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Totalguide I Greek Islands the Aegean Island Oasis Through Its Organic Restaurant Menu 1 (00 30 211 800 2912, Onar-Andros.Gr; Andros, Cyclades Mains About £18)

Totalguide I Greek Islands the Aegean Island Oasis Through Its Organic Restaurant Menu 1 (00 30 211 800 2912, Onar-Andros.Gr; Andros, Cyclades Mains About £18)

TotalGuide I Greek The Aegean island oasis through its organic restaurant menu 1 (00 30 211 800 2912, onar-.gr; Andros, mains about £18). What’s its secret? Beyond Andros is not your typical rocky, arid How do I get there? the crowds Cycladic island: it’s lush, woody, etched Take a taxi from airport (about with mountain paths and watered by £32, or £44 at night) to Rafina for one In terms of terrain, the touristy north mineral springs (bottled and sold across of the daily boats (.gtp.gr; 1-2hr, coast pales by ). The capital, Chora, can feel from £13). Planet Holidays (planet- comparison to the exclusive and well-heeled with its holidays.co.uk) has seven nights at drama of the museums and art galleries. It’s home Paradise Art Hotel in Chora from southwest, to several ship-owning families — rub £643pp, B&B, including flights, ferries particularly between shoulders with them at the Yacht and transfers. Or try inntravel.co.uk. tiny village Club, where, after 8pm, the first-rate Sougia and the pretty port of Chora restaurant opens to non-members Where can I island-hop? Sfakion, which is (00 30 228 202 9072, noa.com.gr; From Andros, it’s easy to island-hop served by buses mains about £19). The feisty Andriots down the east of the Cyclades and from . The 2 The sleeping beauty of 3 ’s love nest: the have succeeded in keeping their return home on a flight out of massive Lefka Ori the romantic hideaway eastern shore pristine and this is where mountains come — the ferries and catamarans that , Dodecanese Paxos, Ionian you’ll find the best . Visit Achla, transported you to Andros from Rafina down in brown folds to the sea, ruling out a perfect arc of white , overlooked continue onwards to (45-90min; What’s its secret? What’s its secret? roads and making by a New Age eco-lodge, Onar — settle from £7) and Mykonos (1hr 10min- Looking for time-stood-still charm? Pint-sized Paxos — 10km by 3km, boats the way to in for a long lunch and sample your way 2.5hr; from £13). travel. As a result, You’ve come to the right place. Halki’s coated in emerald forest, fringed by places like Loutro town clock was stopped decades ago little pebbly beaches and coves — is feel like time-warp — because its chiming kept everyone a magic retreat for loved-up couples. islands. Take a room awake. With just one settlement, a In legend, it was formed when the at the Old Phoenix harbour town tiered with pastel houses, trident-wielding Poseidon carved off (old-phoenix.com; it’s only 75 minutes by from the lushest corner of nearby so doubles from £40, room-only) and , yet light years away in every he could frolic in private with the sea- you’ll feel you’re in other respect. Nothing much happens Amphitrite. All three coastal the Med of the ‘50s. here, but Pondamos, one of a handful of villages — (the capital), Lakka and quiet beaches, has incredible sunsets. Loggos — are exquisite, but chocolate- There’s a string of waterfront tavernas: box Loggos is the gem. It’s a five- try Magefseis for charcoal grills (00 30 minute walk from Levrechio Beach, Rhodes 224 604 5065; mains about £7); or, for where you dine under trees at Beyond home-fired pizzas, Remezzo (00 30 Taverna Bouloukos, on tables wobbling the crowds 224 604 5368, remezzochalki.gr; mains in the sand (00 30 266 203 1336; mains about £9). Inland, a monastery, a castle about £11). At sunset, head west to The island’s and a ruined village rise, stone-silent, canoodle over cocktails at Erimitis bar/ southern headlands amid fig trees, beehives and goat-pens. restaurant, and watch the cliffs light up are among the like a curtain of shot silk (00 30 697 775 loveliest, least- How do I get there? 3499, erimitis.com; mains about £15). visited corners of Ferries from Rhodes to Halki (or ‘Chalki’) Rhodes. Their leave from the port of Kamiros Skala on How do I get there? cliff-clinging lanes have an Amalfitan the west coast (30 minutes and £48 by Ferries and hydrofoils to Paxos leave feel, culminating in taxi from the airport). Three boats make from Corfu’s New Port (10 minutes and the solitary, dreamy the crossing several times a day in high £13 by taxi from Corfu airport). The Venetian castle of season (£10 one-way; leave the airport 95-minute ferry costs £9, one-way; Monolithos, where by 4pm to be sure of catching the last the one-hour hydrofoil is £17.50, one- a gorgeous view boat; see mbc-travel.com for tickets way (paxos-greece.com). Simpson reveals outlying and timetables). Nissia Holidays (nissia Travel (simpsontravel.com) has a range islands, and beyond them sunny holidays.com) arranges bus/ferry of accommodation: a week at Loggos’s nothingness. Half airport transfers (£62pp return) and has Waterfront Apartments starts at £877pp, an hour away near self-catering properties on Halki; a one- with flights to Corfu and transfers. another Venetian bedroom place starts at £460 a week. castle, Kritinia, is Where can I island-hop? your lunch stop. Where can I island-hop? Visit vine-clad , Paxos’s even Clifftop Mylos Cafe Snack-Bar (mains A day return to on the Dodekanisos tinier neighbour. It’s 20 minutes by about £6) does Seaways catamaran (12ne.gr/en) gives shuttle boat (£13 return) from Gaios. deeply satisfying you five hours to explore (40min; £22 Head for Voutoumi Beach, where the bean soups and return; Tues and Thur). The inter-island Bella Vista Taverna (00 30 697 778 yoghurt with honey Prevelis calls at Halki on Thursday and 4133) is perched up 200 steps. For boat and rosehip. Sunday mornings en route to , excursions, see paxos-holidays.gr. Crete and (www.anek.gr). Island reviews continue on page 52 >

48 Sunday Times Travel may 2019 may 2019 Sunday Times Travel 49 TotalGuide I Greek islands 4 5 6 The under-the-radar island-hop Floats our boat Who said three’s a crowd? , and together create a heavenly , says James Ellis — and you’ll scarcely see a soul

hen I was a teen growing up in Greece, main ferry hub and thronged, but Scenic route: holidays were never like those of the hopping in a taxi we soon leave it clockwise from top left, olive grove at pals I’d left behind in England. Not for behind for the sleepier northern village with me a cheap charter flight to Marbella village of Naoussa. Its Venetian-era Mount Zas in the or Magaluf. Instead my Greek friends buildings line a small port packed background; Agios Wand I would jump on a sun-baked ferry and hop from with fishing boats, and stone-paved Prokopios Beach on Naxos; animal magic one island to another until our money ran out. streets lead around a quayside lined at a little church near That sense of adventure is what my wife and I are with tavernas. We spend a couple of Mount Zas; Naoussa hoping to instil in our eight-year-old twins, 35 years later, days kicking back on local beaches, Harbour, Paros, at dusk; outside a as we plan our first trip to the islands as a family. It’s been bobbing in the terrace hot tub of the at decades since my last visit, and unsure of where to head Parian Boutique Hotel (parianbout night; typical Greek to, we spend hours poring over maps, trawling the iquehotel.com; doubles from £84, church; the port at internet and quizzing friends for recommendations. room-only) and polishing off Antiparos; in Naoussa; octopus Finally, we settle on Naxos, Paros and Antiparos. All are octopus in tavernas. Axinos (00 30 left out to dry within a child-friendly 90 minutes’ sail of each other 228 405 3388; mains about £10), with and, crucially, are accessible by ferry from Mykonos, its perfect sunset view, is a winner. which has direct UK flights. Large and fertile Naxos, Paros’s lesser-known neighbour, Antiparos, is our final with its green interior and great beaches, and Paros, best- stop, just a 15-minute boat ride from Parikia. A decade known for its busy ferry terminal, but beautiful beyond ago, this Cycladean speck briefly gained fame when Tom it, are both new to me. Antiparos is a concession to my Hanks bought a house here, but despite the celebrity youth — I came nearly every summer as a teenager. endorsement, it’s pleasing to find little has changed. The A few weeks later we’re standing on the dock in quaint port town of Chora consists of just one main street Mykonos, waiting to board the 45-minute ferry to Naxos. covered in bougainvillea, a small square reverberating The sun is burning off the morning mist, gulls scream with cafes, and a ruined Venetian-era castle. Our and dock workers yell as the boat pulls up. It seems quayside hotel Kouros Village (kouros-village.gr; chaotic, but the hulking ferry manages to disgorge its doubles from £86, room-only) has a pool area, ideal passengers and swallow us up in a matter of minutes. for the twins when they tire from our daily explorations Naxos is one of the larger Cyclades islands, but on by hire car (antiparos-cars.com). arrival it feels vastly more intimate than Mykonos. Our Of all the lovely spots we find, our favourite is Agios 20-minute taxi to the seaside town of Agios Prokopios Georgios village, home to a white-sand beach and fish whizzes us past long stretches of sandy beach with few taverna, Captain Pipinos (00 30 228 402 1823, captainpip people in sight. Along the way, Mount Zas, the highest inos.com; mains about £10). In my youth, this was little point in the Cyclades and supposedly the birthplace of more than a beach shack; a craggy-faced captain would , looms above us, 1,000 metres high in the sky. pull up and pass his catch to the cooks. Sadly, Pipinos is Owner Maria greets us like long-lost friends when no longer with us, but the excellent seafood remains. we arrive at Birikos Studios & Apartments (birikos- That evening, back in Chora, we visit souvlakia house studios-naxos.gr; doubles from £45, room-only). We chat To Oikogeniako (00 30 228 406 1328; mains about £3) for over ice-cold coffee frappés and she offers dining tips, a final street-food hit before heading home. Amazingly, including their beachside taverna Nikos and Maria (00 30 the lady who runs it remembers me from decades ago. 226 504 2670, nikosmaria-naxos.com; mains about £10), ‘Hey, weren’t you a regular?’ she asks, as she carves off 9km away. After an afternoon poolside, we head there to another slice of dripping pork gyros. ‘Why did you stop eat early. As the waves wash in and the sun dips behind the coming?’ I don’t really have an answer. rocks, we feast on platters of prawns, octopus and squid. Next day the girls hit the beach, while I tackle Mount Zas solo. Sane people take a cab (30 minutes from Agios How do I get island-hopping, between Prokopios) to Filoti village, before joining the Agia Marina there? Naxos, Paros and trail for a stunning two-hour climb. But I arrive at the Antiparos, staying in the trailhead in a sweaty mess, having decided to complete (hellenicseaways.gr) same hotels featured, the first stretch (21 km!) on foot. I carry on up the pine- sails between the bigger costs from £907pp, forested route to the barren peak and 8km later I’m islands. Jump on the local room-only, with flights, rewarded with hazy watercolour views over the Aegean. boat between Paros and ferries and transfers with It’s over those waters that we sail again the next day, Antiparos. Ten nights’ Sunvil (sunvil.co.uk). bound for Paros, 90 minutes away. Port town Parikia is a

50 Sunday Times Travel may 2019 may 2019 Sunday Times Travel 51 TotalGuide I Greek islands 9 Rugged mountainous Olymbos, where the women still dress September, from £108 return. Olympic terrain with village traditions in traditional goatskin boots, colourful Holidays (olympicholidays.com) has six Karpathos, Dodecanese headscarves and handwoven aprons nights at Panorama Hotel in Karpathos over black dresses, and speak their own Town from £718pp, B&B, including What’s its secret? dialect. Try makarounes (pasta with flights and ferry. Almost unheard of, yet the third largest onions and cheese) in Restaurant island in the Dodecanese, Karpathos Avalona on the mountain road (00 Where can I island-hop? is wild, divided in two by spiked 30 224 505 1046; mains about £8), Got a taste for rugged nature? Hop over mountains. Base yourself in one of the or graze on island cheese, sausage to (a 20-minute Sky Express handful of hotels in the harbour resort and aubergine meze at Esperida, on flight, from £96 return) to explore of Pigadhia. Here in the south of the Amoopi Beach in the south (00 30 gorges slashing through lunar terrain, island, it’s all about the beaches and 224 508 1002; dishes about £6). and the five remaining inhabited fishing crystalline waters for scuba-diving and villages. You have to stay overnight — wind- and kite-surfing. In the north How do I get there? try Evita Village (00 30 224 504 1731; there are forested trails to hike — aim From Athens, Sky Express runs a daily studios from £60) in Fry, the capital. for the isolated Byzantine hamlet of one-hour flight to Karpathos, June to Island reviews continue on page 60 > 7 Laid-back, family- 8 The little island with friendly hideaway big ideas , Dodecanese Meganissi, Ionian What’s its secret? What’s its secret? The tiny, craggy island of Leros is the Meganissi means ‘big island’, but you’ll Dodecanese island for keeping things be hard-pressed to find someone who low-key — at 54sq km, it needs no busy can tell you why this tiny speck in the to-do list. It’s great for families who southern Ionian has such a grand name. Beyond don’t mind the two-step journey here Still, you’ll discover much to enjoy: three the crowds (see below): hire a car at Lakki harbour traditional villages; a wild interior with to explore bays and coves. Parents can herb-scented walks on ancient donkey Hire a car to explore relax at Gourna, on the west coast, with paths; beautiful beaches such as the pretty villages its lovely beach sloping gently into the shallow, sandy Fanari; and a blissful tucked within water and the welcoming, family-run disregard for commercialism. British Kos’s mountainous Gourna Taverna (00 30 224 702 2956; billionaire Lord Rothschild liked it so forest, just a few kilometres from mains about £12) — order the squid much, he bought part of a southern Kos Town. Aim for saganaki. Krithoni, a couple of peninsula here to develop posh homes. Pyli, with its giant kilometres away on the east coast, is Despite that, life is a sleepy affair: -spouted another fine sandy stretch and a good a bar or two in the port villages of fountain, Hellenistic place to base yourself in one of the Spartochori and Vathy, and some great family tomb and handful of small hotels. And for the best restaurants right on Vathy’s quay: Taverna Il Palia Pyli sunset views? Drive up to Platanos Greek-Italian Tilevoes (00 30 264 505 (00 30 22 420 1510), where simple Castle for 360-degree island vistas as 1055, tilevoes.gr; mains about £17); or, homemade meze the sun does its technicolour thing, then for fish, Erikkos (00 30 264 505 1125; and local cheeses wander along to the nearby View Bar for mains about £16). come in at about cocktails in one of several old converted £6 a dish. A few windmills on the headland. How do I get there? kilometres on, From the port of Nidri on (40 at Paleo Pyli, once How do I get there? minutes’ drive from airport), the Byzantine capital, you’ll hike From Kos, the 1hr 40min ferry runs a 25-minute car ferry runs to Meganissi past the abandoned three times daily between April and four times a day in summer (ferryboat town en route to its October (12ne.gr; from £20 return). .gr; foot passengers £1.60, medieval fortress. Sunvil Holidays (sunvil.co.uk) has cars £11, both one-way). GIC The Villa seven nights at Nefeli Apartments Collection (gicthevillacollection.com) in Krithoni from £1,007pp, B&B, has seven nights’ self-catering on the including flights and ferry. southeast coast in the Limonari Villas (three separate properties, each with Where can I island-hop? its own pool) from £889pp, including It may be remote, but Leros is relatively flights and car hire. well connected to the island of Kos, where you’ll find more mainstream Where can I island-hop? bars and nightclubs. Otherwise, take Neighbouring Lefkada is much more the high-season daily ferry to Lipsi touristy, but you can return on the — it’s small, but pulls in visitors for ferry and take another boat to visit its blue-domed churches. It’s like either , legendary home of a quieter version of Santorini, with Homeric hero , or Italian- better (non-volcanic) beaches. influenced Kefalonia.

52 Sunday Times Travel may 2019 may 2019 Sunday Times Travel 53 TotalGuide I Greek islands 10 The super-secret one: ithin minutes of docking, the Blue Star grinning — celebrates colour as unashamedly morning pit stop ferry has puttered away again — likely as one of my daughter’s felt-tip drawings. Stratos Cafe, with off to a much bigger, more important Mention Kastellorizo to any Greek and you elicit its exposed piping island — churning the navy water wistful veneration. It’s a remote speck of an island lying and brick walls, is a lively spot for your aquamarine in its wake. There’s just off the Turkish coast, a paradise the fantasise morning shot of Wonly one road on teensy Kastellorizo, just one taxi — and about escaping to should the bank manager (or bailiffs) freshly roasted Baby blue my hotel, on the opposite side of the port. Looks like come calling. But how has it remained so unspoilt coffee. And it’s I’m walking. As I follow the harbour’s narrow kordoni compared with its popular siblings Rhodes and Kos? opposite where you’ll catch your ride You could holiday on busy Rhodes. But why not pick Kastellorizo, (walkway), restaurants and kafenions on one side, Well, for one, Kastellorizo is very far away — on some to the Blue Cave its tiny sibling, says Richard Waters, and be deliciously all at sea? swarming fish and bobbing boats on the other, I inhale Greek maps the island even has its own locator box. Then a confusion of aromas: grilling squid, souvlakia, ground there’s the politics. Sitting at the edge of two continents, coffee and cigarette smoke (having fallen out with the it’s been constantly caught in the crossfire, a piece of Photography: Jonathan Perugia EU, the Greeks are defiantly back on the fags). I catch flotsam tossed from one invading wave to the next: my reflection in the windows of Stratos Cafe. Maybe medieval Knights, the , Venetians, it’s the interplay of light here, with fishing nets Italians and Brits. Its darkest days were during World War piled high on the quayside and cherry-pink bougainvillea II: before the island was flattened by German bombing, bursting vividly beneath a robin-egg sky that has me the Brits evacuated the entire 15,000-strong population >

Port calling: heading back to Kastellorizo harbour

54 Sunday Times Travel MAY 2019 MAY 2019 Sunday Times Travel 55 TotalGuide I Greek islands

On a curve: house; diving off the village spread the rocks outside out along the town; breakfast on horseshoe-shaped the balcony of the harbour. Opposite, Mediterraneo clockwise from top hotel; in the Blue left, moored-up Cave; grilled fishing boat; detail octopus at on a house on the Alexandra’s; harbour; turtles at local posing for play; seafront a photograph

to and Gaza in Palestine, from where they sailed An aperture appears like a half-submerged to Australia and the US. Families were torn apart, left ignorant of each other’s fate. In 1947 Kastellorizo was eye. We squeeze in and, after seconds, a handed back to its rightful owners. People’s memories and traditions remained; the rest was rubble. radiance of purest blue develops under us And yet arriving by ferry at its harbour, you’d never believe its tragic back-story. I’ve had my fair share of few passengers. We drift idly toward a striated cliff. Just Greek-island first impressions, but none has been as moments before the prow hits rock, an aperture appears arresting as this. Vibrantly coloured Italianate buildings like a half-submerged eye and we squeeze in huddle around a turquoise bay backdropped by cypress — there’s maybe 5cm clearance between the gunwales trees and cliffs. That initial glimpse epitomises the and the cliff. For a few seconds we bob in darkness before essence of why we travel — that moment when you a radiance of the purest blue develops beneath the hull. see something so perfect you catch your breath. Looking Above us, towering stalactites picked out by the sapphire at the village reflected in the Aegean, I feel as if I’ve luminescence take form. It’s light refraction, but it feels stepped into a Kodachrome version of reality. like magic, as if we’re floating through the Milky Way. Walking in the sunshine, I meet Marie Rivalant, a ‘Monk seals, they come here to make love,’ murmers Parisian architect who restores derelict villas here to their the Captain with a piratical wink. I can’t imagine former glory, and the owner of Mediterraneo, the little anywhere better. sundowner boutique hotel I’ll be staying in over the next few days. Back on land I wander up the hill to the old red castle spot Mediterraneo’s facade is vivid: mango walls, blue built by the Knight Hospitallers, from which the island’s Beneath the red columns and lime shutters and doors. Its suntrap terrace name springs. Climb to the top of the steps and there’s castle, and housed in a former lighthouse looks out to sea, there’s a vine-shaded arbour, mataki a stunning panorama of the Turkish coastline and, closer, beside the mosque (evil-eyes) embedded in the steps, and wild flowers to the harbour. It’s often compared with the stunning on the edge of the greet you daily on the breakfast terrace. My room gives harbour town of Kastellorizo’s Dodecanese sibling , harbour, Faros Bar onto the harbour and the Anatolian mountains beyond. and architecturally speaking the two are not dissimilar is perfect for shallow dips in the turquoise Next morning I am off to the island’s Blue Cave with — except you won’t find luxury yachts here. Perhaps it’s before sundowners Captain Nikos Matzos, a gentle bear of a man whose this modesty that makes the island so special. and nibbles (tapas T-shirt struggles to retain his nut-brown bulk: ‘Please I grab a bite to eat at Alexandra’s, its linen-topped tables available after 6pm) watch your head and climb down in the boat,’ he asks his host to the best seafood on the island — squid-ink risotto >

56 Sunday Times Travel mAY 2019 may 2019 Sunday Times Travel 57 TotalGuide I Greek islands today. I’ve been here only 24 hours and yet I’ve done almost everything there is to do. Only the punishing How do I get leave Rhodes’s hike to the fortified monastery of St George — up a series there? Kolona harbour once of zigzag pathways and 400 steps — remains. The waiter flies from a week (£34, one-way, advises doing the walk either first thing in the morning Rhodes to Kastellorizo 2hr 20min). The or late afternoon. I’ll wait. I need to fill my week’s from £116 return. (For Mediterraneo hotel to-do list somehow. flights to Rhodes, see (mediterraneo-megisti. Back at Mediterraneo, I flop on a waterside sunlounger Factfile on page 72.) com) has doubles from as the sun goes into its third act, before taking a dip. £86, B&B. Or try Megisti Kastellorizo has no sandy beaches, so the water’s as (bluestarferries.com) Hotel (megistihotel. clear as can be. Beyond the narrow shelf that gives the sails from Rhodes’s reserve-online.net/ natural harbour its turquoise halo, the ocean plunges commercial harbour about; doubles from Twilight zone: sun setting over ; 40m or so and more. So instead of beaches, you’ll to Kastellorizo twice £57, B&B). Blue pre-dinner aperitifs; find swimming platforms just like this one to the weekly (£23, one-way, Cave trips with Nikos Greek salad; chilling east of the island in Plakes, Faros and Kavos. It’s as 3hr 30min), while Sea Wolf Taxi (00 30 alfresco ; house on if the Mediterranean were a giant swimming pool, ’ 6934 523917) cost £8pp the harbourfront; table setting at ladders leading down from the quayside (12ne.gr/en) catamarans for a group of four. Alexandra’s into the sea. A week might not be enough after all.

58 Sunday Times Travel MAY 2019 TotalGuide I Greek islands 11 The craggy island out capital, Chora, with its ruined Venetian- both one-way). Pick up a hire car from on its own era castle, coastal Avlemonas or sleepy drakakisrentacar.com, annarentacar.gr, , inland Mylopotamos, where you dine panayotis-rent-a-car.gr or kythiracar by a mountain stream at Platanos (00 rental.gr; from £17 a day. Sunvil (sunvil. What’s its secret? 30 273 603 3397; mains about £10). At co.uk), the only UK operator serving the Corfu Most islands we Brits clamour for fall Kaleris (00 30 273 603 3461, kaleris.gr; island, has seven nights in the Anemes Beyond into the famous Cyclades, Dodecanese mains about £9) in Agia Pelagia, tables Hotel in Avlemonas from £832pp, B&B, the crowds or Ionian groups, which may be why spill onto the sand. Visit the Temple of including flights and transfers. Kythira remains resolutely off-radar. Paleokastro — locals say High on the rocks on It’s a challenge to reach, lying off the it’s the goddess of love’s birthplace. Where can I island-hop? the northeast coast, southeast coast of the Peloponnese Through you can explore the the shrine of Saint peninsula. But your reward is a verdant, How do I get there? southeast Peloponnese mainland. Pack Arsenius overlooks a top swimming spot mountainous landscape of traditional Sky Express (skyexpress.gr) has daily a snorkel and day-trip from Kythira to for day-trippers. To hamlets and deep river gorges. Rocky 50-minute flights from Athens, from swim over the ruins of Pavlopetri, the make it your own, cliffs and semi-submerged caves £41, one-way. Or drive from Athens to world’s oldest known submerged town. come on foot, early define the coast, along with beaches Neapolis in the Peloponnese and take Move on to stay in , an morning or evening such Diakofti, its evocative of the the 75-minute ferry (tritonferries.gr; incredible medieval fortress on an islet — you’ll be following 12 Greece with an oriental 13 Step back in time on Seychelles. You’ll probably stay in the foot passengers £11, cars from £38, joined to the mainland by a causeway. in the steps of flavour Halkidiki’s island Lawrence Durrell, who lived in nearby , , Halkidiki Kalami in the ’30s. The path from his What’s its secret? What’s its secret? home, the White The first thing you notice about Chios Unlike tourist-thronged Halkidiki, the House, leads is the delicate pine-like scent — that’s nearby island of Ammouliani is a teeny through olive groves mastiha, the aromatic sap of the mastic time warp. It’s so small you’re never to Agni Bay and on trees that are cultivated here. The more than two kilometres from the sea, to the chapel. In second thing is its unhurried Middle while the ‘bus’ to its mind-blowingly Prospero’s Cell, he describes throwing Eastern culture — it’s said to be ’s good beaches, such as Alykes and cherry stones into birthplace, but feels more than Megali Ammos (‘big sand’), is a horse the water for his Ithaca, and visitors are Greek and and cart that makes a couple of trips a wife to retrieve Turkish more than British. Taking it easy day. Stay in the port town (you’ve few ‘like an otter’. is the idea: on pristine beaches, such as other options, to be honest) — home to Mavra Volia, with its smooth black a handful of bars and cafes, as well as a pebbles; or pootling through medieval couple of very good restaurants, such villages of the south with their as Klimataria (00 30 237 705 1151; mains Santorini grey-on-white geometric sgraffito about £8), which serves traditional Beyond houses; and lunching at Mestousiko slow-cooked lamb, and Taverna Tzanis the crowds (00 30 227 107 6458, mestoutsiko.com; (00 30 237 705 1322, facebook.com/ mains about £10) in Mesta village. After tavernajanis; mains about £10), a fish Thought this pin-up dinner, try mastiha — served as a sweet restaurant with excellent sea views. island was packed mousse, a digestif in a glass of water, with cruise hordes at or an ingredient in cocktails at Oz Bar How do I get there? every turn? Hop on (ozcocktailbar.gr) in one of the buzzy Fly into , then drive two the bus to Vlychada back alleys in Chios Town. hours to the small port town of Tripiti, (£2.20) and be from where a 30-minute car ferry surprised. The beach unravels so far under How do I get there? makes trips to Ammouliani about every a pockmarked, The daily ferry from (ferries. two hours (visitammouliani.com; foot wheat-coloured gtp.gr; 8hr; £72.50) involves a night passengers £2, cars £9, both one- cliffside that you’re crossing and 4am arrival, so instead way). Sunvil (sunvil.co.uk), the only guaranteed a take a same-day flight with Olympic UK tour operator covering the island, solitary sunbathing Air from Athens, from £51. Greek Sun has seven nights in the three-star spot somewhere. At Holidays (greeksun.co.uk) has a week’s Kastalia Hotel from £750pp, B&B, sundown, walk to Vlychada village and fly-drive from £975pp, B&B, including including flights and transfers. watch the fishing international and domestic flights, car boats dock with the hire and accommodation in traditional Where can I island-hop? day’s catch. Much houses and two-star hotels. The best way to visit is on a twin-centre of it goes to the holiday with mainland Thessaloniki, reassuringly local Where can I island-hop? enjoying a couple of nights in Greece’s clientele at taverna To Psaraki (00 30 A lazy week on Chios is easily filled ( it’s super-cool second city before hitting 228 608 2783, bigger than Corfu), but for £22 return the beaches to relax. Otherwise, stop topsaraki.gr; you can slink off on the 30-minute ferry off in Olympiada, a pretty, laid-back mains about £15) to Ceşme, one of Turkey’s most , also on the mainland — it’s overlooking sophisticated resorts. You’ll see its a short drive from Tripiti, and there are the marina. lights flickering tantalisingly at night some good hiking opportunities in from Chios Town. the surrounding area. >

60 Sunday Times Travel May 2019 MAY 2019 Sunday Times Travel 61 TotalGuide I Greek islands and you begin to realise that those 14 The pretender to Santorini’s crown locals’ predictions may well be true. , Cyclades How do I get there? What’s its secret? Most of the three to four daily ferries Local whispers predict that rugged from Piraeus depart around 7am Folegandros will be the next Greek (ferries.gtp.gr; 4hr-9hr, from £34.50), island to go stratospheric. Until then, but the last leaves at 3.45pm (5hr, luring select escapees from Santorini £61). Sunvil (sunvil.co.uk) has seven (and Mykonos) are olive groves, nights’ self-catering at Folegandros roaming goats, secluded beaches Apartments from £1,055pp, including backed by dramatic cliffs (most notably flights, ferries and transfers. Katergo) and hilltop churches against orange sunsets that turn into amethyst Where can I island-hop? dusk. Completing the beauty is the As Folegandros is the furthest away lovely capital, Chora (pictured), with its from Piraeus down the western blue-balconied alleys, and To Asigrito, Cyclades, start or finish your island- serving local tagliatelle-ish matsata hopping there. It’s easy enough to dash (00 30 228 604 1467; mains about £11). across to (see page 67), with three In fishing port Karavostasi, be led by ferries daily (1hr, from £30), or to aromas of barbecued bream and grilled (see page 68), with at least two daily octopus to tavernas such as Kalymnios (2hr, from £40). (00 30 228 604 1146; mains about £18) Island reviews continue on page 66 >

62 Sunday Times Travel may 2019 may 2019 Sunday Times Travel 63 TotalGuide I Greek islands 15 The not-what-you-thought one: On the quiet side Beyond the self-contained backpacker scene, is a place of solitude, silence and serene sunsets. Liz Edwards goes it alone

K, strictly speaking, Ios is not one of Greece’s ‘We want to thank all the ’80s Norwegians who broke ‘The party people are not for me,’ he said. He’d once 69, were the teeny bougainvillea-shaded squares, most secret islands. Plenty of backpackers, a bottle on someone’s head and gave the island a bad worked in his uncle’s bar in Chora, but had had enough. bouzouki-playing kafeneions and shops selling interrailers and footloose post-A-levellers reputation,’ said Angelos Michalopoulos, the man who, ‘If they come here, I’ll close up and go to the mountains.’ traditional Ios sweets. Following plant-lined steps up over the past 50 years know all about it, even with his wife Vasso, bought up a quarter of the island a The mysterious, vertiginous north was where I drove through the town late one afternoon, I emerged by the if memories of what they did there are either decade ago, and has since opened a handful of hotels, bars another day, to find Homer’s grave — cairns like abstract belltowered Gremiotissa church. Three more Ohazy or unrepeatable. So if you have heard the name (and and restaurants. That bad rap meant mainstream garden gnomes collected around the spot, high above the chapels crowned the hill above; with its views of not assumed it was something to do with iPhones), you’ve never arrived, he said. Cynics might question the couple’s white-horsed Aegean. Back in the island’s centre, I visited across the wave-dimpled sea, this was the place to watch probably written Ios off as the hippies ’n’ ravers party intentions, but they seem serious about protecting the Skarkos, an astonishingly well-preserved settlement the sun sink. Other people came along as the sky ripened island. But that’s exactly what makes it such a delicious island’s landscape (they’ve pledged not to develop more from the 3rd millennium BC. Work to uncover its sparkly from sherbert lemon to peach to mandarin, but this close secret. It hides in plain sight, a ferry-hop from Santorini than 1% of what they own) and making it more upmarket mica pathways and lintels only began after 1984, to Santorini, I wasn’t sure two dozen constituted a crowd. or Mykonos, but with none of their dense development or without changing its ‘youth, energy and optimism’. when starchaeologist Marisa Marthari stood on a nearby So never mind ‘Vincerò’ (‘I will win’). I just had. sprawling crowds. The Ios herds are self-contained, they There certainly seemed plenty of that about at Pathos, hilltop and spotted its contours beneath fields. Up stick to July and August (between revision and freshers’ the pair’s -y sunset lounge where cocktails flowed, close, she found 5,000-year-old pottery fragments on the week), and stick to the hotels and campsites behind selfies were snapped, and the DJ paused his party tunes surface; in 2008 the site won an EU cultural heritage prize. Is there anyone How do I get tucked-away luxurious Milopotas Beach — a lovely sandy west-coast stretch, just to give the sun a classical send-off. Swan Lake’s theme You can only be near that luminous Aegean for so long there? Opposite, there? resort, Calilo (calilo.com), one of 36 beaches here. What’s more, they stick to the segued into Nessun Dorma, the final ‘Vincerò!’ timed before you have to dive in, and Ios has some cracking deserted beach Ferries from Santorini opens this year; suites on Ios. Above, night shift: the Jägerbombers only get going at 2am. impeccably to coincide with the sun’s stage exit. beaches. The Big Blue was filmed at southerly Manganari, take 30-50 minutes (sea from £301, B&B. Acteon. clockwise from So what’s left for the rest of us, I found last September, But even this fairly restrained party scene was easy to and on a boat trip down the west coast I found empty top left,overhead jets.gr; from £27 return), gr has cars from £26 is a little-known idyll of windmills and white cubes, blue avoid. The next day, a half-hour’s wiggly drive away on scoops of sand backed by scrubby hills. At one, a bearded view of Skarkos, and it’s a £30 taxi from a day, and boats for about domes and even bluer waters. The island’s settlements brilliant Ios’s east coast, I found Psathi, a tiny village with a wild billy goat strutted over slabs of rock and left hoofprints in a 3rd-millenium BC the airport (for flights, £125 (6hr). Eat in Psathi vistas settlement; terrace see page 72). In Tzamaria, at Alonistra (00 30 697 largely hug the port, Yialos. I stayed across the bay in On the road down beach backed by pines and tamarisks. There was a cute the sand. At another, private terraces sat up on the rocks at Agalia hotel in Tzamaria, looking back towards the harbour and little to Psathi, follow £25-a-night guesthouse, a lone taverna, Alonistra, and (the Michalopouloses’ work). Solitude was easy to come Tzamaria; typical Agalia (agaliahotel.com) 389 8855; mains about limewashed houses tripping up the hill behind to Chora, the path along the little else. Sea-hazy views of neighbouring Heraklia could by — my morning dips from Tzamaria Beach, with just church overlooking has distinctive modern £10), and at Erego on the main town. There were historic sites for when I felt hillside to the have kept me on Alonistra’s lovely terrace all day; I ate one or two other swimmers for company, were bliss. the sea; Greek doubles from £129, B&B. Koumbara Beach (erego. 14th-century staples at Alonistra; active, dreamy beaches for when I didn’t, and only an iffy castle; the views cheese from the goats jangling out back, sipped island- And Chora, the Old Town, won me over. Outweighing windmills and Angelos and Vasso’s gr; mains about £14). line in souvenir T-shirts to hint at the town’s alter ego. are incredible distilled tsipouro and got chatting to Nikos, the owner. the dodgy T-shirts, and bars called Slammer and Disco Chora at sunset >

64 Sunday Times Travel may 2019 may 2019 Sunday Times Travel 65 TotalGuide I Greek islands

Mykonos Beyond the crowds

The party island has its secrets, but for the full-on desert-island vibe, take a day-trip to the archaeological site Rhenia. Only accessible from Mykonos, the islet 16 17 is flat, stony and The Cyclades’ most Old-fashioned Greek- inhabited by goats laid-back island island culture and sheep — walk , Cyclades Tinos, Cyclades a little inshore and you’ll feel really What’s its secret? What’s its secret? marooned. Its Far from the hurly-burly of Mykonos Religion meets art meets sun-worship crumpled shoreline or Santorini, sleepy Kythnos is time- on Tinos, one of the last bastions of ensures you’ll always find warped Greece to a T. You’ll find the old-school island culture. Pilgrims flock a sheltered, sandy capital, Chora, a winsome one-donkey to the ‘miraculous’ of the Virgin at beach for a lazy town, and the tiny port, Merichas, no the church of Panagia Evangelistria and, swim and more than a fishing-boat dock — fill even if you don’t join them climbing to snorkel. Sunfoss up here with sfougata (local cheese the church on their knees, you should Alessia (sunfos croquettes) for £4.50 at Kandouni try the island dishes catering to the alessiayachting.gr) (00 30 228 103 2220). There’s certainly meat-abstaining devout. At Metaxí Mas has six-hour trips from £82pp, with a retro yachty feel to the hot-spring (00 30 228 302 5945, metaximastinos. lunch and transfers. resort, Loutra — the only one in the gr; mains about £11), try bitter wild Cyclades. Dip for free in the seaside artichoke ragout or aubergine soufflé. stone tub or in the waves themselves, Baked pigeon, pitsounia, is the island then eat at Sofrano (00 30 228 103 staple (look out for the villa-sized 1436, sofrano-yachtingclub.com; dovecotes strewn over the countryside, mains about £13). Postcard-pretty remnants of Venetian rule). You’ll want Beyond beaches (often reached via dirt roads) to visit Pyrgos, the ‘marble village’ of the crowds are ten a penny. The most glorious of sculptors and museums. The day all is Kolona, a 250-metre sandbar before you go, order pitsounia from Finding a beach on joining Kythnos to St Luke islet. The Myronia restaurant (00 30 228 303 hit-with-Brits 18 The multicoloured gourmet Alevromylos (00 30 228 702 long trek here from the nearest parking 1229; mains about £15). Of the beaches, Skiathos isn’t volcanic beach wonderland 3117; mains about £12) in Adamas. spot turns your swim outing into an go for north-coast Kolimbithra, with a problem. Finding a quiet one is. At Milos, Cyclades audacious adventure. its butterscotch-coloured sands. How do I get there? Maratha, a dainty cove at the bottom of What’s its secret? Olympic Air runs daily flights from How do I get there? How do I get there? a pine-forest track, This spectacularly volcanic island has Athens in season, from £49, but the A ferry leaves Piraeus daily at 7am (3hr; Fly to Mykonos: it’s a half-hour ferry ride you’ll find a solitary more than 70 beaches, and the question closest international airport is Santorini. £22), but later ones depart from Lavrio, (ferries.gtp.gr; £8.50). Avoid the Feast of line of loungers for for its chilled-out British set is not From there you reach Milos by ferry much closer to Athens airport (ferries. the Dormition (August 15), when crowds hire, waders rather where to swim, but what colour beach (5.5hr; £16) or catamaran (2hr; from gtp.gr; from 1hr 40min; £14). Planet camp in the streets and fill hotels. than water sports, you prefer. Will it be Sarakiniko’s £42); the last one leaves about 7.15pm and a little taverna Holidays (planet-holidays.co.uk) has Planet Holidays (planet-holidays.co.uk) ivory-satin honeycomb of rocks, the (ferries.gtp.gr). Sunvil (sunvil.co.uk) serving freshly seven nights at Porto Klaras in Loutra, has seven nights at Aeolis Tinos Suites brewed iced frappés iridescent craggy fjord of Papafrangas has seven nights in Pollonia at Apollon and a night in Lavrio, from £1,172pp, in Triantaros from £1,123pp, B&B, and chunky Greek or the psychedelic cliffs of Paleochori, Rooms, from £904pp, B&B, with B&B, including flights and transfers. including flights, ferries and transfers. salads. The local which look as if a naughty teen had flights via Athens. red-route bus from been let loose with a spray can? The Where can I island-hop? Where can I island-hop? Skiathos Town drops trapped geothermal energy comes in Where can I island-hop? you at the top (bus You can sail to nearby Sifnos (see page Frequent catamarans mean you useful, too: the melt-in-the-mouth Take a ferry across the Pollonia strait to stop No. 22). The 68; 2.5hr; £8) pretty much daily in can day-trip to Mykonos (or go for an only other people lamb stews at Sirocco, in Paleochori (00 (30min; £2.20) for a day-trip; season. Or combine Kythnos, Sifnos all-night-party bender) to avoid paying are guests from the 30 228 703 1201, restaurantsirocco.gr; most of this island is a nature reserve, and Folegandros on a yacht trip with the island’s OTT accommodation rates. nearby Skiathos stews £13), are buried in the sand and so it’s as close to the raw Med as you Seamaster Yacht Charter (seamaster. And if your eyes tire of the bare-rock Palace Hotel — bag left to cook overnight. Take a boat trip to can get. Or head on to Folegandros (see co.uk), from £738pp, bed only, based sun glow of the landscape, curl up in the a sunbed while the west coast and Kleftiko — the sandy page 62; 2h 35min by ferry, £7; 55min on six people, or £827pp based on four, shade of the trees on the next island up, they’re at breakfast. cove used to be a notorious pirate lair. by catamaran, from £25) or make your including skipper, flights and transfers. leafy Andros (see page 48; 45min; £13). Afterwards, tuck into baked goat at the way to Sifnos (page 68; 45min; £13)..>

66 Sunday Times Travel MAY 2019 may 2019 Sunday Times Travel 67 TotalGuide I Greek islands 19 The bargain that’s home to Yorgos-Dimitris (00 30 228 Alternatively, Olympic Air has Athens- the Greeks’ favourite 407 1493; mains about £9), a taverna Paros returns from £55. There are also Sifnos, Cyclades rightly proud of its impeccably fresh plenty of ships to Sifnos (50min; £4.30). fish. NB food-lovers: Sifnos is deemed Sunvil (sunvil.co.uk) has a week at What’s its secret? the birthplace of gastronomy by many, Efrosini Hotel on Platys Gialos, from Since its overwhelmingly Greek for the ancients believed that good food £928pp, B&B, including flights, clientele started cutting back on should be cooked in a Sifniot clay pot ferries and transfers. holidays, this beach-fringed island has (gastra). The tradition continues today, leapt to the top of the best-deal lists. as you’ll discover at Drimoni, beyond Where can I island-hop? But value for money is not the main Apollonia, the capital — order the rich Island-hop to Milos (see page 67), reason you’ll fall for it at first sight. pork stew with figs (00 30 228 403 which is only 45 minutes away by Sifnos welcomes you with a yawn of 1434, drimoni.gr; mains about £11). catamaran (£13). You can combine fine golden sand by the port, lapped by Sifnos and Milos with Ramblers sparkling waters and flanked by two How do I get there? Walking Holidays (ramblersholidays. boho beach bars. Welcome to the Fly into Athens and you’ve plenty of co.uk) on a two-week half-board trip island’s blue-flag beach, Kamares. time to catch the ferry from Piraeus from £1,599pp, B&B, including flights For a more rarefied swim, head to the — the last crossing leaves at about to Athens and transfers on to Milos, 20 For hiking and picture- 21 The Cyclades’ last tamarisk-shaded strip of Fasolou, 5pm (ferries.gtp.gr; 2hr 55min;£44). a guide and dinners at local tavernas. pretty street scenes lost outpost Symi, Dodecanese , Cyclades What’s its secret? What’s its secret? Colourful Neo-Classical mansions Of Koufonisia’s two main islands, Ano Kefalonia tumble almost into the sea from Symi’s Koufonisi is on the ‘agones grammes’ Beyond the crowds upper town, Chora, their yellows, reds line of (unprofitable) subsidised ferries and oranges bright reminders of a rich to a series of tiny isles off Naxos. With a merchant past. It’s like a Greek version population of about 400 (it’s said there Few tourists make it of the Amalfi coast, only with occasional are more fishing boats!), the rugged down to the southern lazy wanderers instead of speeding outcrop has a sprinkling of cubic white tip of Kefalonia’s lesser-known Paliki cars and crowds. That makes it all the houses, very few cars and some Peninsula — which more romantic, too: honeymooners and fabulous beaches. Summer visitors will suits the locals just loved-up couples are wooed by small likely be cultured bohemian types from fine. In unspoilt boutique guesthouses and converted Athens. Hire a bike to visit Italida, a lovely Vatsa Bay, laid-back mansions, many situated around the stretch of sand, or take a water taxi to its Spiaggia Taverna harbour, though hikers love the hidden uninhabited sister isle, Kato Koufonisi, comes with tables set right on the sand monasteries and mountainous terrain for wild camping and nudist beaches. and buckets of inland. The island’s not big on beaches Back on the main island itself, dine in eccentric, rustic (try pebbly Pedi Beach), but there’s Mikres Cyclades (00 30 228 507 4500, charm. Follow clear-water swimming to be had off mikrescyclades.com; mains about £10) Spyros’s wooden jetties along the coast. Seafood fans for cuisine, and at the signs warning of will love the garlic prawns at Pantelis on shack-like Neo Remezzo (00 30 228 kangaroos and the harbour (00 30 697 726 1710; mains 507 4203; mains about £10) for seafood. crocodiles, bag a table under the about £18), while in Pedi village, the straw roof streaming aubergine and feta casserole at the How do I get there? with fishing nets and Secret Garden (00 30 224 607 2153; It’s a 7.5hr ferry from Athens’s port, assorted knick- mains about £6) is another winner. Piraeus, to Ano Koufonisi (bluestar knacks, and order ferries.com or .gr; foot fresh fish grilled on How do I get there? passengers £32, cars from £67, both the open fire (00 30 From Rhodes, three or four ferries one-way). Sailing times are seasonal 697 968 0516, vatsa-spiaggia.gr; run daily between May and October and can be infrequent, so do check well mains about £15). (12ne.gr; 50min; from £26 return). in advance. Stay in converted windmill Olympic Holidays (olympicholidays. Anemomylos (koufonisia-rooms.com; com) has seven nights at Nireus Hotel doubles from £51, room-only). on the harbour from £608pp, B&B, including flights and ferry. Where can I island-hop? The ‘agones grammes’ line opens up Where can I island-hop? a world of islands with a similar feel People tend to stay put on Symi, but to Koufonisia, including , you might want to spend a little time Schinoussa and Heraklia. Or take a in Rhodes, where there are any number day-trip to uninhabited . Once of boutique hotels within the Old Town one of the most important centres of walls. Symi isn’t far off the Turkish coast, Cycladic civilisation and said to be one either, so it’s easy to day-trip to Datça of the Gates of Hades, Keros today is to buy spices, clothes and crafts at its pretty barren, with two small chapels

lovely Saturday market. and some good swimming spots. THOMAS SEAN REDMAN, NICK MALATHRONAS, JOHN SUPERSTOCK LEAHY, KATE HALL, STOCKFOOD, REBECCA ELLIS, JAMES SHUTTERSTOCK, PERUGIA, COOKSON, LINDA WORDS: JONATHAN HARDING, ROBERT GETTY, EDWARDS, LIZ IMAGES, AWL ALAMY, 4CORNERS, PHOTOGRAPHS:

68 Sunday Times Travel may 2019 may 2019 Sunday Times Travel 69

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