Hello again,

A bit of internet time is a nice break from the blarring hot sun here in Pyli (central Greece by Trikala/Pindos mountains), so I thought I'd send out a howdie to the fodorite clan.

Just left Mykonos for mainland yesterday. Mykonos, Mykonos....I have been in Greece for almost 2 months and Mykonos is the least "Greek" place I've visited. Sort of the Ibiza of Greece I think - more tourists than locals even in off season. Must be a zoo in the summer. Outrageously expensive too - the food is double, even triple what I paid anywhere else in Greece. You can enjoy it for what it is though - nice beaches (crowded, but fun), good scuba diving opprotunities and a nice place from which to visit Delos which is very interesting. I stayed too many days (for um...personal reasons) and was itching to leave by the 6th night. 5 days was fine, but not longer in for me. Best beach I've ever been to in my life - Kalafati 10 km from Mykonos town and great dive center on the beach (much more reasonably priced than the one on Paradise may I add).

Its been very hot in Greece the last weeek and a half. Very hot. I am staying in Trikala for a few nights and wish ever-so-much I had air conditionning in my room and I do miss the beach. After a disasterous day trying to reach Kalambaka I ended up in Trikala at 3:00am, so stayed (not like I had a choice) and I think I will just base here to see Meteora as its a nice enough town with lots of bus connections to Kalambaka. I really mucked up my itinerary by staying too long in Mykonos - so I am going to be missing out on almost all of the mountain time I had planned. Off to Corfu then, which should be nice.

For those interested the Achillon diving center in Corfu has a deal - 20% off on all dives for those who email them by the 31 (tomorrow). I've decided to blow my budget scuba diving to my hearts content - I am reaching the end of my trip after all - only 2 weeks to go!

If anyone has questions I have travelled now to the following destinations in Greece:

-Santorini
-Athens
-Monemvasia
-Gythio, Aeropolis, Sparta, Mystras
-Pylos, Koroni
-Kalamata
-Delphi
-Nafpaktos
-Lesvos (Molyvos, Mytiline)
-Chios (almost all of it)
-Mykonos, Delos, Tinos
-Trikala, Pyli

off to Meteora tomorrow, then probably straight to Corfu for a week.

Cheers,

Murphy

enjoy reading your posts.

i have been to athens and hydra, do NOT scuba, although snorkling is fine, but if you could only go to one of the many islands you went to, which would you recommend for beauty and things to see and do, or just good atmosphere all around?

p.s. i do not like CROWDS. i do not care about sunnng all day on beach, but like to visit secluded areas.

Looking forward to your input. have fun the rest fo your long, envious stay!

Hi lincasanova,

Out of the islands I've been to so far Lesvos was my personal favorite. I could have easily spent another week there as I didn't even get to the south. I spent 5 nights in Molyvos which ranks as my favorite town overall. It must get crowded in the summer, but wasn't particularly when I was there. So many far and away seculded spots and beaches, good hiking, a petrified forest and some nice monasteries etc. If you are looking for quite Chios is the place to be - I was in towns where their were more donkeys than cars (or tourists) some wonderful perserved medieval villages to explore. Both of these islands are not particularly lush as such...more craggy in appearance. Consider that they are both very close to Turkey. Completely different than the Cyclades islands with their whitewashed cube houses etc. Equally nice, just different - so I really like seeing a bit of both.

Mainland has a lot to offer those who want to a) have a lot to do b) want to escape crowds. Meteora and Mystras have been my favorite sites on mainland thus far.

I am off to Corfu next so who knows maybe my favorite will change (I doubt it - I had a spectacular time in Molyvos).

Cheers Murphy

Hi Murphy

Have a great time in Corfu! The temperature there's been around 25° the last couple of days, so you can cool off a little.

Don't forget to visit Paxos

I'm thinking of spending some time in Greece next year on a finally-finished-my-Ph.D. celebration trip. I'm thinking of stopping in Mykonos with the sole purpose of visiting Delos. If you are an archaeology junkie, can you get your fill of Delos is a single day, or could two days be required to see everything?

I RoadCrazy,

sorry for delay in response.

Delos is an easy day-trip. No need for two. It can take a few hours if you are really going slowly, but certainly not two days. I believe I took the 9:00am boat and returned at around 1:00pm (last boat was at 3:00). You wont stay on Delos as it is a quarantined island - you just boat over from Mykonos. I believe there are also day-trips from Paros and Naxos.

Hope that helps,

Murph

If in Corfu, don´t miss:
Corfiot home cooking in the Rouvas taverna, no compromise (near the market in Kerkyra town),
Another good restaurant is in Pelekas, it belongs to the small Leavant Hotel.
Harvey, Gaspard

Still totally enjoying your report! Since your "Lesvos" report I have mentioned it to my friends and we are considering trying to fit it in again.

Do you know anything about getting over to Turkey for a couple of days from there? I will do some research on this, but thought I'd ask you since you were just there...

Thanks for the above tip to RoadCrazy -- I would like to go to Delos, but was not planning on Mykonos; we will be most likely be on Paros, so I will check into getting to Delos from there. Do you know where you found that information?

Enjoy the rest of your trip and thanks so much!

Re Delos: Will be at port for day on cruise ship want to do Delos but not the ships 40 min quickie tour how hard is it to get from where the cruise ships stop to the boat over you mention cost?
thanks

Hey guys, Sorry for the delay in response (again) - can you believe internet in Paleokastritsa is 6E/hour? Ouch.

Hi Annabelle - so glad you like my posts because I like writting them! I don't have my Lonely Planet with me.... but it mentions trips to Delos from Naxos and Paros. Next time I log on Annabelle I'll bring my guide book. You can daytrip to Turkey from Lesvos, though I didn't do it. I didn't do it because of the expense (ticket+port fee+visa fee) and because I didn't have time. It would have been even easier for me to daytrip from Chios but it just never made it into the itinerary. I will also give you the names of the cities you can make port in when I grab my guide book. Sorry - so unprepared!

As for the ports Joanne, I am assuming you mean Mykonos? Your ship will likely arrive in the "Old Port" on the left hand side of the waterfront (facing Mykonos Town), the Delos ships leave from the right hand side of Mykonos Town. Its just a matter of walking say....15min to the other port. In between the ports are any number of places selling tickets to Delos - same day purchase is fine. First boat when I was there was 9:00am and last boat was returning at 3:00pm.

Hope that help,

Corfu is lovely - water is warm and there is lots to do - I think I will stay an extra night or two!

Cheers,

Murphy

We did a cruise stop in Santorini and are dying to go back and stay for a few days - but not sure if just a few days is worth the cost of the airfare. Would a week be too long there ? Where should we stay ? What time of year ?

I'm curious if you liked the area around Meteora and the monasteries? I'm planning a trip to Greece in Sept. and was going to the islands, but while reading a guide book noticed Meteora. It it easy to get aroung that area? Thanks in advance.

Gaspard! Sorry - I didn't see your post - thank you for the restaurant recommendations. I will check them out for sure.

Hi JerseySue. Santorini...well I think 5 days is just about right, but you could stretch this into a week and not suffer - just depends on your personality. If you want to lounge on the beach and take it easy then for sure. There is lots to do on Santorini.

I would without question stay in Oia, but if you like lots of nightlife then you may prefer Fira.

I would probably do the following type of itinerary to give you an idea:

Some activities to recommend: A hike up to ancient Thira (great views) - I started in Kamari (nice beach) and hiked up and over to Perissa. A daytrip to the volcano was a pleasant diversion. A day at red beach and surrounding was also nice, just to give you some ideas. There was alot more hiking that I could have gotten to but didn't get a chance.

As for season this will depend on you. I was there in April and felt totally frustrated to be around awesome beaches when it was really too cold to use them. On the plus, no crowds, not alot of tourists. I would probably go in late May/early June in the future - water will be cool but suitable for swimming and for that you will sacrifice being around more people but not still not a ridiculous number.

Hope that helps!

Dilan,

Meteora was one of the highlights of my entire European trip. Stunning, really worthwhile. I would stay in Kalambaka for 2 nights and give Meteora one full day. Most people had cars and just drove between monasteries - I didn't have a car so I chose to taxi to the top monastery then walk down to the others. I was able to see 6 of them this way and missed out on some of the far and away ones. This was satisfactory though, it was a lot of walking - many many km's (partly because I misread my map and walked an extra 7kms out of my way) so I would possibly call a taxi to pick me up too, but well worth it. By bus Kalambaka via Trikala was about 7hrs, so it took me a whole day to get into the region but there is lot to do in Central Greece so if you can give it a few days do. I had planned on staying in Metsovo for a night too, but mucked up my itinerary and had to cut it. Drove through it though - what a stunning area.

Cheers,

Murphy

You have so many great tips, thanks murphy89!

re: Meteora. I just read your above comments. This is a place I would really like to see on next year's trip to Greece. Since the main plan is to meet up with friends for Greek Island stuff, I haven't figured out how to add Meteora on. I will be flying in and out of Athens, and I may be the only one of the "gang" who wants to take the trip to Meteora. If I don't have a car, do you know what my options would be?

Again, I haven't even researched this myself yet, sorry, but since you were just there, I really appreciate your up-to-the-minute comments!
Thanks and continue to enjoy your trip. By the way, what is the total length of your trip?
Annabelle2

Hi Annabelle,

Ask all you want Annabelle. I love talking about my trip and my friends/family will only have a certain tolerance for this I am sure.

Hmmmm, well your options without a car to get to Meteora are not great unless you make room for a few days to see the surrounding area to make it more enticing. For example: 2 nights in Kalambaka then say 2-3 nights in Ioannina (3.5hrs away) from which you could visit Metsovo and the Zagorohoria (spell?) villages etc. Ioannina has an airport so you could concievably fly into Ioannina for a shorter journey to Kalambaka. There is also a train to Kalambaka I believe it was not any shorter than the bus according to my guide. There was a direct bus to Kalambaka from Athens Terminal B station, but I missed it and ended up in Trikala which was supposed to be 5.5hr but was shorter due to the late hour around 4.5hrs + 1hour to Kalambaka.

Perhaps pull some pictures of Meteora of the internet for them - thats always a good sell - very photogenic place.

All in all my trip is just shy of 3 months. I was in France for a few weeks before moving on to Greece where in total I will be for two months as of next Thurs at which point sadly it must end and I must return - out of money!

Night,

Murphy

Thanks for the continued info! My car issue is because I am one of those unfortunately stick-shift challenged Americans; I last drove a stick soooo long ago I don't even know how now.

On the last trip to Europe I took over other group 'duties' and my kind friends shared the driving.

On this in-the-planning-stages Greece trip for next summer, the plan is to be together for some of it, and pursue our various other interests on the side. So, at this point I think I will keep talking up Meteora and see if someone wants to plan that w/me!

Meanwhile, I am now trying to figure out how to combine the following diverse locations:
*Crete 1 week
*Paros 1 week(w/maybe a side trip to Antiparos)
(these are the islands the 'gang' is so far planning on, based on the birthday girl's timeshare options)
*1-2 night side trip to Santorini
*Daytrip to Delos (from Paros maybe)
*Strong interest in Lesvos
*Some interest in short visit from there to Turkey
*My interest in Meteora

Trip time is month maximum for me; I will have to wait and see how my $$$ looks closer to next summer and see what I can do and what I need to cut out as time and money dictate.

Meanwhile, am loving your 'live' reports and continue enjoying your trip.

PS can totally relate, as I am sure many others can, to the friends and family who are sick of travel talk. Thank god I can get my fix here!

Forget to mention that most of us will meet in Athens; some of us, including me, have been there at least once, and to nearby sites like Delphi, so not planning on spending too much time (2 nights) in Athens.

Hey Annabelle,

I don't drive a stick shift either. I had my friends give me lessons before I left but then chickened out when I got here. I was able to rent an automatic on Lesvos for a day (which is really a necessity if you want to see the island - horrible bus schedule) and for my entire stay on Chios. This automatic Hyundi Accent was 35/day + 5Euros for Full insurance (get full insurance for sure). I rented from Avis. I am sure in a place as large as Athens you could find an automatic - just be sure to reserve in advance and ask the appropriate questions: 1. Insurance 2. Unlimited Km's etc. 3. Hidden fees. With one of your friends a car can be really reasonalbe. All pertinent signs are in English too so that helps.

I like your itinerary so far - I like longer stays, makes it so much easier to really experience an island. I will write up a big long trip report so hopefully you will get some ideas from there as well! I put so much time and effort into planning and getting the money for this trip, that I can't help but want to share everything - your right - thank goodness for Fodors!

Murphy

I should mention though - these were off season prices, I got a substantial discount. Although in Athens there is lots of competition so who knows? That might help....

Hi Murphy89!

Thank you for all your information! Your posts are very helpful!

I will be travelling to Athens and Santorini in July/Aug 06 (leaving in about a month!). We have no accommodations booked yet... do you have any affordable recommendations? We are really looking for budget hotels/B&B or pensions... we don't mind shared baths or that sort of thing.

Thank you so much!