Greece 2008
- Greece was the last leg of a three month European journey we took in 2008. We basically spent three weeks island-hopping during July.
- Our first destination was Western Crete. We flew from Rome to Chania which is a charming place with strong Venetian and Ottoman influences. Then headed to Heraklion to visit the Minoan palace of Knossos and the archaeological museum. The museum in Heraklion was still undergoing major renovation at the time and only a small number of artefacts were on display in an annexe.
- Caught the ferry to Santorini where we spent a night on the edge of the caldera. It is spectacular at sunset.
- Next stop was the small island of Folegandros. We stayed in a lovely villa overlooking the port, and took the bus up to the hilltop Hora each evening for dinner. It’s a gem of an island.
- We then spent a week on the island of Naxos. It has buzz and bliss, beaches and mountains, ancient sites and interesting villages. We also did a day trip to Ancient Delos which is very special. Naxos may just be the quintessential Greek island. We’ve recommended it to a few friends over the years and none have come back disappointed.
- The trip ended with two days in Athens before we flew home.
Western Crete
Flew from Rome to Chania, a charming port town in northwest Crete with strong Venetian and Ottoman influences. We stayed for five nights. This was the tenth week of our pan-European trip so we were quite happy to relax and enjoy swims at the town beach, ambles around the...
Santorini 2008
We decided to overnight in Santorini on our way from Crete to Folegandros and Naxos. Splashed out on a room in Fira overlooking the caldera with a little pool on the balcony. Booked a late ferry to Folegandros next day so we had time to wander the caldera edge at Fira....
Folegandros
Caught a fast ferry from Thira to Folegandros which only takes about 40 minutes. We spent four nights in a lovely hotel in the port town of Karavostasis. It could have gone on much longer... Folegandros is a small island, only 12 kms long and no more than 4 kms wide. It's...
Naxos
Caught the ferry from Folegandros to Naxos, via Sikinos and Ios. We had about a week on Naxos, staying in Naxos Town which is also called Hora. Our villa was just a little south of the town centre, on Agios Georgios beach. This was basically the last destination in our...
Athens 2008
From the port of Piraeus we took the metro to our hotel in Athens. Had a lovely wander around the Acropolis and Agora in the golden light of early evening. This was a short stop at the end of a wonderful 3 month trip and we didn't have a heavy sightseeing agenda. Mainly...
