Δευτέρα 2 Δεκεμβρίου 2013

Greek island tips



Greek islands, where should I go? It is true that Greece has many islands each one offering a different multitude of services apart from sea and sun and most importantly each one is addressed to people having various needs. The first thing before deciding in which island to go is to questions your needs. Are you a family man, travelling with your family, are you a couple without children, are you friends travelling alone, do you seek peace and quiet holidays, do you seek some romance during your holiday, do you want to party all night.
                All of these questions will help you determine what exactly you want from your holiday in Greece and then you will be able to make the right decision and go to an island that suits your needs. If you like to party, the first option is Mykonos. Mykonos offers an intense nightlife and many options for partying, it is full of dance and clubs and it is not unusual for Mykonos to see a beach bar with people drinking and dancing even in the mid-day. Mykonos has also a lot of perfect golden sand beaches, full of people of course to the point of crowdedness but you are there to socialize and party so you like that. Say for example that you are a couple and you seek some quality vacation and romance with your spouse, or husband or wife, which is the best place to go? Santorini, perfect sunsets, breathtaking views, you go to a café to have a coffee and you think you are in the cockpit of an airplane. You like some quality time out, go to a “fancy” restaurant, Santorini has plenty of them and some are awarded with international awards. Experienced chefs are at your service to offer you a memorable dinner. In Santorini you could actually participate in a tour and be in a modern catamaran or in a traditional ship to enjoy the sunset, visit an island made of lava or take a bath in hot volcanic springs.
 At this point it should be said that in both islands you could be culturally enriched too, Santorini greece  which is also perfect for  santorini weddings has the archeological site of Acrotiri and Mykonos has a nearby island called Delos which was one of the centers of the ancient world and is worth a visit.
Leaving the two most popular options of Greece, if you for example like to go in exotic un-crowded places and live your own “Mamma Mia”, do have a go at the Sporades islands Skopelos, SKiathos and Alonissos but bear in mind that these are accessible from Volos and not from Pireaus port, thus they are a little harder to get.
Apart from Sporades islands if you also like green tropic waters, then go to the harbor of Patra or Kyllini a little further “down the road” from Patra and catch the ferry to Kefalonia, Zakynthos or Ithaki. Kefalonia is a very big island, very nice too, Ithaki is much smaller and family type and Zakynthos especially its part Laganas has been for years the place where young people from England choose to party.
If you like to visit ancient Knossos and Phaistos, where the Minoan civilization thousands of years ago flourished, vote for Crete. Crete is a very big island, has excellent beaches, Heraklio and Chania have a good night life, it is perfect for family vacations too and if you like to always meet new places you could try to meet the whole of the island. It must be a total of 6-8 hours driving from west to east, just to give you a reference of Crete’s size. Agios Nikolaos and Ierapetra are also very nice towns to visit.
Dodecanese with its most known island Kos awaits you, Kos is good for Family vacations but it is also preferred by young people for partying too. In Cyclades the island of Naxos, Syros and Paros is very lively too (apart from Mykonos). In Cyclades we should also mention Andros with its famous Cycladic museum; Andros is the place for family vacation.
 This was just a quick taste of what Greek island have to offer, there are many more islands e.g Paros, Tinos, Patmos are islands for religious tourism that have famous monasteries full of important relics, but it is not the scope of this article to cover Greece as a whole.