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Santorini
Greek Islands
For many people, Greece is synonymous with islands. If you need a vacation from your busy mainland Greek vacation, the islands exert an irresistible pull. Explore a tight, twisty maze of whitewashed cubic houses with vibrant trim. Dig your toes into the hot sand while basking under a beach umbrella. Go for a dip in the crystal-clear, bathwater-warm Aegean. Sip an iced coffee along a bustling harborfront, watching fishermen clean their catch while cuddly kittens greedily beg below. Indulge in fresh seafood at a rustic seaside taverna, and chat with the big personality whose family has owned the place for generations, all while watching the sun gradually descend into the sea. The Greek islands really do live up to their worldwide acclaim.
Places
At a Glance
▲▲▲ Hydra Idyllic island getaway, convenient to Athens and the Peloponnese, with picturesque harbor, casual beaches, enticing coastal trails, and no cars (but plenty of donkeys).
▲▲ Mykonos Quintessential, popular island with a postcard-perfect whitewashed village, old-time windmills, and pulsating nightlife; ruins on nearby Delos mark the fabled birthplace of Apollo and Artemis.
▲▲ Santorini Stunningly situated, romantic island — actually the lip of a volcano's flooded crater — renowned for its cliff-clinging white villages, blue-domed churches, volcanic-sand beaches, and spectacular sunsets.
▲▲ Crete Greece's biggest, most populous island, former home to the colorful Minoans — Europe's first advanced civilization — and full of scenic mountains, enticing beaches, characteristic rustic villages, and dramatic caves and gorges.
▲ Rhodes Subtly charming island, the largest of the Dodecanese, offering subtle but substantial charms and an exotic cocktail of Greek and Turkish cultures (with the Turkish coast just 11 miles away).
▲ Corfu Verdant isle draped with villas dripping with faded elegance, anchored by a lived-in main town with a gritty appeal.
