Hi, I want to plan a great trip to Greece. I want to know the best island to visit. And all the pointers I can get. Thank you. There's not ONE best island - each island has it's own good (and sometimes bad) points. Personally I love the mainland.
Decide what you want from a place - it will help people recommend ideal islands for you. I am nor sure, we will be in Cyprus in May and I have heard that is it one of the best. Not sure if it is considered the best or not though. I spent Christmas in Santorini this year, and I can tell you it was heaven. We spent three days there, and it was warm and sunny every day, the people are really friendly, it was amazing. It was the offseason, so I don't know what it's like in the summer, but I'm going back in June. Mykonos is known for being a party place, and is apparently full of gay men, from what I'm told. I may go there as well when I'm there. Crete was also recommended to me. I lived in Rhodes for two and a half years, and it was amazing.
It's very modern, and in some parts a little rural
You may also want to go to Crete. The 'best island' question is difficult to answer; depends on what you are looking for..
Once you discover what Greece is about, you start a great trip that will last...
I enjoyed seeing some of it; looking forward to see more soon.
You might pick up some ideas out of my Greek Webshots albums.
http://community.webshots.com/user/gllja... Spetses the island famous for the glorious naval past.Spetses is a small island (with population 3.603 habitats) across the southern end of Argolida, to the entrance of the Argolic gulf, full of beaches throughout its whole sinuous coastline and piny forests that cover the lower hills and reach till the sea. At the northeast coast of the island is the, traditional settlement, which still preserves the radiance of the glorious naval past of the old mansion houses of the fighters for the Revolution and of the rich sail men with the yards decorated with flowers and peddles, but also at the boat-yards that still operate at the Old Port.
The single-horse carriages are ideal for a romantic ramble in the city across the beach, as in fact in all of the island the circulation of private owned cars is forbidden. favored by their geographical location and the unrivalled natural and cultural environment, have developed into a cosmopolitan tourist destination for visitors with high expectations
The old buildings, the stone traditional roads, and the beautiful scenery giving to the visitor a unique experience. Spetses by having the privilege being on this ideal geographic place have became in one of the most popular travel destination., perfect for sort or long lasting (people that visited spetses experiencing the need to stay for ever) vacations .
The visitor can get to spetses by boat (flying dolphin) from the port of Piraeus (in 2 hours) or by driving from Peloponnesus until kosta beach (in 2:15 hours) and then with water taxi in 5 min will be in SPETSES. hiie, im my opinion the best greek island is CORFU, it is said that it is the most beautiful island a lot of greenary and fantastic views!! i used to live there, i go there every summer for 6 weeks during july-august. The climate is great way better than england. the highest temperature for the summer time is 45 degrees. if you go there and its that hot i advice you to put on a high sun cream on. lol
if you do go there. Go to the area called GOUVIA, good area lots of nice nightclubs, resteraunts, takeaways and beaches. There is also a very good motorbike renting place, its called TAKIS RENT A BIKE. Top of the range scooters and the owner is very nice.
If you don't choose to go there then i hope you find another place to go. Good luck We was in Santorini in january 2008! Amazing! The island Rhodes or Rhodos.It is the capital of the Dodekanisa(twelve islands in the Aegean sea) and the most beautiful place in the world,for many people.
There is an ancient town in the castles,near the modern town centre.The beaches are all very clean,with blue water and few people.
The island has a great nightlife.
There is also an unforgettable place to visit,the village Koskinou.It is I think the only village in the world that remained exactly the same as 160 years before-the houses,the customs,everything.
The local people are really friendly and helpful. The island of Kefalonia, is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece, with an area of 350 sq. miles. It is also the larger of the two islands forming the Kefalonia and Ithaka Prefecture, and contains eight of the prefecture's nine municipalities or communities. (Ithaca is on a separate island.)
The capital of the Kefalonia prefecture is Argostoli. The island's population is nearly 45,000; it previously was home to the fastest growing population in Greece, with a growth rate of 35% to 40% during the 1990s. It was officially 36,404 at the census of 2001. The size of the island is ca. 800 km虏 (300 mi虏), and the present population density is 55 people per km虏 (140/mi虏), with Argostoli home to one-third of the island's habitants. Lixouri is the second major settlement, and the two towns together account for almost two-thirds of the prefecture's population.
Kefalonia is located in the heart of an earthquake zone, and dozens of minor or unrecorded tremors occur each year. In 1953, a massive earthquake almost destroyed settlement on the island, leaving only Fiscardo in the north untouched.
Most of the Kefalonia population have surnames ending in "-atos". Almost every community in Kefalonia has a name ending in "-ata", such as Lourdata, Favata, Delaportata, and others.
In the ancient period, before it was named Kefalonia, the island was known to have a population of only 100 to 300; at the ancient founding of Kefalonia, the population trebled to around 500 - 1,000 people. The population grew steadily, until it reached 10,000 in the mid-20th century, with the total topping 20,000 by the 1970s.
Kefalonia's tallest mountain is Mount Ainos, with an elevation of 1628m (almost the same elevation as Denver, Colorado in North America); to the west-northwest are the Paliki mountains, where Lixouri is sited, with other mountains taking in Gerania and Agia Dynati.
Forestry is rare on the island; however its timber output is one of the highest in the Ionian islands, although lower than that of Elia in the Peloponnese. Forest fires were common during the 1990s and the early 2000s. These fires still pose a major threat to the population of Kefalonia.
The primary agricultural occupations of Kefalonia are animal breeding and olive growing, with the remainder largely composed of grain and vegetables. Most vegetable production takes place on the plains, which cover less than 15% of the island; the majority of the island is rugged and mountainous, suitable only for goats. Less than a quarter of the island's land is arable.
The majority of Kefalonians lived in rural areas before the 1970s, while today the urban population accounts for two-thirds of the prefecture, and the other third remain in rural towns and villages close to farmland.
There are five harbours and ports in the prefecture: four main harbours on the island, Same or Sami, and a major port with links to Patras and Ithaca. Poros, in the south, has ferry routes to Kyllini; Argostoli, in the west, is the largest port, for local boats and ferries to Zante and regularly to Lixouri; Vasiliki, in the north, has links to Lefkas and Ithaca. There is room for about 100 small boats in Argostoli, where the port stretches 1 kilometre around the bay, while Lixouri is situated 4 km across the bay from Argostoli, on the Lixouri peninsula. There is a road connection to the rest of the island, but driving from Lixouri to Argostoli involves a 30 km detour.
Myrtos Beach is situated in the region of Pylaros, in the north-west of Kefalonia. The beach is situated between the feet of two mountains, Agia Dynati and Kalo Oros. Myrtos is world-famous for the magical colours of the water (from sky-blue to dark blue, green-blue and turquoise) and its clearness. The evening, during the sunshine, the water is coloured by magnificent colours, (red, yellow, purple, orange), as the sun disappears. The situation of the beach is also imposing and magical. For all these reasons Myrtos has been voted 12 times the best Greek beach and every year is in the top-ten beaches of the world.
Kateleios a.k.a Katelios (Greek: 螝伪蟿蔚位蔚喂蠈蟼), is a picturesque village in the municipality of Elios-Pronnoi, some 35 km SE of Argostoli, 15 km S of Poros and 7 km SW of Skala, in the southeast of Kefalonia, one of the Ionian Islands of Greece.
Located at the western end of Mounda Bay, and separated from the main bay by a small outcrop of rocks, Katelios is situated in a large, flat plain between the villages of Hionata, Mavrata (where the classical Greek tradition of homosexuality is said by some sources to have originated),[citation needed] Markopoulo and Ratzakli. Ano Katelios, the old village, is where most of the small resident population live while Kato Katelios has slowly developed as a very relaxed summer resort, famous on Kefalonia for its seafood and minced meat pies, and offering a superb view across the Ionian Sea to Zakynthos (Zante).
Argostoli, the largest town on the island, is very popular with locals and tourists, with the main strip coming alive as night falls. A number of local items can be found here, and lively coffee bars and cafes are often open into the early hours of the morning.
Across the broader island two large monasteries are to be found: the first is that of Haghia Panagia, in Markopoulo to the southeast, and the other lies on the road between Argostoli and Michata, on a small plain surrounded by mountains. This second has an avenue of about 200 trees lined from NW to SE with a circle in the middle, and is the monastery of Agios Gerasimos, patron saint of the island.
In late 2006 a Roman grave complex was uncovered as excavations took place for a new hotel in Fiscardo. The structures date to Roman times -- between the second century B.C. and the fourth century A.D. Archaeologists described it as the most important find of its kind ever made in the Ionian Islands. Inside the tomb five burial sites were found, including a large vaulted grave and a stone coffin, along with gold earrings and rings, gold leaves that may have been attached to ceremonial clothing, glass and clay pots, bronze artefacts decorated with masks, a bronze lock and copper coins. The tomb had escaped the attentions of grave robbers and remained undisturbed for thousands of years. In a tribute to Roman craftsmanship, when the tomb opened the stone door easily swung open on its stone hinges. Almost next to the tomb a Roman theatre was discovered, so well preserved that the metal joints between the seats were still intact.
The island received its name from the mythical hero Cephalus, who arrived at the island as a refugee from Athens, displacing the island's initial inhabitants, who were known as Taphians (Teloboes or Taphioi).
Homer offers 26 descriptions of specific places on Odysseus' home island, but these do not match the modern island of Ithaca. For instance, the modern Ithaca faces east, and is mountainous -- it does not "lie low". Thus it has been suggested that Homer's Ithaca is not the same place as the modern island of Ithaca.
It has been suggested that Kefalonia and Ithaca once may have been joined, because Homer describes Ithaca as being both much larger than it now is, and on the final edge of Greece "facing the western sunset". Geographical data also suggest that the islands once may have been connected.
Robert Bittlestone, in his book Odysseus Unbound, has suggested that Paliki, now a peninsula of Kefalonia, was a separate island during the late Bronze Age, and it may be this that Homer was referring to when he described Ithaca. Bittlestone also suggests that migrants from Paliki may have carried the Odyssey tale with them as they migrated during the Greek Dark Ages, first to the mainland and finally to the eastern Aegean, where tradition places Homer's birthplace: this would account for the epic's detailed knowledge of Paliki. A project starting in the Summer of 2007, and lasting three years, will examine the geological makeup of Paliki. Using high tech equipment normally used for oil exploration, a Dutch based company sponsored by the Greek Geological Society, will attempt to determine if Paliki was once a separate island, possibly Ithaca. In the Southwest of the island, in the area of Leivatho, an ongoing archaeological field survey by the Irish Institute at Athens has discovered dozens of sites, with dates ranging from the Palaeolithic to the Venetian period.
large number of tourists visit Kefalonia during the peak season but, as one of the largest islands in Greece, it is well-equipped to handle visitors. Most tourists stay in or around Lassi, a serene resort a few kilometres from Argostoli, and their numbers have increased since the best-seller, Captain Corelli's Mandolin, was made a film (2001) shot on the island itself. Many people from all over Greece and the world visit Kefalonia. Many tourists come from Italy mostly because it's close location.
The island is covered by dense vegetation and offers a great range of natural beauty, including beaches -- many of them inaccessible from land -- and spectacular caves. Mirtos, the most famous of these beaches, is a major tourist attraction, and has been ranked fifth worldwide for its beauty. Fishing is very common throughout the waters within and around the island, and the harbours of Argostoli and Lixouri are the main fishing centres. Overfishing can be a problem in Kefalonia, and in the Ionian area generally.
It is known for its beautiful beaches and green forests |
