This week's article is focused on the rugged but naturally beautiful island of Folegandros. Part of the Cyclades Island Group, Folegandros is located in the south of the island's circular shape. Only 8 miles long and 3 miles wide, it is one of the smaller islands yet it is known as an island of peace, for it’s tranquil way of life those who live on the island experience. So here at The Greek Specialist we’ve put together some of the best places to go and things to do on the island so that you make the most of your trip or think of putting it on your holiday list. Katergo BeachFolegandros has a number of beautiful beaches such as Fira, Agios Nikolaos or Agios Georgios but Katergo beach has to take the top spot. Unlike some of the other beaches mentioned, Katergo isn’t the easiest to reach, yet that makes it even more worth it. You can only get to Katergo on foot or via boat from the island's port of Karavostasi. These run roughly every 10 minutes. The beach itself is surrounded by rock formations, and some nearby inlets which you can swim to. The water is crystal clear and makes it perfect for snorkeling and playing around in the water.
2 Comments
Santorini is an island in the Aegean Sea, in the Cyclades island group. It is very popular with tourists and is one of the most recognisable islands in all of Greece, known for its whitewashed buildings that climb the caldera side of the island. If you’ve decided you want to go to Santorini, you probably know where you want to stay (if not or either way we can help, just click here to fill in our enquiry form), but when is the best time to go? You probably want to know what Santorini’s weather is like and how busy it is going to be to help you decide. In this article we’ll talk you through all of this and more so that you can have the best possible time in Santorini. How to get there Santorini Airport, known as Kratikos Aerolimenas Santorinis is located in the central part of the island’s eastern coast. You can fly there from both major UK airports like Gatwick, Heathrow and Manchester or regional ones such as Bristol, East Midlands, Newcastle and Edinburgh. With plenty of options and flights it’s easy to get to Santorini. Santorini is a great place to have as part of an island hopping itinerary, especially as a start or end point due to its international airport and excellent ferry links. When is the best time to go?
Like much of Europe, Santorini has its warmest weather in July and August, with temperatures regularly reaching over 30 degrees. This is also when it is the busiest as school holidays in the UK mean families descend on the island looking for some sun. Not only is it the busiest time to visit but the most expensive as hotel prices are higher than usual, knowing it will be busy and demand will be massive. Therefore, if you can visit at another time then it is recommended as it will be cheaper and less busy. Outside of these months June is the next busiest. Busy has become common for a number of years in Santorini though. Across the board 2022 was a record year for Greece with more people visiting than ever before. Smashing figures from 2019. June has the joint lowest average rainfall of the whole year and temperatures average around 27 and 28˚C. Sikinos manages a rare feat, being a secluded island that is undiscovered by mass tourism in an island group that is the most accessible in Greece and features mainstays such as Mykonos, Santorini and Ios, as well as up and comers such as Naxos, Paros and Milos. So come with us as we tell you more about Sikinos, the Cyclades most secluded island. How to get there Unsurprisingly for its secluded status, Sikinos doesn’t have an airport and is only accessible by ferry. You can fly into Athens and get a ferry from Piraeus but the ferry takes a long time. It is far quicker and easier to fly into nearby Santorini and get a ferry from there. There are around 8 ferries a week to Sikinos but these aren’t always every day, so we take that into consideration when planning your trip to line up with flights. You can fly into Santorini from London Heathrow, London City, Bristol, London Gatwick, Luton, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Leeds Bradford, Stansted, Newcastle and East Midlands. Things to Do
There aren’t many things specifically to do or see on Sikinos, but it makes for a perfect place to relax and recuperate from the rigors of daily life. The best thing to go and see is the Monastery of Episkopi, this monastery is an old Byzantine church over the top of Roman mausoleum. It has some excellent frescoes and you can take time to admire the beautiful old exterior. You can find out more about the island's history at the Folklore Museum or Byzantine Collection in Chorio. There are some other typically Cycladic churches to see throughout the island with whitewashed walls and blue domes. Serifos is a beautiful and quiet island hidden amongst the Cyclades. It isn’t really hidden though, being on a main ferry line between Piraeus and Milos, yet it has not been discovered by the larger tourist market. It has stunning scenery, much of which is visible from the Chora, and a plethora of gorgeous sandy beaches. Some who visit do not venture out of the south of the island, as this is where most of the settlement and therefore the accommodation is. It is our hope, that by telling you the joys of the best beaches on Serifos including some smaller, more remote ones, it will also encourage you to firstly, go and visit the island and secondly explore it entirely. So, here we go with the best beaches on Serifos.
In total there are 60 beaches to explore on Serifos, the majority of them sandy and many with natural shade so you can explore the more remote beaches without need of an umbrella or sunlounger. We’ll start with a beach that is highly recommended, so much so that the Sunday Times named it as Europe’s Beach of the Year, and that beach is Psili Ammos. This gorgeous, secluded beach sits on the east of the island 5 miles from Chora. It is unorganized (meaning there are few facilities around and no sunloungers or umbrellas) but its not needed with trees standing amongst the golden sands providing shade from the hot sun. Its an excellent place to relax on an already quiet island. Often overshadowed and forgotten about when compared with its larger and more well-known neighbour, Kimolos is a small island with a relaxed way of life and a typically Cycladic feel that is best known for its beaches. This lack of awareness is what works for the island, and it can be a great place to stay and relax whilst exploring Milos in the day, or the other way around. Because of the island's small size, the most common way to get around the island is walking, and many of the things mentioned in this article are close together. In this we’ll show you what Kimolos has to offer and why it is somewhere worth visiting.
How to get there Kimolos is only accessible by ferry. Milos, its neighbour, has a domestic airport that links with Athens meaning you can fly into Athens, transfer to Milos, and then go to Kimolos from there. Alternatively, you can catch a ferry from Athens Piraeus port. Some ferries stop on Kimolos, others you may need to stop at Milos and go from there. Beaches Beaches are the thing that Kimolos is most known for. Like much of the Cyclades the beaches on Kimolos are sandy with beautiful blue waters surrounding the island. On the island there are some beaches that are organised, but many aren’t, and you can be one of only a few there, depending on the time of year you go. The most popular beach on the island is Psathi, which is right next to the port. The beach itself is quite short but it gives you a lovely view out across the port and marina. There are a number of small hotels and apartments near the beach, and it is well served with cafes and tavernas nearby too. When you think of the Greek Islands, Mykonos is probably one of the first places you think of. It's photogenic buildings, gorgeous golden sands and thriving nightlife scream Greek luxury. Part of the Cyclades islands, it is the perfect place to add in on an island hop due to its central location and excellent transport links. In this article we’ll take you through what there is on the island and what makes it so iconic and help you decide whether to add it to your bucket list. How to get there Mykonos has an international airport which it makes it the perfect place to start or end an island-hopping trip. You can fly directly into Mykonos from London Heathrow, Gatwick, City, Luton, and Stansted as well as Southampton and Manchester. Alternatively, you can get to Mykonos via a ferry. These can come along many routes as it is a well-connected island. It is immediately clear when you arrive on Mykonos that it is part of the Cyclades, with its whitewashed houses standing out against the rocky landscape. These only become more picturesque as you come into Mykonos Town where the narrow streets look like something out of a postcard. Around the town you will see some of the landmarks associated with Mykonos such as Little Venice, a row of buildings just on the waterfront with colourful shutters filled with bars and restaurants, or the windmills which sit a 2-minute walk away from it and overlook the town. Little Venice is one of the most popular spots for drinks and its many bars and restaurants offer a view over the bay towards the small nearby islands of Mpaos, Kavouras, Rineia as well as the headland further to the south. All of this provides a wonderful backdrop day or night and is a popular place to watch the sunset.
Nightlife is something Mykonos is known for. The town bustles with life in the day and this only goes up a notch in the evening. The narrow streets are filled with bars of all shapes and sizes serving a range of cocktails, beers and spirits. The whitewashed buildings mean the lights reflect and give streets a hue which makes it seem like it’s the middle of the day. Along the shorefront are a number of clubs where you can dance the night away and many of them are open till the early morning. Ios was one of the first party islands in Greece, being a spot for hippies and backpackers in the 60s. These days this reputation as a party island still somewhat remains yet it is far less deserved. That is not to say that the island doesn’t have a good nightlife, it has just mellowed out and become a more rounded destination. In this article we’ll show you what else the island has to offer by taking you through a list of the best things to do on the island.
How to get there Ios doesn’t have an airport, and this means you have to get a ferry. The nearest island which you can fly into is Santorini. The ferry takes around 30-60 mins depending on the speed of the ferry. You can fly directly into Santorini from London Heathrow, London City, Bristol, London Gatwick, Luton, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Leeds Bradford, Stansted, Newcastle and East Midlands. Milos has received a lot of attention recently for being one of the Greek islands rising in popularity, even on its way to becoming the new Santorini. Now that is lofty heights indeed, however as we have found on our travels around Greece, every island is different. Milos is known, similarly to much of Greece for its beaches. Where it stands out is in its unique landscape, being a volcanic island much of it has been sculpted into weird and wonderful shapes. Alongside this, it is a very laid-back island where life goes at its own pace and where you can take your time with your holiday. In this article we’ll tell you more about the island to show you why its becoming more popular and perhaps you’ll make it part of your next Greek holiday.
How to get there Milos has a small domestic airport so you can fly in, we recommend doing so from Athens. If not you can use the ferry. Milos is on the western Cyclades line and ferries run around 3 times a day from Athens Piraeus and once from Santorini, if you’ve flown in from there but that is generally more expensive. Paros is sometimes called Mykonos' little brother. Despite the fact that thousands descend on Paros each summer, the island has managed to maintain an authentic Greek island atmosphere which makes it more relaxed than its neighbour. Not only that, but it has so much to offer. In this blog we’ll narrow Paros’s many delights into a top 5 of things to do and places to visit on the island. How to get there
Paros does have an airport but you can’t fly directly into it from the UK as it is for domestic flights only, therefore you have to fly from Athens or in the summer, Thessaloniki and Heraklion. Flights from Athens only take around 40 mins. Alternatively you can take the ferry to get to Paros, not only is it one of the largest islands in the Cyclades but it is also one of the main ports and therefore is usually one of the first stops on the route. Its also great if you’re wanting to island hop as it has great links with other islands in the Cyclades. 1 - Parikia The islands main port and capital town, Parikia should be high on your list of things to do when on Paros. Full of the typical whitewashed houses you expect from the Cyclades, it makes for stunning scenery. As well as these, there are the remains of the Kastro (castle) which was built by the Venetians in the 13th century. Parikia is filled with close streets bustling with cafes and tavernas that stretch all the way down, and along the waterfront providing a scenic spot for food. If you want to be in the middle of everything that is happening on the island Parikia is a good place to stay, and it is very accommodating to tourists with all the amenities you could need such as banks and supermarkets. Parikia is also home to one of the places you should definitely visit when on Paros, Panagia Ekatontapiliani, a church which is one of the most important Byzantine monuments in all of Greece. If you’re on the island on the 15th August then you’re in luck as it is the feast day for the Dormition of Our Lady, to which the church is dedicated and there is a huge celebration on the island. Naxos is the largest of the Cyclades islands and is slowly becoming more popular for tourists. With an airport for internal flights and excellent ferry links, its not a difficult place to get to and is great if you’re looking to stay on one island or as part of an island-hopping trip. In this blog we’re going to show you why, if you’re looking at the Cyclades, Naxos should be your first choice. How to get there
As we mentioned earlier Naxos has a domestic airport and excellent ferry links. If you’re going to fly we recommend flying into Naxos via Athens, Mykonos or Santorini. As Naxos is on the main Cyclades ferry line, boats are regular and so it is not difficult to get to, no matter where you are coming from. We will sort ferry times to line up with flights at the time of enquiry. Come for the beaches Many people come to Greece for the beaches and Naxos can certainly deliver on that front. Being the largest island in the group, it has plenty of beaches (over 90kms). It has several organised beaches but there are many which aren’t and can be a lot more private. Most of these organised beaches are in Naxos Town or the nearby Agios Prokopios. Those looking for the smaller, more quiet beaches can travel around the island, either via public transport, excursion or hire car. Most of Naxos’s beaches have fine white sand, there are however some pebble beaches and rocky ones as well. Its many beaches make it perfect for a number of water sports such as kitesurfing and windsurfing. Andros is an island that is the best of the Ionian islands and the Cyclades thrown into one. With the beautiful, whitewashed buildings and warm, sandy beaches it fits in with its neighbours as part of the Cyclades. However, one half of the island is full of luscious greenery, filled with different types of trees and shrubbery. This mix of the two gives it a very different feel to others in the Cyclades and makes a refreshing change if you’re island hopping or staying for a night or two from Athens. Andros is one of the most authentic Greek islands and is largely unaffected by mass tourism, instead it is a popular spot for many Athenians to go on holiday due to its proximity. In this article we’ll take you through what makes Andros great and why you should make it a stop when visiting the Cyclades.
How to get there Andros is the closest of the Cyclades islands to Athens and therefore it isn’t too far on the ferry. This also makes it a good first stop if you’re embarking on a island hopping trip of the Cyclades. It doesn’t have its own airport so we recommend flying into either Athens or Mykonos. If you’re thinking of flying into Athens, the ferries will go from Rafina port which is served by a bus service which runs every 25 mins from Athens airport. You can fly into Athens or Mykonos from Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton and Stansted. Check the individual pages for Athens or Mykonos for other regional airports, but we will advise you of this at the time enquiry. This week’s Island of the Week is our personal favourite here at The Greek Specialist, the Cyclades Island of Sifnos. Located in the west of the Cyclades, Sifnos very much has a similar feel and look. Most notably with the white-washed houses with shutters and the white walled churches with the blue roofs. It has a number of great beaches and its capital Apollonia, is full of close winding streets packed with restaurants and tavernas, so much so that in July and August it resembles a little Mykonos. This time of year is also when the nightlife is the best. From experience of having been there countless times here is our list of the best things to do in Sifnos.
How to Get There Sifnos doesn’t have an airport so you will need to fly into Athens and then get the ferry from Piraeus port. Sifnos is on the Western Cyclades line and ferries tend to run at least twice a day from there. You can also fly domestically from Athens to its neighbour Milos and then get the ferry from there which takes around 45/50 mins. You can fly into Athens directly from Heathrow, Gatwick, Birmingham, Luton, Edinburgh and Stansted. Gastronomy One of the things that really sets Sifnos apart from the rest is its food. Known across Greece for their skills in the kitchen, people from Sifnos have a number of recipes which really delight. There’s even a rumour that if you’re in the Greek Navy and the cook on your ship is from Sifnos, you should feel very lucky. The dish that the island is most famous for is Revithada, a chickpea soup slow cooked for many hours. If you’re on the island on a Sunday we think this is the best time to get it, as the chefs take it down to the bakers on Sunday morning and it is slow cooked for 6-8 hours making it perfect for Sunday lunchtime. Our personal favourite restaurant for it is called Meropi. Another restaurant you must check out is Nus which has its own farm which creates a lot of the produce for the restaurant making it organic and delicious. |
AuthorGreece is a love affair for The Greek Specialist. Our first visit to the country came in 1997 and since then Blog Destinations
All
Archives
August 2023
|