Reply With QuoteNo idea about specific accommodation, but Zante as an island might be worth a look.
Last year we went to Corfu and it was one of the most enjoyable holidays ever. However, we'd like to also give it a shot with some other location, first half of August.
What we (wife, 5 year old daughter, brother-in-law and myself) are looking for is something along this lines:
- a place with a variety of beaches and some vegetation (not the stark white/ just rocks and houses kind of an island)
- some flat/ villa to rent, no hotel/ all inclusive resort; we'd rather drive around and try the local dishes than have meals at fixed hours :)
- rather quiet, cosy (anything else but loud music late into the night)
- scuba diving opportunities (including courses for beginners)
That's about it. If you happen to know something akin to this, do please let me know. I'm also looking it up on Google, but I'd rather trust a forum mate than a newspaper article or a travel agency's recommendations.
Many thanks,
Christian
No idea about specific accommodation, but Zante as an island might be worth a look.
Last edited by raptor; 3rd July 2016 at 11:35.
Thanks Dave, am reading about it and it sounds really good.
We are going to Zante in a week and I have not been there before.
The resort is called Tsilivi.
Its one of the Ionian islands as is Corfu so I imagine it will be similar as Corfu is very green.
The last Greek holiday was Kos and that was a great island.
Bike hire is popular and there are some great little places to visit., such as Tigaki, Mastichari and Zia in the mountains.
Friends have had a house built on Santorini and we have been there several times, It is a fascinating place with a complex history, not least of all the massive eruption 3,500 years ago which blew half of the place into the sky !! August is HOT and the main town Thira very busy but there are plenty of villages about which are calm and not geared exclusively for tourists.
Corfu is good as is Levkas. Santorini is also nice but some might not like the black beaches.
Used to go to Tsilivi twice a year about 20 years ago and loved it but, has since been spoilt in my opinion as too much building and opening of a Macdonalds! It's now merged with Planos and too busy for me.
Kefalonia is probably my favourite island- not too busy, traditional eateries and not too busy (although most Greek islands are busy in August).
Sifnos - no Brits
The Mani on the Peloponnese
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Last edited by BillyCasper; 3rd July 2016 at 14:13.
We've returned from Alaykanas which was nice. We wanted a quiet holiday but it was very rural and you would need to hire a bike or car of you wanted to see more of the island and not get bored. We passed Tsilivi which looked really good with lots more to do. The food at the local restaurants is fantastic and very cheap too.Originally Posted by Rob Leeds
Just reading about Planos and the missus said we are in the Planos area which as you say is all mergio now.
Sounds good.
I like a place that has a bit of life with a fair amount of choice to eat, drink etc but at the same time doesn't overdo it.
I've never had a bad holiday on a Greek island as I have always felt welcomed.
I will also give a shout to Rhodes and in particular Pethkos which is next to Lindos.
Rhodes town and Lindos are both worth a visit and Pethkos has plenty there without being over the top.
No idea what it's like now, but back in late 80's early 90's in my mid teens, had a couple of great holidays on the island of Andros, think town was Batsi? No airport, so nice and quiet, got a ferry from Athens, it was where the Atheniens? went of a weekend. Great snorkeling.
Went to Zante with the lads in '99, horrible hole, got booted out of our hotel after 2 nights on trumped up charges, all because we favoured drinking draft beer over the road rather than their over priced bottles
Brighty
Last edited by Brighty; 3rd July 2016 at 18:18.
James Villas have been fantastic for us in Greece over the last few years with a young family. We are off to Crete with them again very soon, having previously visited corfu, Crete, Kefelonia among others.
Corfu is pretty special for us and much greener that most of the other islands, but it sounds like you have caught that bug too! Crete is hot and dry. Cyprus is also worth a look, but perhaps a little close to some of the troubled north African states at present.
I'm off to Crete on Tuesday - I'll report back how it is....
Many, many thanks for the replies, there's much to research now! :)
Easyjet out of Gatwick by any chance?
My strategy which will probably be irrelevant to you but here goes:
Pick a chain of Islands and use the Ferrys to island hop. Book a different place every few nights on booking.com
I've worked in the Dodecanese and Sporades, also been based out of Athens so know the Cyclades and Pelopenese well too.
I like Kos, Nysiros (volcano), Simi and Rhodes in the Dodecanese. All island hoppable on the Ferrys and loads to do.
Had to dig the rental Jeep out from a deserted beach on Rhodes which was nice..
Kos is now full of (economical) migrants and there's a center there for processing them if I'm not mistaken...
Yep, Kos town. But they're up by the bus station and the rest of the island is fine.
Big fan of Greece, their culture and more importantly their food!!!
One of my favourite destinations is Thassos where the Greeks go on holiday and the island of Skiathos.
Regards
I love Greece and if I couldn't go anywhere else I'd be happy but IMO the food is probably the worst bit- love Souvlaki etc. but the main courses in most restaurants aren't great.
White sandals and socks.
Sorry, I thought you meant geek holiday.
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
Yep - I'm a bit annoyed with the limited options to fly direct.
Timeout's suggestion of island hopping would be my ideal way of doing it. But as this is also tied to a wedding no time for that.
Did you try the lamb kleftico?
Chania end of Crete, been a few times. Quiet so good for young families. We always stayed up in the hills ( a bit cooler). Beautiful scenery too.
Cyprus
Packed with brits and russians as we speak
Close to Troubled north African states ?Really???
You people voted Brexit but you worry about the African states ?
Amusing ( friendly PMSL)
I agree. Nothing ruins your holiday more than some half drowned refugee kids washing up on the beach while you're struggling to finish the sudoku in last week's Daily Mail.
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
You didn't read the small print about not leaving the "hard" road then? :)My strategy which will probably be irrelevant to you but here goes:
Pick a chain of Islands and use the Ferrys to island hop. Book a different place every few nights on booking.com
I've worked in the Dodecanese and Sporades, also been based out of Athens so know the Cyclades and Pelopenese well too.
I like Kos, Nysiros (volcano), Simi and Rhodes in the Dodecanese. All island hoppable on the Ferrys and loads to do.
Had to dig the rental Jeep out from a deserted beach on Rhodes which was nice..
Ha - now that's catnip for any English tourist. Sifnos it is then !
yep and it's ok ( not a massive lamb lover) but been to Greek islands approx 30 times The food isn't the biggest bit for me.
Greece and it's islands are great but some tourist areas are terrible, if you go to Zante stay clear of Laganas as the majority of people who visit there are your Club 18-30 type. The people of Zante are very friendly but visitors like to drink too much, on Laganas strip (main road) of a night you usually see a fight or puddles of sick.
We went to Kos and stayed just outside Kos town in 2014.
Last year we went to Kalithea in Rhodes.
Both very nice.
Andy
Wanted - Damasko DC57
Another thumbs up for Zante here, we stayed in Argassi a couple of years back. I'd go back there without hesitation, can't comment on accommodation as we did A/I.
Lol no, and the pneumatic diff locks in the Jimny didn't work
Last year we did something different, Neilsen Sivota club which is near Corfu on the mainland. Sailing and windsurfing etc is all free, they have a tennis pro on site and free state of the art mountain bikes.
This year we're doing a Turkish one with more wind. One of the best holidays I've ever had.
All inclusive and the rooms were immaculate.
Another vote here for Zante. I stayed in Alykanas and had a lovely holiday, spent most of the time on the beach and in the sea because it was so nice :)
Was there in May (our seventh Neilson holiday) and going to Vounaki in August.Lol no, and the pneumatic diff locks in the Jimny didn't work
Last year we did something different, Neilsen Sivota club which is near Corfu on the mainland. Sailing and windsurfing etc is all free, they have a tennis pro on site and free state of the art mountain bikes.
This year we're doing a Turkish one with more wind. One of the best holidays I've ever had.
All inclusive and the rooms were immaculate]
It's good to hear Kos is still nice as the news makes it look and sound like a refugee camp!
As a 13 year old on the SS Uganda (BEFORE it was a Falklands war hospital ship!) we were diverted there for a day and I remember it being a lovely, quiet little place.
M.
Many thanks once again for all the great advices! It looks like I have potential destinations for 10 years of visiting Greece :D (which isn't bad actually, as 'sea and sun' summer holidays over there are great). In the end the choice is Skiathos, which seems to fit all the mentioned criteria. Funnily enough, we'll be hosted in a villa managed by a couple of Germans :D (they seem to be actually very nice people).
Cheers,
Christian
^^ good choice, make sure you get the ferry to Alonisos and Steni Vala.
Nice, same airport as Sivota IIRC. Done a Sunsail holiday there once, I think Neilsen have taken over their old club?
Sounds lovely... Do let us know how you get on as I'd like to get back to Greece... I stayed in Zante when I went, we had a villa in a tiny village up in the hills over looking the Ionian Sea... It was the best family holiday I've been on... Would love to hear about Skiathos... Have a great trip!
Thanks for the hint!
Will sure do!
Yep Prevesa airport. Yep Neilson took it over last year and have refurbished it- supposed to be good and quite small.
What Hotel did you stay in? We went to the Alykanas Village with Thomson.
If going to Greece, I wouldn't go all inclusive again. Food was ok and the drinks were served in flimsy little plastic cups. Theres a big push in getting the Hotels to offer all inclusive which is going to kill off all the wonderful small restaurants and bars.
Same area (flying to Prevesa) and a one hour or so trip up north: Parga. It has a few nice beaches and lots of places to stay. Mind you, the hills are steep!
Menno
Was in Kos last August, and yes there was about 100 to 200 a day crossing from Turkey, all rounded up and sent every evening to the mainland.
According to my friends that live and work in Kos, they have had no migrants since Christmas, and life is back to normal.
I am going back there again in September, and will report back if it is any different.
Rob..
Ifyou want reasonably quiet and authentic Kefalonia. Lovely island and maintains it's roots. After they filmed Capt Correllis Mandolin there the studio offered to leave the film set there as a tourist attraction but loclas voted it out as they wanted to keep things as they were.
If you want history and several different sight seeing places try Rhodes. You cn also go from Rhodes to Marmaris in Turkey for some cheap shopping for a day out.
Crete is also very good but you need to pick your spot as it's a very large island and you probably won't get to see it all in one trip.
Strangely the one I don't like is Corfu as I've tended to find crowded and dirty (not to mention too much "Britishness". If you liked Corfu you've got some real treats on the other islands to look forward to.
Don’t believe all the Daily Mail BS, Kos is great. Stayed in Mastichari last summer for a week, one of the best holidays we've had.
When we went to Kos we stayed in Lambi for the second week.
We hired a couple of bicycles and rode along the beach to Tigaki and then onto Marmari after going inland for a bit.
We also hired a moped and went to Mastichari and up into the mountains to Zia.
All these places are fantastic and well worth a visit.
Going to kos in August,will be our first time,staying 10mins from kardemena,read some good things about it so really looking forward to it
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Greek holiday, one answer - Santorini
A place like no other.
Going there end of July for our 11th visit.
Simply outstanding and peaceful.
Scuba diving, not my cup of tea, but must be fantastic in this area.
Elounda end of Crete is beautiful, plus you've got some history if you fancy it with Knossos and the leper colonised (not any more) island of spinalonga - can be price though
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