Greek Island Hopping (with kids...)
Both Santorini and Naxos are part of the Cyclades group of islands which are situated southeast of mainland Greece and north of Crete in the beautiful clear waters of the Aegean sea.
Direct flights from the UK are either to Santorini or Mykonos and it wasn’t difficult to decide on the island of Santorini being our first stop - we've all seen the pictures right?! We flew from Stansted with Jet2.
Renowned for spectacular sunsets and volcanic beauty, the island of Santorini curves around a giant lagoon and could easily be classed as one of the most spectacular islands in the world. A volcanic eruption in 16th century BC gave the island of Santorini it’s crescent like shape and the popular towns of Fira and Oia (pronounced ee-a) overlook the Caldera from the cliff tops where the sunsets are the best on the island. We chose to stay on the east side of the island in a resort called Kamari with its striking black sandy beaches and deep-blue water – the sand is hot though, you will be glad of beach shoes to save yourself from hopping about like a lizard! The resort has a lively nightlife and an incredible dining scene, it's safe to say tzatziki was a firm favourite with us along with souvlaki and I can confirm that the local wine wasn't half bad either. The resort also has an open air cinema complete with cocktail bar although you will need to book your tickets in advance.
We didn’t want to miss the traditional white washed walls and blue domed churches that we’re all familiar with, so early one morning we took a taxi over to Oia in the north west of the island to experience the incredible vistas for ourselves. You need to get there early before the streets get seriously busy. We arrived for 9.30am and once there I insisted that the four of us walk down the 250+ steps to Ammoudi Bay, a former fishing village now filled with gorgeous rustic fish taverns. Needless to say, the climb back up was a much hotter affair!!
Another highlight of our stay in Santorini was a catamaran cruise into the Caldera, dropping anchor at three separate spots for a swim. Our cruise lasted about 5 hours and was filled with wine and delicious food provided by a tremendous crew and of course, we witnessed the most beautiful sunset – it really was a treat.
After 5 nights in Santorini, we headed back across the island to the port ready to embark the short ferry ride to Naxos. Despite initial concerns, the ferry port was fairly well organised. Basically, you have two choices – start queuing early and stand inside the terminal building while you wait to board, or head to the terminal building when they start boarding the ferry, otherwise you could be queuing in the blazing sun for a while. It was a really easy process even if on the face of it, it looked like we were about to take our lives into our own hands! There were cars and people getting on and off all at the same time!
In comparison to Santorini, Naxos had a chilled vibe. As we arrived, we were greeted by the gleaming white buildings of the old quarter of Naxos Town. We stayed on the outskirts of the town so we had the lovely combination of hustle and bustle and beach. We hired a car for a couple of days and visited some of the beautiful beaches along the west coast, soaking up the sunsets along the way - true escapism. The friendly people, stunning food and beautiful countryside really did make this island so memorable for us.
Our return journey was from Naxos via Athens back to Stansted. It all went a bit too quickly for my liking and I can honestly say that I can’t wait to return and visit some of the other magical islands in the Cyclades group.
