Aeagan Island Hopping: What You Need to Know
3rd May 2016
Greece has long been known as a Mediterranean paradise and a must-see holiday destination, mostly thanks to the colourful archipelago of beautiful islands that surround it. The majority of these islands are nestled between the Greek mainland and neighbouring Turkey in the Aeagan Sea, and are divided into seven larger clusters: the North-eastern Aegean Islands, Northern Sporades, Euboea, Argo-Saronic Islands, Cyclades, Dodecanese, and Crete, the largest of the islands, which exists as its own entity.
While many have heard of some of the area’s most popular island destinations such as Crete, Santorini and Mykonos, in actual fact the Greek Archipelago consists of over 6,000 islands of which only around 227 are inhabited, that’s a lot of land to explore! And, what better way to get to know what the Aegean Islands have to offer than taking advantage of the abundance of island hopping holiday options and fantastic island accommodation available.
Where to Start
First things first, where do you start? With each island boasting its own unique landscape and personality, the answer really depends on what and where you’d like to see first.
As an initial starting point, Crete is highly accessible from both mainland Greece and the UK, and if you fancy staying a while to take in some of the island’s breathtaking sights and rich and exciting history, we specialise in providing first class holidays in traditional Greek houses and villas on the island of Crete as well as package trips to the island from the UK to make for an excellent start to your island adventure!
Getting Around
Onwards from Crete, the world is your oyster! One of the most popular destinations is the island of Santorini which is only two hours away from Crete by boat with ferries departing daily during the summer from Heraklion, Crete’s largest city. There’s also excellent ferry links from Crete to Paros, Mykonos and Ios, and from Santorini it’s then possible to travel onward to Serifos, Kimolos, Folegandros, Sifnos, Milos and a number of other islands.
In addition, a direct ferry operates three times a week during peak season between Crete and Rhodes, another island popular with tourists. There are also ferries between Heraklion and Karpathos which run twice weekly, again during peak season.
Where to Stay
If you’d like to experience a bit of traditional Greek living, why not consider a stay in one of Pure Crete’s stunning traditional villas? We’ve got something for everyone, from romantic ocean getaways to relaxing pool-side escapes all across the island of Crete and with flights departing from 11 airports across the UK and Ireland!
If you’d like to find out more about what Pure Crete has to offer, or even to check up on a few of our last minute offers, speak to a member of our friendly team on 01444 880 404 and we’d be more than happy to help!