What do you picture when you think of the Greek Islands? Blue-domed churches? Romantic beaches? Postcard-perfect ocean views?
Well, I have good news for you: the Greek Islands ARE full of these things, and plenty more besides.
My first brief taste of Greece did not go so well; I felt no connection at all to the mainland cities like Athens and Thessaloniki that I visited last year. But the Greek Islands? They promised to be different.
So, when I began planning the Europe leg of my round-the-world trip earlier this year, a couple of weeks in the Greek Islands was the first thing I put on my itinerary. And I am SO glad that I decided to go back to Greece — because the islands BLEW. ME. AWAY.
I'll be going into a lot more depth on each of the 5 islands I visited on my tour with Intrepid Travel (as well an overview of the tour itself) in the coming weeks, but I wanted to start off with what I'm dubbing “My Big Fat Greek Islands Photo Essay” — as much Greek Islands goodness as I can cram into one post.
Enjoy!
Syros
My introduction to the Greek Islands was Syros, a marble-paved, smallish-sized island in the Cyclades. There were basically no tourists on this island in early September, and so it was the perfect place to get used to the “slow-slow” pace of life in this part of the world.
Mykonos
If you want to party, Mykonos is the island to visit. With its Paradise and Super Paradise beaches being world-famous (and also very gay-friendly) and its nightclubs being packed even in September, Mykonos was a fun second stop.
Santorini
Santorini. Ooooh, Santorini. This is the island you see all the postcards of blue-domed churches from. And its cliff-top villages of Fira and (especially) Oia did not disappoint in the least.
Ios
A more rural island (yet still known for its party scene), Ios really surprised me with how pretty it was — in a sort of rugged, brown kind of way. If you want contrasts, you'll find them here.
Naxos
The last island we visited was also the largest — in fact, Naxos is the largest island in the Cyclades, requiring bus rides to get to its tiny, aging villages. It's also a fairly mountainous island, which was not something I was expecting to find.
Stay tuned over the next couple of weeks, because there's a lot more where this came from!
——
Based on photos, which Greek island would YOU most want to explore?
*Note: I received a complimentary Greek Islands tour from Intrepid Travel through my partnership with them. All opinions, though, as always are entirely my own.
Amanda Williams is the award-winning blogger behind A Dangerous Business Travel Blog. She has traveled to more than 60 countries on 6 continents from her home base in Ohio, specializing in experiential and thoughtful travel through the US, Europe, and rest of the world. Amanda only shares tips based on her personal experiences and places she's actually traveled!
[…] My Big Fat Greek Islands Photo Essay […]
Hey!
I was wondering how much it cost you roughly per day to visit/stay on the greek islands?? I want to go there but i don’t know the price range (for a budget traveler)
any help would be appreciated!
I went with a tour group, so I’m not entirely sure what the costs would average out to per day (plus, it would depend if you were planning to stay in hostels or hotel rooms, and also whether you were traveling in the low or high season).
If you went suuuuper cheap, you might manage on $50 a day. But I think $100 per day is probably more realistic.
The islands look incredible and fun! I love your pics, I got hooked up on your blog recently! Can I ask you is it canon you are shooting with?
I loved them! And actually I’m shooting with an Olympus (a mirrorless model)!
That’s great!! Can’t wait to read about your new adventures!
[…] won’t lie — Mykonos was not the island I was most looking forward to visiting in the Greek Islands. I had heard that this popular Greek Island was expensive, and usually overrun with cruise ship […]
Thanks for sharing your experiences. I just got back from almost the same itinerary: Santorini, Naxos, Syros and Mykonos. Your photo essay inspires me to get back into blogging. You make it look simple.
Go for it! I’m glad I make it look easy – some days it’s definitely not! 😉
Hi there, great pictures! I came across this blog as I was researching the Intrepid tour for the Greek isles. Did you do the 8 day tour? I would love to hear your thoughts on the boat experience etc.
Hey Belinda! Great to hear that you stumbled across my blog. I actually did the 15-day trip (it’s two separate trips put together; Athens to Santorini and Santorini to Athens) where you stay on the islands (no sailboats involved, only ferries). I’ll be putting up a complete review of it next week (early December).
great images! oh how i miss greece
Thanks, Rebecca!! I miss these islands, too.
Wow!!!! They look amazing, you’ve really capture the essence of each island in your photos. I want to go 🙂
Thanks, Allison! You definitely should go!