So if what you have read up until now does not thrill you, or if you have a long time to explore then you should consider Crete
I cannot say many things about Crete here, because I will need to say many many things.
Crete, is another Greece inside Greece it has its own very distinctive culture and type of people. You could thing of Crete as the Sicily or Bask country of Greece, with its own very pride people and it own unique heritage. Crete is the second largest island in Greece (Mytilini is the third) and it is 100% worth your time. It has evrything from sunny beaches, to beutiful mountains and it own amazing uniques. Crter itself changes significantly between its 3 main parts and is wanderfull to explore the differecne within the island.
In addition they have a unique musique like the one you can listen here which is called "Mantinada"
In Crete there was a very advanced ancient civilaziation called Minoan before the Ancient Athens and after during the end of the Egyptian civilization you can see more information here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minoan_civilization
There are things to see in Crete for everyoneindependent of what type of vacations you want. It is a very touristic island and you will be able to find the holiday comfort if you want it. Another good thing about Crete is that there are many regular ferries as well as fast ferries. The normal ferry will take you from Piraeus to 10 to 12 hours and the fast one between 4 and 6 hours depending the port you are going.
You can book tickets from here: http://paleologos.forth-crs.gr/english/npgres.exe?PM=BB(I know that it looks dodgy but they still have teh same layout since the 90s - dont worry!) Also there are several Airports that you can use, so look into flights to save time.
The one thing to keep in mind is that exploring Crete needs time 1 week minimum, if you do not have this time you will be better of visiting on of the smaller islands.
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.
As you will be in the island there are several islands that are around the island which you could potentially visit before or after. These islands have direct connection with ferries so you can arrange a multi-leg ferie ride, which is also significantly cheeper than airplanes, and take the route: Athens/Pireus > Lesvos > One of the islands bellow >Athens / Pireus
All of the islands bellow are relatively large and are great for exploring, especially if you combined it with some exploring in Mytilini you will see have a very active type of vacations. Another thing is that these islands are less touristic than the most touristic cyclades, and each of them have each own character and more personality than the classic postcard picture image of Greece.
Taking the boat may seem as a waste of time for some but the truth is that it is part of the experience and the summer enjoyment, I highly recommend that you use the ferries as the sense of traveling in the ocean is unique.
Xios is 4 hours away on the south of mytilini and is a very diverse island, one can see from a medieval village to how they make Mastiha and go to sweem to the famous Mavro Voli (black rock) beach. See more about Mastiha: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mastika. I promt you to search more about it, as a helper see here: http://www.travel-to-chios.com/
View Larger MapLimons is a dry an island maybe less than 4 hours away by ferry and has to offer glorious beaches, great white wine and a lay back vacations. Again look for more if it sounds apealing
I have never been to Samos but all my friends who went there they loved it. It is an explorers island and has everything from long beaches to mountains is good for hiking as well as for road trips. It is one of the most Green greek islands. The boat ride to Samos is longer but thats not a big deal if you take the overnight boat.
Ikaria - Crazy / Beautiful Greeks!
Welcome to the Mexico of Greece, thats how Greeks are referred to Ikaria. Ikaria has probably the most lay back population seen in Greece. Roomors say that the shop owners are leaving the stores open while they are taking their sesiesta so customers are left to their judgment to pay. Regadless that Ikaria is very famous for the incredible mountain landscepae and is ideal place for active vacations, hiking, exploring villages, having a roadtrip.
It is needless to say that their people our supe hospitable and know how to through a party. This island has its own songs, dances etc' and is famnous for the large scale public parties and festivities they have it is worth it to be in one. I have friends from Brazil who fall in love with the place.
Finally Ikaria has a small island next to it, which is a fishermans island and I have never seen in my life such a fish place before, it is outstanding and is totally worth it to go for a day trip to it some amazing fresh fish. This island is called Fournoi Corseaon, as it was an island where the Pirates leaved. I leave the rest for you to find out.
