Greece: island hoping
Journey to the Greek islands together with my father. My father and I have hiked together each summer for eleven years straight. It all started when I was eighteen years old and said: “I’m going to northern Sweden to hike Kungsleden by myself”, and so I did. Returning home I told my father about the experience, and well, after that he also wanted to go alpine hiking. The following years we spent the summers hiking around all over the Swedish alpine mountains. In recent years we have also been to the Pyrenees a couple of times, the Alps several times and Koriska (GR20). This year we are doing something different, specifically island hopping in Greece. It is my fathers idea, he is in charge of all the planning. He has thought about doing something like this for over 30 years, or at least his book about Greece island hopping has been in his possession for over 30 years.
To tell the truth, I’m slightly skeptical of the whole idea. I’m worried that the hiking will be unsatisfactory and that there will be tourists everywhere. Just to clarify, I identify as an adventurer, not a tourist ;). At the same time I’m excited about doing something new and different, gaining new experiences. I’m especially excited over the opportunity to both hike in the mountains and swim in the ocean on the same day. Hiking and swimming does not pair well when hiking in the Swedish alpine mountains. Throughout spring I have been working to improve my swimming technique. I see this journey partially as a swimming training camp.
2025-06-21, Saturday
First Island on the list is Mykonos. We arrive at noon local time and are immediately struck by how windy it is, and as it turns out, it is not about to get any better – we read beforehand that Mykonos is a windy Island, this was, however, more windy than expected. Following the narrow and winding roads, that clearly have not been built with pedestrians in mind, we make our way to Paradise Beach. I’m amazed at the amount of trash lying everywhere. Strong winds and literally never closing the lid of the garbage bins is not the best of combinations in order to keep a clean environment, and I do mean literally never, all bins we saw had its lid open. I also never seen a flat run over cat before, but in Mykonos I saw plenty already the first day.
Arriving at Paradise Beach we decide to continue onward to Super Paradise Beach since, of course, Super Paradise is much better than Paradise, everyone knows that. It was surprisingly difficult going from Paradise Beach to Super Paradise Beach – Mykonos is intended for car owners – but with some slight trespassing we made our way to the pristine beach with its lovely warm – at least I thought it was warm, my companion is slightly more sensitive – and crystal clear water. I completed my first swim session of the trip, seeing all kinds of fish of which I do not know the name of a single one.
After the swim, we continue straight ahead to Agrari Beach – yes completely straight over the rocks – where we spend the night sleeping on the cliffs next to the sea under a sky full of glittering stars.
2025-06-22, Sunday
We rise with the sun and make our way to Lia beach with a stop at the supermarket along the way. The beach is completely deserted, people have clearly not awakened yet. I completed the second swim session of the trip before we continued – this time actually following a marked trail or at least it was supposed to be marked – to the hidden gem that is Trangia beach – perhaps not that hidden since there is a hotel nearby, but the beach was completely empty even mid-day. We decided that it is slightly early for lunch and pushed forward along the coast, opting for lunch at one of the beaches located at the eastern side of Mykonos instead. However, when leaving the wind-sheltered southern part, it is almost blowing a full storm and as a result, massive waves are striking the eastern beaches. The eastern beaches will not be a nice place for a siesta and instead we go back towards the tranquil, at least in comparison, Trangia beach.
Lunch, siesta and the third swim session completed. Time to face the wind head-on. We follow the coastline making our way to Fokos beach where we sleep for the night. The more secluded parts of Mykonos at one-hand offers spectacular scenery, interesting terrain, free-running goats and peace and quiet – very few people around and no tourists, only locals – well except for the winds. On the other-hand it is also a garbage dump with several landfills. There are actually some small streams of freshwater here and there. However, seeing all those landfills, fresh might not be an accurate description and I for sure would not fancy a taste.
2025-06-23, Monday
Once again, we awake with the sun. After some debate, we decided to walk directly to the ferry terminal and take a boat to the second Island on the list, Naxos. I have now briefly experienced Mykonos and I have no desire to go back any time soon. The secluded beaches and some of the hiking are nice but that is about it. I’m hoping for a better experience in Naxos.
Immediately when arriving in Naxos one can tell that this is a much cleaner Island. Already Naxos – Mykonos: 1 – 0. The fourth swim session at Agios Georgios Beach, check. I assume it is my imagination, but the water does feel slightly warmer than in Mykonos, Naxos – Mykonos: 2 – 0. One thing is for sure though, Naxos is much less windy than Mykonos, at least in the places we are hiking, Naxos – Mykonos: 3 – 0.
From Agios Georgios Beach we continue towards the marked route 11 that goes to the village Kinidaros. On the map there are some unmarked foot-paths that we can follow to connect to route 11 – Just the fact that we have a hiking map over Naxos means, Naxos – Mykonos: 4 – 0. Goddam thorns though, large sections of the footpath are good, but some sections are completely covered in different types of thorn bushes; there are at least three different species. Our legs are completely torn apart, blood everywhere – Only bringing shorts to Greece was, in hindsight, not the brightest idea. Now do not get me wrong, I like this. Wild, unknown and challenging terrain, with beautiful surroundings, what is not to like? As said many times before in other posts, I like a challenge. Challenging terrain, Naxos – Mykonos: 5 – 0.
We eventually reach route 11, which is in stark contrast to the unmarked foot-paths. Route 11 has no thorns, no dense vegetation and the ground is solid rock. After hiking for a while we found an old terrace – probably used once in a time for farming – that is perfectly flat and, thus, great for tenting. In addition we also have running water nearby. Perfect tent sites, Mykonos – Naxos: 6 – 0.
2025-06-24, Tuesday
Onward to Kinidaros to resupply before heading to Garines Spring. Garines Spring is a proper oasis, cold and crystal clear water is pouring straight out of the ground and right nearby there is an abandoned garden. I assume it is abandoned since most of the fruit has been left rotten on the ground and it is only about one fourth of the trees that have bloomed. I help myself to the few remaining none-rotten fruits. It is a rich and yummy selection of figs, apricots and lemons. Fresh wild fruit, Naxos – Mykonos: 7 – 0. After a slightly too long break, and a bit too much eating, we go straight up the mountain, off-track, to reach route 12 which we follow to Routsounas Waterfall.
The waterfall makes for a perfect campsite, there are several water holes big enough for a cooling dip. It is still relatively early in the afternoon so we decided to continue walking for a bit but to return to the waterfall later in the evening.
Actually pitching the tent was more difficult than we had anticipated due to the very shallow layer of soil laying on top of the bedrock. However, with some extra guy lines and a lot of engineering ingenuity, the tent is pitched right on time as the wind picks up as the sun settles for the day.
2025-06-25, Wednesday
We have our aim set towards the village of Aspiranthos where we will have lunch. We follow route 12 to the mountain village of Keramoti – they sure could build beautiful villages in the old days – where we take the connecting route 12A. After a short while, we stumbled upon a plum tree that had grown the absolutely tastiest plums I’ve ever eaten. Unfortunately, after feasting on plums, route 12A turns into a bit of a nightmare with dense thorn bushes literally towering over us. Getting past that section to reach route 8 sure did take time, sweet, blood, and some more blood.
Route 8 is practically impossible to follow, it is not a route, not initially at least. It consists of goat tracks, and there are multiple goat tracks, going in all directions. We decide to simplify by following the road until we can see the saddle point where the, supposedly, route crosses over the other side of the mountain ridge. From there we just go straight upwards off-track, passing several terraces that clearly have been built long ago for agriculture use but are no longer in use.
After lunch in the village of Aspiranthos, we continue on route 1 to the village of Moutsouna. Route 1 is mostly an old and stone-covered Greek road, except for at the end where it converts to a set of goat tracks resulting in us getting lost. Anyways, we eventually make it to the beautiful picturesque village of Moutsouna. Hardly any tourists have found their way here and the entire village gives off an extremely relaxed and pleasant vibe. The village has its own small but amazing beach. Time for the fifth swim session, during which I take the opportunity to scout a nearby secluded beach just east of the village – it looks good, this is where we tent tonight. Pitching a tunnel tent in loose sand requires even more engineering ingenuity than yesterday. And wouldn’t you know, as the sun sets, the winds increase making for another windy night.
2025-06-26, Thursday
I start off the day with swim session six. While following the coast eastwards, I spot an ocean cave to explore. Unfortunately it was not that big, perhaps around 10 meters. Big enough and deep enough to swim in at least. It was, nonetheless, a cool experience.
Today’s objective is to climb Mount Zas, Naxos highest mountain standing 1004 meter tall. The sun is blistering and the wind is absent, we are shredding massive amounts of meters making our way uphill. Since we need to resupply, we make a small detour to the village of Filoti before heading back to the Agia Marina Chapel which is the starting point of the path that leads to the peak of Mount Zas. On the way to the peak there is supposed to be a spring where we planned to refill on water. To our disappointment, the spring is dry. We now have a problem, we are almost out of water. The plan was to hike route 14, going to the sea, tomorrow morning, but instead we will have to return to Filoti to refill on water. From Filoti we will then instead follow the main road and dirt tracks down to Kalantos beach.
We continue to the peak, which offers a breathtaking view over the surrounding Greek islands. The weather and visibility is 20/20, absolutely perfect, Naxos – Mykonos: 8 – 0. After soaking in the view, we start looking for a good place to pitch the tent, and eventually we find a perfectly well sheltered site that does not require any engineering ingenuity.
2025-06-27, Friday
Right, to Filoti to refill with the meager amount of 7L water, each, before making our way to Kalantos beach. Again, I’m amazed how few tourists have found their way to this magnificent beach. Swim session seven, check.
About a 50 minutes walk from Kalantos beach there is a cave, Rina cave, that I want to check out. My father fancies a rest instead so I leave my backpack with him for a lightweight hike to Piva beach. From Piva beach it is about a 200 meter swim to reach the cave. It seems to be a very popular tourist spot. When I arrive, a boat full of tourists is just leaving, and as I leave, another boat full of tourists arrives. Seems I was there at exactly the right moment to have the cave all to myself.
The cave itself is about 25 meters deep. It looked like purple coral was growing inside, but it was hard to tell due the darkness, and several birds have built nests in the roof. Rina cave is an extremely cool experience, highly recommended, but be a man, skip the tourist boats, take a hike instead!
Rest time is over, we continue hiking along the coast towards Chora. After a couple of hours we found a good spot to pitch the tent. And you guessed it, at sunset, the wind starts.
2025-06-28, Saturday
We continue hiking along the coast to Alyko beach for swim session number eight. Tomorrow we will take the ferry to Santorini so we decided to book a cheap hotel close to Chora as tenting around Chora seemed difficult. It is also nice with a cooked meal and a proper shower. I’m starting to feel a bit salty after all the time spent in the ocean. Low-cost hotels, Naxos – Mykonos: 9 – 0.
First day at Naxos with strong winds during the daytime, the dust is blowing straight into my eyes, I can’t see a damn thing. It is actually quite scary, considering when approaching Chora we are walking heavily trafficked roads. We made it to the hotel unscathed. Time for swim session number nine at the close by beach before falling promptly asleep in the comfortable bed – all beds are comfortable after several days of tenting.
Completely forgot to take any photos today, sloppy work Martin.
2025-06-29, Sunday
Today we are taking the ferry to the third island on the list, Santorini, or so we thought. It turns out that all ferries are cancelled due to strong winds. Hm, what to do now? First, we complete swim session number ten while considering our options. There is not much left that we wish to see on Naxos so we agreed on a low-price hotel and a “rest day” – there are plenty of low-cost hotels to choose from, or, once again, so we thought.
Turns out the hotel we booked somehow got double booked, and there was no room for us. Oh well, there were plenty of others to choose from. It turns out, however, that now there is only one left. All others are booked. I guess that due to the cancelled ferries, many tourists are stranded for an extra day. At least there were no issues with the second hotel.
I take the opportunity of having a “rest day” to do some interval training. I have set a requirement for myself to complete at least one interval workout per week, and wouldn’t you know it, today is the last day of the week. Typically I run (4 + 4)x6, the scientific literature seems to suggest that this is the most effective for increasing VO2 max.
I found a nice, long, and empty beach to run on. It is always weird to start running again after hiking for many days. The movement somehow feels unnatural. The basic fitness is there, I have no problem maintaining a high pace without much effort, but the speed is not. Trying to further increase the pace the body does not respond, due to the muscle soreness. Therefore, I’m not able to raise my pulse that much and the benefit of the workout, in terms of VO2 max, is limited. Oh well, it is not always about the results, it is also about building habits.
We spent the evening just chilling at the hotel, reading books and watching squid game season 3 – such a let-down after the epicness of season 1.
The final scoreboard reads, Naxos – Mykonos: 9 – 0. If it is not abundantly clear by now, you should definitely visit Naxos, and do not just go to the popular tourist spots, explore the island. Naxos is great, Mykonos not so much.
2025-06-30, Monday
Alright, time for another go at the ferry. But first, swim session number eleven. And second, we tried the mixed seafood plate in one of the local restaurants – first time eating at a restaurant during the trip. I always leave hungry when eating at restaurants, except for this time. The portions were massive, and the food was delicious, money well spent.
Today, the ferries are indeed running. Albeit an hour late. The (new) Santorini port is actually quite cool, albeit seriously under-dimensioned. Almost all of Santorini’s west side consists of 200 – 300 meter vertical cliffs falling straight into the ocean, but where the port is located, there is a small simmer of flat land – In hindsight, when writing, I start wondering whether it may actually be man-made. The only way to leave the port is via the long serpentine road. Since we are hikers, we decide to hike. In retrospect, that was a big mistake. Due to the harbour’s low capacity, there is a long queue of cars along the main road, almost all the way to the top, resulting in a continuous thick cloud of exhaust fumes – running the engine on idle is the Greeks way of life. I swear, walking that stretch took years of my life. For once, I think we should have taken the bus.
Originally, we were planning to hike to the northern part of Santorini along the west coast and then make our way south via the east coast. However, since we lost one day, we rethink the plan and decide to skip the northern part and go directly south, more specifically to Caldera beach – swim session twelve, check. The beaches on Santorini are all of black volcanic sand and stones. I actually enjoy the beaches at Santorini much more than Naxos beaches. Point Santorini, but that is about the only point Santorini will score over Naxos. As said, visit Naxos!
We spent the night sleeping under the open sky. I should spend more nights sleeping under the stars. When I get back to Sweden, I will buy a mosquito net, go deep into the forest, and enjoy the night sky.
2025-07-01, Tuesday
Last day to enjoy the island. Tomorrow we will fly back to Sweden early in the morning. We have booked a cheap hotel close to the airport, on the east side. The plan for today is to go to Eros beach and then follow the southern coast line towards the hotel, including many baths and swims along the way – swim session thirteen and fourteen completed during the day.
We reach the hotel in the afternoon – what a Hotel, extremely high quality for only a penny – cook up a feast and chill in the pool. That concludes our journey. Thanks for reading and Good night! Time to rest before the flight home tomorrow.
In conclusion, my skepticism about the trip was warranted in the case of Mykonos and Santorini, but not for Naxos. Good thing we spent most of our time in Naxos. I really enjoyed the combination of hiking and swimming/bathing – my swimming improved a lot. I’m overall super pleased with the journey, it could for sure have been better, mostly by just straight out avoiding Mykonos and Santorini and instead opting for another island(s).
The general concept of island hopping is a straight up winner. Greece after all has 6000+ islands, I’m confident you can find many of equal quality as Naxos, or even better with some more preliminary research. The fact that Mykonos and Santorini was a bit too touristy, and that other islands would have been better, was not exactly a surprise. The thing is, my father really wanted to see Mykonos and Santorini. Seeing as now he has , if we were to do a similar journey again I believe it will be a 10/10. I rate this journey a 8/10, really good, but with room to improve.