Angle parking outside the village of Chora on Astipalea
Enjoying the view from our private terrace at Fildisi Boutique Hotel on Astipalea
Return visits: Our 2009 Greece holiday took us to four islands, and on two of those we made return visits to hotels we had stayed at once before. That’s something we rarely do, since we generally prefer to experience new hotel surroundings whenever we return to a destination we’ve already seen. But we had particularly liked both of these hotels, so we were anxious to stay there again.
Astipalea was our first stop on this particular island hopping holiday, and we stayed at Fildisi Boutique Hotel near Livadi, a peaceful farming valley below the island’s main town, Chora. It was early in the season and the Fildisi had only a handful of guests; in fact, the owner, Elias, was still getting the swimming pool, terrace and some of the other rooms ready for the summer. When Elias picked us up at the Astipalea airport to drive us to the hotel, he said he was upgrading us to the “VIP Suite.” We had no idea what that meant until we arrived and discovered it was a large studio-size room with an enormous two-level private terrace. The spacious room was great, but the jaw-dropping views from the huge deck stole the show. (To be honest, I don’t think there is a bad view from anywhere on the Fildisi property.)
Amorgos was island destination number two, and we chose Yperia Hotel in Egali, one of two port towns on the island. We were embarrassed when the Yperia’s owner, Antonis, picked us up at the port when we arrived shortly before 7 in the morning on a gargantuan Blue Star Ferry that had left Astiplea at 5.30 with fewer than two dozen passengers. The drive to the Yperia took less than one minute — we could easily have walked there with our suitcases, which we were barely able to squeeze beside us into Antonis’s tiny sedan. (Mind you, there is no sign on the hotel, so we could just as easily have walked right past the place and missed it.) Antonis assigned us a second-floor room right above the hotel reception and breakfast area. It had two balconies that overlooked the hotel swimming pool and gave us views of the Egali ferry pier as well as sunsets over Naxos island. The room also had a window facing the mountainside behind the hotel; it gave us views of Potamos, a picturesque village where had three memorable sunset dinners at the wonderful Kamara Cafe (which, we later learned, is owned and operated by Antonis’s cousin, Christoforos).
Naxos was our third island, and we returned to the Lianos Village hotel which we had enjoyed in 2006.
Mykonos was our final stop, and Hotel Tagoo was our hotel choice there for the second year in a row.
Below are photos of our views at Fildisi Boutique Hotel, Yperia Hotel, Lianos Village and Hotel Tagoo.
Every room at the Fildisi has this view of Astipalea’s Chora and Kastro (castle)
The private terrace for our “VIP Suite” at the Fildisi Hotel was unbelievably bigger than the hotel room itself.
The top level of the terrace was furnished with this giant canopy shading a teak dining table and chairs, while the lower level had two lounge chairs for sunbathing.
The enormous terrace offered an incredible panoramic view of the Livadi farming valley, Chora, the Aegean Sea, and a small beach below the hotel
Part of the Livadi valley viewed from our terrace at the Fildisi hotel
Chora, the coastline and a small beach viewed from our private terrace
I never got tired of the view of Chora and the sea
At the Yperia Hotel in Amorgos, our second-floor room had two balconies. One of them can be seen here, above the hotel entrance and pool terrace
We could see Egali bay through the door to our balcony
This photo, taken from one of our room’s two balconies, shows part of the sea view that we enjoyed from the second balcony
I enjoyed relaxing on the balcony with an ice cold bottle of Mythos beer or glass of wine after a long day of hiking on Amorgos
The balcony was a great spot to watch fishing boats return with their catch …
… and to watch Greek ferry ships come and go from the pier at Egali port. This was the same big Blue Star ferry that brought us to Amorgos from Astipalea
This was our balcony view of the Express Skopelitis ferry arriving at Egali one evening. We rode the Skopelitis to Naxos a few days later; this online album has photos of our journey through the Small Cyclades en route to Naxos.
Our balcony also had this view toward the mouth of Egali Bay
A window in our room faced homes and hotels on the hillside behind the Yperia …
… but also gave us views of Potamos village higher up the mountain
Best of all were the views from our balcony of sunsets over Naxos
On Naxos, we could view the sea from inside our hotel room at Lianos Village
Our balcony was a nice spot to relax with a glass of wine while enjoying extensive views down the southwest coast of Naxos
From our balcony we could see Agios Prokopios beach, Agia Anna, beach, Plaka beach, and mountains in the distance behind them
Palm fronds and colourful flowering plants beside our balcony
Balcony view toward Agios Prokopios beach at the bottom of the hillside
Another balcony view toward Agios Prokopios beach
The Lianos Village swimming pool terrace had terrific views of the southwest Naxos coast and other nearby islands
Swimming pool terrace view of the Agios Prokopios resort area of Naxos
Another view from the hotel swimming pool terrace
Another pool terrace view of the island’s southwest coast
This was our balcony view during our second stay at Hotel Tagoo on Mykonos
Another view from our balcony, looking toward the left
The Hotel Tagoo pool terrace is a great place to relax in the afternoon sun…
… or watch cruise ships and ferries come and go from nearby Tourlos port
Hotel Tagoo pool deck views in the morning, looking toward the left …
… and looking toward the right
A gorgeous Mykonos sunset reflects in Hotel Tagoo’s reception room windows
The imposing Kastro (castle) towers above whitewashed mountainside houses in Chora, the main village on Astipalea island
Look familiar? This blue-domed Church in Firostefani village on Santorini has been pictured on countless postcards, posters, travel brochures and websites.
Sunbeds at popular Elia Beach on Mykonos overlook the sparkling Aegean Sea
Spectacular cliff scenery on the north side of Folegandros island
The Panagia Church on Folegandros sits high above the island`s main village, Chora
Syrmata (fishermens houses) in the seaside village of Klima on Milos
A Cycladic-style house overlooking Agios Prokopios beach on Naxos
The Venetian fortress next to the old harbour at Iraklion on Crete
No sandy beach? No worries! In the Greek Islands, there’s literally thousands of miles of coastline with secluded coves and inlets…
…and countless more great spots to relax in the sun, fish, play or swim in the sea, like this rocky point near Kalithea Bay on Rhodes
Historic archaeological ruins on the hillside and seaside below Mt Kynthos on sacred Delos island
The “Little Venice” area of Mykonos Town is a perenially popular spot for tourists to enjoy a cocktail while watching a spectacular sunset…
…like this one, viewed from the Little Venice seaside
The Portara (Temple of Apollo) is one of the symbols of Naxos island…
…and a popular spot for tourists to visit for sunset viewing
A tourist sketches at the Knossos Palace ruins on Crete
A view over the volcano island (Nea Kameni) off Santorini at sunset
Not a soul in sight on the soft sands of Mikri Vigla beach on Naxos…
or on the soft sands of Achivadolimni Beach on Milos…
…or at Mikri Vigla beach on Naxos…
…while the people in this boat have the sparkling waters of this entire quiet bay all to themselves on Milos
Fira, the bustling main town on the immensely popular island of Santorini
The white cliffs at Kleftiko on Milos
Part of the long sandy beach at Ammoudara near Iraklion on Crete…
…and looking to the right along the same stretch of Ammoudara beach
Looking toward Mykonos Town from the northwest tip of Mykonos island
Some of the hillside hotels and houses overlooking Mykonos Town
Elia beach on Mykonos island
Beach chairs and umbrellas on Elia Beach at Mykonos
Windmills in the village of Chora on Astipalea island
The medieval castle in Rhodes Town on Rhodes
The mountainside village of Filoti on Naxos island
Going for an early morning sail on calm seas off Milos island
Chora, the mountaintop village on Astipalea island
Mountains in the distance off Vathi Bay on Samos
Naxos Town, the bustling main port town on Naxos Island
A rabbit shaped rock formation in the sea off Milos island
Platis Gialos beach on Mykonos
Temple of Apollo at the Asklepieion on Kos
Looking down on Super Paradise Beach on Mykonos
Waves crash against the rugged coast below the Chapel of Seven Martyrs on Sifnos
Amoudi Bay below the village of Oia on Santorini
Beautiful Agriolivadi Bay on Patmos
Pelicans, like these two seen waiting for a fish dinner at ever-popular Niko’s Taverna in Mykonos Town, are famous mascots of Mykonos island…
…while the incomparable Paraportiani Church is another Mykonos landmark
Seagulls trail a fishing boat as it returns to port at Egali on Amorgos
The village of Kastro on Sifnos
On Amorgos, the spectacular 900-year-old Chozoviotissa Monastery is carved into the face of a cliff, 300 meters above the sea