Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
GETTING AROUND
By bus
Buses
run from Mérihas port
around six times daily
from early June to September, serving
Hóra (15min),
Loutrá (30min), Dhryopídha (30min) and Kanála (45min).
By boat
There is a
kaïki
from Mérihas (4 daily;
T
22810
32104) to the northern beaches of Apókrousi and Kolóna.
By car and motorcycle
Halivelakis rental agency
(
T
22810 32506,
W
halivelakis.gr) operate a manned
stand at the port during ship arrivals.
Mérihas and around
MÉRIHAS
is an attractive ferry and fishing port - but not really the place to base your
stay. The closest beach of any repute is the fine sandy cove of
Martinakia
,
a
ten-minute
stroll north of the port, while
Episkopí
, a 500m stretch of clean grey sand, is thirty
minutes' walk further north. About an hour's walk northwest of Episkopí are the vastly
better and more popular beaches of
Apókroussi
and
Kolóna
, the latter a very
picturesque sand spit joining Kýthnos to the islet of
Áyios Loukás
.
ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
6
MÉRIHAS AND AROUND
Martinos Studios
T
22810 3246,
W
martinos-studios
.com.
Good-sized rooms, only 30m from the sea and
overlooking the harbour, with local Kýthnos furnishings,
stone floors, fridge, a/c, TV, kitchenette and phone.
Reception i
is clo
sed in the afternoon. Breakfast included.
May-Sept.
€50
Ì
To Kandouni
T
22810 32220.
For those who fancy
meat in a sea of fish tavernas: here is an excellent grill -
situated near the port police - with many different starters
and salads as well as specialities such as
sfoungáto
(local
cheese croquettes) for €6. The owners also rent studio
s abo
ve
the restaurant.
April-Oct daily noon-1am.
Studios
€50
Villa Elena
Martinakia
T
22810 32275,
W
villa-elena
.gr.
Two-storey self-catering maisonettes situated on a
slope with superb sea views over the Aegean and a stone's
throw away from the best beach near Mérihas. Fully
equipped kitchenett
e, TV
, parking and port transfers
available. April-Sept.
€70
Hóra
HÓRA
lies 7.5km northeast of Mérihas, in the middle of the island. Though the town
looks unpromising at first sight, wander into the narrow streets beyond the initial
square and you'll find a wonderful network of alleyways, weaving their way past shops,
churches and through tiny squares with colourful cafés. The early nineteenth-century
church of
Áyios Ioánnis Theológos
is worth a visit for its elaborate wooden iconostasis.
However, its most valuable possession is a miraculous seventeenth-century icon of the
three matriarchs (Elisabeth, Anne and Virgin Mary), said to have been found floating
in the sea by local fishermen.
ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
HÓRA
Apocalypse
T
22810 31272.
Relatively cheap (beer €3)
café-bar, next to the main church of - appropriately
enough - St John. When the bar closes at midnight, the
club of the same name opposite - which plays anything
from trance to Greek popular tunes - opens its doors till
6am.
Daily 7am-midnight.
Filoxenia
T
22810 31644,
W
filoxenia-kythnos.gr.
Welcoming
pension
next to the main square with clean,
basic rooms arranged around a flowery courtyard. It's a
convenient base if you want to travel by bus around the
island, but
sti
ll sample whatever nightlife there is
afterwards.
€50
Messaria
T
22810 31620.
Large restaurant that offers
the Hóra speciality of rabbit in wine sauce for €9. Unlike
other establishments in Hóra that close during the day as
the clients are out on the beaches, this one's open for lunch,
as well as dinner.
Daily noon-midnight.
Loutrá and around
The resort of
LOUTRÁ
, 4.5km north of Hóra, is named after its mineral thermal baths.
Its nineteenth-century spa was designed by Ernst Ziller, the architect of many of
Greece's finest Neoclassical public buildings. There is a small beach at Loutrá, but the
bay of
Ayía Iríni
, just 1km east, is much nicer for a dip. Just north of Loutrá, at
