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What to do and see in Cyclades, South Aegean: The Best Hiking Trails
The Cyclades is a group of Greek islands with beautiful, white sandy beaches, rugged mountains and lush valleys. Glamorous Santorini and Mykonos attract the jetset, while lesser-known isles, such as Milos and Naxos, are the perfect places for beach lovers. Ruins, including the 11th-century Dorian settlement and volcanic ash-preserved Ancient Akrotiri in Santorini, amaze those with a bent for ancient history. Sifnos' cuisine wins it admirers. Hydrofoils, ferries and catamarans connect the islands.
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1. Hiking Trail Fira - Oia
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 3,221 reviews
This is the most obvious hike you can make on the island of Santorini and it will lead you - if you have not discovered them by now - through the sister villages of Fira, Firostefani and Imerovigli, going higher up all the time above the caldera. It then continues through the expanding housing in northern direction and it finally goes to Oia via a really magnificent path. This hike offers many changing views on the volcano, the sea and the caldera. This hike takes two hours and a half (actual walking time), but the total time can reach 4 or 5 hours. It is ideal to leave Firà at about 10am and in this way you will arrive in Oia already between 1 and 2pm. You can then eat in Oia in one of the many bars. In the afternoon you can descend to the little harbour of Ammoudi in Oia. From the bus square in Fira (when you get to Fira by bus) you have to continue to the very busy square of Theotokopoulou. This is the modern centre of Fira with a lot of travel agencies, banks and bars. In the corner, in between the George's Snack Corner and the Pelican travel agency you go left, in the direction of the caldera. You can then take one of the three streets off the right, they all lead towards the higher part of Fira. Once at the Archaeological Museum higher up (this museum is open till 3pm, but not on Mondays), take a left, past the upper station of the cable car. You then go right above the caldera, until the red-brown building higher up that dominates this neighbourhood of Firostefani: it is the P.M. Nomikos Conference Centre, where a lot of exhibitions take place – on the extending corner in front of this building many people take pictures of the marvellous panoramic view. On the left of the Centre you follow the tiled road and stairs, while you enjoy the view – in front of you you can see the even higher situated village of Imerovigli.
Reviewed By SharonR227 - Wayzata, United States
We took the bus from Oia towards Fira and asked the bus driver to let us off in Imerovigli. The nearby tourist office told us where to find the cliff walk trail. It was great to begin in Imerovigli, because then you are walking downhill to Fira. The views are fabulous, and there was a nice cooling breeze. We had good walking shoes and enjoyed seeing Skaros rock in the distance, the Mylos windmill, and the gorgeous blue domed church and 3 bell tower just beyond the Mama Thira Taverna. There are so many picturesque white washed dwellings, wildflowers, and stunning caldera views that it is a photographer's dream. We took the bus from Fira back to Oia. It was a great morning walk!
2. Sifnos Trails
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 125 reviews
Sifnos Trails is the name of the hiking trails network of the island of Sifnos in the Aegean Sea, Greece. The network has a total length over 100 km, divided in 19 beautiful trails.
Reviewed By marki786 - Dunbar, United Kingdom
A fantastic network of well way marked trails. On a couple of occasions I found it a little hard to find the start of a trail but once you are on them it’s almost impossible to get lost. No 1 offers a bit of everything, villages, olive groves and the coast and can be combined with a section of No3 to create a loop starting and ending with Artemonas/Apolonia with a handy lunch stop at Kastro. There are a selection of maps available from the bookshop in the square in Apolonia and I would recommend picking one up to help locate the start of some of the trails and also to make it easier to combine trails. There are local guides that will take you on the trails but if you are even halfway confident navigating then you won’t need one.
3. Andros Routes
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 81 reviews
We are a group of people that love this island although not all of us were born here. We live, study, walk, swim and research constantly realizing how valuable this island’s nature and culture is. This is how an idea is born to combine research and actions-creative and entertaining- recognizing that tourism may benefit a place if developed in a proper scale and managed accordingly… Andros paths
4. Olive Groves & Byzantine Park Trail of Tragea
5. Byzantine Road
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 1 reviews
6. Tinos Trails
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 4 reviews
Tinos trails is the official hiking trails network of the island of Tinos, in the Cyclades. It comprises of 12 thematic routes, summing up to 152km of hiking. The routes are waymarked and offer a great opportunity to the hiker to discover the nature and culture of this beautiful and unspoiled Greek island.
