Top Islands to Visit When in Greece

Greece is equally known for its breathtaking scenic beauty. With so many places to visit, it is quite possible to get confused while trying to figure out the perfect trip plan. Apart from its museums, tavernas and archeological sites, the Greek islands are some of the most spectacular places to be. Listed below are some of these top islands to visit when in Greece.

Crete: One of the largest of the Greek islands, Crete is famous for its rugged mountains, historical importance and innumerable beautiful beaches. The island is dotted with several modern hotels to cater to its visitors. The island is distinct it its own way and is often considered a world of its own.

Santorini (Cyclades): Considered to be the diamond of the Greek (and even the world's) islands, Santorini is definitely one of the must-visit islands. The island is surrounded by the blue waters of the Agean on one side, and boasts he beautiful scenic beauty of the Ia and Fira streets. The scenery of the Fira nightlife on this island is one of the factors contributing to its huge popularity.

Your Own Island

A 12-acre island, roughly the shape of a guitar, off the coast of the Greek island of Euboea with three houses, a private church, boat house and 17th-century watchtower. Four generators provide power.

DETAILS: Except for the watchtower, all of the structures were built in the early 1960s. The main house is about 1,200 square feet with four bedrooms, two baths, sand-colored tile flooring and a wine cellar. Three piers include one for yachts up to five feet deep and a square pier for a helicopter or ferry. There's a three-boat boathouse.

Greece offers the strongest future growth potential for online travel

# Online bookings for leisure and unmanaged business travel accounted for €59 billion, or 25% of the European travel market in 2007.
# European online travel growth is lulling into maturity. Growth rates exceeding 50% are now history in the - European online travel market as even the least developed markets, Spain and Italy, only increased online revenues by 35% in 2007.
# Traditional Airlines will start to exceed LCC growth online. While LCC online growth is rapidly slowing due to longstanding online success, traditional airlines are expected to experience a lesser slowdown in growth for the next few years.
# Countries like Portugal and Greece currently have low user penetration- in the range of 35-40%- but with a population exceeding 10 million inhabitants, they offer the strongest future growth potential for online travel.
# U.K. and Scandinavia, the two most developed markets in the region, now have the lowest rates of online growth in Europe.

Six Senses To Develop Soneva On Greek Island

Supporting Six Senses’ commitment to Slow Life: Sustainable, Local, Organic, Wholesome - Learning, Innovative, Fun, Experiences, Soneva Nisi will feature produce from the region wherever possible, rather than creating a carbon footprint resulting from unnecessary importation. Guest year-round leisure experiences will include a raft of water-related activities such as scuba diving and snorkeling, sailing and windsurfing. There will be tennis, pentangues lanes, an open-air Cinema Paradiso, plus walking and horseback riding tracks to unexplored local areas and mountains.

In historic times, Mílos flourished as a centre of early Aegean civilization because of its deposits of obsidian and its strategic location between the Greek mainland and Crete. Despite its neutrality in the Peloponnesian War, Mílos fell victim to Athens, which conquered the island in 416 B.C. In the 6th century BC, it produced a remarkable series of large vases, with mythological subjects and orientalising ornamentation, and also terra-cotta reliefs. Many fascinating objects can be found in Milos at the Archaeological, Historical and Folklore museums. On a larger scale, explore the ancient Roman theatre and Christian Catacombs. Much excavation has been done on Mílos. The most famous discovery is the Venus de Milo, or Aphrodite of Milos, discovered in 1820 and now on display at the Paris Louvre.

Unrest in Greece rages for fourth day

GREEK riot police fired tear gas at students holed up in an Athens university yesterday, taking violent protests over the killing of a schoolboy into a fourth day.

The early morning clash took place at the Athens Polytechnic. The streets around it and nearby Athens Law School were closed because the institutions, in the Exarchia district where 15-year-old Alexis Grigoropoulos was fatally shot by police on Saturday, were occupied by students.

Travel to Greece with mystery dinner theatre company

Rendezvous With Murder, the company murder mystery dinner theatre company of Lenore and Brian Cambria, is opening the dress rehearsal of “Deja Zeus” to the public. A special showing Thursday, Dec. 4, will give the cast an opportunity to run through the play before a series of private parties this month.

“It’s fun, and it will help our actors get the butterflies out,” said Brian Cambria.

The doors to Memorial Hall open at 6 p.m. with a dinner show beginning around 6:30 p.m. The dinner is potluck, so bring something to share. Chips and salsa, non-alcoholic beverages, plates and the finest plastic ware will be provided.

This year’s production is “Deja Zeus,” a tale of the ancient Olympics set in ancient Olympia. You can enjoy this show simply by watching. For those who wish, there may be an opportunity to get involved a little more. There’s singing and dancing and, of course, a murder. You get to question the suspects and perhaps, if you solve the crime, become eligible for prize.

Large forest fire on island of Rhodes

Greek authorities say a large forest fire is raging on the Aegean resort island of Rhodes.

The Fire Brigade says gale-force winds are hampering effort to put out the flames in the western area of Kameiros. It says no homes are threatened.

Some 24 firefighters and 12 fire engines are engaged in fighting the blaze, but the strong winds are preventing water-dropping aircraft from assisting. The winds also meant boats were confined to port and unable to bring in more firefighters.

Rhodes firefighters are also trying to put out a smaller blaze burning scrub in the Glyfada area.

Adventures in Greece

Looking out the window while going to Meteora, a place where monasteries were built upon rock towers, my wife and I realized we were living a dream — traveling with family in Greece.

For many years, my wife has had dreams of connecting with her family roots in central Greece. Our original plan was to camp in her father’s remote mountain village near the Albanian border. But islands and family in Athens drew us south. The Mediterranean climate, vegetation and island atmosphere is what we were seeking after such a long, cold winter.

We explored ancient islands, hiked along the edge of an ancient volcano, and swam in the Aegean Sea. We met with family and shared many traditional and modern Greek dishes hearing stories of the family’s history in Greece, while swapping stories of life in Breck. Not a bad way to spend a vacation. And it just so happened to be in one of the cradles of civilization on the other side of the planet.