Category: Greek Islands beaches

  • 2012 holiday report: Hopping over to Paros

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    A late afternoon view of Piperi beach and Naoussa Bay on Paros

    I got this great late afternoon view of Naoussa bay and Piperi beach just by walking a very short distance down the road from Hotel Manos after my arrival on Paros

     

    [This is the latest segment of a report about my 2012 holiday in Greece. Previous reports described my 8-day vacation on Mykonos. You can access those reports by clicking here.]

     

    Tuesday, May 22 2012

     

    Second chance:  After eight fun days on Mykonos, I “hopped” over to Paros, the second island destination of my 2012 Greek holiday. Paros actually was supposed to be my third island, after visiting Ios for a few days, but Anna and some of the guests at Hotel Tagoo had persuaded me to drop Ios from my itinerary and spend more time on Mykonos instead. (I’d been having such a good time on Mykonos, they didn’t have any trouble twisting my arm. In fact, I would have stayed on Mykonos the entire time had it not been for the fact I already had bought a non-refundable flight from Paros to Athens.)

     

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    I travelled to Paros on the 14:55 Flyingcat 4, which was almost completely booked for the second year in a row. In 2011, we had waited until we arrived on Mykonos to buy tickets for our ferry trip to Ios (the next stop on the route, after Paros) and, to our chagrin, discovered that economy class was sold out with only two seats remaining in business class (which of course we booked on the spot). This time I made certain I booked my Paros ticket online well in advance. I was glad I did because, once again, economy was sold out and only a handful of seats remained in business class. The SeaJet2, which departed the Mykonos Old Port 10 minutes before us, was nearly full, too. The Flyingcat4 left Mykonos a few minutes behind schedule, but gave us a smooth ride to Paros and arrived at Parikia port nearly on time around 16:00.

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  • What’s cooking in Kokkari?

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     Buildings along the harbourfront at Kokkari village on Samos

    Mountains provide an impressive backdrop to the scenic town of Kokkari on Samos …

     

     

    Harbour view of Kokkari village on Samos

    … situated about 11 kilometers from Vathi on the north side of the island  …

     

     

    Harbour view of Kokkari village on Samos

     … next to a sheltered harbour where dozens of bars & restaurants along the water’s edge …

     

     

    Signs along a row of restaurants in Kokkari

    … all engage in eye-catching competition to attract the attention — and business — of the throngs of thirsty and hungry tourists who visit the village each day

     

     

    Sunbathe, swim, eat & repeat:  Two impressions have stuck in my mind since we visited colourful Kokkari village on Samos three years ago.

    The first is the picturesque beaches that bookend the village: Long Beach on one side, and two back-to-back beaches called Small Lemonakia on the other.

    The second is the rows of restaurants lining the town’s sheltered harbour as well as much of the length of Long Beach. It’s almost impossible to walk more than a few steps without passing a waterfront café, bar or taverna, or signs pointing the way to dozens of different places to eat and drink. There are myriad restaurant ads and menus attached to posts and walls, and dozens of sandwich board-style signs scattered along the narrow lanes and footpaths.

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  • Pic of the day: A quiet cove on Mykonos

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    An umbrella casts its shadow on a sandy cove at Agios Ioannis beach on Mykonos

    A solitary umbrella casts its shadow on a sandy cove below the Saint John Mykonos resort at Agios Ioannis beach on Mykonos

     

     

  • Pic of the day: Kokkari’s Long Beach

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    Long Beach at Kokkari village on Samos

    The long pebbly arc of the aptly named Long Beach is one of three separate beaches at Kokkari village on Samos

     

     

  • Overlooking Agios Ioannis on Mykonos

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    Below is a brief video I shot from the main road leading into the Agios Ioannis beach resort area of Mykonos. Agios Ioannis is often called “the Shirley Valentine beach” because it is where many of the scenes from the 1989 movie were filmed. Agios Ioannis has great views of Delos and Rinia islands nearby. Descriptions and photos of the beach and area are included in Part 5 of my Mykonos 2012 trip report two posts below this one.

     

  • Videos of Agios Ioannis and Kapari beaches

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    Below are four videoclips I shot showing views of Kapari and Agios Ioannis beaches and their surrounding areas on Mykonos. Descriptions and photos of both beaches are provided in my Mykonos 2012 trip report directly below this post.

     

    Views of Kapari bay and beach, as seen from the beach access road

     

     

     Views of Kapari beach and bay from the middle of the beach

     

     

     Views from the section of Agios Ioannis beach below the Saint John Mykonos Resort

     

     

  • 2012 Greek holiday trip report: Mykonos Part 5

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    Windstar Wind Spirit cruise ship

    Mighty masts: A view of the Windstar cruise yacht Wind Spirit anchored near the Mykonos Old Port on a clear, sunny morning May 20 2012. It was perfect weather for a day at the beach.

     

     

    Sunday May 20 2012

     

    Beach weather: May 20 brought us a beautiful bright and sunny morning and the promise of perfect weather for the beach. Since I had only two full days left on Mykonos, I decided to take advantage of the sunshine and spend my Sunday beach hopping. My destinations would be Kapari beach, which I had never been to before, followed by Agios Ioannis and Ornos beaches, which I had previously seen.

    I walked from Hotel Tagoo to the Fabrica bus depot where I was one of only five people waiting to board the Ornos/Agios Ioannis bus. By comparison, there were at least two dozen people lined up for the bus to Paradise, and even more standing beside the one going to Platis Gialos. I took the lack of a similar lineup for my bus to indicate that the beaches I was about to visit might be exceptionally quiet. Maybe the limited bus service explained why more people weren’t going to the same places as me. At this time of May, there were only 8 return bus trips per day to Ornos/Agios Ioannis, with the last bus returning to Mykonos Town at 18:45. Although the last bus back to Town from Paradise was scheduled for 19:00, service from Platis Gialos continued until 21:00.

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  • Pic of the day: A sunny beach on Kos

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    Tigaki beach on Kos

    A stretch of sandy beach basks in brilliant sunshine as big clouds drift above the turquoise sea near the Tigaki resort area of Kos island