|
  |
|
|
Greek Island Hopping in the Aegean Sea
By Tim Spyridon of Agora eMarketing Group
In the summer of 1988 a song recorded by The Beach Boys called “Kokomo” became a Number 1 hit in the United States, Australia and Japan. In the song they sing about a couple getting away to a fictional island in the Caribbean called Kokomo, where they will “get there fast, and then take it slow.” Well, that is exactly what my wife and I decided to do to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary during the summer of 2005 … except in our case, we chose the Greek islands of the Aegean Sea as our destination. This was the first time for us to go “island hopping” … a vacation planned around visiting a series of islands. Those planning an island hopping vacation have numerous choices for getting around the islands, the most common being: 1) Cruise ships, 2) Ferries, 3) Chartering private boats (for yourself exclusively or with a handful of other passengers), and 4) Small planes (if the islands you plan on visiting have airports; many of which do not). Each of these options has its pros and cons, but for us, the choice was an easy one to make. We went with a combination of ferries and small planes. Here is why … In making our transportation plans, we had several vacation goals in mind. First, we had a specific list of islands that we wanted to visit that included Patmos, Mykonos, and Santorini. Second, it was important to us that we could set our own schedule, choosing to visit each island as long as we wanted without feeling rushed. Third, we preferred to sleep on the islands rather than a boat. In Greece, they have all sorts of ferries available to help you get around the islands. For us, the combination of ferries and small planes fit the bill perfectly! In keeping with The Beach Boy’s strategy to get there fast and then take it slow, after flying into Athens we took a small plane across the Aegean Sea to the Island of Samos. Once there, we used this island as a “home base” for a few days. From this island we took a hydrofoil ferry called a Flying Dolphin, a small watercraft that hovers above the water, to the Island of Patmos for a one-day visit (see photos below). The next day we took a small ferry to Turkey to visit the ancient ruins of the City of Ephesus. Leaving Samos, we took a large ferry half way across the Aegean Sea to the Island of Mykonos, where we stayed for just one night. To get to Mykonos, we had to transfer to a smaller, very fast Super Jet ferry at the Island of Syros. To reach the final destination island in our trip, Santorini, we took a speedy, high-powered catamaran called a Flying Cat from Mykonos. We spent the next five days exploring the beautiful Island of Santorina, again taking a one-day excursion to a nearby island using a small ferry. We finally returned to Athens from Santorini on a small plane. This gave us the ability to spend several days in Athens prior to returning home to the United States. Although many enjoy using cruise lines for island hopping, it you share the same goals my wife and I had of selecting specific islands to visit, keeping your own travel schedule, and sleeping on the islands instead of a ship, you may want to try a combination of ferries and small planes on your next vacation. It takes a little more work in making your travel arrangements, but for us, the memories and perfect vacation that resulted made it well worth the effort!
Tim Spyridon is the Founder, President and Owner of Agora eMarketing Group, a company dedicated to bringing quality products and value to customers in the Internet marketplace. His company's online store, WroughtIronRusticDecor.com, offers a complete line of finely crafted, unique wrought iron decor, fireplace, lighting, and garden products for homes and cabins.
|
Contributor's Note
Wrought iron furnishings provide a home or cabin with an elegance and old world charm that more and more people are seeking to achieve. I invite you to visit our online store, WroughtIronRusticDecor.com, where you will find a wide selection of over 5,000 unique wrought iron products for your home.
|
|
     
Flying Dolphin Hydrofoil Ferry to Patmos
Boarding Ferry to Turkey
Ferry Rodanthi Enroute to Syros
Top Deck of Ferry Rodanthi
Super Jet Ferry to Mykonos
Boarding Flying Cat to Santorini
PLEASE VISIT THE CONTRIBUTOR'S WEBSITE
No reactions yet.
Please login or sign up to rate this intel.
Please login or sign up to add a comment.
Thank you for sharing this valuable information, Tim.
My wife and I love to cruise, butyour trip sounds like a winner!
Keep up the good work.
Best Wishes.
Frederick
CONTRIBUTOR'S REPLY
Thanks for the kind words, Frederick! My wife and I have yet to experience a cruise, but that is on our to-do list. Also sounds like fun. 
The copyright for this content entitled "Greek Island Hopping in the Aegean Sea" has been specified by the contributor as:
Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0
Details 
This content may be copied and distributed (but not modified), as long as the original author is acknowledged with a link back to the content page.
If you use this content according to the license specified, you must link to the following URL:
http://tspyridon.qondio.com/
|
 |
May, 2012
2008
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2009
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2010
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2011
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2012
January, February, March, April, May
|
|
Not a member yet?
Qondio is a powerful network for making it online. If you have a website to
promote, we can help.
Sign up and get in on the action.
|
|
Welcome to Qondio! Discover the awesome power this network can deliver by going to our About page. Or you could skip straight to the Sign Up form.
|
|
