Spring Travel Destination of the Month – April: Hopping The Greek Islands

Sunset from Crete

Island Hopping in the Greek Islands ended up being this weeks Spring Travel Destination for several reasons. I was thinking about what to choose for a while and after a long winter I thought something warm, sunny, beachy and happy would be perfect. Then I was trying to think of a place that is cold and boring in winter, but too hot during summer, so spring would be the perfect time of the year to go. That was actually kind of hard, since the spring weather often can be very hard to predict. But then it hit me: the Greek Islands! Island Hopping! Yes, perfect, that’s where I would go if I could book a trip for a couple of weeks in April. Not too hot, but warm, sunny and beautiful. And in summer you would also face a high risk of drowning in the ocean of tourists, so April is probably THE time to go there..

What time to go to Greece?

So after choosing Island Hopping in Greece for this week’s travel destination, I pulled down the Greek Islands Lonely Planet Guide Book. And what did it say? Just what I was thinking: “Spring and autumn are the perfect times to visit the Greek Islands [...] hibernation in winter [read: winters are boring there] [...] hotels, along with restaurants and cafes, close their doors [...] Conditions are perfect between Easter and mid-June, when the weather is pleasantly warm in most places; beaches and ancient sites are relatively uncrowded [...]“. So there it is. The perfect Spring Travel Destination! And everybody wants to travel to the Mediterranean Countries at least once in their life. This is the time, book your flight to Athens for some time in Mid-April and you will get there just before the big rush!

Island Hopping in Greece

Instead of the traditional fly in, taxi to hotel, lay back, taxi to the airport, fly home – routine, I decided to choose the little more adventurous Island Hopping travel style! This way you get to see more, experience more, you kind of force your self to leave the comfortable hotel and explore the 2000 (!!) islands that are surrounding Greece. But on the other hand, every backpackers syndrome: Don’t try to see it all in too little time. Don’t hop to a new island every day! Spend at least two full days each place, so you actually get time to enjoy your trip and get to know the local people, places, etc. And if you get restless, try to explore the island in the cool local way: by scooter! Rent a scooter and cruise around. The islands are small and you can get far on a Vespa day trip.

Now, I have never been Island Hopping in the Greek Islands, so I should be careful to give too much specific advice. I was on one of the islands, Crete, as a kid with my family, and it was a beautiful place! There is no doubt that I will return there one day. But in the mean time, while I am not able to go, you should take the trip as soon as you have the chance. And according to Lonely Planet, these are the main sites you should make sure to visit while there: Beaches at Myrtos, Scooting on Samos, empty beaches (only in spring) on Ios, the ancient palace of Knossos on Crete, temples, cafes and city life in Athens and much, much more! Go there and tell me how it was. I want to know!

If you would like to read more about travel to the Greek Islands, you can also take a look at these other blogs where I found some inspiration:

Visiting Greek Islands, visions of deep blue skies! – SecondCity is another travel blog that had a nice little post about sailing among the Greek Islands.

Tour of the Greek Islands – The Cheng Family writes more detailed about all the islands they visited on their little greek island hopping trip.

Island Hopping and Backpacking in Greece – A rather old, but good blog post in an excellent blog about travel to Greece.