crete. After the debacle with the ferry 7 days earlier Geoff remained singularly unimpressed with my original plan to island-hop by Seajet Ferry. So he called Santorini Helicopters again and, after a brief chat, had booked us on another private flight 😉 with the same pilot & helicopter! 😁

4. Crete:

Photos from Crete are here.

I like helicopter flights … I really do … but this would be about our tenth in a year and I’m not oblivious to the fact that occasionally they plummet to the ground for unknown reasons. I’m not a nervous flier at all but there comes a stage when you feel you might be pushing your luck zipping around like VIPs in private choppers! So, I was a little nervous and counted every passing minute after takeoff until Heraklion airport in Crete came into sight and we’d landed safely on the tarmac surrounded by huge charter planes. How the other half live! We’d been collected from our villa in Santorini by limo, another limo met us at the door of the helicopter, support staff carried our bags and we passed straight through the VIP line at the airport. We were whisked through the airport like royalty and escorted to the desk of Best Rental Cars whose owner was having a very dramatic Greek meltdown. He was a large and intimidating man as he stormed around gesticulating and bellowing at his staff. They didn’t have a car for us, it seemed. Then he bellowed at us accusing us of not giving him our helicopter flight details which were clearly written on the pre-paid booking form in front of him … how the mighty had fallen 😉 For the fuss he was making you’d have thought we’d be there for the afternoon. Apparently all of his cars were stuck in stationary traffic. He had no idea when ours would arrive “5 minutes, 30 minutes, an hour … who knows … the traffic … the airport is chaos”. We were shoved off to the side to wait in the beating midday sun whilst he continued to rant down his cellphone until the traffic jam in the city had receded and our car screeched into the parking bay 10 minutes later … not really worth the owner’s near coronary. I’m guessing the Greeks don’t handle stress well …

We were little unsure about Crete at the start of our week. It’s a huge island which would need considerably longer to explore in depth than our 7 nights but even so it didn’t leave us feeling as if we should rush back (and especially not to the Chania area). On the upside – it’s green! The terrain is, in the majority, quite different from the Cycladic islands – the dry stone terraces, dust and lunar-landscapes were apparently behind us. The mountains are rocky and rugged with scrub and dotted with wild herbs and the valleys and lower hillsides are silvery green with thousands of acres of olive groves. Olive farming is the most dominant agricultural crop on the island and a staggering 160,000 acres of Cretan countryside is dedicated to the cultivation of olive trees. There are also orange groves, fig trees and avocado trees; we spotted cypress trees growing along the roadsides and oleander and bright pink bougainvillea bushes tumbled over buildings growing wild in the countryside. However, location matters and Platanias where we were based (30 minutes from Chania) was definitely not for us – it’s pretty much one long strip of hotels, restaurants and t-shirt stores. Oh dear … bad choice 😉 Platanias has some popular restaurants lining the beach. Sonio Beach Restaurant was good. It is in a great location with tables on the boardwalk on the sand – great for fish and cocktails with a sunset view over the sea.

Thankfully, we found some beautiful places and, with hindsight, discovered that we would have liked the island considerably more if we’d have stayed down on the south coast as it was wilder and less touristy with distinctly better beaches.

Highlights of our week in Crete:

a. Sfakia (AKA Chora Sfakion) is a very small south coast village 1½ hours from Chania. The drive south down across the island was spectacular with views to the imposing limestone peaks of the White Mountains. It passed through country villages and verdant valleys. Shortly after you pass the Imbros Gorge the road becomes much steeper with miles of dizzying, sweeping switchbacks and then the deep blue Libyan Sea comes into view way below glittering in the perpetual Cretan sunshine. The drive alone would be worth the investment of time. The village itself has not escaped the clutches of tourism … there are tour buses pouring in at various times of day shuttling visitors to catch the ferry to neighboring Loutro and the surrounding beaches accessible only by boat. However, in between ferry times, it was remarkably quiet and peaceful (at the beginning of October at least!). We arrived at 9.50am just as the 10am morning ferry was leaving for Loutro. The view over the harbour is best mid-morning when the light catches all of the hues of teal and green and ultramarine of the sea. We stopped at the coffee shop with comfortable stripy blue sofas on the corner next to Kitchen Stories By The Sea for coffee and Sfakia Pie (a thin pancake stuffed with spicy cheese and drizzled with honey). The coffee was so bad I couldn’t drink it but I could hardly go to Sfakia without trying their renowned namesake pie! Lunch (many hours later) at a table under the sunshade at Kitchen Stories By The Sea was considerably more delicious with homemade vegetarian specials and excellent fresh fish.

You can walk the village in a few minutes if I’m honest, but that would be missing the point. It is a great place to linger in one of the waterfront cafes by the water and watch the world go by. A few minutes walk up through the village is the main beach – Vrissi Beach – a tiny strip of sand wedged between two rocky cliffs with blue umbrellas and a taverna overlooking the sea. The water is incredibly clear and blue and warm for swimming. So much more beautiful than our “home beach” at Platanias up north.

We took a drive up the winding switchback mountain roads towards Anopolis. The views were fantastic over the rocky, barren cliffs and the deep blue Libyan Sea. In the distance we spotted famous Sweetwater Beach (AKA Gayla Nera) which is accessible only by boat or a dusty hike across the rugged rocky terrain). It was hot in the midday sun and mountain goats were huddled together in the shade of the rocky outcrops … others wandered about aimlessly on the roads and in the scrub chewing on low-lying herbs and dry golden thistles. We spotted Ilianas Beach way below us from the mountain road and drove down to explore. It was stunning – the beach itself is mainly pebbles and stone and is absolutely impossible to walk on without water shoes but the water was the palest blue I’ve even seen and absolutely transparent. Very beautiful for swimming! We met some Belgians and got chatting … we didn’t have time to visit the other beaches but they said that Paralia Marmara just along the coast was even more spectacular. Obviously this section of coast with its rocky bays and beaches has a lot more to offer than our section of the north coast. You live and learn!

b. Out for a drive through the countryside not far from Chania we came upon Fres – a village so small you could blink and miss it – a real slice of Cretan life – which is (away from the effects of mass tourism) very, very, very slow! The surrounding hills were green with olive trees and it was all very bucolic. It lies in the foothills of the White Mountains and is very possibly the quietest place we’ve ever been! The small village square is dominated by two or three tavernas all vying for the attention of potential passing trade. The most interesting looking restaurant was opposite the imposing church where tables were being laid for lunch in the shady garden of the churchyard. We didn’t have time to eat there… we were off to Margarites!

c. Margarites is a popular pretty village in the mountains a short distance from Rethymno. It was our favorite countryside village in Crete. We arrived at midday for lunch which was perfect timing because the 2 tour buses parked at the roadside were reloading their passengers which meant that the village was pretty quiet once they’d shipped out. It is well-known for its tradition of handmade pottery. It has well-preserved architecture and pretty alleyways. There are tourist shops specializing in colorful pottery and small courtyards with flower pots and elderly ladies chatting in the shade of plane trees. It was all rather peaceful and lovely. The homemade specials for lunch at Taverna Veranda under the shade of a huge plane tree were excellent. Loved it there for lunch and a short visit pottering about the pottery shops 😉

d. We chose our villa in Platanias because of it’s proximity to Chania – a town which has been on my Greek bucket list for 30 odd years ever since I visited Crete as a “20 something” for a week of youthful fun and debauchery 😉 The buildings are a blend of Venetian and Ottoman architecture and are spectacular, however, the town is not quite what I thought it would be.

The downside is that we spent the day dodging the manic crowds from the cruise ship. There was only one ship in port that day and it was absolutely crazy down by the Venetian Harbour. Normally there are 3 or 4 ships in port in Chania daily (I can’t imagine what that’s like) … We escaped the worst of the crowds by darting down the backstreets into the side streets where there was a much more peaceful pace of life … quiet restaurants and cafes well away from the strips of cheap souvenir stores. We found a tranquil restaurant in the heart of the Jewish Quarter west of the Venetian Harbour, opposite the Jewish Synagogue Etz Hayyim. We sat under the shade of a grapevine suspended across the narrow alleyway above To Xani Restaurant, which was a welcome reprieve from the crowds by the waterfront. This is by far the most picturesque section of the city. After lunch we walked back through the town crossing over the busy Chalidon shopping street en route to the Turkish Quarter and its centerpiece Splantzia Square and the Ahmet Aga Minaret, a striking example of Ottoman architecture in the city. These areas are unmissable along with the Firkas Fortress, the old Egyptian Lighthouse at the end of the pier and the Ottoman-era red-domed mosque Küçük Hasan Mosque.

e. Harmonia Spa at Euphoria Resort is a few miles west of Platanias. We thought we’d avail ourselves of their facilities which come free of charge for a 2 hour visit before a massage in their facilities. The all-inclusive hotel appeared to be popular with Eastern Europeans. I had one of the best massages of my life and Geoff had absolutely his worst. The heated pool was freezing. The sauna and steam room were great. So … 50:50 on whether we’d recommend it or not 😉

So, in summary, a month has flown by hopping around the Cyclades and Crete by the somewhat unconventional mode of private helicopter travel 😉 With all lengthy travel trips there are ups and downs (don’t talk to me about Greek drivers or the dismal Greek supermarkets). You might perhaps expect at least one or two days of power outages or loss of water and you should definitely plan on feeding a lot of stray cats! The smaller islands pack more of a punch than Crete did for us. They embody the typical Greek island “daydream” of family-owned tavernas on the waterfront and pretty bougainvillea-draped villages but we loved all of the islands for their various diverse attributes.

Maybe next time we plan a Greek island-hopping adventure it will be to explore the Ionian islands of Corfu, Paxos and Antipaxos … but only if we can do it by chopper 😉