Folegandros

Map of Folegandros

Folegandros is the 19th bigger island of Cyclades, with 32,384km² and 765 inhabitants. It's located between Milos(15 miles) and Sikinos. It also called Polukandros.

The sheer cliffs of Folegandros rise 300m from the sea in places and until the early 1980s they were as effective a deterrent to tourists as they had historically been to pirates. Folegandros was used now and then as an island of political exile from Roman times right up until 1969, and life in the high, barren interior was only eased in 1974 by the arrival of electricity and the subsequent construction of a road running from the harbor to Hora(capital) and beyond. Development has been given further impetus by the recent increase in tourism and the ensuing commercialization. The island is becoming so trendy that Greek journalists speak of a new Mykonos in the making, a fact that is reflected in its swish jewellery and clothes shops. Yet away from showcase Hora and the beaches, the countryside remains mostly pristine. Donkeys are also  still very much in evidence, since the terrain on much of the island is too steep for vehicles.

The island's real character and appeal are rooted in the spectacular Hora, the capital of Folegandros, perched on a cliff-edge plateau, a steep 3km from the port. Locals and foreigners mingle at the cafes and taverns under the trees of the five adjacent squares, passing the time undisturbed by traffic, which is banned from the village center. Towards the northern cliff-edge and entered through two arcades, the defensive core if the medieval castle (Kastro) neighborhood is marked by ranks of two-storey residential houses, with almost identical stairways and slightly recessed doors.

West of Hora, a paved road threads its way along the spine of the island towards sprawling Ano Meria. In the middle of the settlement stands the large church of Agios Georgios.

Ios

Map of Ios

Ios is the 8th bigger island of the Cyclades with 2.024 population and 108km² extension. Though not terribly different -geographically and architecturally- from its neighbours, no other Greek island attracts the same vast crowds of young people as Ios. Although it has worked hard to shake off its late-twentieth-century reputation for alcohol excesses and to move the island's tourism one class up with some success, Ios is extremely popular with young backpacker set who take over the island in July and August.

The only real villages, Yialos, Hora and Mylopotas, are clustered in a western corner of the island, and development elsewhere is restricted by poor roads. As a result there are still some very quiet beaches with just a few room to rent. Most visitors stay along the arc delineated by the port, at Yialos, where you'll arrive, in Hora above it, or by the beach of Mylopotas. Despite its past popularity, sleeping on the beach on Ios is strictly banned these days and so is nudism.

Hora or Ios Town, the capital, is a twenty-minute walk up behind Yialos port, and is one of the most picturesque towns in the Cyclades, filled with meandering arcaded lanes and whitewashed chapels. Still, it gets pretty raunchy when the younger crowds moves in for the high season. The main road divides it naturally into two parts: the old town climbing the hillside to the left as you arrive and the newer development to the right. The archaeological museum (Tue-Sun, 8:30am-3pm, free), in the yellow town hall, is part of an attempt to attract a more diverse range of visitors to the island. It contains some interesting finds from ancient Skarkos, a few kilometers inland from Yialos.

Yialos, with its surprisingly peaceful beach- isn't in the same league as Hora, but it provides a refreshing, breezy escape from the hot, noisy capital. Alternatively there's the popular Mylopotas, the site of a magnificent beach, lots of water activity outlets and surprisingly little nightlife.

Paros

Map of Paros

Paros is one of the top travel destinations of the Greeks, and not only. It's the 3rd bigger islands of the Cyclades with 196km² and 13.715 population. With a gentle landscape arranged around the central peak of Profitis Ilias, Paros has everything one expects from a Greek  island: old villages, fishing harbors, monasteries and churches, nice beaches and top nightlife. However, Parikia, the capital, is expensive and it is very difficult finding rooms and space in beaches, especially in August, when the other settlements, the port of Naousa and the satellite island Antiparos, handle most of the overflow. Carousing and drinking is idea of many people of a holiday on Paros, so it's not surprising that both Parikia and Naousa have a wealth of pubs and bars.

Bustling Parikia, the capital, sets the tone architecturally  for the rest of Paros, its ranks of typically Cycladic white houses punctuated by the occasional Venetian-style building and church domes. The real attraction of Parikia is simply to wander the town itself, especially the meandering old market street(Agora) and adjoining Gravari.

On the other hand, Naousa is a more fashionable alternative to Parikia. It's a major resort town, with modern concrete hotels and attendant trappings. It has developed around a charming little port whose layout has not been adversely affected. The local festivals are still celebrated especially the re-enactment on August 23 of a naval victory over the pirates.

Andros

Map of Andros

Andros, the second largest island and the Northernmost of the Cyclades with 380km² extension and 9.221 population, is also one of the most verdant, its fertile, well-watered valleys and hillsides sprouting scores of holiday villas. Still home to a very hospitable people, an attractive capital, numerous good beaches, plus some idiosyncratic reminders of the Venetian period - such as Peristerones(dovecate towers) and the Frakhtes (dry-stone walls) - Andros has a special charm. Driving is also a joy, with precipitous coastal roads offering panoramic views over the Aegean.

Hora, the capital of Andros, is the most attractive town on the island. Paved in marble and schist from the still-active local quarries, the buildings near the bus station are grand 19th century edifices, and the squares with their ornate wall fountains and gateways are equally elegant. The old port, Plakoura, on the West side of the headland, has a yacht supply station and a former ferry landing from where occasional boats run tothe isolated but superbly idyllic Akhla beach in summer. More locally, there are beaches on both sides of the town headland, Nimborio to the North and the less developed Paraporti to the Southeast, though both are exposed to the winds in summer, that's why Gavrio, on the other side of the island, became the main port.

Gavrio is a pleasant small town set in an oval bay, but it has more taverns and bars than good hotels, which generally tend to be out of town. There is an adjacent town beach, but there are more attractive alternatives 5km Northwest of the port: beautiful Fellos and Kourtali.