DAY 1 Athens – Kea (40 miles)
KEA is mostly barren, with patches of cultivated and wooded ground near the coast. The lyric poets Simonides and Bacchlides come from this island. The picturesque hamlet of Vourkari is most popular and has excellent restaurants.
Just across from the town quay, is a Late Stone Age village. The large, protected bay was once important as a coaling station for steamers. The beautiful "chora" on the hill, a huddle of gleaming white houses, is well worth a visit. A large lion carved from the stone is attributed to an Ionian sculptor from around 600 B.C.
DAY 2 Kea – Syros (25 miles)
SYROS is the capital of the Cyclades, lying on the east part of the island. The town was and still is a commerce center, the crux of which is ship- and boatbuilding, while the west part is picturesque and quiet. The magnificent 18th-century town of Ermoupoli, the town of Hermes, was founded during the Venetian occupation back in 1200 A.D. The catholic archbishop is fortified in the upper town by housed that create external walls; in every door somebody you can observe Venetian family symbols. There is lots of night life, there are excellent restaurants offering local mezedes and other food, plus a casino for those who like to gamble. Most pleasure boats use Finikas bay on the island’s south end as a port and visit the main town by taxi or bus, enjoying the scenic ride through the island’s villages.
DAYS 3 & 4 Syros – Mykonos & Delos (20 miles)
MYKONOS is the tourist Mecca of Greece. Mykonos is bright and breezy with fine sandy beaches by day. By night, the hum of bars and throb of discos into the wee hours is all part of the scene. It is the island where locals and plain ordinary holidaymakers rub shoulders with the yacht set, the jet set, artists, and celebrities from all over the world. The houses, the churches, and the narrow winding alleys appear to be a naturally evolved form sculptured from the rocks of the island itself. The cosmopolitan flavor of Mykonos may be a refreshing contrast to the simpler pleasures of other islands.
DELOS, a short trip by day boats that run to the island (yachts cannot anchor there) was once the political and religious center of the ancient world. Legend has it that Apollo was born here. The Delos oracle was consulted before major decisions and its fame was second only to that of Delphi. The ancient ruins on this island have been likened to Pompeii not for any architectural similarity but for the completeness of the picture of ancient life that can be gleaned from it.
DAYS 5 & 6 Mykonos - Paros (27 miles)
PAROS is a popular tourist island, and typically Cycladic houses, shops, and churches are dazzling white cubes with bougainvilleas and wisteria providing splashes of natural color. The island possesses the finest church in the Aegean, the Katapoliani, and is well worth a visit for the beautiful interior. The museum houses a slab of Parian Chronicle recording Greek history from pre-Homeric times and some sculptures in Parian marble. The island’s numerous beaches are some of the finest in the Cyclades, and “The Cave” on the adjacent and pastoral island of Antiparos is a natural wonder that looks like a Disney set. You could easily spend a week here – this island definitely deserves 2 days!!
DAY 7 Paros – Sifnos (22 miles)
SIFNOS is a high, bold island known for its pottery, especially earthenware cooking pots, which sit drying in the sun. It’s one of the greenest Cyclades islands, with good swimming near the pretty village of Plati Yialos, where we’ll dock.
DAY 8 Sifnos – Serifos (15 miles)
Once known for its iron-mining, this sleepy island is one of the most picturesque in the Cyclades. The small village of Levadhi has a string of seaside tavernas with Mt. Troullos towering above. A bus or taxi ride to the summit and the high village (or chora, pronounced “hora”), with its white buildings clustered at the top, provides spectacular vistas of the surrounding sea and islands. The chora is one of the prettiest in all of Greece, with views rivalling those seen on Santorini.
DAY 9 Serifos – Kythnos (28 miles)
On the lovely island of KYTHNOS, we’ll anchor out for our last night in Fikiadhia bay, with its white-sand beach and lone church, and (weather permitting) have a barbecue dinner aboard.
DAY 10 Kythnos – Athens (45 miles)
Enjoy the last day! Return to base.
