CYCLADES
GREAT ESCAPE
ON THE ROAD
HOW TO GET THERE
From Singapore of Kuala Lumpur, fly
on Qatar Airways with one stopover in
Doha to Athens (from US$587;
qatarairways.com). To connect to the
other cities, fly on Aegean Airlines from
Athens (en.aegeanair.com).
HOW TO GET AROUND
Athens is an eminently walkable city,
with most of the main sights
contained within a small central area.
Pre-book a taxi through your hotel to
take you to Piraeus port (around
US$21). A number of different
operators sail between the islands, and
these should be booked in advance.
Look at ferries.gr for up-to-date
timetables. As a foot passenger, you
need only turn up a short time before
departure. It is easy to hire a car on
each island: Mykonos (mykonos-rent-
a-car.gr); Paros (acropolisparos.com);
Naxos (europcar.com) and Santorini
(kosmos-carrental.com). As the
islands tend to have narrow roads, it’s
best to plump for a small car. Expect to
pay around US$30 per day.
HOW LONG TO SPEND
With two nights in each location, you
could cover all the activities and
experiences covered in our feature and
not feel too rushed. Obviously, the
longer you have, the more opportunity
you’ll have both to explore and to
properly relax. Two weeks would allow
a good balance between active days
and do-nothing days. With three
weeks, you could add in side-trips to
the islands of the Small Cyclades,
accessible from Naxos.
WHAT TO BUDGET
You can pretty much spend as much or
as little as you wish in Athens and the
Cyclades, with food and
accommodation available at every
budget. When planning, bear in mind
that the more popular islands of
Mykonos and Santorini tend to be
more expensive than Paros and Naxos.
As a rough guide, you could get by on
around US$40-50 a day camping and
self-catering, and on US$125 a day
staying in decent hotels, booking a few
activities, and eating out every night.
Easy ways to save money include
booking on to the slower-running ferries
rather than hydrofoils, renting a scooter
rather than car to get around and
visiting outside the peak summer
season.WHEN TO GO
If you value your solitude, avoid August
at all costs. Mykonos and Santorini, in
particular, are incredibly crowded over
the summer, and accommodation
prices rise. April, May, September and
October are good times to visit:
temperatures are still pleasant, ferries
operate (though on a reduced schedule
outside peak season), and most
accommodation and restaurants remain
open. Winter can be a good time to get a
feel for the islands’ local character once
most tourists have gone, but bear in
mind that ferry schedules are skeletal
and many services will have closed.WHO CAN HELP
It’s easy to plan and book your trip
independently, with most local websites
available in English. If you’d like to leave
the organisation to someone else,
Responsible Travel has a number of trips
available, from self-guided walking tours
on individual islands to tailor-made
island-hopping holidays (14 days
island-hopping from US$1,303;
responsibletravel.com).HOW TO PLAN
Lonely Planet’s Greek Islands ebook
(US$1,289) has info on all the islands
plus Athens, or you can download
individual chapters from lonelyplanet.
com (US$4.95). The Greek tourist board
site is another useful resource, with ferry
timetables and info on festivals and
events (visitgreece.gr).Eat
Local produce. Every island
has its own variation on a
national dish, and produces
much of the food you’ll eat,
from honey to wine, cured
ham to goat’s cheese.Buy
Any owl-related products, such as this model
from Mykonos (US$43; i-museumshop.com).
The symbol of the goddess Athena, and
therefore of Athens, representations of the
sacred creature can be seen all over the
capital, including its parliament building.Watch
Shirley Valentine. The poignant
comedy of a Liverpudlian
housewife who falls in love
with a Greek tavern-owner
while on holiday was shot on
Mykonos and nominated for
two Oscars in 1990.Drink
Ouzo, served chilled and
sipped slowly. Each
distillery has its own
carefully guarded recipe
for this grape- and
aniseed-based spirit.Say
‘Endaxi’. From the ancient Greek for
‘everything is in order’, the word is
now used for ‘OK’. It’s often
shortened to ‘daxi’.Look out for
Tin-plate tamata votives
left in churches, big and small.
Each is a pictorial representation
of a wish or expression of thanks
devoted to a particular icon.
Common tamata include eyes,
limbs, a spouse and a child.