A quick overnight stop in Chios before heading to Oinousses gave me time to settle in, sort out ferry tickets and take a first wander around the harbour and Aplotaria, the town’s main shopping street. A straightforward start to what I hope will be a much-anticipated North Aegean island-hopping trip.
6 Week Itinerary – This 6-week Northern Aegean itinerary covers Athens, Chios, Oinousses, Psara, and Lesvos by ferry and public transport. Best time: May-October. Highlights: Chios mastic villages, Oinousses shipowner heritage, remote Psara, Lesvos ouzo distilleries. No car rental needed.
It had been a dream of mine to take my grandchildren to Greece. This trip was originally planned as a birthday present for Ebonee as she turned 16 and subsequently cancelled due to Covid. This was actually fortuitous in the fact that during the pandemic Macy also turned 16 – the perfect age for going…
This morning we are catching the Blue Star Delos to Santorini. Another favourite ship and one of the largest in the Blue Star fleet. It is busy and the boarding is chaotic. I repeat our mantra “Stick together and show no mercy” to the GA’s. “Don’t worry Grandma” says Macy. “I’ll just get out my…
This is our last day on Naxos. Tomorrow we head back to Santorini for a few days before flying home. Today we are going to be doing the ‘Villages and South West Beach’ tour. Both of the Excursions offered stops at places that I’d visited before. However, the one that I’d chosen was the only…
Today as always, we ask the Grandadults if they’d like to join us for the day – giving them the option to say ‘yay’ or ‘nay’. We tell them that we don’t have a particular plan in mind but were thinking to catch the bus into town and go and visit the beach Paralia Grota….
Despite the events of the day before I’m still determined to seek out somewhere away from the crowds. I’d love to attempt another trip up to Koronos but we really don’t have the time. The Grandadults are going to the small water park today. It’s in walking distance of the hotel in Stelida and it…
Hotel Proteas does a great breakfast and prepares Peter and I for a day of exploration and the GA’s for a day of lounging. The hotel pool is their new favourite thing! I mentioned to our host Andreas the changes we had seen yesterday particularly on Agios Prokopios Beach. Andreas tells me that not only…
The first part of our island hop has been a little frenetic to say the least. In recent years I began to knock the ‘hit and run’ approach to island hopping on the head. It’s not that it’s exhausting (but it is) it’s that I much prefer a better quality of experience. To be able…
Today it’s our turn to take it a bit easier. this doesn’t mean a lie-in – that concept isn’t part of my vocabulary. The three Grandadults are also up early and join us for breakfast in a local cafe. There are a lot of people departing from Ios today and the cafe’s by the port…
I was quite enchanted by Chora last night so we decide to get an early bus up to explore further this morning. Obvs the GA’s (Grandadults as opposed to Grandchildren) are still asleep. Thinking back to the beginning of the trip we were so diligent in making sure that the GA’s were up, fed and…
Peter and I are up and ready by 7.30am and sitting on our terrace enjoying a cup of tea. I give the GA’s (Grandadults) a knock at 8am. Again at 8.30am. The room is still littered with clothing and dishes still need washing. At 9.00am I give them a 30 minute warning and at 9.30…