Old Moaner Travel

I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list

Greece Islands

Greece has over 6,000 islands, of which a mere 227 are inhabited.

Many of those which are inhabited Crete, Corfu, Mykonos, Rhodes, Stentorian, Kefalonia etc. etc. are well known to UK tourists, which also means they can be incredibly busy, especially in the summer. Santorini, for example, is only 35 square miles (90.69 sq km) but attracts between 2-3 million visitors a year - having said that you can see why as it is stunningly beautiful.

Crete

By far the largest of the Greek islands, Crete is steeped in history, tracing human habitation back 130,000 years and it was home to the first advanced civilization in Europe, the Minoans, who lived here from 2,400 - 1,420 BC.

Since then the island has been occupied by Mycenaens, Romans, Byzantine, Arabs, Venice and the Ottomans, before becoming part of the Greek state in 1898.

Getting There

Most international visitors arrive by air with international airports at the capital Heraklion and a smaller one at Chania, although there are plans to close both these airports and to build a new international airport at the existing Kastelli air force base. A smaller airport at Sitia s home to inter-island flights.

For those who don't fancy flying or who wish to take their own car, there are ferries from Athens operating on a daily basis

Getting Around

This is an easy one - by road, as there are no railway lines on the island, although there are proposals to build a line between Chania and Heraklion sometime in the future, just don't hold your breath as Greek time is somewhat flexible.

There is an extensive road network, although there are no modern highways.

If you plan to explore the island then a hire care would be your best option. If you would rather be transported by someone else the island has an extensive bus network serving the north of island with several north / south services in operation as well.

What to Do

Crete is the biggest tourist centre in Greece with 15% of all tourist visitors to Greece arriving via Heraklion.

Most visitors opt for resort or beach holidays, with a significant number also coming for the historical sights as well.

For those interested in the historical side Knossos is the must see sight as it is where the Minoan civilisation was centred, and is known as Europe's oldest city.

The site is relatively well preserved and although many of the buildings are ruins there are some amazing, surviving frescos to be seem as well as many artefacts from the Minoan era.

Located only a short distance from Heraklion it's a €1.50 bus ride from the city bus station. Open daily, 08:00 - 20:00 in summer and 08:00 - 17:00 in winter admission is €15 per person, for an extra euro you can get a combined ticket including the Archaeological Museum of Crete in Heraklion.

the town of Chania is home to a Venetian old city and port, well worth a visit. Unspoiled, the town offers a maze of narrow alleys to explore delightful square and churches.

If you feel like something exotic, the town of Vai has a palm beach, the largest in Europe and on a sunny day you could imagine you're basking in the south seas somewhere.

As well as the coastal resorts there are plenty of beautiful towns and villages inland, many seemingly hanging on precariously to the edge of hills and mountains. They're worth a visit, amble through the streets and find hidden gems, sit in a cafe watching the world go by.

Just taking a random example, the town of Krista is a town of whitewashed houses, perched on a hillside. the nearby church has some impressive frescos dating back to the 14th century. The town has twisty narrow streets and almost every turn reveals a delightful vista. In the main street locals sit outside cafés or bars, or even on a bench, hewing the cud and putting the world to rights.

However, as i said, most visitors are quite happy just to chill (well more likely fry) on a beach.

Already mentioned a few times here the "capital" Heraklion is worth a visit. It has a pleasant harbour with the remains of a Venetian castle. There is a tourist shopping area where you can purchase some reasonably priced gifts and souvenirs.

From the town's bus station you can get buses or coaches to almost anywhere on the island

Mykonos

Getting There

Just under one million international passengers and half a million domestic passengers fly into Mykonos airport each year. The airport is located 2½ miles (4km) from the town of Mykonos. Such is the popularity of the airport, in high season planes are only allowed to stay at the airport for a maximum of one hour to keep air traffic flowing. Conversely, out of season, the airport is almost deserted. Since being privatised in 2017 work has begun to increase capacity at the airport.

There are regular ferries to the mainland with journey times from Athens being between 4 hours 30 minutes and 5 hours 15 minutes, an express ferry operates reducing the journey time to 2½ hours. The slow ferries operate twice daily and run in all weathers, whilst the faster, catamaran, service is prone to cancellation due to poor weather conditions, although they're more frequent operating 4-5 times a day.

Getting Around

Unless you hire a car you will be relying on buses to get around. To complicate matters further there are three separate bus stations in Mykonos town, each serving different parts of the island.

A hopper boat service connects the main beach resorts.

Mykonos is very much a beach island - with numerous beaches and resorts around the coastline.

Just to be confusing the main town on the island has two names as it's known as Mykonos Town but locally it is also known as Chora. It is a mainly pedestrianised town with narrow, twisty streets lined with whitewashed buildings.

There are windmills all over the island but there is a large concentration of them in Chora and they prove to be a very popular attraction with visitors.

Also in Chora is Mikri Venetia or Little Venice, rows of little fishing cottages with balconies overhanging the sea. Many have been converted into restaurants or bars, offering stunning sunset views and the area has become known as an artistic quarter in recent years.

There are a handful of museums on the island for those who want a break from sun worshipping on the beach.

The Archaeological Museum is the oldest museum in Greece, whilst the Aegean Maritime Museum tells the the maritime history of Greece’s islands.

The Folklore Museum can be found in the islands oldest house, whilst one of the Chora windmills is home to an agricultural museum.

Santorini

Santorini is one of the most popular of the Greek islands, attracting in excess of 2 million visitors a year.

I wonder how many of those visitors realise they are visiting a potential ticking time bomb, as Santorini is a volcanic island and, potentially one of the most dangerous volcanic islands in the world.

The island, which exists around a caldera, was the site of one of the largest volcanic eruptions known to man when it blew 3,600 years ago, with the resulting tsunami leading to the collapse of the Minoan civilization. Some sources say this eruption was the source / inspiration of the Atlantis myth.

Currently dormant, the volcano was active as recently as 1950 and in 2011-12 magma activity under the volcano caused parts of the islands surface to rise between 8-14 cm, the equivalent of 20 years normal activity.

In 1956 substantial damage was caused to the island by a magnitude 7.7 earthquake.

Getting There

Santorini has a small international airport, catering for up to medium size jets. Three airlines operate scheduled flights throughout the year with an influx of charter flights during the summer months.

There are regular ferry services operating to/ from Piraeus, travel time 5¾ - 9 hours depending on ferry type and to many other islands.

Getting Around

It is possible to get a bus from the main town, Fira, to most of the other towns on the main island.

For complete freedom hiring a car is recommended.

What To Do

The first thing to point out is staying n Santorini is not cheap, it is a relatively small island with a disproportionate number of visitors, so supply and demand dictates accommodation will not be in the budget range.

As stated above the main town is Fira (also known as Thira), sitting atop a cliff face, the only way to reach the sea from the town is via a cable car or a very steep, zig zag path, which I'm told takes around an hour to walk, although I did not attempt it myself.

Foot passenger ferries and tourist boats depart to the smaller islands from here. The cable car fare is €6 each way.

The island is a very popular destination with cruise ships, although they have to anchor offshore with passengers going ashore by tender.

The most popular town with visitors, and the location of most of the iconic photographs, is Oia, located on the north west of the island and like Fira, clinging to the cliff tops and cliff face.

Being on the west coast of the island both Fira and Oia offer stunning sunset views.

Southwest of the island is the small port of Athinios, the only port with a road connection to the rest of the island and it's here car ferries arrive. I should warn you the road from the port to the main road network is not for the faint hearted, with sharp hairpin bends and sheer drops.

The island is incredibly arid with very little, if any, rain between mid-spring and mid-autumn. Despite this the island produces succulent tomatoes and has a thriving wine industry. The vines are specialist local vines and unlike traditional vines, the vines are grown close to the ground to reduce the risk of drying out. It's hard being a wine grower on Santorini with the yield per acre being only 10 - 20% of more traditional French vineyards.

Santorini wine is very dry with a distinctive taste.

Santorini is, indeed, a very beautiful island, whilst there are some beaches on the southern and eastern coasts, I would question whether there is enough to keep a visitor interested or occupied for a weeks visit, unless you are the sort of person whose idea of a perfect holiday is lying on a beach doing sod all - which is my idea of holiday hell. Most of the beaches are of the typical black sand volcanic variety.

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Prices quoted correct as of November 2019