Cyclades

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The Cyclades (or Kyklades) are a group of islands within the larger Greek Isles, situated south of Athens and north of Crete. The Kyklades are famous for the islands of Santorini and Mykonos.

Table of contents
	cyclades Travel Guide : 1 Regions 2 Cities 3 Other destinations 4 Understand 5 Get In 5.1 By air 5.2 By sea 5.2.1 Hellenic Seaways 5.2.1.1 Hellenic Seaways Express Apollon 5.2.1.2 Hellenic Seaways Highspeed 6 Get around 7 See 8 Do 9 Eat 10 Drink 11 Stay safe 12 Get out

Regions

• Amorgos -- The place where the movie "LE GRAND BLEU" was shot.
• Delos -- Holy island central to Greek Mythology
• Folegandros -- A beautiful, quiet island in the west of Santorini
• Ios -- Party island
• Mykonos -- Famous tourist destination
• Naxos -- Largest (and greenest) island in the group
• Paros -- Popular tourist island with good mix of beaches and hills
• Santorini -- Fantastic volcanic island
• Sifnos -- Quiet island, convenient beaches.

Cities

• Thira -- On Santorini island
• Oia -- On Santorini island

Other destinations

• Santorini Volcano -- The volcano of Santorini
• Little cyclades - A small group of islands located in the south of Naxos.

Understand

kyklos is the Greek word for cycle. Because the islands are set up in a circle around Delos the islands are named Cyclades. During summer (which is high season too) it is extremely dry and hot. The best time to visit the Cyclades is May to June (early season, accommodation is much cheaper and it's not that hot), July to September (high season) and September to October (post season). In October the weather changes and rain starts to fall. Be prepared that ferry schedules are reduced especially in post season. The Cyclades are also famous for the constant wind (called meltemi) in July and August that mitigates the heat a bit.

Get In

By air

Regular (mostly daily) flights from Athens to Paros, Naxos and Santorini are operated by Olympic Airways (http://www.olympic-airways.com) and Aegean Airlines (http://www.aegean.gr). Paros, Santorini and Naxos can also be reached by other European airports.

By sea

Leave from Piraeus via ferry and head for Paros, which is usually the first ferry stop. From Paros onto Naxos and there you can choose from the two main routes; Either up towards Mykonos or down towards Santorini and Crete. Ferrys operate to all the islands in the Cyclades, some of the larger islands also have a Highspeed catamaran service from Piraeus. Check with the operator before making departure plans as the services are subject to delays and cancellations in adverse weather.

Hellenic Seaways

"Deck class" is a cheapest way to go around the Cyclades, you can sleep outside, on the deck, in Greece the weather is good, expecially in summer or spring. All the young european "routard" choose the deck, so in August it's possible that you must sleep near somebody never seen...who isn't really clean; during the night you can be sad, but after it will becomes funny thinking about.

Hellenic Seaways Express Apollon

Really old-fleet boats. Consider flying instead, even if it costs 1.5 times more -- it's worth it.

Distinguished Class: first ~5 cabins are really shaky (and hard-to-sleep in); too intensive conditioner in saloon. Take your tickets if you go to DC-saloon, other-class passengers are not allowed there.

In Piraeus, the boat is ready for boarding 2 hrs before departure time. While in the Piraeus, it's allowed to leave luggage in your cabin for cafe visit etc nearby in the port.

Hellenic Seaways Highspeed

Bright red Vodaphone-logo boats; most popular and recommended sea transport, at least for going to Santorini.

Get around

Travel by ferry. They are safe, regular, cheap and fun. The biggest ferry hub within the Cyclades is in Paros which has links to many islands.

Be prepared that travelling by ferry can be tedious in high season when ferries are really crowded. Usually there are two types of ferries: The ordinary ones and the speedboats (hydrofoils, which are much more expensive).

Tickets for ferries can be usually bought from travel agencies which are located around the local port.

See

If you visit the Cyclades for the very first time go for Santorini, Paros and Mykonos. If you want to get rid of the crowds go for the smaller islands such as Folegandros or Armorgos.

Do

• Island hopping - this is very popular within the Cyclades. If you have more than one week, this might be be an option for you since ferry schedules are excellent and every island has its own charm.

Eat

See Greece#Eat for more information on Greek cuisine.

Drink

Stay safe

The Cyclades are pretty safe, but take care of your valuables since pickpocketing is common in crowded places.

Get out

Head on down to Crete when you are done with the Cyclades. If you have plenty of time you might want to go to other Greek islands belonging to the Dodecanes, the Ionic islands or the Sporades as well.

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