Grecian getaway: A journey to the Greek islands

By Jane Foster
Published: Wednesday, August 21, 2019

With more than 200 inhabited islands dotting the coastline of Greece, travellers are spoilt for choice when it comes to turquoise-coloured waters, private cabanas and sandy white beaches. Join us as we journey to 5 of Greece's most beautiful islands.

Santorini, for the romantics

Beguiling and otherworldly, Santorini’s extraordinary beauty was created some 3600 years ago, when a massive volcanic explosion blew the middle out of the island. The result was a dramatic caldera (sea-filled crater), rimmed on one side by plummeting black and red cliffs.

High above the caldera, a handful of clifftop villages provide some of Greece’s most Instagrammable views – white cubic Cycladic cottages, blue-domed churches and pastel-coloured neo-classical mansions, gazing into a hazy blue of sea and sky.

Most majestic of all is tiny Oia, on the island’s northern tip. Here, former cave homes now host boho-chic boutique hotels with gorgeous whitewashed interiors and private infinity pools.

Santorini, Greece.

Gourmet eateries serve exquisite dishes based on local produce (shrimp, white aubergines and cherry tomatoes), alongside chilled nykteri – a crisp white wine made from grapes harvested at night and unique to Santorini’s volcanic soil.

To escape the crowds, try a private sailing trip around the caldera. Ask your skipper to take you to the tiny black volcanic islet of Palea Kameni, where you can soak in therapeutic hot springs. From there, visit the neighbouring islet of Nea Kameni, where you can hike to the top of the smouldering volcanic crater.

For a super romantic evening, drive inland to the medieval hill village of Pyrgos. Drink sundown Bellini cocktails at the legendary Franco’s Café, affording mesmerising views over the surrounding vineyards, before dining on the terrace at award-winning Selene Restaurant.

Crete, for the history buffs

Crete, Greece’s largest and southernmost island, rises proudly from the deep blue Aegean Sea to bathe in sunshine and mysticism. With more than 1000km of coastline, soaring mountains and long sandy beaches, it possesses a beauty that is both proud and awe-inspiring.

In the centre of the island, Mount Idi (also known as Psiloritis) was believed to have been the childhood home of Zeus – the king of Gods. East from here, almost 4000 years ago, the Minoans built a splendid palace at Knossos. Centring on a vast courtyard, it was monumental and elaborately decorated with muted colour frescoes, such as the Prince of the Lilies and Bull-Leaping, now displayed at the Archaeological Museum in the port city of Heraklion.

Knossos palace at Crete, Greece.

Crete’s rugged peaks, towering more than 2400m high and snow covered through winter, are traversed by deep rocky gorges, populated by wild native kri-kri goats, falcons and vultures.

The most popular to hike is the Samaria Gorge, running 17km from Omalos down to the remote south coast to greet the Libyan Sea. Hikers usually choose to spend the previous night in the lovely Venetian-era port town of Chania, which also makes a good base for day trips to two glorious but isolated west coast beaches, Elafonisi and Balos. Here, pale pink sands give way to iridescent turquoise waters. Indeed, nature has been kind to this magnificent land. With fertile soils, Crete is blessed with typical Mediterranean produce, such as grapes, olives, lemons and tomatoes, as well as more exotic fruits, like avocado and bananas.

It’s no wonder locals are claimed to have one of the healthiest diets in the world.

Mykonos, for the socialites

Mykonos, the party island, is famed for its sandy beaches and hedonistic nightlife dating back to the 1960s. The hype centres on pretty Mykonos Town, a warren of stone alleys and whitewashed cubic houses draped in pink bougainvillea, typical of the Cyclades.

It’s packed with sophisticated eateries serving contemporary Mediterranean cuisine, stylish cocktail bars shaking fragrant mojitos, and hip boutiques that stock clothing and accessories by young Greek designers.

Long, hot summer days draw suntanned bathers to the sandy beaches of the glorious south coast. Best known is Paradise – young, flirty and boozy, the epitome of the Mykonian spirit, and home to the notorious Super Paradise Beach Club.

Mykonos, Greece.

And then there’s Nammos on the golden sands of Psarou, a luxury beach bar and restaurant (think champagne and lobster), with mahogany sun beds and private cabanas, peopled by the likes of Gerard Butler and Ariana Grande.

At sunset, enjoy pre-dinner cocktails overlooking the bay in Little Venice, close to Mykonos Town’s five iconic windmills. Come midnight, the island’s dance clubs start filling up, and revellers succumb to the intoxicating combination of drink and music below a balmy Mediterranean star-lit sky.

If you’re lucky, you might even catch a full moon party at Cavo Paradiso Club, on a cliff above Paradise Beach. Come daybreak, retire to a cool and peaceful suite at one of Mykonos’ super-chic designer hotels.

Sifnos, for the foodies

Most visitors to Sifnos arrive by private sailing boat, moor up for a night or drop anchor in a sheltered bay, then sail away into the Cycladic sunshine the following morning.

Low-key, up-and-coming but rarely crowded, Sifnos is rugged and wind-swept, with solitary hilltop churches, sleepy whitewashed villages and pristine sandy beaches. A boon for walkers, it’s criss-crossed by 19 well-maintained hiking trails, stretching some 100km long. Favourites include a route from the capital, Apollonia, in the hills above the east coast. The trail leads south through olive groves and rough pastures speckled with wild mint, sage and oregano, all the way to Vathi, a deep sheltered bay rimmed by an arc of golden sand and tamarisk trees.

Sifnos, Greece.

Come twilight, head up to Apollonia to dine on the Steno – a long narrow pedestrian alley, where most of the bars and tavernas lie.

Sifnos was the birthplace of Nikolaos Tselementes, a renowned chef who wrote the first modern Greek cookbook in 1910, which is still found in kitchens throughout the country today. Try Sifnos’ signature dish, the humble but delicious revithada (chickpea soup).

The hearty meal is a simple combination of chickpeas, onion, garlic, olive oil and bay leaf, slow-cooked overnight in a terracotta casserole pot.

Follow it up with mastello, a local lamb dish soaked in red wine and roasted over vine branches. After a nightcap? Order a glass of rakomelo, which is made from raki (a potent Greek spirit) and heated with honey, cinnamon and cloves.

Lefkada, for the adventurers

The Ionian island of Lefkada is a dream destination.

Joined to the mainland by a road bridge, and much loved by Greeks for its dramatic west coast beaches, Lefkada is often overlooked by regular tourists.

In a wide sheltered bay on Lefkada’s south coast, Vassiliki offers world-class conditions for windsurfing, with an on-shore breeze and calm water in the mornings. A stronger thermal cross-shore wind picks up in the afternoon, offering a challenge for more experienced surfers. Up north, serious kitesurfers train at Milos Beach and Agios Nikolaos, near Lefkada Town. For beaches, try Kathisma for white sand and a milky turquoise sea with waves, or drive down to remote Porto Katsiki, where impressive cliffs plummet down to a sheltered rock-and-pebble cove.

Porto Katsiki.

On the return journey, stop in a rural hill village to dine on barbecued sardines or roast lamb, washed down with a carafe of local wine. In Lefkada Town, the well-equipped marina is a popular base for yacht charter companies, thanks to its ideal position for exploring nearby islands on the pine-scented Ionian. From here, you can sail north to Paxos and Corfu, or south to Kefalonia – the largest of the Ionian islands, which has many enchanting villages and dramatic landscapes.

Its pastel-coloured houses are just as stunning from the water, and the island’s turquoise waters and mysterious caves bewitch thousands of visitors who flock to the exotic paradise in the middle of the Ionian sea.

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