Sifnos provides many pleasures for even casual walkers along its new walking trail
walking
Even casual walkers will find much to enjoy following the new 62-mile walking trails on the Cycladic island of Sifnos, says Juliet Rix in The Times. The route has been newly cleared and is safe and well marked.
The trial will lead you from sheltered beaches to mountain-top monasteries: Profitis Elias, Sifnos's highest point, is a perfect place to enjoy expansive views of the Aegean, sparkling the same azure as the domes of the churches below. Stay at the Petali Village Hotel, a "charming complex of rooms" from €90.
The primary draw of Naxos, the largest of the Cycladic islands, is its sandy and abundant beaches, but its high-quality and largely native produce make for wonderful food too, says Sally Peck in The Daily Telegraph. Most hotels are small and charming family run options, and so are perfect for families with small children in tow. After a day of exploring the dark interiors of the island's caves, catch a sunset over Apollo's doorway, a 2,500-year-old marble ruin that looms above the capital.
"It leads nowhere, as the rest of the temple has crumbled, but it is the perfect passage for young children and old into the world of ancient Greece." The island's best hotel is the Naxian Collection, says Peck: a group of whitewashed villas on a green hillside with views of the sea and the capital.
Mykonos has been hailed as the "New Ibiza", says Christa D'Souza in Cond Nast Traveller. Partygoers flock in from all over Europe for the August mayhem: Cavo Paradiso, a 3,000-capacity clifftop nightclub venue, has played host to sets from DJs David Guetta, David Morales and Satoshi Tomiie, among others. If that appeals, you can enjoy an extended Mykonian-style lunch, a ros-fuelled feast that starts early in the afternoon and ends at around ten at night, in the club's restaurant, where "the vibe" is largely the same as at the club.
"Imperceptibly, the music gets louder and louder, and before you know it, someone in a crocheted tank top and bikini bottoms is up on a table throwing shapes, nimbly navigating the magnums of Cristal while you jiggle away with whoever you have just befriended."
Serifos has no airport and remained off the tourist radar until recently, says Tom Robbins in the FT. It remains "just the right side of austere". For an "almost monastic beach retreat, perfectly in tune with Serifos's stark beauty", stay at the Coco-Mat Eco Residences a row of humble miner's cottages built into the hillside above Vagia bay.
Thomas Cook has unveiled its first foray into running boutique hotels with the Kolymbia resort on the island of Rhodes. Not that you would know it, says Leah Harper in The Guardian. The travel agency, known for budget getaways, has kept its distance to pull off its boho ambitions, branding itself Casa Cook. "To its credit, the decor is on point: wooden decking, tasselled hammocksand rattan eggchairs."
There'sa big communalswimming pool,while bedroomsopen onto individual smallerpools, "so guestscan swim rightfrom their terrace".It's "health spachic meets eastLondon cafe witha hint of Greek character". So far, guestshave escaped the crowds "all the morereason to visit sooner rather than later".
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