Category: East & North Aegean Islands (page 5 of 9)

Summer hotel prices skyrocket on Mykonos as rates rise less sharply or drop on other islands

July 16, 2014 / / 1 Comment
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Little Venice

The Little Venice seafront at Mykonos Town is a must-see attraction for hundreds of thousands of people who visit the island each year

 

Rising rates: Survey data from Trivago, the international hotel comparison website, has confirmed something I have been noticing for months — accommodation prices on Mykonos have risen sharply since last year.

In fact, the average nightly price for a Mykonos hotel room this month has climbed to a stunning €322 compared to €200 per night in July 2013 — a whopping 61% increase, Trivago’s research data indicates.

This news comes on the heels of a separate Trivago survey result released several days ago that ranked Mykonos as the 7th most expensive destination in the world in terms of hotel prices.

Many Mykonos hotels had frozen or even reduced their rates during the economic crisis that has devastated Greece for more than five years, with some properties losing money or barely breaking even each year as owners waited for the economy to improve. With Greek tourist traffic soaring to record levels this summer, it appears that hotels may be taking advantage of the increased demand for accommodation to try to recoup some of the losses they sustained.

 Parikia on Paros

Parikia is the biggest town and port on Paros.  Average hotel prices for Parikia have increased 10% this month from the same time last year.

 

Hotel prices rise at 16 other destinations

But Mykonos isn’t the only popular destination in Greece where hotel prices have increased since last year.

The Trivago survey shows that rates have climbed anywhere from 3% to 38% in 16 other island and mainland locations.

Places posting single-digit price increases include Corfu (+3%), Agios Nikolaos, Andros and Hydra (each +5%), plus Iraklio, Naxos and Rethymnon (up 8% each).

Locations with double-digit increases include Parikia (+10%), Rhodes (+15%), Chania (+16%), Hersonissos and Kos (each up 17%), Elounda (+18%), Ios (+19%), Zakynthos (+21%) and Lefkada (+38%).

 

Rates dropped on 11 islands

 Ermoupoli Syros

Trivago says room rates have dropped 13% at Ermoupoli on Syros

 Higher prices are not a trend throughout Greece, however, since nightly room rates actually have dropped significantly on some islands or, in the case of Rhodes, at one of its most popular tourist destinations (Lindos), Trivago data indicates.

On Folegandros, for example, the average price for a hotel room this month is €97, down a startling 27% from the €133 average rate in July 2013. Sharp price cuts also occurred at Koukounaries on Skiathos (-24%), Spetses (-23%), Argostoli (-15%), Astipalea (-14%), Ermoupoli on Syros (-13%), Lindos on Rhodes (-10%). Lower reductions were noted on Koufonissi and Tinos (both -4%)  and at Molyvos and Apollonia (both -3%).

Curiously, the Trivago survey didn’t mention prices on Santorini which, like Mykonos, is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Greece.

 Folegandros chora

Chora village on Folegandros. Average hotel room rates on this charming island dropped by 27% this month compared to July 2013, Trivago says.

 

Mykonos among Top 10 most expensive global destinations

Mykonos achieved notoriety for pricey hotel rooms on another Trivago report that made the news a few days ago. In a survey of summer 2014 trends for travellers from the United Kingdom, Trivago examined searches conducted between January 1 and June 15 for travel to take place during this month and August. (Trivago’s system compares rates from more than 700,000 hotels on more than 150 different booking sites around the world.)

The data showed that the average online price for a hotel in Mykonos Town was €244 Euros. This gave Mykonos the #7 spot on Trivago’s list of the Top 10 Most Expensive Global Destinations, behind #1 Velden, Austria; #2 Belek, Turkey, #3 Ascona, Switzerland, #4 Porto Vecchio, Corsica, #5 Montreux, Switzerland, and #6, Boston, USA.  Rounding out the top 10 behind Mykonos were #8 New York, USA, #9 Locarno, Switzerland, and #10 Lugano, Switzerland.

The results of the two Trivago surveys will cement Mykonos’s reputation as one of the most expensive places to visit in Greece — something that shouldn’t really come as a surprise, considering that the island was put on the map by the jet set in the first place, and remains a popular getaway destination for the world’s rich and famous.

Still, a 61% increase in prices is startling, even for a place frequented by affluent travellers.

 Mykonos Town

Rooftops on buildings in Mykonos Town. Hotel rates on the island are practically going through the roof this year, rising 61% over prices for July 2013.

 

Complaints raised in emails seeking hotel advice

I noticed that Mykonos hotel prices were on the rise early this year when I was checking hotel rates to answer accommodation questions posted in the Mykonos travel forum on TripAdvisor.com. Prices seemed marginally higher than I remembered them being in 2013. As winter moved into spring, I received numerous private messages on TripAdvisor, and emails to my blog, from people seeking suggestions for cheaper accommodation because they were finding summer prices too high.

Many of the people complaining about high hotel rates were travellers from the United Kingdom who wanted to stay on Mykonos only one night. They were flying to Mykonos on EasyJet or British Airways direct flights, but immediately transferring to another island — usually Naxos, Paros or somewhere in the Small Cyclades. Because of awkward ferry schedules, many of these travellers would have to spend a night on Mykonos in order to catch their return flights home. Many were astounded not only by the high room rates on Mykonos, but also by the fact many hotels impose a minimum stay requirement of 3 nights or longer during peak travel season, which limited their accommodation options even further.

My advice for travellers seeking summer bargains is to shop around on Trivago and other online sites, and to compare prices found there to rates listed on hotel websites. Booking directly with a hotel can sometimes achieve either significant price savings or extras like complimentary shuttle service to and from the Mykonos ferry ports or airports.

If you still find Mykonos hotels too expensive for your budget, consider visiting nearby islands like Naxos or Syros instead, or one of the places where the Trivago survey showed that prices have dropped this year. There are many other islands where budget-minded tourists will get more bang for their buck. But if you’re looking for glitz, glamour and glitter, there’s only one Mykonos — and going there this summer could put a bigger dent in your wallet than you’re anticipating.

 Kos Town harbour

Tour boats in the harbour at Kos Town. Trivago found that average hotel rates for Kos have gone up 17% for this month compared to the same time last year.

 

Greek Islands featured on covers of major travel magazines

July 14, 2014 / / 0 Comments
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GEO magazine June 2014 cover

GEO magazine profiled Greece in its June 2014 issue with a cover photo of Mandrakia village on Milos and an “Escape” feature on the “Secret islands and archipelagos of Greece.” They’re obviously not secret anymore!

 

Summer reads: When I’m not in Greece I enjoy reading about it — in books, magazines, online travel forums and websites. Thanks to feature cover stories about Greece published by three major European travel magazines recently, I’ve got plenty to read while relaxing on my balcony this summer.

Here’s a look at what the three magazine cover stories say about Greece:

  GEO magazine June 2014

I discovered GEO magazine from France purely by chance — I was looking for another magazine at a newsstand when a photo on GEO’s bold green cover caught my eye. It was the picturesque harbour at Mandrakia, a fishing hamlet on Milos, under the headline: “Secret islands and archipelagos of Greece.” I couldn’t resist and bought the magazine after taking only a cursory glance at the contents.

It turns out there are 28 full pages of text and beautiful photos about several Greek islands including Kythera, Kalymnos, Milos, Santorini, Chios, Aegina, Tinos, Skyros, Folegandros and Rhodes. The stories aren’t travel guides — they don’t recommend hotels to stay in, for instance, or suggest the hottest restaurants and coolest beaches to visit. Some of the pieces provide brief descriptions and overviews of the destinations, while others take an insightful look into how the Greek Islands have been affected by the country’s devastating economic crisis. The sale of island real estate to foreign billionaires is considered in part of one report, for example, while another piece profiles people who have started new business ventures selling local agricultural products.

 Island village photo foul-up

 GEO magazine photo of Astipalea

Mon Dieu! GEO magazine mistakenly published this eye-catching photo of Chora village on Astipalea to illustrate a short piece about Chora on Kythera — another island in a completely different area of Greece.

 

One of the GEO feature’s excellent photos — spread across pages 36 and 37  — really piqued my curiosity. It shows a white-domed church rising from the middle of a huge stone castle perched on a hilltop. The slopes below the castle are stacked with white cube houses that descend to a row of derelict windmills. I instantly recognized the location — Chora village on Astipalea, a butterfly-shaped island in the Dodecanese archipelago. I had shot photos from almost the identical vantage point when we visited Astipalea in 2009. However, the picture accompanied an article about Kythera, which is part of the Ionian island group, and the text said the town in the photo is that island’s capital, also called Chora. (Most main towns on Greek islands are called Chora).

I haven’t been to Kythera yet, but I was absolutely certain the photo was from Astipalea. So I poured through my photos to confirm I was right (there’s more than 300 pictures in my Astipalea collection on Flickr). Sure enough, details in my pictures of Astipalea’s Chora matched the same features visible in the GEO image, which was credited to Velissario Voutsas /IML – Hemis.fr, a French photo agency. Obviously someone on the magazine staff had made a big boo-boo by purchasing the wrong stock image to illustrate the article!

(You can learn more about Kythera, and see photos showing what its Chora looks like, on the comprehensive Visit Kythera website.)

Photo flop aside, the GEO stories are compelling reads, and are bound to encourage people in France to consider island hopping in Greece on an upcoming vacation. Moreover, photos and information about Leros, Kalymnos, Chios, Skyros and Tinos will encourage travellers to visit charming islands that often get overlooked because they aren’t instantly-recognizable mainstream tourist destinations like Santorini, Paros, Naxos and Mykonos.

 Please click on the 2 in the link below to continue reading this report.

 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

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5 reasons to take another look at Lesvos

April 28, 2014 / / 0 Comments
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Aegean Airlines Blue magazine

The spring edition of Aegean Airlines’ Blue magazine features a cover photo of the town of Molyvos and its Byzantine-era hilltop castle on Lesvos island

 

On our list: Friends who haven’t yet been to Greece keep wondering why I find it so difficult to decide where we should go on our Greek holidays. They think that if you’ve seen one Greek island, you’ve seen ’em all, so they simply can’t comprehend why I spend so much time checking flights and ferry schedules to see if we could visit places in an island group we haven’t been to before, or perhaps explore the Peloponnese, Pelion or other parts of mainland Greece instead.

“Why not just stick to Mykonos or Santorini? The islands can’t be that different from one another,” one friend has remarked several times. It’s a reaction I find hard to fathom, particularly since she — and most of our other friends, family and acquaintances who have made similar comments — return to the exact same vacation resorts in Florida, California, Hawaii and Mexico year after year.

 

Friends have urged us to visit Lesvos

Although we do have favourite islands we’re always happy to revisit, we try to expand our horizons by going to new places whenever we can work them into our travel dates. We have a list of nearly a dozen islands that we’re eager to see in the next three to five years, but some aren’t easy to reach in May (our typical travel period) because of extremely limited or awkward ferry connections at that time of year.

However, one place we’re confident we will see sooner, rather than later, is Lesvos — an island we’ve been urged to visit by numerous friends who are well-travelled in Greece, and who understand how each destination there is special and unique.

Although we won’t get to see Lesvos when we return to Greece next month, I continue to read up on it from time to time — and so far I have been liking everything I have seen (I haven’t read a single negative comment yet). And when Aegean Airlines published a profile of Lesvos in the recently-released spring edition of its in-flight magazine, Blue, I honestly felt a strong tinge of regret for leaving Lesvos for a future vacation.

 

‘The island that has it all’

With an appealing photo of beautiful Molyvos village on its cover, Blue magazine invites readers to “Explore Majestic Lesvos,” and offers five key reasons explaining why “the island that has it all” deserves attention:

 

◊ The traditional cuisine

Article author Fotis Vallatos recommends several tavernas and ouzeris that serve scrumptious meals, including mezedes, fresh fish and other “delights from the sea.” They include Ermis and Kalderimi in the port town of Mytilene, Papeli’s at Agiasos, Baluchanas in Perama, Stratis Maganas’s ouzeri in Skala Neon Kydonion, Petri Taverna in Petri village, Mrs Maria’s canteen on Chrousos beach, and Ouzadiko tou Baboukou at the Molyvos harbourfront.

 

◊ Charming villages

“Many of the island’s hamlets remain untouched by development and tourism,” Vallatos notes, and certain driving routes — like the road from Mytilene to Plomari — pass through “enchanting landscapes and villages.”

“Agia Paraskevi is a wonderful traditional settlement. Mantamados is famous for its ceramics and dairy products, mainly cheese.  Molyvos is home to a magnificent fortress. the beautiful Sykaminia seems to have stepped out of an old movie, while Skala Sykaminias is where you will find the impressive Panagia Gorgona (Mermaid Madonna) Church, which is built on a rocky outcrop in the harbour,” he writes.

 

◊  Beautiful beaches

Vallatos points out that Lesvos can proudly lay claim to one of the country’s “most stunning” beaches, at Chrousos, and boasts many other “standout” strands, including the four adjoining beaches at Agioi Anargiroi, just past the Eftalou thermal baths.

 

◊  Unique bays

“Wonderful, off-the-beaten track fishing villages” are scattered along Gera Bay, while the Rodotihos, an Archaic stone wall measuring 50 meters long by 6 meters high, is a top attraction at Apothika.

 

◊  The petrified forest

Rounding out Vallatos’ convincing set of reasons for revisiting Lesvos is what he feels could well be “the country’s most amazing natural heritage site” — the petrified forest near Sigri village.

 

Baluchanas Taverna in Perama on Lesvos

The Baluchanas taverna in Perama. This photo, by Perikles Merakos, appears in Blue magazine’s feature article about Lesvos.

 

 

 

Superb food, scenery and local hospitality

But as anyone who has already been to Lesvos is bound to tell you, there are countless more reasons why the island is a must-see destination. One that I hear repeated most often is the welcoming, friendly nature of the local residents. The people, the food, the scenery and the history all combine to create an outstanding vacation experience that keeps drawing people back for more.

As one of my friends insists, “You will fall in love with Lesvos and keep coming back.”

That seems to be a sentiment commonly expressed online by repeat Lesvos visitors — as well as by people who loved visiting the island so much they moved there.

As TripAdvisor.com members RobandCarol posted in TA’s Lesvos travel forum in January, “BEWARE. Lesvos will capture your heart. Be it Molyvos, Petra, Anaxos or anywhere else on Lesvos. This island has a magical quality, even Aristotle was seduced.”

Other forum participants have agreed, saying Lesvos stole their hearts, too — and now they can’t wait to make their annual holiday trips to the island. Several have said they would love to move their, too, as RobandCarol did five years ago.

Click here to read the online version of the Blue magazine feature and see more Lesvos photos by Perikles Merakos.

For additional information about Lesvos, check out the websites Lesvos: The unspoiled beauty and Travel to Lesvos.

 

Kokkari’s waterfront restaurant row

April 19, 2014 / / 2 Comments
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Kokkari village Samos

Taverna signs compete for customers’ attention along the waterfront pedestrian promenade in Kokkari village on Samos island.

 

 

Kokkari Samos

Another view of “restaurant row” from a position a bit farther along the strip

 

 

Kokkari village Samos

A view from across the bay of restaurants along part of the Kokkari waterfront

 

 

Kokkari village Samos

The tavernas have sheltered dining terraces either right next to the water or beside the narrow shore that extends along part of the harbourside

 

 

Kokkari village Samos

The tables offer scenic views of the harbour, in all directions …

 

 

Kokkari village Samos

… while some waterfront bars offer comfortable cushioned seats for customers to relax in while enjoying drinks and the Kokkari scenery

 

Louis Cruises adds Samos, Symi, Syros, Ios, Milos, Kos & Chios to Greek island destinations for 2014

April 18, 2014 / / 0 Comments
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Louis Cristal cruise ship

I shot this photo of passengers an upper deck of the Louis Cristal as the ship (below) approached Mykonos for a port stop a couple years ago

 

Louis Cristal cruise ship

 

 

New ports & themes: Louis Cruises has added seven new Greek islands to the roster of destinations travellers will be able to visit on tour itineraries being offered this year by the Cyprus-based cruise operator.

Louis Cruises has long offered popular 3- to 8-day tour packages that take travellers to Istanbul and Kusadasi in Turkey as well as to the Greek islands Mykonos, Santorini, Patmos, Rhodes and Crete.

For 2014, the company has expanded its roster of destinations to include two more ports in Turkey — Bodrum and Cesme — along with seven new Greek island stops: Syros, Ios and Milos in the Cyclades island group, Kos and Symi in the Dodecanese, and Samos and Chios in the East Aegean.

 

New themed cruises available

Besides the new ports of call, Louis will be offering 60 specially-themed cruises with itineraries based on: gastronomy, wine & spirits; culture & heritage; history & archaeology; and music.

Representatives of the cruise line told a recent press conference in Athens that bookings for its cruises are up significantly so far this year — over 20% higher than in 2013.  The company is expecting to carry 820,000 passengers during 2014 on its ships the Cristal, Olympia and Aura.

Full details about itinerary themes and destinations, as well as the ships, are available on the Louis Cruises website.

 

Passengers enjoy the cruises & island itineraries

Although we haven’t yet taken a Louis cruise ourselves, we have spoken to dozens of people who have. Almost all of our flights to and from Greece have been on Air Transat, whose sister company, Transat Holidays, offers Louis cruises in many of its organized island hopping vacation packages. Dozens of the passengers on each of our flights have taken the cruises, and their feedback about the experience has been overwhelmingly positive, with everyone reporting that they fully enjoyed the ships and the islands they visited.

And while we were in Athens last October, we spoke with two friends who had just taken a Louis Cruise that included stops at Kusadasi, Patmos, Crete and Santorini. Both are very well-travelled in Greece, and raved about how much they enjoyed their cruise. They told us their rooms were comfortable, the crew were friendly and helpful, and the food was delicious. They highly recommended the cruise and, in fact, urged us to take one on a future trip to Greece. It’s a suggestion we will seriously consider in light of their comments.

 

Symi island Greece

This photo of a waterfront scene on Symi is from The Symi Visitor website, an online guide that’s packed with pictures and travel information about the island

 

Picture yourself … in Vathi on Samos

February 2, 2014 / / 0 Comments
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A stone house across the bay from Vathi, the main town on Samos island

A stone house sits across the bay from Vathi, the main town on Samos

 

Beach and coastal scenery on Chios

February 2, 2014 / / 0 Comments
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This videoclip, Beaches of Chios, was posted online by YouTube member Xvijana, who said the clip shows beaches visited during a 2013 visit to the East Aegean island. The clip shows a variety of beaches starting on the west side of Chios, moving from south to north, and then clockwise from the northeast to south.

 

 

Winter distraction: I’ve had enough of winter!  I’m tired of ice, sleet and snow, and fed up with having to wear several layers of clothing to cope with the mind-numbing cold temperatures outside. But it’s only February 1, and spring is still a long ways off.

So I’m trying to distract myself by viewing online photos and videos of places I’d like to visit on one of our future trips to Greece.

The East Aegean island of Chios is one of those places. I don’t know if we’ll get there in 2014, but this video by Xvijana makes me want to visit just to see the island’s incredible variety of beaches and coastal scenery.

Xvijana’s video took my mind off winter for a few minutes … I hope it’s an equally enjoyable distraction for you, too!

 

Wine Enthusiast features Greece’s Aegean Islands on list of top 10 wine travel destinations for 2014

January 21, 2014 / / 2 Comments
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View toward Oia on Santorini

This is just part of the jaw-dropping caldera view that tourists enjoy while visiting SantoWines on Santorini. At upper right is the clifftop village of Imerovigli, while in the distance beyond the cruise ships is the scenic village of Oia. This photo appears in Wine Enthusiast Magazine’s profile of the Greek Aegean Islands as one of 2014’s top wine travel destination.

 

 

All about the Assyrtiko: A leading international wine magazine has named Greece’s Aegean Islands as one of the world’s top wine travel destinations for 2014.

The listing by Wine Enthusiast Magazine cites three islands in particular as great places for oenophiles to visit this year: Santorini, Samos and Crete.

“With whitewashed villages that cling to steep hillsides, which drop precipitously toward the deep blue sea, few people think of the Aegean Islands as a wine destination. But if you look carefully, you will see that the island of Santorini is essentially one large farm, Samos has terraced vineyards on Mount Ambelos, and Crete is home to a variety of white and red grapes,” writers Mike DeSimone & Jeff Jenssen observe.

The magazine’s profile of the Aegean Islands wine destinations includes tips on things to see and do, places to dine, where to stay, and of course where to taste the local wine.

It recommends visiting the SantoWines facility on Santorini (seen in the photo above) to taste wines while enjoying the fabulous scenery and watching one of the island’s legendary sunsets. 

“In Crete, sit back in a comfortable reclining chair, sample a variety of wines and learn about the history of Greek winemaking at Boutari’s state-of-the-art theater. On Samos, visit the Malagari Winery, part of the Union of Vinicultural Cooperatives of Samos, to sample the local sweet wines and to visit the Samos Wine Museum,” the profile adds.

You can read the full Aegean Island profile, as well as the listings for nine other top wine travel destinations, in the Top Wine Getaways feature on the Wine Enthusiast Magazine website.

 

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