Friday October 13 is Greek Me party time at The Ocean Club on Naxos
Swing Bar on Naxos presents live jazz, swing and rock music on Friday October 13 and Saturday October 14
On Saturday October 14, Akri Bar on Milos is having a Summer Never Ends party with music by DJ Nikos Zoulias
There’s another Can’t Wait party at The Ocean Club on Naxos on Saturday October 13
Pantelis Karanikas entertains at Naxos Cafe on Naxos on Saturday October 14
Marabou club on Andros launches its autumn season on Saturday October 14 with guest DJ Deleasis (Stamatis Mavrakis)
On Saturday October 14, Santorini’s Koo Club holds its season closing party
The Ocean Club on Naxos is hosting a Street Latin Party on Sunday October 15
Vaggelis Germanos appears for live shows at Naxos Cafe on Naxos on Friday October 20 and Saturday October 21
Hercules Koktsidis will play Greek and mainstream music for the Greek Them All party at Marabou Club on Andros on Saturday October 28
~ Updated on Friday October 13 ~
Beyond Mykonos: This roundup of top parties and special events on select islands in the Cyclades is a supplement to my popular Mykonos party scene 2017 post.
This listing includes major events taking place on Ios, Naxos, Santorini and other nearby islands which many Mykonos partygoers visit during summer holidays in Greece. I have added this party listing in response to numerous requests from readers who were wondering where they could find good parties, besides Mykonos, while they are touring the Cyclades.
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Please turn to page 2 of this post to see lots more upcoming parties and special events in the Cyclades.
Cyclades hopping, an animated video published by g travel, shows how to arrange a simple island hopping holiday in the north and central Cyclades
Island itineraries: If you haven’t been to Greece before but dream about taking an island hopping holiday there, you’re probably wondering where to go, and how to get from one island to the next. With dozens of destination options in six distinct island chains, plus an array of ferry schedules to sift through, it can seem intimidating to set up a vacation. That’s one of the main reasons why many travellers take a Greek Isles cruise or a package tour, or ask a travel agent to arrange everything for them. There’s nothing wrong with any of those approaches if you’re more comfortable with them or you simply don’t have the time to do your own planning. But it’s not that daunting and difficult to do it yourself.
The video at the top of this post, Cyclades hopping, shows how to arrange a simple do-it-yourself trip to one of the most popular island chains in Greece.
The animated film focusses on a few of the Cyclades, the islands instantly recognizable for their “sugar cube” white houses and blue-domed chapels perched on rocky slopes high above gorgeous golden sand beaches and the stunning turquoise waters of the Aegean Sea.
Home to Mykonos and Santorini, two of the most world-famous and popular places in Greece, the Cyclades is where the majority of first-timers get introduced to the island hopping experience. Many get hooked and keep going back, or instead venture off to hop around the other island chains — the Sporades, Saronic, Dodecanese, Northeastern Aegean, and Ionian.
Crete, the biggest island in Greece, isn’t part of a distinct island chain, and is so vast that visitors are typically advised to devote a full two- or-three week holiday there to explore its incredibly wide variety of beaches, historic sites and attractions.
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When you watch Cyclades hopping, you’ll gain insights into travelling to Andros, Mykonos, Paros, Antiparos, Naxos, Ios and Santorini. I have posted several videos that highlight travel to those particular destinations on page 2 of this article, so you can see what each of those islands looks like, and get an overview of some of the top attractions and activities they offer. Additional videos offer peeks at other Cycladic island gems, including Sifnos, Folegandros, Syros, Amorgos, Tinos, Milos, Serifos and Kea.
A passenger enjoys early morning views from the upper deck of the Express Skopelitis ferry as it departs Egali port on Amorgos en route to Naxos
Please turn to page 2 to continue reading and to view videos of islands in the Cyclades chain.
Hotel buildings and infinity swimming pools cling to the sides of the imposing caldera cliffs in Oia village on Santorini island
Guest post by Lisa Griffin
Greece is a Eurozone country, and this fact often keeps travelers with a student budget at bay from taking a trip there. Many people think they will require loads of money to travel to Greek resorts. It is a common prejudice which is closely connected to myths that only tycoons and other financial demi-gods can afford the resorts .
The truth is different. Times of Aristotle Onassis have passed, and now any student can afford cheap holidays to Greece, either taking a trip to a sunny island like Santorini or feeling the antique air of Athens without paying much.
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Students’ leisure shouldn`t be expensive!
Cheap Greece vacations are not a dream anymore. Greece is a highly underestimated budget travel destination. Just follow the simple rule – if you are not a millionaire, don`t pretend to be one. Don`t book expensive hotels; eat out in small traditional restaurants, and use low-cost airfare and transport. Otherwise, you can turn the pleasure of your vacation into endless money wasting.
A statement like this applies to every country in the world – you can say that any city is expensive unless you’re willing to change your habits and try to look for ways to economize.
In Greece, don’t always go for the most popular places. Local people are usually trying to earn money on tourists not caring if they will be satisfied with their expensive services – tomorrow the flux of tourists will be all the same. Check Greek island vacation packages for bargains. Often these packages include delightful spots that aren’t as popular as the mainstream destinations, so you can enjoy low-cost services while having all you need for a good rest and entertainment.
Yet even the more expensive Islands like Santorini are accessible to everyone, since you can usually find hostel accommodation for as little as €15 per night. it might be a bed in a tent, but do you need more? People travel to Greek Isles not to sit in a hotel, but to see as much as possible and spend time somewhere on a distant beach. The main thing is to have a shower, a kitchen to cook fresh products bought in local markets, wifi, a place to put your stuff, and a bed to sleep.
Fira, the main commercial center on Santorini. Although it’s one of the most expensive places to visit in Greece, Santorini still offers hostel and other cheap accommodations that suit a student budget.
Please click on the link below to continue reading page 2 of Lisa Griffin’s article.
In his beautifully-filmed Greece – Cinematic Travel Video, Kris Clark spotlights top attractions and stunning scenery from Athens, Mykonos and Santorini
Trip highlights: Readers of my blog occasionally write to say they found my website helpful or inspiring for planning their own trips to Greece. My favourite feedback message of all arrived just yesterday — and included a link to the wonderful video I shared above.
In a comment posted on my blog, Kristoffer Clark said he, his wife and some friends recently returned from their May 7 – 15 trip to Athens, Santorini and Mykonos.
“We loved it, we used your site to help plan our itinerary. Your site was a big help,” he wrote. “I love to make travel videos of my trips so i wanted to share our Greece one with you.”
It’s such a fabulous film that I can’t resist sharing it here, since I think it superbly captures the essence and tremendous beauty of all three destinations.
And what I like best, besides the gorgeous scenery, are all the smiles, laughs and happy faces in evidence as Kristoffer, his wife and friends enjoy and experience the sights and scenery of three amazing destinations I visited on my own first trip to Greece.
If you’ve been to Athens, Mykonos and Santorini before, watching Greece – Cinematic Travel Video will undoubtedly trigger many happy memories for you as well. And if you haven’t been to Greece yet, I’m sure it will quickly convince you that it’s time to go. What are you waiting for? Start planning!
Santorini’s Red Beach is seen in an image from EscapeGreece.com
[Editor’s Update: If you plan to visit Santorini in 2018, please beware that Red Beach is officially closed to the public. Click here to read about a landslide that occurred on Red Beach in April 2018 and led island authorities to re-issue warnings that the beach is off limits because it’s too dangerous to visit.]
Rockfall risk: Since Santorini enjoys a worldwide reputation for superlative natural scenery, it’s not surprising that the island’s remarkable Red Beach regularly garners glowing accolades from international travel publications and leading lifestyle websites — along with ample attention on social media, where thousands of people have posted selfies that they shot on and near the colourful coastal attraction.
During my routine online work and research, I frequently find articles in which travel magazines and websites declare Red Beach to be one of the world’s “best,” “most beautiful,” “most unusual” or “most colourful” beaches, and recommend it as a “must-see” for anyone visiting Santorini. Photos of the distinctive strand, which is also known as Red Sand Beach, appear even more often on websites and social media pages dedicated to travel in Greece, and in particular for hotels and tour companies operating on Santorini.
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What the articles, posts and photo captions rarely mention, however, is that Red Beach is a veritably perilous place to sunbathe, swim or stroll. In recent years, there have been several significant rockfalls and landslides from the crimson-coloured bluffs that rise behind the narrow strip of scarlet-tinged pebbles and stones, and geological experts believe it’s possible that more cliff sections could collapse onto the beach at any time. (There are anecdotal claims that two beachgoers were killed by a landslide a few years ago, but I couldn’t find any news reports confirming the fatalities or date of the accident.)
Red Beach is seen on a sunny April afternoon in a photo by TripAdvisor review contributor Chris B
During peak season in past years, sunbeds have been available for rent, as seen in this photo from the Santorini Hotels Facebook page
In April, Facebook member Cecil Ramirez captured this photo of the imposing red stone cliffs that tower above Red Beach
Major rockfalls have occurred at Red Beach several times in the past decade. Two of the larger landslides are clearly visible in this photo shared on Facebook by Daena K Nicholas
Red Beach has been “closed” since August 2013 because of fears more landslides could occur, and since stones and boulders loosen and plunge from the cliffs on occasion. But warning signs like this one, shown in a Facebook photo by Jc Male, have not deterred thousands of people from going to the beach.
Sunbathers sit near the foot of one of the larger landslides, seen in a Facebook photo by Daniel Dias da Silva. Fences were installed to keep people from climbing the cliffs and landslip rubble because that could trigger further collapses of the rock face.
The safest way to see Red Beach is from the sea or from a distance on a hilltop vantage point like this one captured in a Facebook photo by Nikky Dudek
Please click on the link below to continue reading about Red Beach on page 2 of this post, where you can view videos and dozens more photos of this singular Santorini beach.
Drone tour: Here’s a video to excite and inspire those of you who will be going to Santorini this summer — or possibly sometime in the future.
Created by NPro+ Aerial Production, the two-and-a-half minute film will take you on an exhilarating aerial tour of the western side of Santorini, renowned for the picturesque villages that cling to the peaks of rugged caldera cliffs towering nearly 1,000 feet (300 meters) above the Aegean Sea.
Although dozens of drone videos of Santorini are available for online viewing, I particularly like NPro+’s Santorini from the Sky because it starts with a superb view of Agios Theodori, the church that has been pictured on countless Santorini postcards, posters and travel guides.
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Instantly recognizable by its shiny blue dome and brilliant white belltower overlooking the volcano island of Nea Kameni, Agios Theodori church was the first fascinating sight we saw moments after arriving at our hotel in Firostefani village on our first visit to Santorini in 2004. The video goes on to show other remarkable scenes that amazed us throughout that holiday, including views of four clifftop villages — Fira, Firostefani, Imerovigli and Oia — and beautiful Amoudi Bay below Oia. Of course, the film also shows some of the sensational sunsets for which Santorini is famous around the world.
Scenes from some of the shop-lined streets in the heart of Fira, and from a few of its many cliffside cocktail bars and cafes, also made me feel like I was right back on the island experiencing it in person all over again.
The only thing I didn’t like was the brief view of tourists riding donkeys on the path that winds down the cliff from Fira to the cruise ship tender port. Click here to read why you shouldn’t take a donkey ride if you visit Santorini.
Even if you’ve never been to Santorini, you’ve probably seen Agios Theodori church — it has been pictured on scores of postcards, posters and travel guides. Located in Firostefani village, it was the first impressive sight we saw on our first visit to Santorini back in 2004. There’s a great view of the church, and the Nea Kameni volcano island (upper left), at the beginning of the Santorini from the Sky video I posted above.
Santorini was filmed during April 2013 by dimid, a timelapse photographer from Minsk, Belarus, and his colleague Zweizwei from Korea.
Bedazzling beauty: Now that it’s a brand-new year, people around the world are beginning to book their spring, summer and fall trips to Greece. Since many will be spending some time on Santorini, I’m posting some inspiring videos that may help them plan what to see — and perhaps even where to stay.
The film at the top of this post is a gripping 2.5-minute timelapse video that highlights some of the island’s superlative scenery, and shows why Santorini is not only one of the most popular destinations in Greece, but also one of its most well-known islands worldwide.
Expedia’s Santorini Vacation Travel Guide video features five minutes of magnificent island views and scenery
The video above was produced by Expedia several years ago to accompany its Santorini Vacation Travel Guide, but its images are timeless. Slightly more than 5 minutes long, the film features many of the island’s renowned sunset and caldera views, but also shows some of Santorini’s stunning beaches and coastal scenery.
The video below is over 15 minutes long and it, too, showcases the enticing views and mesmerizing scenery that enthrall the nearly two million people who visit the island each year. But it also spotlights many of the island’s most popular places to stay, dine and drink, and demonstrates how dozens of Santorini’s cliff-edge hotels, infinity swimming pools, bars and restaurants look as luscious as the surrounding natural landscapes and seascapes.
And if you’re still trying to decide where to stay and dine during your trip, this video could help you narrow your options — signs for many of the resorts and restaurants can be seen in the film.
Enjoy the amazing views, and happy planning!
Santorini HD The best island in Greece was filmed by Sim-Xat HD (YouTube contributor Σιμος Χατζης)
The Hellenic Seaways ferry company extended holiday greetings on social media with this shiny red Christmas tree ornament decorated with a golden satellite view-image of Greece
Scenes of the season: My social media news feeds have been filled with hundreds of holiday greetings this week, but the ones that inspire me the most are Christmas wishes that include a photo or image of a place in Greece that I’ve either been to or hope to see someday.
Just for fun, I have collected some of my favourites to share here on the blog.
Please click on the link below to turn to page 2 and see some of the Christmas greetings that have been spreading joy to me and many other Greece fans this festive season.
