12 days in greece. writing vacation
Replies: 8 - Last Post: Oct 23, 2012 2:18 AM Last Post By: mariha2912
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12 days in greece. writing vacation
Hi everyone, i have just booked my flights in and out of athens arriving the morning of the 21st of october and leaving the morning of the 2nd of november.I am a 24 year old teacher and aspiring writer working on some novels. The two main purposes of this trip are to see some beautiful places and spend some time sitting out in nature or history and writing using where i am as inspiration. I'd love suggestions on where to go. It seems like there's not really many bad choices but I'd love some tips. I'm not a drinker or partier but I love good food. I enjoy some walking and light hiking, I love the ocean and any rivers or water sources (especially waterfalls). I prefer smaller villages and towns to big cities, apart from athens, and would like to spend a day or two on the beach, ideally not a crowded one. (I'm canadian so for me I think it should still be warm enough)
Right now I am torn between doing one or two islands or staying on the mainland and heading up in the direction of Nafplion and the surrounding area, or doing one or two islands. Ive never been to greece again, but hope to come back again in about a years time for a bit longer then. I'm considering Syfnos, and Santorini. Or maybe, Patmos, Kos and Lipsi. (My father went to Patmos some 30 years ago and fell in love) That said i know patmos can be hard to get to, is it even possile so late in the year?
I know right now I probably dont have as much detail as I should but I'm just looking for any ideas you'd like to share. I don't want to move around too hectically so I should probably keep the itinerary to one island or maybe two. I'd also love recommendations of places to stay, im looking at hostels budget wise and would love any places with terraces with nice views so that I can write there too while my laptop battery's recharge after the day out and about. I found a place like this in Taormina Sicily and made it home and had the time of my life. If anyone has an amazing place like that I'd happily make it my outside of athens base for a week. Any and all suggestions are very welcome, or if there's anything specific I should research before asking for more help that would be great too. Thanks you all so much.
Luke
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I would go to Nafplio, it's the most beautiful town in Greece, and at the time you are traveling, heading to the mainland makes much more sense.Dimitris Bekas is a hostel in the middle of the old town, with balconies overlooking the town and the bay. You can call them on 27520 24594.
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Go to the Pelion (bus from Athens to VOLOS) and there are lots of rooms to hire down the coastline (local buses run from Volos on various routes on the peninsula. It is not touristy but does have beaches (mostly pebble), nice people, good food, nice scenery, hiking, etc. Maybe base yourself in Kala Nera (which is on lots of bus routes, has rooms and is just a village but has enough facilities and life going on), from where you can travel up the mountain or to other places on the coast. Volos is not pretty and you wouldn't want to stay there. Have a note of the Greek alphabet with you (if you don't already know it) so that you can read destinations on buses/departure boards/road signs as that will be helpful (I used to write out my destination in Greek script so I could "recognise" it when I was travelling).4
If I would like to concentrate to a greater area, I would choose Pilio (Pelion). It combines natural beauty, traditional villages and good facilities.If you wanted a particular place to inspire you, I would say a) Monemvasia (Peloponnese) and b) Olympos village (Karpathos island). Look for some pictures from these places!
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Thank you all for the suggestions, I'm looking into a lot of the options and will post on here tomorrow night with more ideas and questions of where to go. Still welcoming other suggestions as I figure this out. Nicolapicola thanks very much for the tip on the greek alphabet, I hadn't even thought about that! Thanks for all the ideas!.6
Monemvasia is really beautiful and even though it looks daunting, the hikes up and around are really pretty easy. Nafplion is a favorite, but Monemvasia is quieter. You should be able to find rooms to rent without much difficulty. We've stayed at Kinsterna a couple of times and while it's definitely not a budget place, it's worth visiting for at least a drink. They make their own wine and olive oil.Also, the Mani - Diros caves are amazing. Citta dei Nicliani is a favorite. And the Mani comes with good writing karma!
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nasserlinaAbout 25 euro in total I think, you meet around 10 toll station on the way from Athens end to Thessaloniki, costing from 1 euro to 3.20 euro each. By the way, I think you are new to this forum, but for suture reference, if you want to ask a question,open a new thread, do not post on irrelevant threads please. Have a nice trip! : )
By the way, moss_11
You should have arrive by now, so welcome to Greece. I'd love to read what you end up doing/where you go : ) Have a great inspired trip! : )
