Tag: Agia Anna (page 2 of 3)

2014 Greek holiday report and photos Part 1: Arriving at Naxos

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Lianos Village Hotel view

This familiar and favourite view of the Agios Prokopios beach resort area of Naxos was a welcome sight for our tired, jet-lagged eyes when we stepped onto our private terrace minutes after arriving at Lianos Village Hotel on May 19

 

 Never enough Naxos: Regular readers of this website will recall that we visited Naxos island twice last year and named it our Destination of the Year for 2013 because of its wide range of activities, sights and attractions and its wallet-friendly price appeal. Our list of 15 top reasons to visit Naxos has since become one of the most widely-read reports on the blog.

Well, we didn’t get our fill of Naxos so we made a point to return for part of our two-week Greek holiday this spring.

Below is the first part of an ongoing series of photo-illustrated reports about places and things we saw while we were on Naxos (later installments will feature our other two destinations, Syros and Athens). I will include some information about specific hotels, restaurants and other tourist-related businesses that were either open or closed since it could be helpful to anyone planning low season trips to the Cyclades. People frequently post questions in online travel forums, wondering if beach areas might be too quiet to stay at in May, and I’ve noticed the responses often give the incorrect and misleading impression that virtually nothing is open at the beginning of the tourist season.

 

Monday May 19

We arrived in Athens early in the morning of May 19 on an Air Transat direct flight from Toronto. It was our 10th time flying to Greece on this particular airline, and probably the best flight of them all — smooth and uneventful throughout the 9.5-hour trip.

Athens was cloudy and a cool 12 degrees Celsius when we landed, and weather reports were calling for similar overcast conditions and also rain at Naxos and other Cyclades islands.

Despite the cloud cover, visibility was excellent and we had superb views of Syros and Paros as we passed over both islands during our 35-minute midafternoon Olympic Air flight to Naxos. We also got a good look at the long western coast of Naxos as the plane banked over Mikri Vigla beach during its descent to Naxos airport. [See the post below this one for important advice about carry-on baggage for flights to Naxos and other small island airports.]

The air felt warm with a touch of humidity when we stepped off the plane and walked to the tiny luggage claim room at the right-hand side of the small terminal building. By the time our bags came off the belt it was drizzling, and the light rain continued throughout our 10-minute drive to Lianos Village Hotel near Agios Prokopios beach.

This was our fourth consecutive stay at Lianos Village, and we were happy to be assigned Room 83 — the same one we had stayed in last October (there’s more information about the room, as well as photos of it and its beautiful views, in my report about Our best hotel experiences of 2013.)

Please click on the number 2 in the link below to continue reading my report and view photos from our arrival day on Naxos.

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Tuesday’s sunset views from Naxos beaches

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sunset on Naxos

We had clouds and rain on Monday, our first day back on Naxos. But Tuesday the weather was gorgeous — sunny and warm (24 Celsius). The beautiful day ended with an impressive sunset, seen here from Agia Anna beach (top photo) and Agios Prokopios beach (bottom picture) on the west coast of Naxos.

 

 

sunset on Naxos

Our Top 15 reasons to visit Naxos

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The centuries-old Portara monument greets visitors arriving at Naxos by sea

The enormous marble entrance for the never-completed Temple of Apollo greets visitors arriving by sea at Naxos island in the Cyclades.  Also known as the Portara, the monument is an internationally-recognized symbol of Naxos island.

 

Something for everyone: If you’re trying to find a Greek holiday destination that ticks practically every box on even the pickiest traveller’s checklist of “must have’s” and “must see’s,” take a closer look at Naxos.

The largest island in the Cyclades, Naxos is equally big on the number of activities and attractions it offers visitors of all ages and lifestyles. From beautiful beaches to mountain villages; a vibrant port town with an historic castle and Old Market district; monuments, ruins and museums; excellent dining and nightlife; accommodations to suit any budget; walking trails, water sports and mountain biking; stunning scenery and sunsets; plus sightseeing excursions and tours both on and off the island, Naxos has it all.

Whether you’re planning to visit for three days or three weeks, you’ll never run out of things to do — if anything, you’ll probably wind up wishing you had more time to spend on the island.

 

What’s more, Naxos is surprisingly easy on the pocketbook, with reasonable prices for food, accommodations and entertainment.

All those are precisely the reasons why we named Naxos as our Greek Holiday Destination of the Year for 2013 (see our December 31 2013 post for more about that).

Click on the link below to continue reading and to see dozens of photos that illustrate our Top 15 reasons to visit Naxos, including:

♦ Ease of getting to the island;

♦ Wide range of accommodation options;

♦ Suitability for travellers of all ages and holiday lifestyles;

♦ Its fascinating main town, built below a medieval castle;

♦ Dozens of beautiful mountain villages and seaside settlements;

♦ Historic archaeological sites, monuments and museums;

♦ An extensive array of places to eat delicious local specialties and Greek cuisine;

♦ Hiking, adventure sports and recreation opportunities galore;

♦ Spectacular scenery and sunsets;

♦ Cultural events, entertainment and nightlife;

♦ Fantastic beaches;

♦ Shopping and local products;

♦ Good local transportation services;

♦ Friendly residents

♦ Tours and boat excursions to other nearby islands

 

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Mykonos food and drink 2013: Where we ate

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L'Ile Bistrot Cafe in Mykonos

New this year, L’île Bistrot-Café at 3 Kampani Street quickly became our favourite hangout in Mykonos Town for a coffee, drink or light meal. This photo is from the L’île Bistrot-Café Facebook page.

 

 

Repeat and first-time visits: A short holiday on Mykonos this past spring gave us an opportunity to dine at eight different restaurants, including a brand-new café in Mykonos Town, four other spots we had never been to before, our favourite beach taverna, plus two places to which I was eager to pay repeat visits after being highly impressed with them last year.

If you have been a regular reader of the blog, you might recall my restaurant report for 2012, in which I recounted my good experiences at more than a dozen different places. I specifically noted that I didn’t have a single disappointing meal during that holiday, and found restaurant service, overall, to be quite good.

I was anxious to see how Mykonos restaurants would compare this year — and hopeful, of course, that we would enjoy every restaurant and meal. 

Unfortunately, that didn’t quite happen.

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Warming up with some Naxos beach memories

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Agios Prokopios beach Naxos

Looking across the brilliant turquoise sea as waves softly break against the sand at Agios Prokopios beach on Naxos

 

Feeling the chill: Clouds. Wind. Rain. That pretty much sums up the dreary, depressing weather we’ve been experiencing here in Toronto since late October, when Hurricane Sandy started moving out of the Caribbean on its way to wallop the USA’s eastern seaboard. We were supposed to see a mix of sun and clouds on Sunday, Monday and again today, but the sunshine didn’t last for more than a few minutes. So you can imagine how envious I felt this morning when a friend in Athens bragged about being on her way to the beach because it was a balmy 29 degrees (Celsius).

At the time, I was sorting through photos from our visits to Naxos in 2005 and 2006, looking at pictures of some of the island’s beautiful beaches. Just out of curiosity, I checked the weather for Naxos. The island wasn’t getting the same blast of heat as Athens, but the temperature was still a summery 24 C.  Meanwhile, we were shivering with a high of only 2 C.

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Top 6 memories of my Mykonos holiday in 2012 — #4: Surf, sand & sun at more than 20 beaches

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Paraga beach Mykonos

A view of Paraga beach in the foreground and Psarou beach in the distance at rear right. Not visible in between are Agia Anna and Platis Gialos beaches.

 

20 beaches: Locals tell me there are more than 60 beaches on Mykonos, some of which are situated in remote areas of the island that few tourists ever get to see. In all my visits to Mykonos to date, I have seen less than 30 beaches, which means there are still plenty more for me to discover on future holidays.

Last month, I got to see more than 20 different beaches, and actually spent awhile enjoying 17 of them.  I visited Kapari and Lia for the first time ever, and made return trips to several beaches I had not seen in a few years: Kalafatis, Elia, Super Paradise,  Psarou and Agios Stefanos.

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Top 6 memories of my Mykonos holiday in 2012 #6: the striking sea and island scenery

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Elia beach Mykonos

Villas cling to a steep mountainside above Elia beach on Mykonos

 

Stark contrasts: On Mykonos, I have always loved the stark contrast between the arid, rocky island and the blue sea and sky that surround it. The rugged brown landscape seems to make the Aegean Sea’s shimmering turquoise water look more vivid and vibrant, especially at beaches, than it does at other Cycladic islands, where it has a pronounced cobalt hue.

This trip I did a lot of walking on Mykonos, as usual, but also saw many parts of the island through the windows of buses and cars.  I never got bored of the scenery, and always found it exhilarating whenever the vehicle rounded a corner and gave us a glimpse of a horseshoe-shaped bay with alluring blue and green water sparkling under the blazing sun.

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Greece holiday pic of the day

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Agia Anna bay on Naxos

Blue and white fishermen’s boats bob in the bay at Agia Anna on Naxos

 

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