Greek Islands Photo Tour

Lindos, Rhodes with Acropolis in background

We have been sailing the Greek Islands since the beginning of July and have barely scratched the surface of the over 2,000 unique islands of which only 227 are inhabited. Our Greek Island journey will end mid-Sept. (at the end of our Schengen limit) so we will store Helios in Didim, Turkiye (formerly Turkey) and a non-Schengen country. Next May 2024, the general plan is to resume sailing, explore a little more of Turkiye, sail back through the Greek Islands and finally make it to the Amalfi Coast.

We plan to visit four out of the six main island groups in Greece, each with its own unique architecture, culture, history and activities:

1. Ionian Islands (Corfu, Paxos, Antipaxos, Zakynthos)

2. Dodecanese Islands (Crete, Rhodes, Kos, Kalymnos)

3. Cyclades Islands (Naxos, Paros, AntiParos, Amorgos, Mykonos, Santorini, Ios)

4. Saronic Islands (Angistri, Poros)

5. North Aegean Islands (not on 2023 itinerary)

6. Sporades Islands (not on 2023 itinerary)

Below is a photo tour of most of the islands we have visited in reverse chronological order, with the most recently visited one being first. I will keep updating this blog as we island hop (I'm a bit behind = more to come soon!). After our 3-week escape to Montenegro, Corfu (Ionian Island) was where we began our tour of the Greek Islands.

NAXOS

View of Naxos town from Temple of Apollo

Row 1: Naxos town waterfront, Helios in Naxos Marina, Goat in a Boat cafe (awesome iced lattes)

Row 2: Hidden cafes and shops up and down twisty alleyways, where you can become disoriented

Row 3: Temple of Apollo, Dinner at Avaton on the roof of the Old Monastery of Ursulines, Naxos town framed by Temple of Apollo

KALYMNOS

Kalymnos busy waterfront. Kalymnos Island is just west of Kos.

Row 1: Kalymnos fjords, Kalymnos town harbor, Old town

Row 2: One of many churches, Town square, Greek flag painted on mountainside

KOS

Kos Castle

Row 1: Kos Park Entrance, Stroll into Kos Old Town, Archeological ruins in Kos Town

Row 2: Lindsey Shopping in Kos Old Town, Old Market Kos, Sunset in Kos

Row 3: Kos waterfront, Kos Island Marina, Christine and Dale working hard

SYMI

Stopped by this quaint Greek Island of Symi on our way to Turkiye

Row 1: Overnight at this stunning anchorage with crystal clear water, just south of town

Row 2: Symi town, View of Helios from above (2nd from right), 500-Step stroll down from dinner

Row 3: Helios docked in town, Sponge and spice shop, Sunrise over anchorage

RHODES

St. James Bay on the west side of Lindos Acropolis

Row 1: Rhodes Old Town, Entrance to Palace of the Grand Masters, Palace of the Grand Masters

Row 2: Palace courtyard, Rhodes Street of the Knights, Plunge pool at Spirit of the Knights Hotel

Row 3: Town of Lindos, View of anchorage from Acropolis, Lindos beach front

Row 4: Lindos Acropolis, Christine and Dale at the Acropolis with Helios in the background

CRETE

View from our favorite berth in Chania, along a pedestrian walkway lined with cafes

Row 1: Mosque where the harbor master operates from, Helios in Chania, Chania waterfront

Row 2: Various scenes from Chania Old Town

Row 3: Cretian 3-tiered breakfast at Pallas, Christine about to feast, Dale scoping out the market

POROS

Charming Poros waterfront where you can dock stern-to in town

Row 1: Poros town, Traditional Greek boat, One of many tiny churches

Row. 2: Residential alley way scenes and a taverna

Row 3: Sailing alongside Poros, Helios in anchorage with Poros in background, Sunset in Poros

ANGISTRI

Anchored 1 night on this uninhabited island; Water was crystal clear and teaming with fish

ZAKYNTHOS

Blue Caves Agios Nikolaos near our anchorage

Row 1: Approaching Blue Caves, Crystal clear water, Dale on a jumping platform

Row 2: Stephanie, Cam, Megan & Christine inside cave, Cam & Megan, Dale and Sharon inside cave

Row 3: Dinghy ride through arches, Megan getting ready to catch our drone, Helios at anchorage

ANTIPAXOS

Cam and Megan paddle boarding at Lighthouse Bay South anchorage with many cliff caves

Row 1: Lighthouse Bay anchorage, Cam & Megan in a cave, Christine paddle boarding

Row 2: Karavi anchorage, Megan securing stern line to boat, Dale securing line to shore

Row 3: Captain Dale at the helm, Crew helping to hoist sail, Cam enjoying tradewind sail

PAXOS

Anchored and swam at Lakkos Beach

Row 1: Gaios, Paxos stopover for lunch and shopping, Dinghy from Gaios day anchorage into town

Row 2: Dinghy parking, Gaios waterfront

Row 3: Gaios cafes, BFF's Megan & Cam in Gaios town square, Gaios port

CORFU

Entrance to Mandraki Marina, Corfu, our first taste of the Greek Islands

Row 1: Mandraki Marina, Sunset over the fortress, Moat surrounding fortress

Row 2: Fortress clock tower, Entrance to Citadel and marina, Tunnel entrance leading to marina

Row 3: Corfu Old Town, Old Town view from window, View of Citadel from our anchorage

Worth Special Mention: Corfu Mandraki Marina

Walking the plank: Christine's absolute least favorite part about this marina was embarking and disembarking Helios. Note the 45 degree angle of this narrow, cracked plank and imagine that it is bobbing with the boat as she sweats bullets trying not to lose her balance and risk plunging towards the sharp boulders lurking just below the surface of the water. Due to the shallow rocks along the quay, we could not dock stern-to. This is the first and hopefully last time we would need to dock bow-to.