The Little Cyclades and Santorini
 

Sorry for the duplicate post but I don't know how to add a tag to already posted trip report. I am reposting with a tag for Greece.

Hello,

Seven family members traveled from Sept 6th-Sept 18th to spend time on a 60 feet sailboat in Greece visiting the the Little Cyclades.

We were 5 adults and two children, 4 years old and 18 months. I rented the sailboat from Archipel Club, a local Greek business on Paros. Our boat Captain Bertrand was a Frenchman who also cooked breakfast and amazing lunches, leaving only the dinners for us to plan for.

The itinerary is as follows:

Day 1: Departure from the Eastern United States-red eye for some of us-

Day 2: My husband and I with our two girls did MCO-Gatwick-Mykonos- with points, in business class. In Gatwick we rented YOTEL for 3 hours to shower and sleep for 2 hours. With two children, it was a perfect place to wait for our connection, even with YOTEL being in Terminal South and our flights landing and departing from Terminal North. We spend the night in Mykonos in Tourlos at the With-Inn. Free pick up from the airport, friendly staff, free breakfast, next to the new port. Perfect for what we needed.

Day 3: We took the Golden Star Ferry at 10am, the first one of the day to Paros. I love ferries and this was no exception, with large tan couches, windows and a coffee shop. We met up with the rest of the family who had spent the night in Parikia, Paros: my mother, my sister, and my sister-in-law. We boarded the Trechanteri, a 60 feet sailboat. We immediately sailed to Despotiko, a small island southwest of Antiparos. We swam and visited the archeological site.

Day 4: We sailed to Schinoussa. Swimming and walking to Chora for dinner.

Day 5: Sailed to Koufonisia. My favorite little cyclade. The water was an amazing turquoise. We swam through some caves. It was an incredible experience. Later we hiked from Pori beach (where our boat was anchored) to the main village. I would have stayed easily 4-5 days.

Day 6: Sailed to Amorgos (the Big Blue!) another favorite of this trip. We rented a car and went to Mouros Beach. The we drove to the Monasteri Hozoviotissa. Our last stop was Chora. I made a mental note of bringing back my children to this village for one week: the small streets, the food, the small artsy boutiques, the playground, it is ideal.

Day 7: Sailed to Iraklia. This is the only day we had bad weather. I took the children into the the kitchen and braved the rocky waves.

Day 8: Sailed to Paros, Parikia stopping on a deserted island of the way for more swimming. We took a taxi to Naoussa for dinner.

Day 9: We woke up early at 5:30am and the four woman of the group took a taxi to Naoussa for horseback riding at Kokou. In Parikia, we left the sailboat at 11am and took the Blue Star ferry to Santorini at 11:45am. Then a taxi took us to Oia. My mom watched the children in our villa with caldera view, while the rest of us took the bus to Fira to walk the Fira-Oia hiking trail.

Day 10: I woke up early to redo the Fira-Oia trail at sunrise with my mother, just the two of us. Later we took our direct flight out of Santorini to Vienna. We slept in Vienna in a spacious two story apartment next to Stephenplatz.

Day 11: We did a bicycle wine tour along the Danube river in the Wachau region. My 4 years old loved it. She had her own bicycle attached to mine in the back with two large back wheels. They served her grape juice in a wine glass. We ended up buying the grape juice because it was so delicious!

Day 12: We visited the Imperial Apartments and the Sisi Museum. In the evening we went to a Strauss and Mozart concert at the Kursalon, which we enjoyed tremendously.

Day 13th Flew back home.

I have gotten great advice on this forum. I hope my short trip report will be able to give some information to others. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate.