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Greek island advice
- Thread starter Notters
- Start date
I would highly recommend Corfu, head to the north of the island.
Arillas or Agios Georgios Pagi.
Absolutely stunning beaches and scenery, i went this year in a group of 9, 4 of them had also been on a caribbean cruise and said they the views in north corfu could not be beaten, hardly any kids around and some fantastic restaurants (Tavernas as there known there).
If you want to impress your lady friend i guarentee either of the above resorts will provide you with a stunning time.
Check out Hotel Marina if you can, it has a lovely pool with bar to chill out in.
Arillas or Agios Georgios Pagi.
Absolutely stunning beaches and scenery, i went this year in a group of 9, 4 of them had also been on a caribbean cruise and said they the views in north corfu could not be beaten, hardly any kids around and some fantastic restaurants (Tavernas as there known there).
If you want to impress your lady friend i guarentee either of the above resorts will provide you with a stunning time.
Check out Hotel Marina if you can, it has a lovely pool with bar to chill out in.
Norman Potting
Well-known member
Just looked on Google Earth and it looks for the moment as though Fokis is still unspoilt. Trouble is now all I can think of is drinking Mythos, Kourtaki and eating Saginiki in the sunshine and I still have work to do!
If you are researching somewhere to go you can do some virtual sightseeing via Google Earth, in fact for a Viz style tip why not plug in your computer to a large screen telly, get in lots of local type food, get lots of sunlamps and spend a fortnight at home sightseeing this way!
Croydonbloke
Palace in Sussex
Booked a week in Lindos myself for Aug 2012, it looks stunning.
Tom Hark Preston Park
Will Post For Cash
- Jul 6, 2003
- 70,854
Absolutely cracking there
Another island for the short list has to be Skiathos. Tiny wee island with about fifty fine beaches. Best in June or September as July/August can get a bit crowded.
Hillian1
( . ) ( . )
Take a Lindos taxi (donkey) up to the Acropolis, you will surely have a few testicle retraction moments as they step on the very edge of the narrow paths on the way up.
ps: The donkeys are well looked after and fed and watered at the top and bottom, Mrs Hillian would not have done this otherwise.
Mellor 3 Ward 4
Well-known member
Haven't had the chance to go through the whole thread, but having been to in excess of 20 different Islands over the years I thought I'd give you my opinions of a few of the more popular destinations. It is however really dangerous to generalise, 'Crete is too built up and is full of drunken kids....Santorini is expensive.....etc' as there are some FANTASTIC places in Crete (Western end on both the North and South of the Island) and yes sitting sipping a cocktail in an expensive bar in Fira in Santorini overlooking the Volcano watching the (quite unbeliveable) sunset will set you back a fair bit - BUT again, stay somewhere like Perissa and you can get real bargains if you shop around.
Anyway, back to the OP, and your question. If I was going to Greece for the first time, I most certainly wouldn't be spending two weeks staying in the same place. Island hopping is easy, fun and cheap. Find a cheap flight to any one of the Islands (or indeed Athens, you'd be surprised at how cheap BA re to fly there, often cheaper than Easyjet) and go from there.
There's a really good website written by an American called Matt Barratt - it gives you some great ideas as to which islands to combine on an Island Hopping holiday, or check out Tripadvisor, always good for impartial advise.
Anyway, our favouries are probably:
Milos (you can fly here from Athens)
Sifnos
(These two are very easily combined)
Naxos (great beaches, and big enough to explore in a car/scooter)
Paros (except for Naoussa which is expensive)
Santorini (3-4 days is enough)
Western Crete. (Georgioupolis on the North coast, and Paleoachora on the South)
Kalymnos (bit harder to get to.)
Rhodes (again, stay away from the built up areas. There's a village/town just South of Lindos called Pefkos which is nice. If you want an AI holiday, some friends of ours sayed near here last summer and loved it.
Honourable mentions also to Kefalonia and Ios.
if I was going to genaralise, and I said I wouldn't, IMO stay clear of Zante, Corfu (except the North) and Kos (although there ARE some really nice places on these three, just perhaps a little harder to find these days)
For a 10 day to two week holiday why not:
Fly to Santorini (2 - 3 days)
Ferry to Naxos (3 - 4 days)
Ferry to Paros (very quick trip, just over the water) 3 - 4 days)
Ferry back to Athens (1 or 2 nights there to see the sights)
Flight back from Athens
One last thing, if you are going September, Western Crete would be my choice, purely for the fact that (generally) you get better weather there at that time of year.
Oh for an Ice Cold Mythos.
Anyway, back to the OP, and your question. If I was going to Greece for the first time, I most certainly wouldn't be spending two weeks staying in the same place. Island hopping is easy, fun and cheap. Find a cheap flight to any one of the Islands (or indeed Athens, you'd be surprised at how cheap BA re to fly there, often cheaper than Easyjet) and go from there.
There's a really good website written by an American called Matt Barratt - it gives you some great ideas as to which islands to combine on an Island Hopping holiday, or check out Tripadvisor, always good for impartial advise.
Anyway, our favouries are probably:
Milos (you can fly here from Athens)
Sifnos
(These two are very easily combined)
Naxos (great beaches, and big enough to explore in a car/scooter)
Paros (except for Naoussa which is expensive)
Santorini (3-4 days is enough)
Western Crete. (Georgioupolis on the North coast, and Paleoachora on the South)
Kalymnos (bit harder to get to.)
Rhodes (again, stay away from the built up areas. There's a village/town just South of Lindos called Pefkos which is nice. If you want an AI holiday, some friends of ours sayed near here last summer and loved it.
Honourable mentions also to Kefalonia and Ios.
if I was going to genaralise, and I said I wouldn't, IMO stay clear of Zante, Corfu (except the North) and Kos (although there ARE some really nice places on these three, just perhaps a little harder to find these days)
For a 10 day to two week holiday why not:
Fly to Santorini (2 - 3 days)
Ferry to Naxos (3 - 4 days)
Ferry to Paros (very quick trip, just over the water) 3 - 4 days)
Ferry back to Athens (1 or 2 nights there to see the sights)
Flight back from Athens
One last thing, if you are going September, Western Crete would be my choice, purely for the fact that (generally) you get better weather there at that time of year.
Oh for an Ice Cold Mythos.
Mellor 3 Ward 4
Well-known member
Was that the Hotel with a pool on the roof?
We stayed there for a few nights a couple of years ago. Lovely little resort - with a great sandy beach. Possibly a little too 'British' with all the expats coming into town from their villas in the hills in the evening, but lovely nonetheless.
Tom Hark Preston Park
Will Post For Cash
- Jul 6, 2003
- 70,854
Yup, that's the one, the Almyrida Beach. The beach is super.
Think the reason me bruv chose it for his wedding was so he could come into town from his villa in the hills in the evening
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Mellor 3 Ward 4
Well-known member
Yup, that's the one, the Almyrida Beach. The beach is super.
Think the reason me bruv chose it for his wedding was so he could come into town from his villa in the hills in the evening
Good for him! There aren't many places I would leave the UK for, but the Western part of Crete is possibly one.
Tom Hark Preston Park
Will Post For Cash
- Jul 6, 2003
- 70,854
Same. Genuine people, lovely location, a beautifully chilled way of life. Not without big economic problems obviously, same as the rest of Greece, but it must make it easier to bear when you've got all these positives going for you. As for Almyrida and surrounding area, reckon having a much quieter airport, Chania, makes a big difference. Opens the area up, but not to character-changing volumes of visitors. Heard a few dark mutterings about the possible advent of all-inclusive holidays, and I think that would be a shame as it would stop the tourist euro trickling down into the community.
Mellor 3 Ward 4
Well-known member
Yes, AI holidays are a real threat to the local economy.
First Choice, are I believe ONLY doing AI holidays from next year.
At the moment they go to a couple of smallish hotels in Georgioupolis (about half an hour from Almyrida) but are dropping them next year as the Hotels can't/won't do AI.
Not a problem for us as we always book direct with the Hotels, but it's a huge loss for the Hotels concerned.
Could just do with the Euro getting back to 1.4 !
Codner pharmaceuticals
Well-known member
I'd rent a big villa and invite the whole family along! At the very least take your niece and nephew.
Not really a loss as the hotels will just move from First Choice to the sister company Thomson
Pretty pink fairy
Banned
- Jan 30, 2008
- 31,981
have you told your "lady friend" that , sounds like you want the best of both worlds , sounds like you're a "newbie" to this lark
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Pretty pink fairy
Banned
- Jan 30, 2008
- 31,981
it was when i was there in 2004 , nice roof top restaurants , NICE TAN
Pretty pink fairy
Banned
- Jan 30, 2008
- 31,981
sissi in crete is another nice location, stayed in the maritimo bay hotel , mainly Germans but had a great time, made loads of friends there 
Pretty pink fairy
Banned
- Jan 30, 2008
- 31,981
you'll look the part there with your hanky on your head, blimmey if that place isn't brits abroad what isn't , full of kids selling time share when i went to Paphos
on the other side of the island you got Protaris, "SING ALONG CENTRAL " what ever floats your boat, better of choosing the north of the island with anatollian sky The Mole
Well-known member
Just come back from Albania and spent three days in Corfu. We found Corfu to be very expensive and extremely commercial. However if you take the one hour ferry to Albania - a taxi to Ksamil (about 30 mins) you get beaches almost to yourself, stunning scenery, great food and the most generous people. And Albania is very cheap.
If you're interested I can give you the name of the apartments we stayed at (20 Euros per night). Alexander, our host, was very interesting and told us a lot about the country. He spent some time working on the construction of the Trafford Centre!
If you're interested I can give you the name of the apartments we stayed at (20 Euros per night). Alexander, our host, was very interesting and told us a lot about the country. He spent some time working on the construction of the Trafford Centre!