Beautiful, serene, quiet and almost hidden, the Greek Islands leave you in awe. You will feel captivated by the sea of white buildings and the crystal clear water and when you leave, you will want to come back for more.
Mykonos, Ios, Santorini and Paros, four of the more famous Greek Islands would leave you questioning whether Greece is truly in recession (despite not being able to flush the toilet paper). Unlike Athens, all the businesses are still up and running, some of them until three o’clock in the morning when you’re stumbling home from the nightclubs. All the locals are extremely friendly and the food is impeccable – Gyros being the Greek specialty – a kebab filled with lettuce, tomato, onion, chicken, tzatziki and oven-cooked chips. The islands are each known for their own thing that attracts thousands of tourists each year.
Ios, known as the party island, where the club scene is something unworldly remains asleep by day, but alive by night. The clubs are generally very small, all with free entry, some of them providing free shots upon entry. The clubs are sprawled throughout the narrow side streets, under shops, on top of shops, in alleyways, behind buildings and next door to family homes.The best clubs and pubs in Ios include places such as Fun Bar, Circus Bar, Sweet Irish Dreams and the ironically named, Rehab. The clubs in Ios, many like the other clubs on the Greek Islands pose a challenge to the hard-partyers, even the biggest drinkers: The Seven Shot Challenge with a free t-shirt up for grabs with every challenge. Tourists embark on Ios’ nightclub scene with the intention to do as many Seven Shot Challenges as possible, to win as many free t-shirts as possible. For some, this can mean an earlier night than expected. Despite Ios’ hectic night scene, the day time is extremely relaxing with beautiful beaches; particularly outside, the Far Out Beach Club, where you can see most of the party-goers from the night before trying recover from a hangover. This island remains to be one of the most popular ones.
Santorini, undoubtedly the most picturesque islands, remains to be the most popular and talked-about islands. Listed as one of the 100 things to do before you die, the sunset in Santorini is so beautiful and romantic that the whole islands claps as the sun disappears behind the surrounding islands and mountains. With restaurants on cliff faces and views that could astound even the unamused, it is no wonder that Santorini is the Greek Island favourite.
Profitis Ilias is the highest point on the island, where you can see absolutely everything on the island, guaranteed to leave you in awe. The beaches on the island are famous worldwide as well, with one of the only red beaches in the world where the sand is completely red and rocky. There is also the black beach where the sand in completely black, which with the harsh Greek sun can actually turn out quite terribly if you decide to walk along the beach barefoot.
Mykonos is one of the gay capitals of the world, with gay couples pretty much dominating the whole island. On top of Mykonos’ bouncing night life, the views are serene and beautiful with ascending white buildings. In summer the population ofMykonos more than doubles with tourists absolutely filling up the island. The island’s large gay community and the blatant acceptance by locals makes Australia’s political system and even some Australians seem bigoted and backwards. The islands are very free and nobody is afraid to express themselves. The island beams with acceptance and equality.
Paros is known to be the family island of Greece, where people come to relax, enjoy the culture and surround themselves with beautiful beaches, relaxing atmosphere and friendly people. The water is calm and taking a boat trip around the island is one of the most popular activities that tourists partake in. Only a few kilometres from the shore is some amazing caves that are hidden from the naked eye, with crystal clear water, four metres deep that you can see to the bottom of.
Every island delivers something different and outrageously unique, but one thing every island has in common (apart from the obvious white houses) is the locals and the love they effortlessly put in to everything they do.
Martin Rasmussen
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