Cyclades

Cyclades are what you have in mind as Greece, in means of architecture, sun, beaches etc;

See on the map above how it breaks down. It is complex of islands in the middle of the Greek see. Read more about all the islands here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclades

Cyclades indeed has magnificent places to visit, and as it is a complex of small islands you can take regular ferries that pass through the day and connect the island and pop in and out to most of them.

For the islands in Cyclades there are fast and slow boats, the slow boats are really slow and the fast really fast! The fast boats are really expensive and the slow boats are really cheep. So keep this in mind.

Another thing is that there is no connection with Mytilini so you will need to go to Pireus to connect to your destination. There airports to some of the islands like Naxos, Mykonos, Santorini etc' so this is also a choice to take the plain to the island you want, or close to island you want and then take a small ferry ride.

So what I will present you here is whats the character of these islands in short so that you can choose.  All of them are great!

The Famous/Popular ones:

Mykonos

• Koufonisi
• Iraklia
• Donousa
• Sxinousa

it is party time, fancy bars and fancy beaches, expensive and cosmopolitan. It stands for its reputation.

Santorini

it is a magnificent island and really represents the best of Greece, is nicely touristic. When we went with several US friends as you may know and we had an amazing time. This island does not have great beaches, you go there for the view.

Milos

Milos has amazing waters and a part of the island has this white stone that you can see in the picture. It is called the island of lovers as it is a very couple situation. Here is all about taking your day easy going to nice beaches, eat something and take the evening easy.

Paros

Paras as Mykonos and Ios are the part islands, paros has a very alive nightlife and great beaches as well as the villages it has are very touristic but very nicely done. Also next to paros there is a tiny island called antiparos which has an amazing cave and is much more easy going than the very touristic paros island so you could choose to go there for a hotel, there is a frequent boat that connect the two islands and it takes 10min to go from the one to the other.

Ios

Now thats an island to have a a party franzy I have never see so many bars per aquere meter before in Greece. It is great of you want to go over the top. However at the same time 60% of the island is really relax as all the people is partying so that gives you room for yourselves.

The Gems:

In my view one can really feel the Cyclades spirit and have the amazing vacations if goes to one of these:

Amorgos

Amorgos is one of my absolutely favorite islands, as it is a mountain island and you can see the view of see all around you. The villages are amazing, and the blue waters incredible. Actually the movie the deep blue see was filmed in "Mouros" where you should go.

Also the island has a lot of hicking paths so for those who are into activities thats a great place to be.

The food also is delicious, and surprisingly they do better meat than fish.

Koufonisia

This is an island whcih you can walk it from the one side to the other in 30min. There are few restaurants and there are few hotels etc; what there is a lot of is green - blue crystal waters. In my opinion these are one of the best waters I have sweem. The beaches vary from rocky to sandy parts.

The important thing here is that you want to avoid going in August as it is too small island for a lot of people early July is great time for that.

In addittion this island is 30min boat ride from Amorgos so you can always visit both. To get you more exited you can rent physermen to tak you to near by islands o this one. As there is not one "Koufonisi" there are many as it is a complex of tiny islands some of them are:

You can also take a boat instead of trying to find a fisherman ;)

Folegandros

This is a very mounty island and it has great people, there is a nice vibe and it has a balance between being active and leasure. There are not as many beaches as there are on the other islands however you will need to hike to go to the good ones. It has a great bar life, delicious food and the most beautiful old town in the cyclades.

Anafi

This is a best kept secret island, and I am sharing this with you my friends (big honor). I would go there in a hard beat, it is a quite island and has mazing beaches, great people and beautiful scenery. The rest is for you to discover

Astipalea

Astipalea is like Folegandros the difference is that it has more beaches, if you dont want to go to Mykonos and want something cosmopolitan but less busy then Astipalea is a great choice.

The only thing here to consider is that this is island is the most far away from the ones in Cyclades and the boat ride takes 12h, which is not a big deal if you take the over night boat.