Greek Islands...
Author
Discussion

Pierscoe1

Original Poster:

2,458 posts

292 months

Tuesday 14th April 2009
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Hi all...

we're potentially looking at a week or two in the med this september, and wanted to canvas some opinions/info/suggestions etc..

The prime candidate so far is a Greek island, although NO idea which.

What we want:
Nice rocky coastline
Snorkelling
Hire a small boat to go cove-hopping for a day
nice quiet beaches
good selection of restaurants & small bars for the evenings
villa to sleep 4 with a pool (or really near the sea)

What we don't want:
chavvy resorts
clubbing
rammed massive beaches full of people but with nothing to do but bake yourself

Is a greek island a good bet for this sort of thing...?
Any particular one we should look at?
Anywhere else we'd be mad to dismiss?

All suggestions on a postcard (read: photo of all the stuff above from somewhere you went last year and would really recommend)...

Thanks all.

clive f

7,259 posts

264 months

Tuesday 14th April 2009
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there are lots of beautiful greek islands and the one that we return to every year is Corfu, its a fantastic place, its not just one of these barren rocky islands you find in the med, its very green, loads of olive trees, the swimming and snorkeling is good, generally the western side of the island has sandy beaches and the eastern side is very rocky with lots of lovely secluded little bays, many of which you can only get to by boat, and you can hire these in most places on the island.

if you want to avoid tts in football shirts ect, dont go near Sidari in the north, or Kavos in the south, villas are plentifull, a really nice secluded spot for a villa is near San Steffanos on the north east coast, a select area, with a couple of nice tavernas in the bay.

easyjet is now operating flights to corfu, so flights are a lot cheaper, a tip is to avoid travelling on fridays and mondays, thats when the airport out there is like a cattlemarket.tuesday, wednesdays and thursdays are quietest.



just booked up myself for this year.

smiller

12,593 posts

235 months

Tuesday 14th April 2009
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Piers YHM



Pierscoe1

Original Poster:

2,458 posts

292 months

Wednesday 15th April 2009
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good stuff so far... biggrin

keep it coming.

4F6

156 posts

226 months

Wednesday 15th April 2009
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Hi, Greek Islands would be a good bet. Depending on how busy you want, maybe the following?

Paros - not a massive island but big enough to have atmosphere, doesn't get much in the way of package tours and has a nice selection of decent restaurants and a few nice bars. Doesn't attract the chavs either. Very well connected by ferry if you want to go see other islands (Naxos, Delos both easy as day trips). Decent beaches and a few historical sites which are worth a visit.

Amorgos - Quiet and very much a traditional island with not much in the way of 'nitelife' which isn't always a bad thing.A very unspoilt, relaxed place but might get a bit quiet depending on how long you want to stay. Nice restaurants and very scenic. Has decent connection to Piraeus ferry port although not daily.

Santorini can be nice but can also get very busy. Don't bother with Ios or Mykonos.

Otherwise the western end of Crete (Chania area) is generally nice with plenty to do.

A lot of the smaller islands don't have brilliant flight connections but you can get cheapish flights to Athens and then ferry to islands are a lot better than you might imagine and are cheap and regular.

Hope this is of help !

Tycho

12,296 posts

304 months

Wednesday 15th April 2009
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Try and take a day trip to Hydra. I stayed there for a weekend when working in Athens in 2002 and it is stunning. No cars and exactly like everyones vision of a Greek island.

http://www.hydra.com.gr/

staceyb

7,107 posts

255 months

Wednesday 15th April 2009
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Northern Cyprus

TheGreatSoprendo

5,288 posts

280 months

Wednesday 15th April 2009
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I'd certainly recommend Kefalonia. Thread here:

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

prand

6,246 posts

227 months

Thursday 16th April 2009
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I'm off to Kefalonia in a couple of weeks so will let you know!

There are loads of quieter islands to choose from, and I've been to Naxos, Paxos, Sifnos and Santorini, as well as north Corfu which was a million miles away from the nasty brit resorts you can find elsewere on the island. September will be a good time to go, being relatively quiet after all the italians adn greeks go back after their month off in August.

In their own way, with the variety of destinations, clear blue water, good weather from May to October and laid back living, I think the Greek islands are every bit as good a destination as the Carribean. And only 2.5 hours away too.

Don't ignore the mainland coast either. I've been to Parga which was a gorgeous seaside village of three coves under the gaze of a Venetian Fortress. The Peloponese (almost a giant island itself) is huge and has many quiet resorts which would be rigth up your street.

Check out Matt Barrett's greek island site. This is the site that got me hooked about 10 years ago:

http://www.greektravel.com/

Pierscoe1

Original Poster:

2,458 posts

292 months

Friday 17th April 2009
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checking out those two links now...

good stuff!

bazking69

8,620 posts

221 months

Friday 17th April 2009
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Don't forget Turkey is just around the corner...
Not only do you get the advantage of being able to take a shower with a shower curtain and a st without having to put your used poo paper in a bin, but the fact that they are not in the Euro means that you get VFM that anywhere who deals in Euros simply can't offer, this summer at least.

Pierscoe1

Original Poster:

2,458 posts

292 months

Friday 17th April 2009
quotequote all
bazking69 said:
Not only do you get the advantage of being able to take a shower with a shower curtain and a st without having to put your used poo paper in a bin
Seriously!?!?!?!?!? yikes

S7Paul

2,103 posts

265 months

Saturday 18th April 2009
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Pierscoe1 said:
bazking69 said:
Not only do you get the advantage of being able to take a shower with a shower curtain and a st without having to put your used poo paper in a bin
Seriously!?!?!?!?!? yikes
Yes. I'm told the Greeks use smaller bore waste pipe that gets blocked easily, so every Greek holiday we've had has involved putting the used toilet paper in a bin next to the pan. Not nice, but you can tolerate it for a couple of weeks.

Catz

4,867 posts

242 months

Sunday 19th April 2009
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Another thumbs up for North Corfu.

We stayed in a villa with pool in a place called Nissaki, very small village with only 3/4 tavernas but the villas we've had (been twice) were up on the hill behind with amazing views. We rarely visit the same place twice but there was something about this area that we loved.

Some info on this website about Corfu http://www.agni.gr/
They also run a restaurant, you can get there from various points by speedboat taxi which was fun!
Or hire your own boat of course.

JeepJunkie

88 posts

218 months

Monday 20th April 2009
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Thumbs up for Crete.

Pick a nice quiet seaside village and you can't go wrong...

Lot's to see and great walks, beaches, turtles everywhere...

Been to a quiet resort on Zante and well, superb.

im

34,302 posts

248 months

Monday 20th April 2009
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S7Paul said:
Pierscoe1 said:
bazking69 said:
Not only do you get the advantage of being able to take a shower with a shower curtain and a st without having to put your used poo paper in a bin
Seriously!?!?!?!?!? yikes
Yes. I'm told the Greeks use smaller bore waste pipe that gets blocked easily, so every Greek holiday we've had has involved putting the used toilet paper in a bin next to the pan. Not nice, but you can tolerate it for a couple of weeks.
Of course, thats not true in the newer hotels and homes etc...

GregE240

10,857 posts

298 months

Monday 20th April 2009
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I went to Skiathos a few years back; that was very nice. Not chavvy at all.

gamefreaks

2,070 posts

218 months

Monday 20th April 2009
quotequote all
Another thumbs-up for Corfu.

As has been said already, stay away from Sidari, it’s a bit like Skeggi.

If you get the chance, hire a Jeep for the day and go for a drive.

We stayed in Acravi. (North coast) Lovely beaches, and because it is in the Ionian Sea, there is no real tide to speak of. Very much a family place, pretty quiet nightlife, though you'll be spoilt for choice eating out and some really nice bars. (Anyone know if the Lemon Garden is still there?)

Don't take a 'Captin 'arris' boat trip to the islands to the North unless you have a strong stomach! It gets choppy out there, and there is very little to do once you get there. Though I guess if you want to go snorkelling, it might be for you.

Dan_1981

18,124 posts

230 months

Tuesday 19th February 2013
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Shameless 4 year bump on this.

Any new suggestions?

We're looking for somewhere for a a week away after our wedding (poper honeymoon is next year)

Quiet, nice beaches, the option to hire a small motor boat and explore some coves etc?

Mayeb hire a car to drive around the island?

or maybe a car free island?

Small bars & tavernas

You get the picture?

4sure

2,438 posts

242 months

Tuesday 19th February 2013
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We like Lefkas and has all the above.