Cypria

Alluring Santorini

White washed houses with blue doors and windows hanging out from the steep red and black cliffs. Narrow cobbled streets surrounded by traditional houses. Picturesque villages full of dug-in houses carved into the rocks. Shimery captain's houses lying under the sunshine.

An extraordinary garland made by exquisite artistic mansions fills with colour, light and life the imposing Caldera. Santorini is an extremely beautiful island, full of colours, scents and scenery. It's like a big puzzle in which every piece hides its own private history: museums, churches,scheduled settlements, sea, volcano and hospitable people.

The best aubergine salad in Greece!

You can explore Santorini by walking along the "kalderimia" - the narrow cobbled streets of the island - by enjoying local food and tasting the famous wines of Santorini, by visiting the museums and the archaeological sites or simply by basking on one of Santorini's alluring beaches, such as Monolithos, Kamari, Perissa and Perivolos, or simply by contemplating the most famous sunset in the world.

 

How to get there:

Santorini can be reached from most international airports via Athens. Athens is served by the Athens International Airport Eleftherios Venizelos.

Where to stay:

Santorini Hotels

The Greek Islands

 

 

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The ideal summer holiday for me rhymes with the Greek Islands. Many people think they are all alike, yet they are so different. Despite some similarities, each Greek island has its very special "character" which can be enjoyed only if you mix with the islanders. And each time I came back home from a holiday on the Greek islands, I brought back home cherished memories and images of clear waters, secluded coves, great food at the local tavernas and the intoxicating sound of the bouzouki.

 

Hotel Review : Palazzo del Mare, Kos

Palazzo del Mare is one of the finest hotels on the island of Kos. It is situated at about 10 km from Hippocrates Airport, 25 km from the town of Kos and 1 km from the seaside village of Marmari.

 Upon arrival on Wednesday July 13, my husband and I were welcomed by the friendly staff at the reception and  were immediately shown to the terrace,  elegantly furnished with comfortable, off-white sofas and overlooking the huge swimming pool and the hotel’s luxuriant gardens.  Having enjoyed a welcome drink while completing check-in,  we were shown to our room -  spacious, beautifully decorated and with direct access to the pool! The bathroom was equipped with perfumed, velvety towels and bath robes. Cleanliness in our room was impeccable just like everywhere in the hotel!

  When on holiday, we almost invariably book Bed & Breakfast but did not regret for a minute our half-board terms of stay this time. We loved the food so much that we had lunch out twice only during our stay. Breakfast consisted of a wide range of different kinds of bread, rolls, croissants, sweets, fruits, eggs, pancakes, delicatessen, cheeses, jams to mention just a few of the savoury breakfast options. Dinner consisted of such a wide variety of salads, starters, main courses and desserts that it was impossible to try them all in one week! Lunch was served at Bacco Restaurant which was an à la carte Italian restaurant in the evening. We also greatly appreciated a special treat on the beach across the road where all hotel guests were offered cold melon and water melon.

Entertainment was also a part of our wonderful experience at Palazzo del Mare. The hotel’s home band entertained us every evening from 7 pm till late at night while there was a Greek night on Saturdays.

Considering all the above in addition to fast and efficient service, the hotel is good value for money and I strongly recommend it if you ever plan to spend a holiday in Kos. Finally, I would like to thank from the bottom of my heart the hotel management for everything they did to make our holiday an unforgettable experience.  

All photos by Anastasia Marou for Cypria

Tilos Island

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Tilos is located southern of Nisiros Island. It is a small, isolated, rocky island of great archaeological
interest. Its quiet beaches and architectural sights, offer an ideal choice for carefree and relaxed holidays.

The capital of Tilos Island is Megalo Chorio. It is located at the northern part of the island and has 250 inhabitants. It is an impressive settlement, built within the walls of a Venetian castle, on the foundations of ancient Tilos. Nowadays, the housing construction of the village is expanding out of the Venetian walls. It is worth visiting the small museum of the island which exhibits the bones of the pre-historic dwarf-elephant.

Photo Credit

Photo Credit

At a distance of 2,5 km in western Tilos, in Megalo Chorio, you can visit the Monastery of Agios Antonios and 6,5 km north-west, the Monastery of Agios Panteleimonas. The main port of the island is Livadia, located south-east of the capital. It is a picturesque small port, built on a beautiful bay, which forms a pebbled beach of almost two kilometres. The only sight of the island is an imposing building which the Italians had built, as a reminder of their domination over the island.

Photo Credit

Photo Credit

SOURCE

Halkidiki, Northern Greece

HALKIDIKI is the triple pronged peninsula that lies on the north-east coast of mainland Greece. The Halkidiki region is served by the airport at Thessaloniki and its characteristic three pointed prongs are Kassandra, Sithonia and Athos, separated by two large bays.

Halkidiki is noted for its long, sandy beaches, deep coves and fast-developing tourist resorts. Kassandra, to the west and nearest the airport, has seen the heaviest influx of tourism with purpose-built resorts all around the coast.

The middle prong of Halkidiki is Sithonia - more hilly and wilder than neighbouring Kassandra and very popular with campers, although luxury hotel resorts can also be found.

 

The third prong of Halkidiki is Mount Athos, or Holy Mountain. Athos is wilder still than both its neighbours. The Athos peninsular is almost wholly given over to Christian Greek Orthodox monasteries, established there since the 9th century, with tourists strictly confined to the north.

Women are banned from stepping onto monastic land on Athos and male visitors need a special permit to go ashore. Most tourists are reduced to skirting the peninsula on daily boat trips.

Halkidiki's peculiar geography gives the province the longest single stretch of coastline in Greece at around 500km and much of it made up of sandy beaches and deep bays.

Most of the beach holiday resorts throughout Halkidiki are easy to reach thanks to an extensive and well maintained road system, although public transport tends to peter out in Sithonia.

via www.greekisland.co.uk

Lemnos Island - North-Eastern Aegean

Lemnos Greece lies between the islands of Lesvos and Samothraki, in the archipelago called North-Eastern Aegean. Still unspoiled by high tourism, Lemnos is a very attractive and authentic island. It is a magical place with superb beaches, numerous archaeological sites and a wonderful, unspoiled landscape. The traditional atmosphere of the island makes it even more appealing. Flamingos are living in the lakes on the northern part.

 
Lemnos is an island rich in history and natural beauty. It is mostly a mountainous island but it has nice
beaches, too. The castles and the archaeological sites of Lemnos testify its rich culture and active presence in the ancient times. The island of Lemnos has some of the finest beaches of the North-Eastern Aegean. Its coastline is full of sandy or pebbled places, surrounded by volcanic rocks or vegetations and offering crystalline azure waters. A few of those magical places are equipped with sun beds, umbrellas and sea sports facilities, while most are left to their natural beauty.

Most popular and organized beaches on Lemnos are located on the western side of the island and include Plati, Romaikos Gialos, Riha Nera and Agios Ioannis. Beaches on the western side are more secluded but they provide the best spots for windsurfing.

Information collected from greeka.com

Photos by greeka.com

Thassos Island (2)

Thassos is the most northerly Greek holiday island in the Aegean group and lies just off the Macedonian coast of mainland Greece.

 
Fabulously wealthy in ancient times thanks to large deposits of gold and marble, Thassos nowadays lies outside the top league of Greek holiday islands but it still has as much to offer the visitor, with some great beaches and very fine holiday resorts.
One of the biggest advantages of Thassos as a beach holiday destination is an excellent road that rings the island, providing easy access to the sandy beaches that dot the attractive coastline. Side roads lead inland to many charming hill villages and extensive woodland.
Marble quarries still mar some parts of the island and forest fire damage is still evident in the south, but green pine trees carpet most of Thassos and lead to its being rightly dubbed the 'Emerald Isle'.
Slightly off the main tourist trail, Thassos has escaped the notice of many package holiday firms but the island is very easy to reach from the mainland airport at Kavala.

One of the most northerly of the Greek islands, Thassos escapes the wild blast of the meltemi wind in July and August. The flip side can be hot and sticky weather at the height of summer, and occasional rain.

Although some Thassos beaches have been tarted with lorry loads of sand much remains authentic and charming. The island is small enough for any resort to be easily reached and Thassos beaches are rarely crowded. The interior hills are cloaked in pine and criss-crossed with paths, making this a good island for walkers.

Thassos has some very impressive beaches, with the best in the south and east. While some, like Limenaria, are unmemorable, others like Paradiso and Alyki are quite breathtaking. There are also many delightful coves to be found off the beaten track.

SOURCE: Greek Island

The Island of Kos

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KOS island, Greece, sits bang in the middle of the Dodecanese chain of Greek islands that hug the Turkish coastline between Rhodes and Patmos. Kos holidays are hugely popular with the British package tour firms.

The island of Kos is one of the best Greek Islands for a typical beach holiday and Kos was one of the first Greek islands to go for mass-market tourism in a big way with many Kos hotels built on beaches along the long, sandy coastlines to the east and south.

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Kos is long and thin, about 45km by 11km and Kos, unlike many other Greek islands, is mostly flat and low-lying, especially in the north and west. As a result, much of the scenery on Kos is not outstanding by Greek standards. Kos island does get more mountainous in the south and east but much of the north of the island is made up of a flat, featureless and rather monotonous plain.

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The lack of hills has helped to make cycling a very popular Kos holiday activity and there are no end of bicycle rental outlets and even some dedicated cycling roads between the big hotels.
As well as the nightlife of Kos Town and a plethora of beach resorts, Kos also offers the discerning tourist some of the best archaeological sites in the Mediterranean. For many though, it is the long sandy beaches that make a holiday to Kos so appealing. to so many visitors.

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 Kos land still has much to offer the discerning visitor, particularly away from the east and north coasts. Excursions to neighbouring islands are popular and plentiful and there are any number of daily sea crossings to nearby Turkey for touring ancient sites and for shopping.

Kos has been a popular package holiday destinations for many years. The combination of sand and sightseeing give Kos a uniquely broad appeal and, for an all-in beach holiday, Kos must be up there with the best of the Greek holiday islands. Those looking for more peaceful resorts and hotels in Kos should head west.

via www.greekisland.co.uk

The Island of Gavdos

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The islet of Gavdos, opposite Sfakia (Crete), is the southern-most border of Greece and Europe. It is 22 nautical miles away from Loutro, right in the middle of the Libyan Sea. According to Callimachus, this is the ancient isle of Ogygia where, as Homer claims in "Odyssey", the nymph Calypso lived.

Other names of Gavdos in the past were "Cavdos" and "Clavdos" (Ptolemens and Ierocles), "Glavdi" (the Epistles), "Gozzo" (the Venetians). In the first Byzantine period, Gavdos had a bishop, as it had many inhabitants, but, during the Venetian Rule, the islet was abandoned, as pirates sought refuge there.

Photo Credit  - Potamos is a beautiful beach at the northwest edge of Gavdos island

Until the late 18th- early 19th century,Gavdos belonged to Sfakia and was part of the Municipality of Anopolis Sfakion. In 1925, it was pronounced a separate community, and remained part of the county of Sfakia, until 1950. Then, since the majority of the locals had moved to Paleochora, Gavdos became part of the county of Selino. Bibliography mentions the existence of 172 inhabitants in the settlements of Kastri, Ambelos, Vabiana and Metochia, as well as the existence of pre-war settlements such as Drethiana, Xenaki, Galana, Fragliathana.

via www.gavdosisland.gr

The Island of Salamina

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Travel to Salamina!This small island, also called Salamis, is nearest to Athens and can be reached by boat from Piraeus, from Perama to the west of Piraeus, and from Megara on the main road to Corinth. In spite of its small size of 95 square kilometres, it has a population of nearly 30,000, as it is a very short commute to the mainland .

Once covered in pine trees, much of the land has been cleared for housing purposes, and this island could really be considered a suburb of Athens.Very well known in mythology and from the pages of Greek history books, it is here where the mythical Ajax was born, who led his people in the war against Troy. It is also the birthplace of the great poet and playwright, Euripides. Of course, its most famous claim to fame is the legendary sea-battle between the Persians and the Athenians in 480 BC, which set the stage for the flourishing of the great Golden Age.

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Today, Salamina is a weekend destination for many Athenians who have weekend homes there. There are some good beaches on the island, especially in the south, and plenty of restaurants and tavernas throughout the island but no hotels, so visitors must take into consideration that one can only visit the otherwise very interesting island on a one-day excursion basis.

Some interesting sights to see include the 11th Century church at the convent of Faneromeni at the northwest tip of the island that looks across the strait to Megara. On the west coast and six kilometres south of the capital, Salamina or Koulouri, is the site of the ancient city of Ajax. Further south, you will find many excellent sandy beaches. On the east coast is the main port for ferries from Perama and Piraeus, called Paloukia. Moving south from there is another busy little port that is also used, called Kamatero. Very near is the site of ancient Salamis, with some ruins of its acropolis. These are located in the village of Ambelakia. If you continue three kilometres further south, you come to the large fishing village of Selinia.

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Duringring the summer season, there are smaller vessels crossing from here to Piraeus.With such easy access from the mainland , it is an excellent island to explore for a day or two, and there are plenty of shops, fish tavernas, and lively nightlife to keep you busy.

Adapted from: greel-vacations.gr