Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
available for clients.
May-Sept daily 6pm-midnight
.
Perigiali
port
T
22850 71118.
Small ouzerí with great
fish and seafood meze platters (€15) caught daily by the
family boat; nice, cosy atmosphere with tables around a
large central salt cedar tree and friendly service.
Daily
noon-midnight.
Skhinoússa
A little to the northeast of Irakliá, the island of
Skhinoússa
is just beginning to awaken
to its tourist potential. Its indented outline, sweeping valleys and partly submerged
headlands - such as the sinuous, snake-like islet Ofidhoúsa (Fidoú) - provide some of
the most dramatic views in the group.
An asphalted road leads up from the port of
Mersíni
to the capital,
Hóra
(also called
Panayía
), for 1.2km. From Hóra you can reach no fewer than sixteen beaches dotted
around the island, accessible by a network of dirt tracks.
Tsigoúri
is a ten-minute track
walk downhill from northwest Hóra and gradually being developed. The locals'
preferred choice of beaches are
Alygariá
to the south,
Psilí Ámmos
to the northeast, and
Almyrós
, half an hour southeast.
ARRIVAL AND INFORMATION
6
SKHINOÚSSA
By ferry
Boats dock at the small port of Mersíni.
Destinations
Amorgós (1-2 daily; 1hr 30min); Áno
Koufonísi (6-8 weekly; 30min); Dhonoússa (1-2 daily;
3hr 40min); Irakliá (2-3 daily; 15min); Náxos (1-2 daily;
1hr 45min); Páros (4 weekly; 4hr 30min); Pireás (2-3
weekly; 7hr 45min); Sýros (3 weekly; 5hr).
Services
There are no banks, but there is an ATM at Hóra,
and four minimarkets, four bars and several tourist shops.
There's also a post office and a Western Union branch at
Hóra.
GETTING AROUND
There are no buses or taxis on the island; hotels will organize your transport to and from the port. There is also no car rental.
ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
Grispos Villas
Tsigoúri
T
22850 71930,
W
grisposvillas
.com.
Perched above Tsigoúri beach at the northwest end,
this complex offers everything - from rooms with
continental breakfast to large studios with cooking
facilities; they also sell ferry tickets in season.
Ther
e's a half-
board option for €14 per adult, €10 per child.
€60
Iliovasilema
T
22850 71948,
W
iliovasilemahotel.gr.
Well-priced friendly hotel, comfortable rather than
luxurious, whose veranda bar enjoys spectacular views of
the harbour. They operate a free shut
tle
to and from every
beach for their customers. May-Oct.
€60
Áno Koufoníssi
ÁNO KOUFONÍSSI
(usually referred to simply as Koufoníssi) is the flattest, most
developed and most densely inhabited island of the group. With some of the least-
spoilt beaches in the Cyclades, the island is attracting increasing numbers of Greek and
foreign holidaymakers and as it's small enough to walk round in a day, it can feel
overcrowded in July and August. The best views are not of Koufoníssi itself, but out
across the water to mountainous Kéros island.
The old pedestrian street of
HÓRA
, crossing a low hill behind the ferry harbour, has
been engulfed by new room and hotel development, but the town still retains its
affable, small-island atmosphere. All the good
beaches
are in the southeast of the
island, improving as you go east along a road that skirts the gradually developing
coastline along the edge of low cliffs.
Fínikas
, a fifteen-minute walk from town, is the
first of four wide coves with gently shelving golden sand. The next beach,
Fanós
, is the
youngsters' favourite, because of the beach bar that dominates the stretch of sand. Next
is
Platiá Poúnda
, where caves have been hollowed out of the cliffs. Further east, the
path rounds a rocky headland to
Porí
, a much longer and wilder beach, backed by
dunes and set in a deep bay. It can be reached more easily from the town by following a
dirt road heading inland through the scrub-covered hills.
