Greece is old.
Really old.
Athens
Visited: September 2005
Arrive
We took one of the mind-joltingly early Easyjet flights from Gatwick to the new Athens International Airport. The underground has recently been extended so that it goes all the way out to the airport and it is really easy to get into the centre of town.Explore
Acropolis - The ancient heart of Athens is perched on the top of a hill and is visable
from all over the city. Despite the constant swarm of tourists and the fact that most of the
statues were pillaged by the British, the parthenon is still a remarkable structure. To get there
you wind your way up the hill (which can be hard work in the heat of summer!) past the Theatre
of Herodes Atticus and the Temple of Athena Nike. There is a fantastic view out over the city from
the top. Personally, my favourite part of the Acropolis was the Porch of Caryatids (the women holding
up the building are casts the originals are split between the Acropolis Museum and the British Museum).
National Archaeological Musuem - This museum has a fantastic collection of Greek artifacts - vases, sculputures, jewllery etc. Definitely worth a look.
Rest
I spent a night at Zorba's Hotel. It is a pretty basic place and is a bit out of the centre of Athens but it is right by a metro stop so has easy access to both the port and the airport.Mostar
Visited: September 2004
We spent a fantastic week cruising the Saronic Gulf Islands on a 49 foot yacht. We arranged a charter through Fyly.
They were fantastic to deal with and we were very happy both with the boat and our authenic Greek skipper, Janus. I definitely recommend using Fyly if you are thinking of chartering a yacht in Greece. There were 7 of us plus Janus aboard the 5 bedroom, 3 bathroom Barvaria 49.
Although the yacht sleeps 10, I think 7 or 8 people is about right unless you want to live right on top of each other.
Poros - Another short hop on the boat to Poros. We actually visited Poros twice - once on the way south and once on the way back. Another picturesque Greek fishing village, on our second visit we discovered that it has has a "strip" of bars over the other side of the peninsular.
Hydra - Hydra was the highlight of our trip around the Saronic Gulf Islands. Cars are prohibited in Hydra town and everything is transported by donkey. If you walk around the right side of the harbour (looking inland) there is a perfect swimming hole - crystal clear water and rock walls to leap off. If you are lucky you may even be treated to adolescent Greek boys showing off by doing arobatic dives from the highest rocks. After you get tired of swimming, keep walking round the path to the bar on teh edge of the cliffs. The drinks are quite pricey but nothing beats drinking cocktails and looking out over the Mediterranean while the sun sets.
Monemvasia - It takes a good 8 hours sailing to get all the way down to Monemvasia on the Peloponese Peninsular. At first it looks like just another Greek fishing village. However, the real attraction of Monemvasia is the fortified Venetian city on the spit of land out from the main village. We walked up there at night and it was magical sitting in the ancient town in the candlelight looking over the sea. A great place to visit.
Hermione - Another stop on the Peloponese on the way back north, another idyllic fishing town.
Arrive
We took the boat from Athens back to Athens. There is the option of starting and finishing in different places but you have to bear the cost of transporting the yacht to or from your starting/ending point.Explore
Aegina - Aegina is the closest island to the mainland and just a short hopt across from Athens. We spent the evening walking round the little fishing town and eating at a small restaurant by the harbour.Poros - Another short hop on the boat to Poros. We actually visited Poros twice - once on the way south and once on the way back. Another picturesque Greek fishing village, on our second visit we discovered that it has has a "strip" of bars over the other side of the peninsular.
Hydra - Hydra was the highlight of our trip around the Saronic Gulf Islands. Cars are prohibited in Hydra town and everything is transported by donkey. If you walk around the right side of the harbour (looking inland) there is a perfect swimming hole - crystal clear water and rock walls to leap off. If you are lucky you may even be treated to adolescent Greek boys showing off by doing arobatic dives from the highest rocks. After you get tired of swimming, keep walking round the path to the bar on teh edge of the cliffs. The drinks are quite pricey but nothing beats drinking cocktails and looking out over the Mediterranean while the sun sets.
Monemvasia - It takes a good 8 hours sailing to get all the way down to Monemvasia on the Peloponese Peninsular. At first it looks like just another Greek fishing village. However, the real attraction of Monemvasia is the fortified Venetian city on the spit of land out from the main village. We walked up there at night and it was magical sitting in the ancient town in the candlelight looking over the sea. A great place to visit.
Hermione - Another stop on the Peloponese on the way back north, another idyllic fishing town.
Athens
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Athena's City
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A short cruise from Athens
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Check out what Lonely Planet has to say about Greece.