Lesser Known Islands for 1st, 2nd, or 3rd Time Visitors to Greece
I only say say second and
third because I assume by the time you have visited Greece three
or more times you know where you want to go and you won't need me
to tell you. For First timetravelers
who want to visit a Greek island that will give them a feeling
of traditional Greece, in the back of their minds they may feel
that the popular islands becken but are willing to take the chance
that they may come again and see those places that you are supposed
to see. For them an island like Sifnos
is a good choice and one of my two favorite islands. This can be
done in combination with Milos, Serifos and Sifnos because there
are daily connections and if the ferry gods are smiling upon them
they can even get to Santorini. For those people working with Aegean
Thesaurus Travel is the best option. They can book the same
hotels in Athens and mainland tours as the other travel agencies
but they are there on Sifnos. So if you were to use the sample
itinerary on the popular islands page you would replace Santorini with Sifnos and Mykonos with
Milos, Serifos, Kythnos or even Santorini (though I would add another
day for Sifnos if possible.)
The other option
is Lesvos, my other favorite
island which is in a class all by itself. Lesvos is a big multi-faceted
island with terrific beaches and great food, mountains, forests,
hot springs and tradition. The only drawback is that you really
can't visit any other islands with the exception of Chios next door.
But that's OK because there is more diversity on Lesvos then you
will find on all the Cyclades put together. Plus you can shoot across
to Turkey for the day. So those doing Lesvos would want about a
week there and then a couple days in Athens. Lesvos can be booked
through any of the travel agencies in Athens or on the island. A
rental car is recommended. I stay at the Hotel Aphrodite on Vatera
beach but many people prefer Molyvos
or Skala Eressos.
So for Lesvos you would have it sandwiched in between your days
in Athens. The Turkey excursion you would book on the island.
So assuming you
were coming to Greece for 10 days and doing a day trip on
the mainland a sample itinerary would look like:
Day
1: Arrive
in Athens. Visit the Acropolis in the late afternoon, walk around
the Plaka.
Day
2: Day-trip
to Delphi or Nafplio. (You need an overnight to see Meteora) You
can see these on Fantasy Travel's website by clicking on organized
land tours. Some people use George
the Famous Taxi Driver because it gives them more freedom and
if they are 4 people will cost about the same.
Day
3: Early
morning ferry to Sifnos
Day
4: Sifnos
Day
5: Sifnos
Day
6: Sifnos
Day
7: Ferry
to Santorini (or Milos or whatever)
Day
8: Santorini
Day
9: Return
to Athens
Day
10: Fly
Home
Or if you were going to go to Lesvos you would either fly or you would leave at night on the ferry which would give you a full day in Athens. All you have to do is contact one of the Greek Travel agencies and give them this itinerary.
Chances are you now have a good idea of what to do and how to do it. So go to the Create-an-itinerary page and fill in the form or visit one of the travel agencies listed and see what they suggest that may suit you even more.
