Greece walking holiday, Kythnos
Highlights
Ferry from Lavrio or Piraeus to Kythnos | based in Hora | guided circular walks from Hora and Dryopida | approx 10km each day | unspoiled beaches | hot springs | churches | detailed hiking guide | meals in local tavernas | evening of music and dancing | evening visit to village of Dryopida | visits to farms and honey making centreDescription of Greece walking holiday, Kythnos
This six-day/five-night holiday on Kythnos is an opportunity to savour the delights of an unknown and unspoilt island, one which is only two hours on the ferry from the Athens port of Lavrio. You will stay in the Hora, the island capital and a traditional village with no cars in its centre. During the walks you will cross the wild countryside, pass many white-washed churches, to reach remote sandy beaches, many adorned with tamarisk trees. One walk rises up to a spectacular headland where there are the ruins of a Byzantine castle. Another walk goes to an archeological excavation with a qualified expert to see an ancient port and city, including a temple remains. You will visit former mining buildings and docks, and hot springs used in the 1800s by a German-born Greek king.Many of the walks use mule tracks still used by farmers to get to their fields and their flocks of sheep and goats. In the bilingual, Greek/English, Kythnos Hiking Guide, co-authored by your local guide and published recently by Greek map publisher Terrain Editions, there are detailed descriptions and a mini-map for each trail, plus a welcome from the island mayor. The guide, given to all walkers free, has tips for a successful walk, such as what to wear and the natural hazards to be encountered. Because the island does not go up higher than 300 metres, there is no need for particular skills or physique. However, each day is around 10 kilometres walk and some fitness is required.
In the evenings, you will eat at typical local taverna which cook with local produce, such as the salty Kythnos cheese, lamb, goat and locally-caught fish. We will taste the local wine and sweet biscuits. After you will enjoy the playing of musicians from the island, one of the many lute and fiddle combinations or more complex groups including with the sandouri and tsambouna. There will be the opportunity to try the traditional dances. If there is a church festival, or panigiri, during your stay we will participate taking food and wine. Before your departure buy island-made souvenirs such as pottery and jewellery in Hora, Dryopida or the port town Merichas. Honey is another Kythnos product.
Travel Team
If you'd like to chat about this holiday or need help finding one we're very happy to help. The Travel Team.
01273 823 700 Calling from outside the UK? rosy@responsibletravel.comCheck dates
Responsible tourism
As the pioneers of responsible tourism, we screen every trip so you can travel knowing your holiday will help support conservation and local people.
Our walking trails extol the natural beauty of the island's countryside, its historical sites, its traditional villages, its numerous churches and many sandy beaches. We emphasise to our walkers the importance of looking after the countryside, protecting wildlife, not dropping rubbish and closing gates. We support the island mayor's pledge to find funding for more signs on the trails and clearing where needed thus encouraging more walkers to the area (a low carbon way to explore the island). Our Travellers Code of Conduct includes two pages of Useful Information covering the fitness required of walkers, clothing and shoes, and the natural sights to see, such as flowers, plants and animals. For each trail, we provide a map of the route, distances, the height of hills, difficult terrain, and natural hazards. We urge walkers to be respectful to farmers and their animals.
As stated above, we plan to launch our own hotel in 2016, a renovation of two 200-year-old mansions. These buildings will be under Greek culture ministry protection for their historical value. The hotel will include a series of presentations about the history of the island, the village where the hotel is located, and the buildings themselves.
With our hiking holidays, we want to demonstrate that this ecologically-sensitive form of tourism can help the local economy. We want to be an advocate in the local community for preserving the calm and history of Kythnos.
The Impacts of this Trip
For the walking, we will use local guides as much as possible and pay them a proper wage. The taverna's where we eat will be chosen for their use of local produce such as meat, cheese, vegetables and salad. We will visit farms and a honey-making centre during the holidays. The souvenir shops we recommend in Hora, Dryopida and Merichas produce their own pottery and jewelry on the island.
Kythnos has a lively cultural scene, including many traditional music events linked to religious feast days, particularly the Orthodox Easter and 15 August and also many other saint days. The island has a summer festival in July and August which we encourage guests to visit. At one event our guide plans to talk about our trails. At the music events, we will explain the traditional instruments being played such as lute, fiddle, tsambouna and sandouni and their continuing production, thus supporting local artisan business.
Our walking trails extol the natural beauty of the island's countryside, its historical sites, its traditional villages, its numerous churches and many sandy beaches. We emphasise to our walkers the importance of looking after the countryside, protecting wildlife, not dropping rubbish and closing gates. We support the island mayor's pledge to find funding for more signs on the trails and clearing where needed thus encouraging more walkers to the area (a low carbon way to explore the island). Our Travellers Code of Conduct includes two pages of Useful Information covering the fitness required of walkers, clothing and shoes, and the natural sights to see, such as flowers, plants and animals. For each trail, we provide a map of the route, distances, the height of hills, difficult terrain, and natural hazards. We urge walkers to be respectful to farmers and their animals.
As stated above, we plan to launch our own hotel in 2016, a renovation of two 200-year-old mansions. These buildings will be under Greek culture ministry protection for their historical value. The hotel will include a series of presentations about the history of the island, the village where the hotel is located, and the buildings themselves.
With our hiking holidays, we want to demonstrate that this ecologically-sensitive form of tourism can help the local economy. We want to be an advocate in the local community for preserving the calm and history of Kythnos.
The Impacts of this Trip
For the walking, we will use local guides as much as possible and pay them a proper wage. The taverna's where we eat will be chosen for their use of local produce such as meat, cheese, vegetables and salad. We will visit farms and a honey-making centre during the holidays. The souvenir shops we recommend in Hora, Dryopida and Merichas produce their own pottery and jewelry on the island.
Kythnos has a lively cultural scene, including many traditional music events linked to religious feast days, particularly the Orthodox Easter and 15 August and also many other saint days. The island has a summer festival in July and August which we encourage guests to visit. At one event our guide plans to talk about our trails. At the music events, we will explain the traditional instruments being played such as lute, fiddle, tsambouna and sandouni and their continuing production, thus supporting local artisan business.
17 Reviews of Greece walking holiday, Kythnos
Reviewed on 06 Oct 2019 by Richard Greer
The walking was good and ending at the beach most days. Read full reviewReviewed on 06 Oct 2019 by Lynda Sather
The most memorable part of the holiday was hiking all over the sparsely populated, non-touristy island to beautiful beaches with tavernas, sometimes massages, swimming. Read full reviewReviewed on 23 Sep 2019 by Catherine Mclaren
It was a great holiday, very relaxing, we felt looked after but not herded. Read full reviewReviewed on 18 Jun 2019 by Sandra Forrester
I enjoyed every single hike and the fact that most of them included a beach with azure waters for a refreshing dip was very welcome after a hot walk. Read full reviewReviewed on 07 Jun 2019 by Joan Lahart
The trip surpassed my expectations. This holiday offered far more than walking with visit to mining caves and archaeological site and wine tasting. You get a real sense of the island. Read full reviewReviewed on 27 May 2019 by Steven Handley
Everything was memorable, from initial contacts, booking, and most importantly the entire trip. We enjoyed it all. Read full reviewReviewed on 23 Apr 2019 by Julia Morris
The beautiful island of Kythnos and the interesting walks were the most memorable parts our holiday. We enjoyed it. Read full reviewReviewed on 23 Jul 2019 by Georgina Kyriacou
On a few of the days we had secluded beaches to ourselves. Driving down the spine of the island at sundown and seeing the sea down both sides, the distant islands silvery in the sea mist, was beautiful. Read full reviewReviewed on 14 Oct 2018 by Richard Martin
Unspoilt island with few if any foreign tourists seen. Local people friendly and helpful. Beautiful whitewashed villages and churches against blue sky and even deeper blue sea. Read full reviewReviewed on 04 Sep 2018 by Christine Preston
I can't thank Nigel enough for his care and concern for us, his knowledge and expertise, his flexibility in working the programme to our abilities and to what we wanted from the holiday. Read full reviewReviewed on 30 May 2018 by Rebecca Selman
The walks are great, it was good to look around the beautiful villages, and we ate very well in the local restaurants. Read full reviewReviewed on 20 Mar 2018 by Leonie Loudon
The most memorable was the quiet seductive beauty of the island of Kythnos and the sea. Read full reviewReviewed on 26 Oct 2017 by Jane Batstone
Kythnos is a relaxed, relatively unspoilt island. The walking was enjoyable, not too arduous & included different places of interest on route & the opportunity to swim most days on lovely beaches, which were almost deserted in mid October... Read full reviewReviewed on 09 Oct 2016 by Monique Rothman
We loved our trip to Kythnos! Our host Nigel took care of every detail from start to finish - from organizing our ferry tickets to booking our charming hotel room, and adjusting the program to accommodate our interests. Read full reviewReviewed on 06 Oct 2015 by Jerry Stuart
A perfect short break, balanced walking, swimming and eating. Read full reviewReviewed on 02 Oct 2015 by Martin Pollard
The locals are very friendly, and nearly all greeted us as we passed along the roads. Read full review
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