Greece Islands

ochtoase

Hey.
Myself and other half are thinking of going to Greece in late July /August. Not really sure where to go for but don't want to really want to go anywhere full of LC's or Lager louts! Both in our mid 20s and want somewhere we can relax and do some activities everyother day. Also places where we can go out at night have some nice food and enjoy a few drinks after with good atmosphere but not over the top wild. We were thinking of Zakynthos would suit us, but don't want your typical package holiday either. We would like to sample some typical Greek culture as well so maybe we could combine some Islands like Corfu and Zakynthos together. On the other hand what about islands on other side Athens down to Naxos, Santorini, Mykonos etc.. What do people think? Any help greatly appreciated!!

tatli_lokma

Zakynthos is quite nice, but not very much choice when it comes to culture - this is due to the fact that an earthquake flattened everything in the 50's, so compared to many Greek islands its slim on the culture spots. Laganas is also seriously partyville, and would get a lot of revellers and louts I would say. I was last there about 8 years ago, and it wasn't too bad but since then it has gotten quite a reputation for party seekers. So nice as Zakynthos is, it is really your typical package holiday Greek island.

Close to Zakynthos (Zante) is Kefalonia. There are also close by little islands that are really lovely - more quiet and less touristy. So you could always head to Zakynthos as a starting point and then get the ferry to the close islands.

Rhodes is really nice - it has a wonderful old town built by the knights of St John, and plenty of places to visit for culture. Faliraki is the area to avoid if you want to stay away from the party zones!

Kos is really nice too, and you could combine that with a trip to Turkey for a few days if you wished. Samos is equally pretty.

LiamMc

There are Islands near Athens in the Saronic Gulf
Ex-Pat guide living in Athens
http://www.athensguide.com/aegina.html
I havn't been to them but I understand that Athenians travel there for the weekend.

But Athenians also travel to the Cyclades group on weekend and even day trips.
Paros island about 5hr by ferry from Piraeus (or at least 5hr in 1997) gets a lot of the Irish you may want to avoid. But there are some quiet areas even in the main town of Parikia. The next island over Naxos is bigger and more of a bread-basket for the area. Between the two should give you the mix that you may be looking for.

ochtoase

Thanks for responses! We are thinking of going for 3 weeks, spending first week in Zakynthos relaxing, soaking up some sun and doing watersports.. After this we are thinking of going to Kefalonia for a few
Days as first poster suggested! Maybe 4 nights would be enough here.. After this we are not sure what to do or where to visit? Maybe Corfu is too far as we don't want to be travelling for full days! Also we are thinking of staying in Argassi in our first week as it seems to tick all boxes for nice atmosphere, food and good nightlife (without been too wild).. What do people think? Any help again greatly appreciated thanks!!

tatli_lokma

Argassi would be my preference for staying in Zakynthos. I stayed there and also on another occasion just outside Laganas between Laganas and Kalamaki. It was ok, close to the beach, but a bit too close to Laganas for me...and it was relatively quiet at that time, only just starting to get the hectic nightlfe it has now.

Another nice area I remember was Alykes and it kind of merges with Alykanas - we liked the beaches there. It was a few years ago that we visited, so it might be more builtup or touristy now. We hired a car relatively cheaply and went around the whole island, found great little beaches with no tourists. Even gave a couple of old dears, dressed in traditional greek black garb a lift home from the beach one day! they were there to catch shellfish! they invited us onto their porch for tea and desserts and sent us on our way with a tupperware dish of stuffed vine leaves! excellent experience.

If I remember correctly (and I could be wrong, as it was about 8 yrs ago) I am almost certain we stayed in the Krinas apartments in Argassi. We were in a seperate block which was only recently built and it was really nice - bigger than your usual Greek pension/aparthotel. But the best thing about the place was the owners - they were so lovely and helpful. The lady who owned it, I think her name was Katerina was great craic - she loved the aul Karaoke, and whilst I'm not usually one to go in for that sort of thing on holidays, she was such a bad singer, but so full of enthusiasm, that we had a great laugh! I am almost certain her name was Katerina as we were calling her 'Katerina Pracatan' after Margarita Pracatan on the Clive James show! she was that bad, and that entertaining! we found ourselves heading back each night in time to catch her singing a few tunes, just for the comedy value! but they really were nice and so helpful - when we were there we had a family bereavement and had to return home urgently. They were really helpful with sorting out the rep, allowing us to make calls, giving us lifts etc.
I have also heard good reports about the Captain apartments.

And I would say 4 days in Kefalonia would be perfect - its fairly quiet there, so I think 4 days would be a good balance. Quite romantic too!

RubyK

Hi, Zakynthos is a nice island. If you are looking for a more traditional area, Vassilikos, which is a couple of miles from Argassi would be worth a visit. It has the best beaches on the island, and some good traditional tavernas, although it's quite a spread out area. It's pretty quiet, not a party place. Alykes and Alykanas are also nice resorts, but not really what you would call traditional.

If you are thinking of island hopping, just to let you know, it's not always that easy to get from Zakynthos to Kefalonia. The port that is used to get to Kef is on the north of the island (Skinari), and not in Zakynthos town. The ferries can be unpredictable, due to rough seas. Here's a post from tripadvisor, it might be of some help. http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g189462-i544-k4796055-o10-Ferry_between_Kefallonia_and_Zakynthos_is_NOT_running-Zakynthos_Ionian_Islands.html

Maybe another option for you would be flying to Corfu, and then travelling to Paxos, Anti-paxos, and Parga on the mainland?

This website has lots of info on Corfu and Kefalonia http://www.agni.gr/guides/index.asp

If you want to visit the Cyclade islands of Santorini, Naxos, Paros, Mykonos etc, you could fly to the UK and get an easyjet flight to Santorini or Mykonos and then use one of the many daily ferrys to island hop easily. In the past we used http://www.ferries.gr/bluestarferries/cyclades/ they were cheap and ontime. You also have the option of the quicker hydrofoils too.

Where ever you choose to go in Greece, you'll have a great holiday.