In the heart of the Aegean Sea
About Naxos & Small Cyclades
What if there was an island that had it all ?
A choice of sandy beaches where you can sunbathe, swim, eat or get active, whether you’re a family, a couple or with friends. Local products that outdo each other for taste. Culture that takes you to antiquity one minute and into the Middle Ages the next. And mountain villages that preserve age-old traditions.
Welcome to Naxos, the largest Cycladic island, where you could return every year and still find something new. The only question is where to start ?
And then.. pack well, you’re off-island hopping to the Small Cyclades – the intriguingly named Koufonisia (Ano & Kato) isles and on to Donousa, Iraklia and Schinoussa. In all of these small islands, exotic beaches, pure Cycladic beauty and great food come in big measures !
No, you’re not in heaven !
You’re on Small Cyclades – not just because they are less well-known than their more illustrious island neighbours, but because they contain everything magical about the Cyclades and radiate it in abundance.
Beautifully clear water, sand that glistens like fairy dust and caves for outlawed pirates of years gone by and today’s more adventurous travelers. Savour the flavours and enjoy music inspired by nights under the moon. There are spots here where the fun never stops, as well as plenty of secret places for peace, tranquility and complete relaxation.
What to do
• Chose your accommodation among a wonderful villa with private garden, a pool & a play room, a farmhouse within an olive grove or vineyard, a traditional island house in a medieval settlement, a mountain accommodation with pool or fireplace (depending on the season), but also in a doll windmill of 1930’s where the drops from the Aegean Sea are “popping” on the wooden shutters, with the first daylight !
• Dinner in a vineyard with wine tasting in the light of the Full Moon – “Save the date early”, they are not inexhaustible !
• Visit a quarry for the extraction of the famous marbles of Naxos – the experience begins with the “special” transport by jeep 4×4 ! Test your artistic skills in an individual engraving workshop, under the guidance of a professional sculptor ! The best signed & indelible, souvenir to bring back home with you !
• Experience step-by-step the miracle of making the famous Greek honey. Enjoy the safest presentation of the work of an entire community of bees through a glass box & let the children have fun discovering the roles of the queen, the workers & the drones! At last, feel free to taste & chose the variety of honey that best suits your palate on top of a whole bowl of “loukoumades”, a traditional greek treat !
• Join a full day archaeological cruise in 3 different islands along with a professional guide in Naxos, Delos & Keros.
• Village hopping, on the most beautiful mountain islands of the Cyclades, the “jewels” of Naxos!
• Private boat cruise in the wonderful small Cyclades! Fishing, scuba diving, snorkeling & description of the aquatic world around them by an experienced professional of the area. Lunch on the boat, with the fish of the day & lots more !
• Live a horse riding experience by the sea, at sunset or dawn !
• Enjoy a game of chess (with life-size chess pieces) in the fresh garden of a wine bar !
• Savour a private dinner for families or small groups next to an illuminated pool, on the roof top of a traditional house, overlooking the entire town of Naxos !
• Sea kayaking & story telling under the famous Portara of Naxos, “guaranteeing” your souvenir photos by the sea, avoiding the crowds of the hill !
• Visit the museum of the oldest air railway in the Balkans, with a combination of diving in the closest beach & enjoying the best fish lunch in a fully industrial setting !
• Experience Naxian’s PDO cheese, preparation in a traditional dairy farm, with full participation in all stages of the process (from milking to coagulation), taking back as a “gift” your delicious creation in a personalized basket ! For our little friends, grandpa Giannis “warms up” the tractor engine for a ride in the fields !
• Kite surfing & water sports on the most ideal beaches of the island and the let the adrenaline soar !
• Learning to make ceramics, by an old method – the roots of which, go back to the 19th-century. This particular way was used by a family with long tradition in clay pots, that is passed down from generation to generation until nowdays.
• Educational & interactive trip to a private -nowdays- olive grove, where nature has “done” its miracle, with the oldest olive tree 5,000 years old, under the roots of which we will taste recipes made by its wonderful fruit.
• Can you imagine wondering about amphorae forgotten on the seabed ? Yes, indeed – Byzantine or even modern shipwrecks, are one of the reasons for which people visit the island from all over the world !
Naxos is ideal for diving, even for beginners, since its waters are consisted of small waves and no underwater currents. Safety is guaranteed, while offering great visibility (close to 30 meters), which makes even beginners feel comfortable !
• Naxos – the paradise of electric bicycles, apart classic ones ! Try them on 3 suggested beautiful routes !
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About Koufonisia
There is more beauty in simplicity !
Pano Koufonisi (the inhabited one of the two islands) may not have the luxuries of some of the other islands of the Cyclades, but it has all the necessary comforts and – more importantly – provides unspoiled natural beauty. Despite being the smallest of all the inhabited Cycladic islands (10 sq km), it has enticed travellers of all kinds thanks to its cosmpopolitan & boho life style, both at the same time on the same island !
Kato Koufonisi is just your sea luna park ! Dive, dive & dive… these waters are almost impossible to be seen anywhere else in this world !
What to do
• Dive into an emerald dream ! Golden coastlines, still waters and sandy shores. The urge to dive straight into the Aegean will prove irresistible when you’re here ! Finikas, Fanos, Italida, Pori … there’s even a beach called “The Pool” (“Pisina”), so true to its name !
• Explore by boat ! If there was ever one place to visit by boat, it is the waters around these islands !
It’s not just the hidden beaches that await discovery, but a tapestry of exotic imagery, endless hues of blue, green and turquoise.
• All roads lead to “Hora” ! The only settlement on either island, you will inevitably pass through is called “Hora” (main town).
In Pano Koufonisi’s Hora, you will join a Cycladic microcosm that welcomes you to wander its narrow streets. Pots of geraniums, white walls and afternoons where locals chat and gossip on their stoops.
At night, the town comes alive – tourists and locals socialise and the mood is vibrant and fun ! Strangers exchange warm glances and softly-spoken conversations, while sweet music tempts you in like a siren.
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Hidden gems of Koufonisia
The sea caves
Legend has it that pirates hid in the sea caves on the north side of Pano Koufonisi. And it’s not hard to see why. Impressive shelters have been carved out by the waves, with Lilliputian beaches.
It’s the perfect spot for snorkellers and fishing enthusiasts !
About Donousa, Iraklia, Schinoussa & Keros
Four islands, four pearls in the middle of the Aegean, with unadulterated character, few and authentic inhabitants, harmony, calm and serenity.
Walking their paths and walking around their beaches you will enjoy white sands and lilies, sea with dark blue waters, low hills with wild violets, lavender and marjoram. The settlements – real paintings – are a stalia and you will walk them in a short time between palm trees, locusts and figs.
Here, time does not count in the way we know. Here, cosmic time is measured by the movements of the sun, moon and stars.
The sunrise puts you in a romantic mood to gaze at the magical view from the town of Heraklion to the islands of the Cyclades. When the disc of the sun climbs in the middle of the sky, you enjoy your swim in the cool waters of Psili Ammos in Schinoussa and while diving its rays in the sea, to be lost on the red horizon, you drink your ouzo on its beach Saint John in Donoussa gazing at the sunset. And at night, from Pano Koufonisi, you can see the small island of Keros in the distance, shaped like a woman’s silhouette.
By day, Keros reveals its archaeological significance. A protected site and, for some, even more important than Delos, it is the hometown of the Arpisti and Avliti, the traditional flute- and harp-playing figurines depicted in so much Cycladic art.
All these four islands of the Small Cyclades with the landscapes of exceptional beauty, will offer you unique experiences !
Leave behind the habits of the city. Follow the rhythms of life of these islands. Contact with nature, casual mood, carefree, relaxation.
In olther words, a real vacation in the 50 shades of blue !
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