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26 November 2010 by Tony Wells There are more than 160 inhabited Greek islands and a good number are holiday destinations. So how do you choose the one that is right for you? The answer lies in a combination of factors ranging from beaches and swimming to local character and food. For many people’s money, tiny Paxos in the Ionian is the pick of them and Travel a la carte has some stunning new villas there, in the village of Loggos. There are over 160 inhabited Greek islands. But say you wanted to narrow the field a bit, to find the most suitable for a summer holiday? What features should you be looking for? The first consideration might be: how do we get there? Nowadays you can probably fly directly from the UK to around 20 islands. Of these, only Crete, Rhodes and Corfu, the largest, have daily scheduled fights (with easyJet) while islands like Zakynthos, Kefalonia, Skiathos, Samos, Lesvos and Mykonos are served only by the traditional charters. It’s long been the inside tip from Greek island lovers that you should avoid the islands with an airport. Like most generalisations, it’s a half truth, but there’s no doubt that being prepared to travel a bit further, an hour or two on a boat, will secure you a quieter holiday. An hour and a half by sea from Rhodes will bring you to Halki, a little Greek outpost with no roads or villas with pools (just the Aegean Sea), or Symi, bigger than Halki and once many times wealthier, with a sprinkling of villas with pools (Travel à la carte’s Villa Laza, for instance). An hour by hydrofoil from Corfu brings you to tiny Paxos, now with private villas comparable to any in the Mediterranean but still with crystal clear water and a string of good beaches. What else might you want to know about your Greek island? Character, terrain, perhaps. Well, again generalisations are not completely reliable but by and large the southern Aegean islands – the Dodecanese, for instance, and islands like Santorini – are quite barren, rocky outcrops with few trees and little vegetation. In the northern Aegean, islands like Skiathos and Skopelos are greener and over in the Ionian archipelago, which stretches from Corfu (on the same latitude as Sicily) in the north to Zakynthos 150 miles to the south, little Paxos, to take one, is a mass of silvery green foliage, provided by the hundreds of thousands of olive trees that cover the island. Beaches? Well, there is a huge variety. A larger island like Corfu has glistening golden sand on the west side and clean round pebbles on the east. Those on Paxos, by contrast, are almost all pebbly except for tiny anti-Paxos, a 15-minute water taxi trip away, which has two of the most beautiful sandy beaches in the Med. Skiathos in the Aegean is celebrated for its long sandy beaches, while Skopelos next door has mainly fine shingle around its coast. Crete is like Corfu, with both sandy and shingle beaches. But used as you may be to sand, the type of beach may be less important than the sea water that laps there. Many a visitor to Paxos, initially nervous at the prospect of pebbles underfoot, has been quickly converted to the stonier alternative once they’ve realised the cleanliness of the water and the relief of not having sand in their hair, clothes and towels. Then there’s the atmosphere of the islands, their feel, the pace of things; and last but not least, what they have to offer in terms of food and drink. All this can vary widely. Parts of Corfu, Rhodes and Crete are known for their rowdy nightlife, other parts are as quiet and well-behaved as any of their smaller sisters. Skiathos is popular with Greeks, Scandinavians and Germans in peak season; Paxos, never troubled by crowds, is British in feel but becomes a mecca for discriminating Italians in August. Many of the islands attract the sailing and island-hopping fraternity: Symi in August is home to big motor launches from Athens and from Istanbul, as well as German, Scandinavian and British charters. It all makes for a cosmopolitan experience on the fashionable islands. Out of season, the visitors from over the water are more likely to be flotilla sailors, travelling in posses of smaller craft around the less exposed coasts. So which of the 160 to choose? Where to find the perfect combination? All Greekophiles have their favourite. Ours is Paxos. It’s the right size, it has no airport but is easy enough to get to, it’s green and unspoilt and it’s an island where you don’t have to have a car, as much of the accommodation is within 10 or 15 minutes walk of all you need and the local bus or a hire boat offer enjoyable alternatives. It also combines all those features we look for in a Greek island: beauty, sunshine, tranquillity, friendliness and, increasingly, uptodate modern villas superbly finished and in stunning coastal positions. Travel à la carte has just added three of these to its programme for 2011, the new ‘Muses’ properties in little Loggos which have the most spectacular views across the Ionian to Corfu and mainland but are still only 10 minutes’ walk from the sea and the local tavernas. There’s no need to look any further! For more information on Travel a la carte’s villas in Paxos and all of the company’s properties on the island, go to www.travelalacarte.co.uk or call 0207 316 1867 and ask for Tony Wells. Chris Griffiths on Paxos can be reached directly at chris@travelalacarte.co.uk or by calling 0151 324 3458 from the UK.
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