Category: Greek Island villages and towns

  • A guide to Kini, the laid-back beach village on Syros

    Share

    Greece, Greek Islands, Cyclades, Siros, Syros, Kini Bay, Kini beach, Kini village, landscape, coast, seaside, beach, Kini Beach, Kini Beach Syros, village,

    Greece,Greek island, Siros, Syros, Syros Greece, Kini, Kini Bay, Kini Bay Syros,

    Greece, Greek Islands, Cyclades, Siros, Syros, Kini Bay, Kini beach, Kini village, landscape, coast, seaside,

    Greece, Greek Islands, Cyclades, Siros, Syros, Kini Bay, Kini beach, Kini village, landscape, coast, seaside, village

    Greece, Greek Islands, Cyclades, Siros, Syros, Kini Bay, Kini beach, Kini village, landscape, coast, seaside, village, mountains

    Above: Views of the Kini area from five different vantage points

     

    What’s there:  My earlier post, Colourful Kini Bay on Syros island, was essentially a photo tour of the beautiful beach village area where we have stayed during two holidays on Syros. In this companion piece, I have compiled a mini-guide to Kini, highlighting accommodation and dining options as well as attractions and things to see and do in the immediate vicinity, based primarily upon personal experience.

    I actually started preparing this article several years ago, following our second trip to Syros, but I never managed to finish the project. It languished in a folder of draft articles until this winter, when a Travel + Leisure magazine profile of Syros caught my attention and reminded me of the post I had never completed. Comments and inquiries about Syros from readers  of my blog gave me further impetus to have another go at writing the guide. Besides, it presented an opportunity to see what, if anything, may have changed and keep us up to date on what’s happening in Kini, since we do plan to go back.

    Greece, Greek islands, Cyclades, Siros, Syros, Syros island, Kini, Kini Bay, Kini Syros, Kini village, monastery, Agia Varvara Monastery Syros,

    Kini is best known for beaches, food and  scenery, but it’s also home to two attractions that tourists can visit: the Agia Varvara Monastery (above) and a small aquarium and boat museum

     

    While checking to see if familiar tavernas and accommodations were still around, I was pleased to discover that two new restaurants and a hotel have opened during the past couple of years — Aphrodite Boutique Hotel, Thalassa Beach Bar, and Aeriko Mezedopoleio.  Aphrodite and Thalassa have opened in centrally-located buildings that had been vacant and somewhat shabby-looking during both of our Kini holidays, so their reincarnations have spruced up the area and greatly improved the look of the village landscape. Aeriko opened two years ago in the premises previously occupied by Ammos Beach and Kitchen Bar.  (There’s more information on all three new places later in this post.)

    I also noticed several hotels and studio rental properties have undertaken significant upgrades in the past two years, while others have been renovating this winter in preparation for the 2019 season.  The good news for travellers is more (and improved) choices for lodging, along with additional places to drink and dine. Happily, the changes have been for the better, and haven’t had a negative impact on Kini’s comfortable atmosphere and charm.  

    Greece, Greek islands, Cyclades, Siros, Syros, Syros island, Kini, Kini Bay, Kini village Syros, sunset, sunset view,

    We have seen many remarkable sunsets from Kini (this one was from our holiday in 2015), with vivid sky colours that were more stunning than any we’ve seen on Santorini, the island that’s famous for sunset views.

     

    The low-key, laid-back ambiance is what we personally enjoy about Kini, along with its scenic location, marvellous sunset views, sandy beaches, interesting walks and excellent restaurants. (Its close proximity to the island’s vibrant capital, Ermoupoli, is another appealing feature.) On both of our visits, Kini won our hearts as one of the most chill and relaxing places we’ve stayed anywhere in Greece.  In fact, we often muse about going there for an extended period — a couple of months in spring or fall, for instance — since we find it particularly inspiring for our creative pursuits of writing, painting and photography.

     

    Ferries in Greece

    Planning to do some Greek island hopping this summer? July and August are the peak travel months in Greece, and seats on inter-island ferries are filling up fast.  If you haven’t already booked your ferry tickets, click on the image above to arrange your transportation now!

     

    I know others share our appreciation for Kini just as strongly; online, I have chatted with a number of people who have made repeat visits and are planning to return this year because they love Kini for the same reasons. And when we have spoken to other tourists while we have been in Kini, everyone has commented about how much they were enjoying the place. We never heard anything negative.

    Kini might not be your cup of tea if your ideal island getaway is a crowded and glitzy tourist magnet, like Mykonos, where you can spend all your time and money shopping in designer boutiques, dining at gourmet international restaurants, and partying at exclusive nightclubs and trendy beach clubs.  But if your goal is to rest and recharge in a peaceful, picturesque village with good Greek restaurants and nice sandy beaches, Kini could well be paradise. It’s my hope that the photographs, descriptions and personal anecdotes in this guide will give you a solid sense of what Kini has to offer, and will inspire you to consider including Kini in your future holiday plans if it does look like a place you would enjoy.

    Greece, Greek island, Siros, Syros, Syros island, island, Google map,

    Kini is situated on the west coast of Syros, approximately 9 km from the island’s port town and capital, Ermoupoli

     

    Please click on the links below below to continue reading and see dozens of Kini photos.

    Page 2 highlights Kini sights, attractions and things to do, with descriptions of local beaches, boat trips to remote beach areas, and scenic walks.

    Page 3 spotlights places to eat and drink in the village.

    Page 4 profiles hotels and many of the room and studio accommodations available at Kini.  

    CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

  • Travel + Leisure magazine serves up a taste of Syros island

    Share

    Greece, Greek Islands, Cyclades, Syros, Siros, Syros island, travel magazine, Syros article, magazine article,

    Travel + Leisure magazine spotlights the architecture, culture and cuisine of Syros in its February 2019 issue

     

    Appetizing island: “Island Escapes” is the theme for the February 2019 issue of Travel + Leisure, and Syros steals the spotlight as the only Greek isle on the menu of getaway destinations profiled in the magazine.

    In a three-page article entitled “Beyond the Beach,” the prolific author /  journalist / travel scribe Eleni N. Gage describes her family’s first-ever visit to Syros, an island that doesn’t register on the radar for most North American travellers, who tend to gravitate to the tourist hotspots of Mykonos and Santorini.  (The majority of visitors to Syros hail from France and Skandinavia, Eleni writes, and they’re drawn by the island’s vibrant arts and culture events, its elegant Neoclassical architecture and its “incredible cuisine,” rather than the whitewashed villages and scenic beaches that lure the huge tourist crowds to other Cycladic isles.)

    Greece, Greek Islands, Cyclades, Syros, Siros,Ermoupolis,Ermoupoli, town, buildings,

    Ermoupolis, the colourful capital and port town of Syros. “The fact that the island has a thriving city by the sea makes it alluring to those interested in life beyond the beach,” Eleni notes in her article.

     

    Since Syros is one of our personal favourite places in Greece, I couldn’t resist buying the magazine when I saw the island mentioned on the front cover. I was curious to read what kind of impression Syros had made upon Eleni, whose feature articles about a number of destinations in Greece have appeared in top international travel and lifestyle publications.

    Not surprisingly, she fell in love with Syros, too.

    Island features and highlights described in her article include:

    ♦ a rich roster of annual arts events and festivals;

    ♦  stately “aristocratic buildings,” including the magnificent Town Hall and Apollon Theater,  in the visually stunning port town of Ermoupoulis;

    ♦ the seafront of the Vaporia neighbourhood of Ermoupolis, where Eleni had wonderful views of the palazzo-lined shore while she swam in the sea; 

    ♦ the hilltop village of Ano Syros, which was established during the 1200s; and

    ♦ restaurants where Eleni and her family dined (they had a memorable meal at one place we thought was excellent, too:  Peri | Tinos, on the Ermoupolis waterfront).

    While we’re familiar with most of the places Eleni described,  I was glad she did mention a few we haven’t seen — they’re now on a list of things to do next time we travel to Syros.

    My only disappointment was that the article wasn’t longer — I really wanted to read more about Syros. Nevertheless, it did made me yearn to go back.

    Please click on the link below to turn to page 2, where I have posted some of our photos that show a few of the places mentioned in Eleni’s article.

     

    CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

  • Saronic island sojourn: Photos from our holiday week on Poros

    Share

    Greece, Greek island, Poros, Poros Greece, Poros island, island, town, Saronic islands, Greek island hopping

    One of our first views of Poros Town, seen during our short ferry ride to Poros island from the town of Galatas on the eastern Peloponnese coast

     

    Greece, Greek islands, Saronic island, ArgoSaronic island, Poros, Poros island, Poros Greece, Galatas, Peloponnese,

    And here’s how Galatas looked from a vantage point beside the white clock tower shown in the previous photo of Poros Town

     

    Postcard pretty:  If we had to pick a theme to describe our 2018 spring holiday in Greece, “something old and something new” would suit perfectly.  The “something old” was a repeat visit to the historic town of Nafplio, one of our most favourite places in Greece, followed one week later by “something new” — our first-ever trip to Poros, one of the Saronic Gulf islands off the coast of the eastern Peloponnese. 

     

    Nafplio and Poros proved to be an ideal pairing, not just because we enjoyed both destinations tremendously, but because it was so easy to use local transportation to move from the Peloponnese to the island (as usual, we did not rent a car for our holiday).

     

    Greece, Poros, Poros island, Poros Greece, Saronic islands, Peloponnese, Argo-Saronic islands, Greek islands

    The red marker pinpoints Poros island’s location in the Saronic Gulf archipelago between Athens and the eastern Peloponnese. We reached Poros by taking a bus from Nafplio (shown at the center-left side of the map) to Galatas, followed by a quick ferry ride from there to the island.

     

    Greece, Greek island, Saronic island, ArgoSaronic island, Poros, Poros island, Poros Greece, Galatas, Galatas Greece, Peloponnese,

    A 250-meter-wide strait separates Galatas, bottom left, from Poros Town and the Sferia peninsula of Poros island. The area at the top of this image is Kalavria, the largest part of the island. Sferia and Kalavria were distinct, individual isles in ancient times, and now are divided by a short, narrow canal.

     

    The regional bus system KTEL Argolida operates two daily bus trips  (except Sundays) from Nafplio to Galatas, a coastal town separated from Poros by a narrow strait.  The 5:30 a.m. departure was far too early for our liking, so we bought tickets for the 2:30 p.m. bus instead (at a cost of just €9 per person).

     

    The bus left Nafplio on time, stopping en route at the entrance to the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus as well as at several villages before arriving at a crossroads where we transferred onto another bus for the remainder of the drive to Galatas. This part of the route was the most interesting and enjoyable, particularly as the road climbed through mountains and then emerged hundreds of meters above the scenic coast. As the bus descended the hillside highway, our seats on the left side of the vehicle gave us terrific views of the Methana peninsula, the Strait of Poros, and eventually Poros island itself.

     

    Greece, Peloponnese, coast, Saronic Gulf, Saronic Gulf islands, Greek islands,

    One of the coastal views from our bus trip from Nafplio to Galatas.  I shot this photo when our bus was about 10 minutes from Galatas.

     

    The bus reached the Galatas harbourfront shortly past 4:30 p.m. , and let us out near the pier from which we could take a ferry to Poros Town, a mere 5-minute or so trip across the narrow Strait of Poros. We had time to purchase our ferry tickets (€1 per person one way), admire the excellent views of Poros Town, plus take a peek at some of the tavernas along the Galatas seafront before catching the next boat. The traditional Greek food being served to customers on the patio at Babis Taverna looked so delicious, we were tempted to stay for an early dinner and catch a later ferry to Poros instead (the boats ran every half hour, and water taxis also were available), but we decided to leave dining in Galatas for another time.

     

    Greece, Peloponnese, Galatas, waterfront, seafront, Saronic Gulf,

    Hotels and restaurant buildings along the waterfront strip at Galatas 

     

    Greece,Greek islands,Saronic islands, Poros, Poros island, ferry, ship, Greek island ferry,

    One of the ferries that shuttles vehicles and passengers between Galatas and Poros each half hour throughout the day

     

    The ferry crossing was as quick as expected, with superb views of Poros Town and its extensive seaside strip lined with shops, restaurants and hotels. When we disembarked at the Poros Town port,  we instantly spotted our accommodations, Dimitra Hotel, on the hillside overlooking the town’s waterfront street. It was just a short walk away, so within minutes we were settling into our room and checking out the great views. 

    From a window and our balcony, we had good views of Poros Town, the edge of the island’s Kalavria region,  and the long string of mountains along the Peloponnese coast at the far end of the bay. The extensive panoramic views from the hotel’s large rooftop terrace two floors above us were even more striking, especially at sunset.  We could have sat and watched the scenery for awhile, but we were eager to get out and about to explore Poros Town. Since we would be staying at the Dimitra for three nights, we would have loads of time to enjoy the views. 

     

    Greece,Greek island, Saronic island, Poros island, Poros Greece, Poros hotel, hotel, Dimitra Hotel,Dimitra Hotel Poros island

    Dimitra Hotel in Poros Town, where we stayed in a sea- and sunset-view room during our first three nights on the island

     

    Greece, Greek islands, Saronic islands, Poros, Poros island, Poros Town, Dimitra Hotel

    Evening view of Poros Town from the rooftop terrace at Dimitra Hotel

     

    Greece,Greek island, Saronic island, Poros island, Poros, sunset, Saronic Gulf,

    Sunset view from the terrace at Dimitra Hotel  

     

    Please click the link below to continue reading and to see a random selection of photos from our week-long stay on Poros.

    CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

  • Savoring the Cycladic scenery: enticing views of Santorini, Mykonos, Milos, Sifnos & Folegandros

    Share

    Filmmaker/photographer Raphael Pöham created this captivating short video of enchanting scenery on five islands in the Cyclades 

     

    Mesmerizing moments: Filmmaker Raphael Pöham took a trip to Greece last year, and produced this stunning video souvenir of scenic holiday highlights from the five Cyclades islands he visited — Santorini, Mykonos, Milos, Sifnos and Folegandros.

    The film’s views of beautiful beach, landscape and sunset scenery brilliantly illustrate why the Cyclades island chain is so immensely alluring to travellers from around the world.

    The film runs for three minutes, and I enjoyed it so much I wish it had been longer — I really wanted to see more! It also made me feel eager to plan a return trip to the Cyclades.  We have already been to each of the islands that Raphael spotlighted, and recognized most of the scenes in his film, but the video makes me yearn to visit those places again.

    Give Raphael’s video a look and see if it puts you in a similarly dreamy Cyclades state of mind, too!

  • Lonely Planet profiles NE Aegean plus 4 ‘secret,’ timeless islands

    Share

    Lonely Planet magazine

    Greece gets front-cover prominence on the cover of the Lonely Planet newsstand issue for May 2018

     

    The secret’s out: I had a strong hunch I might find something interesting to read about Greece when I walked into the magazine department at my local bookstore yesterday.  When I turned into the travel section, my premonition instantly proved accurate — standing at eye level on the front shelf was the latest edition of Lonely Planet, its cover graced with a photo of a blue-roofed Greek Orthodox church illustrating its “Secret Greece” feature story. 

    In another pleasant delight, I realized I had seen that very same church in person — on Astypalea, during our island hopping holiday in 2009.

    Astypalea is one of seven islands featured in Lonely Planet’s May issue and, in another curious coincidence, the article about it recommends staying in the very accommodations where we spent several nights: Fildisi Boutique Hotel. 

    The magazine highlights two other islands we have been to — Hydra and Sifnos — and, in yet another surprising stroke of serendipity, spotlights four more that I had been seriously considering for our upcoming vacation: Lesvos, Chios, Ikaria and Kythera. (We have already made plans to spend our time in and within sight of the Peloponnese, but Lonely Planet suddenly has me wondering if I may have made a mistake.)

    The main focus of the magazine’s Great Escape cover feature is the Northeast Aegean group of Greek islands; specifically, Lesvos, Chios and Ikaria. Stepping ashore on these particular isles “introduces olive farmers and wild honey, hidden villages and untouched beaches, and perhaps the secret to long life,” the feature story introduction says.

    Reading the Lesvos profile quickly made me crave Greek cuisine, though I should have expected that given the article’s headline: “Savour the many flavours of Greece on Lesvos, from olive oil to ouzo and orange wine.”

    The second feature story invites readers to “discover a centuries-old tradition of mastic cultivation and the fortress-like villages that grew rich from it” in southern Chios.

    The third main article introduces Ikaria, one of the world’s unique Blue Zone locations where residents “enjoy longer lives than anyone else in Europe.”

    One-page mini profiles for Astypalea, Kythera, Sifnos and Hydra appear in the magazine’s “Secret Greece” feature as examples that, “even in the well-known Greek island groups,” visitors can find “the odd place that’s little changed over the decades.” Each profile includes short thumbnail descriptions for “Why am I going?”, “Where should I stay?”, “What am I eating?”, and “What am I drinking?”

    The island articles are all good reads, and just might entice you to consider the Northeast Aegean for a future trip to Greece, especially if you haven’t considered that region of the country before. (They probably will make you feel peckish for Greek food and beverages, too.)

    See if you can find a copy of the magazine at your local newsstand before it sells out.

  • Amorgos island: Where time is always well spent

    Share

    In Amorgos, There is Time is a 2.5-minute video from BKC Film 

     

    Timely island: An engaging short film I discovered this week has rekindled some sweet memories from our our only and only visit (so far) to Amorgos nearly 10 years ago.

    In Amorgos, There is Time was published on Vimeo just two days ago (March 1 2018), and I found a link to it in the newsfeed for my blog page on Facebook. 

    The two and a half-minute film features aerial and ground-level photography that spotlights an impressive panoply of sights and scenery from the ruggedly beautiful island in the eastern Cyclades. 

    The video begins with a distant, aerial view of the magnificent Chozoviotissa Monastery, which is built into the face of a sheer cliff that soars hundreds of meters above the sea on the eastern coast of Amorgos — a stunning sight I think is a must-see attraction for anyone visiting the island.

    The film then presents a sequence of alluring images of island attractions and sights, including stone-paved streets, traditional tavernas and whitewashed buildings in seaside and mountain villages; windmills; sheep and donkeys; a tortoise, a seal and other sea life; a shipwreck; and views of splendid sunsets, beaches, mountains and coastlines. These are interspersed with scenes of island residents going about their daily lives and participating in local culture and activities.  (There also are numerous views of the Aegialis Hotel & Spa, the only 5-star hotel on Amorgos.)

    We spent four full days and nights on Amorgos back in May 2009, and wished we had been able to stay a week or longer. We have been meaning to get back, but its off-the-beaten-path location has kept us from fitting it into our more recent island-hopping itineraries.  Looks like it’s time to find a way to pay Amorgos a return visit.

  • Even in severe winter weather, Greece’s scenic beauty shines through

    Share

    Little Venice Mykonos during January storm

    Surf sprays two storeys high as roaring waves crash ashore at the Little Venice area of Mykonos Town, flooding the entire seaside strip of cocktail bar terraces. This photo was posted on the Mykonos LIVE TV Facebook page on January 18, the day gale-force winds raged across much of Greece.

     

    Storm scenes: When wild winter weather swept across Europe this week, Greece wound up in the path of powerful winds that pounded some places, including Syros island, with gusts reaching as high as 122 kmh — the equivalent to force 12 on the Beaufort wind scale.

    The fierce winds raged relentlessly on Thursday January 18, toppling trees on several islands, damaging one of the iconic windmills on Mykonos, and preventing planes from landing at Syros airport. The storm disrupted ferry travel and shipping, too, as rough seas forced the cancellation of many sailings as well as the closure of the ports at Lavrio and Rafina. At Piraeus port, the passenger ferry Panagia Agiasou broke away from its moorings during the tempest, while waterfront areas at Mykonos Town, and Kini Beach on Syros, sustained damage from massive waves that walloped the shore.

     

    [adToAppearHere]

     

    Although most residents stayed indoors to avoid the incessant blasts of wind, which made walking perilous and even driving difficult, some did venture out to observe nature’s fury and photograph the stormy conditions. I found numerous pictures and videos on social media showing skies filled with massive dark clouds, and huge waves crashing onto seafronts and beaches in Mykonos, Paros, Naxos, Syros, Rhodes, Lesvos, Samos, Skyros, Skopelos, Ithaca, Paxos, Kefalonia, Nafplio, Athens and elsewhere. Many of the images showed that, even in ferocious weather, the scenic beauty of Greece’s coastal areas still stands out.

     

    Nafplio photo by Nafplio Kalimera

    Takis Vassiliou shot this view of the Nafplio waterfront and Bourtzi sea castle, and shared the image on his Nafplio Kalimera page on Facebook

     

    Paros photo by Waves on the seafront at Parikia on Paros photo shared on Facebook by ΠΑΡΟΣ like Facebook page

    Maria Alipranti captured sunlight illuminating stormclouds and waves at the Parikia waterfront on Paros. Her photo, and more than 20 others she shot, were shared on the ΠΑΡΟΣ like page on Facebook.

     

    Stormy sky on Lesvos photo by Eleonaora Pouwels

    Eleonora Pouwels photographed this scene of waves, stormclouds and sunset at Psiriara beach on Lesvos 

     

    Please click on the link below to turn to page 2, where I have posted more photos and several videos that were shared on social media.

    CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

  • Santorini sights and attractions– just as a tourist sees them

    Share

     Pierre Marteau compiled this overview video of places and attractions he visited during a trip to Santorini in 2017

     

    Eye level views:  I discovered a brand-new Santorini travel video on Vimeo today, and wanted to share it immediately so any of my readers planning a first-time visit to the island can see how it really looks in person.

    Santorini 2017 is a 9-minute film that Pierre Marteau published on January 14. What I particularly like about the clip is that it wasn’t filmed with a drone, as so many Santorini videos tend to be nowadays. Although drones capture amazing aerial views of the island’s spectacular landscape scenery, no visitor is ever going to see it from the same perspective. On the other hand, Pierre’s eye-level video shows exactly how sights and attractions will appear as you look around while exploring the island.

    Places shown in the video include:

    ♦  Santorini’s main town, Fira

    ♦  the traditional village of Pyrgos

    ♦  the black sand beach at Kamari

    ♦  the romantic and extremely picturesque clifftop village of Oia, which is perhaps the most famous place for sunset viewing in all the Greek islands.

    The video also shows what you’ll see riding the cable car to the cruise ship and excursion boat docks in the Old Port below Fira, and while taking one of the popular boat tours to the hot springs and the nearby volcano island of Nea Kameni.  Of course, the video also captures views of some of the beautiful bougainvillea and flowers, colourful houses, iconic blue-domed chapels, and marvellous sunsets that together make Santorini one of the most-photographed places in Greece.

    And you’ll see some of the island’s controversial donkeys and mules, which I hope none of my readers will ride while visiting Santorini. If you don’t know why you shouldn’t climb atop any of these animals for a ride up or down the caldera cliff paths, please read my post Don’t ride the donkeys! Why tourists should avoid taking the mule ‘taxis’ on Santorini. 

    Note that Santorini 2017 is a compilation video that Pierre put together from several other clips he shot on Santorini. You can view all of those films — which show other top Santorini attractions, such as Akrotiri and Ancient Thera, on Pierre’s VIMEO page.

     

    [adToAppearHere]