Island Hopping for the over 40s
(well, for those who don’t want to sleep on the beach)
by Janet Clarke (sister of Christine)
Why go island hopping?
There are all sorts of reasons to island hop.
You need to do some research before you go, which whets the appetite.
It means that you can see a number of islands in one trip, and often, even though they are close, they can be very different. If you like exploring as well as beaching it, then island hopping almost invites you to find out the most on each island you go to.
Even though the ferries are pretty well organised and accommodation is fairly easy to come by, there is still that little bit of excitement about whether it will work out on the next leg and what sort of room you will find. Its no good trying to book everything in advance – just go with the flow.
There are a surprising number of over 40s doing it, from all nationalities (although we didn’t meet many Brits in the Western Cyclades) and so you make friends as you keep meeting up.
And its fun!
Some general tips and ideas
We went to the Western Cyclades – Milos, Sifnos and Serifos – but these ideas would be applicable to any island hopping trip.
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Decide which island group you want to go to. There are a number of things to consider – how far you want your ferry journeys to be, how busy you want your islands (this will affect ferry availability and accommodation e.g. Santorini and Mykonos are difficult), what type of islands you want (hilly, green, etc.) and of course, what the ferry routes are – these determine a lot of what you can do. The following site is good for info and ideas - http://www.greeka.com/ |
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To find out about the practicalities, the book ‘Greek Island Hopping’ is invaluable and it has a website, http://www.greekislandhopping.com/ which gives basic information on ferries to start you off. Hydrofoils and catamarans are more expensive than ferries but much faster. If you are worried about their safety, the following link details each ferry with their safety recommendation! http://www.greekislandhopping.com/Updates/ . We actually avoided one ferry because of this advice. |
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Get your flight. We went to Athens (Easyjet) and this is a good starting point as most islands have links to either Piraeus or Rafina. However, you can fly to some islands from the UK if the price is right for you. Olympic Airways have internal flights to many islands and the prices for these are pretty good. http://www.olympicairlines.com/ |
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There are regular buses from Athens airport to Piraeus (every 20 mins) so you don’t need to venture into Athens if you don’t want to. Easyjet flights tend to arrive late, so an overnight stay might be needed. There are plenty of cheap hotels near the port at Pireaus. We stayed at Hotel Delfini, booked through http://www.booking.com/ . This was a basic but functional place and, most importantly, down a side street only yards from the gates to the ferry port we were going from – so no big bag journey in the morning. There are more upmarket places but check their distance from the port gates for your island group. There are numerous gates and you can check out which one your ferry goes from at http://www.athensguide.com/ferries.html by scrolling down till you find the map of the port. |
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Next, get your ferry ticket. There are loads of ticket offices and if you know which ferry you want its an advantage. We bought ours at 11.45 at night, to travel at 7 o’clock the next morning. Neat! All the bookings are computerised now, so no double booking should happen and on most ferries you get a numbered seat. You can book tickets from the UK via the Internet and they will post them to you – at a price! I don’t think it’s worth it. This site is the link and it at least gives you the price of each ferry. http://www.greekferries.gr/index.html |
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Accommodation finding depends on the island. Some have dolmatia (room) owners meeting the ferry, some have great information/accommodation offices and some do nothing and you have to trail around. The Lonely Planet guide can give ideas about this. We tried phoning ahead but a lot of people did not speak English and so we gave that up and just got off the ferry and looked around. |
| All the rooms we stayed in had air conditioning and own bathrooms with hot showers. We paid between 45 and 65 Euros a night for the room. |
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I know Christine takes a case big enough to have her granny inside but the smaller your luggage the easier it is to move about. Lets face it, at 40+ degrees you don’t need many clothes on! Lots of people use wheelie cases although streets with steps must be a nightmare. I use a North Face barrel bag. It opens like a case but is soft, waterproof and has handles and rucksack straps, so its multi purpose. But it’s only big enough for Christine’s cosmetics!! |
Milos, Sifnos and Serifos
These are in the western Cyclades and make a good 2 week island hop. All three are relatively quiet, so if you want nightlife they are not for you.
None of them are big destinations for foreign tourists but they are popular with the Greeks. Watch out for the Greek holidays (August) when ferry bookings and accommodation are very busy.
Milos
This is the biggest of the islands we visited and the furthest. We assumed it would be the busiest but it wasn’t. It is relatively flat but has a fascinating volcanic coastline that lends itself to great little coves. Good for snorkelling. Adamas is the main port and a lively bustling place with plenty to watch while you sit and drink your beers in the numerous tavernas and bars. Accommodation is plentiful and the dolmatia owners meet the boats. We stayed in the Hotel Delfini, a small hotel but very friendly and only a few minutes walk from the ferry but at the quieter end of town. It has a beach 2 minutes walk from your room!
From Adamas you can get buses (very reliable and modern) to all the main beaches and also to Plaka, the capital, high on a hill with wonderful views. From here it is worth walking to the catacombs and the amphitheatre and having a reviving drink at one of their lovely tavernas with stunning views.
We moved to Pollonia, the other ‘seaside’ resort on the other side of the island. It was smaller than we were expecting but very friendly, with 3 main restaurants, on the beach. We found a lovely room in a small complex, just 5 minutes walk from the shops. No-one spoke English at the accommodation but its amazing what smiles and gestures can do. The beach is lovely and it has a real Greek locals feel to the place and once you go to a restaurant you are their long lost friends the next day.
The small ferry to Kimolos leaves from here and it is a good day trip – a really small island with some old windmills high on the hill behind the main town and worth the hot walk up to them for the views. The tavernas on the beach here are very good but watch out for the ‘Round the island’ day trips from Milos that turf off about 60 people for lunch – suddenly the place is chaotic – but fun to watch!
Sifnos
Sifnos is a hilly island with some stunningly pretty villages that are so white you worry about snow blindness – even with your sunglasses on! It’s been found by the rich gits, so watch which restaurant or bar you go into – the prices vary depending on how trendy they are!
The port for Sifnos is Kamares, which we felt was not its best face. As you move inland, it gets more and more pretty. There are all sorts of places to stay depending on what you want. Kamares has a good beach and is close to the boats, Appolonia is the capital and the transport hub, all the buses go through here. It’s a lovely town but not on the coast. Platis Gialos is the beach resort and looks to be livelier than most other places. We stayed in Kastro, a small village on the coast but high on a hill, with a beautiful church on a rocky promontory extending into the sea.
There is an excellent bus service to all the beaches and resorts and it’s easy to move around. Cherinissos is a beautiful little fishing port on the north of the island, with great snorkelling and some of the clearest water we had seen. And if you like fish or seafood, the family taverna on the beach serves stunning dishes at very reasonable prices.
We stayed at a beautiful domatia in Kastro owned by a little old Greek lady, Mrs Fragiatia, who spoke no English but came and chatted to us most afternoons! The tourist Office in Kamares, by the ferry, found this for us and so there was no hassle getting a room, although finding it in Kastro’s windy, tiny lanes was more of a challenge!
Serifos
The smallest of our islands, we assumed this would be the quietest but it was the busiest! Maybe because it is nearer to Athens, or because there is really only one place to stay, Livadi, and so all accommodation and eating and shops are here. We had trouble getting accommodation here because the Greek holidays had started but eventually, after a lot of rejections, we found a small hotel, whose owner moved bookings around to find us a room for three nights. We had to change rooms after the first night but her determination to help us out shows how hospitable and keen to help they all are.
We liked Serifos the least, although it is still pretty, but it seemed very busy and there was only 1 bus to get to another beach. However, Serifos’s main glory is its ‘capital’, Hora, which has a stunning setting, clinging to the high hill which overlooks the port of Livadi. It looks more like something from Nepal than Greece. There are regular buses up the switchback road to the town and it’s a lovely half-day exploration, through rabbit warren streets and you are bound to get lost – but down will always lead you out. It has the obligatory church at the highest point and again, it’s worth the hot walk up for the views.
There are fast catamarans back to Athens, just 2 hours and the slow ferry, 5 hours, which stops at Kifnos on the way back. It’s good to sit on the deck of the ferry and watch the islands go by as your last farewell before reaching the noisy and hot chaos of Piraeus. |
