| I would just like to thank everyone in Vathy for making us feel so very welcome! We are not quite sure if it was because it was our third time on Ithaca or because we come from London, and it was just after the first bombings but everyone was so kind to us, and kept giving us puddings, wine, and fruit (and the occasional shots too) and a special thank you to the lovely staff at the Cafe/Bar Karamela for letting me charge my phone (I forgot my charger) and for just being so very nice!!!! We will return!!! |
Debbie Feighan, London UK
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| hi everyone ?n the 11th i will visit your island for the first time. i'm looking forward to visit all the beautiful places and beaches. See you there!:) |
eva hatzipetrou, GR
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| Hello there, I've just returned from an incredible holiday to Ithaki with my partner, and we have fallen in love with the island. It has been so nice looking at the summer lowdown section of the site in particular and seeing familiar faces at the Vagelis Germanos concert in Kioni last month. We really enjoyed the music and especially enjoyed the audience all singing along! I think your site is wonderful and helps to make me feel somehow attached to Ithaki eventhough I am so far away. We want to come back as soon as possible, but not sure if it'll be this autumn or next spring. We miss it so much already, it's just so beautiful, quiet and full of warm, friendly people. Many thanks, Catherine
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Falmouth, Cornwall, UK.
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| Dear Erika, I just wanted to write and tell you that we had the holiday of a lifetime in Ithaca. How could anyone not fail to fall in love with such a beautiful island? The Perantzada 1811 hotel in Vathy was the ideal place for a week of complete and utter relaxation. It was so perfect in fact, that we want to keep it a secret! Most days we hired a boat and made our way around and about that way, either lunching in Kioni or Frikes. We even bought one of your pictures from a shop in Frikes ( run by a very nice girl ). The picture is called "Jumpers - Mykynos ". My boyfriend, who's a keen amateur photographer absolutely loved it. We can't wait to have it framed and put up to remind us of our happy days in Ithaka. Keep up the good work on the website, I'll be looking at regularly to keep me satisfied until we can return once again. |
Anneliese UK
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| I'm just back after 1 week in Vathy on Ithaca. It was amazing! Great people, friendly people...Great food! 1 week was way too short. I'll be back! |
Sharon - London, UK
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| Firstly we want to congratulate you on a great web site. It helped us organize our trip and then saw us through the ins and outs of the island. Thank you. My wife and I were not disappointed in Ithaka at all. We felt relaxed and welcomed by all we dealt with. What a charming community. |
Trevor and Kaye, UK
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| Wonderful site! Ithaca is such a beautiful island with magnificent views and lovely people. It's like being in a picture book. I had a fantastic holiday and thank you Greece for the great weather to make swimming every day, possible. |
Jasmina - Sydney, Australia
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| This year i spent the most beautiful 6 weeks of my life in Ithaki. The most real and special friends, stunning places and moments that will last a lifetime in my heart and mind! Thank you for your website, it gives me something to do when i am supposed to be studying at uni! Makes me all nostalgic and gives me a kick up the pants to make a plan and get myself back home- Ithaki. |
Teresa, SA
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| I live and work on and Kefalonia....I love your site I visit Ithaki Every week with work....travelling the length of the Highway of the island hitting all the hotspots with enthusiastic tourists that come for just a few hours! I am totally in agreement with you on the issue of Cars and holiday makers on your island. Today was a perfect example of the nightmare travelling around the island at this time of year! From the moment we got ashore at Aetos port the chaos started! What driver in their right mind parks vehicles on bends and leaves the cars when vital trucks and other essentials are trying to make their way around the island? Is that Photograph so essential that you cannot move the car to a safer spot....is it their Brain that is taking a holiday or their body? Kioni is an experience as you try to pass the cars on the top bend as you sit there baking in the sun with 50 people on the coach....waiting while *Mr n Missus* Imonoliday....go for their swim! Walking down to Kioni from the coach to the port.....is downright dangerous....why can't the cars slow down coming into Kioni?...this is not a motorway for Heavens sake! Cars are driving straight at us....some do not even attempt to slow down...the others Push their way through....actually touching people with the bonnet to get through a road that goes no-where....why not walk like the rest of us!?? ** Time to stop the Cars coming down? Maybe it is at this time that Vathi also needs to stop the idiots from Driving past the restaurants like Lunatics as waiters dice with death to deliver a Greek Salad to the happy Holiday makers! How long before someone is seriously injured? Maybe having Vathi water front Policed during busy hours....with the offenders being nicked for dangerous driving ...this may dampen enthusiastic show offs from trying to knock down anything that gets in their way! Ithaki is Beautiful.....Why spoil it by letting the lunatics run the Asylum? Bravo to the Web mistress for Speaking out I am behind you 100%! If everyone said even a quarter of what you say Then maybe.....Just maybe the whole thing could be avoided! Let Ithaki Be as it should be....SAFE and a beautiful get away from it all Island! I will be back next week!! Kind Regards |
Kef Muse
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| Just like Mandy and Mick we find Ithaca brings tears to our eyes--when we are leaving to come home that is! It has been too long since we enjoyed the hospitality of the local people but your site has helped a little.The pictures of wintertime are very interesting and who knows we may be lucky enough to see the seasons change on your magical island ourselves some day.We all need a dream and ours involves Vathy on a permanent basis. See you in September |
Sylvia and Dave Ford Central UK
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| I've just been reading your letters page. I had to laugh at some of the letters from strange unpleasant people. My son who ia 14 said 'anyone civilized who thinks Ithaca is boring must be very stupid' I must say I agree with him. However I'm glad that those people disliked Ithaca, so that we won't have to bump into them when we return :-) We were totally captivated by the people, the place and something indefinable that spoke to us. Perhaps there are people who just 'get' Ithaca and others who never will. There is something mystical about it. I am descended on my mother's side from Anglesey druids (North Wales) so perhaps the island life is in my blood. Husband is a mix of Irish and cornish ancestry so the sea is in his blood too. Both he and our son love to sail. I prefer to be in the sea than on it :-) Your website is fantastic. My husband and I run a website based business and we know the work that goes into ths sort of thing - I am in awe of your creativity and tenacity. We make a living from ours and I can only wish that one day ours will have a tiny fraction of the personalised content and 'stickiness' of yours. We have decided to sell up here in Wales and move our family to Ithaca, so perhaps we can meet up when we do, and swap a few ideas? Don't worry, we have no hope of treading on your toes, our sphere of knowledge is very different from yours, but I am sure we could maybe spark off each other - with a bit of luck. We're looking into satellite broadband at the moment as in order to keep our businesses running 24/7 we would need reliable broadband and dial-up just won't cut it - but hubby says ADSL may be rumoured to be coming to Ithaca? But it matters not, we can always set up our own broadband node with a bit of investment in some techy stuff and a satellite dish . Any how one way or another the Brentons are coming. We're back at Levendis on the 6th September for a week's fix of Ithaca to keep us going while we spend the winter renovating our house in order to sell it for the best price. We can't wait to move over, but boring details must be sorted out first like selling our house and finding somewhere to live on Ithaca and paying for it. But it will all fall into place I'm sure - one step at a time. Thanks for your site, it is one way I can convince Alister (our son) that our plan is real and Ithaca was not just a dream we had. Take care and keep up the good work, your site is perfect as it is, with your own personality stamped on it and the real feeling of Ithaca. Best wishes PS I did a 'write up' of our holiday on Ithaca which they published on the Responsible Travel website, now if you type 'Yanni's Organic Chips' into Google he comes out number one!! . |
Michele Brenton
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What a superb website. We came across it in May and have avidly followed the events of an Ithacan Summer. I like keeping up with all the local news and pictures. We will arrive on 10th September and cannot wait to meet old friends. We have visited many times and love your island. Hope to see you and your camera around Kioni. |
Sue and Vic UK
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| My sister just arrived back from Ithaki this morning. She was staying in Vathy with her friend for the past week. Its her second visit this year and she plans to return in January to spend the new year on the Island. I have been over 4 times since falling in love with the Island. When the time comes around each year to book our holidays I have severe mental conflict in choosing any other destination. There really is no other place that compares with its beauty. I was hoping to see her picture on the website but she must have evaded your camera. She's 24 yrs old and will not go anywhere else on holiday. She's made some great friends on the island and probably spent her nights in Cafe Caramel in Vathy. Perhaps you'll catch her in January! |
Best regards Fidelma
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| Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You have no idea how much a site like this means to us. It is the link to our escape from every day life to our future life in Ithaki |
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Jeromy and Nadia AU
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| After reading so many letters from visitors to Ithaca who have had their hearts captured so that they feel compelled to return, I want to add our experiences. We found Levendis and stayed for the first time in 2000, that was in a previous life, for ever since we have been fixated on returning because life here in the UK no longer has our hearts and minds like Ithaca does. We don't know how to describe our feelings for the land and its people, we only know we love it and them immensely, so to those who don't share these feelings and complain about their time on Ithaca I can only say that you belong somewhere else. As for us we will be returning to Levendis for the sixth time in October,(our second visit this year)! Roll on! and thank you for all your work on this website, you are a lifeline. Hope to meet you this time. |
Rob harrison and Nita France, Mancester UK
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| Congratulations on a great site. I appreciate the amount of work you must put in and offer a few words of gratitude Thank you. ithacagreece brightens up a dull week at work. |
Kassy Melbourne Australia
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| You should put the slogan ' Why would you go anywhere else ' on your site. It's so comprehensive and so up to date, other travel sites pale in comparison. Excellent work!
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Peter K. Uk
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| After reading all the letters here, we wish we could say that we too experienced a great holiday on Ithaka, but alas, our experience was far from great. Firstly the transfer from Piso Aetos ferry port was a nightmare. It was crowded and unorganized and carrying our luggage up that steep hill to where our car was waiting for us took any enthusiasm we had for this holiday, away. The girl we dealt with was unavailable to us, not friendly at all and quite dismissive. Our room was badly cleaned and there was a smell that resembled a dead cat under the floor. We have many, many more complaints, but it's irregardless now. We won't be coming back to Ithaka. |
H and K London
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Hi - just back from Ithaca. We found your "Walking tracks around Ithaca" site very useful. During in our stay at Kioni we felt certain there must be a direct track up to Stavros. Several enquiries with local people (mostly negative!) eventually led to the track described in the attachment. Although we eventually made it to Stavros it involved a bit of a slog at the end of the walk along the Anogi- Stavros road. The track would however be best used as an alternative Kioni- Anogi route and one which could then be linked up with the main one described in your track number 5 to form an excellent day's circular walk. The track is in superb condition (very similar to the sort of walking on your track 5), is well marked and clear throughout, or at least it was in early September 05! Happy for you to add this to your growing collection of walking routes. |
KIONI TO AGHIA PARASKEVI
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| I have just got back from a 2 week holiday in Frikes with my husband, which to be honest I was dreading. I had a operation on my foot 5 weeks before flying out and we were unsure whether to cancel or not. This superb web site was invaluable and we are so glad that we made the trip. Nicky and Andreas were so nice at the Nostos Hotel and the pool was fantastic, as the pebble beaches were too uneven for me to walk on. We found prices to be very reasonable, the food excellent and everyone friendly. The only slight problem you may have staying in Frikes is transport. Taxis are a little expensive at around 2 euros per km, as they are the only way to get about as the bus is very infrequent. And we were surprised that there were no water taxis in Frikes. We would definitely book the convertible smart car again - so cheap to run. Hope to come back next year for the superb walking that we missed out on due to my operation. To Ron Douglas who thinks everyone is old on Ithaca - he obviously did not meet the sisters at Penelope's restaurant in Frikes!!
KIONI TO AGHIA PARASKEVI |
1. Take the road out of Kioni, pass the church and the small boutique. At the point where the road takes a sharp left turn go straight ahead up the lane.
2. After about 50 metres take the (steep) steps to the left.
3. Two to three minutes later the steps rejoin the lane. Continue up the lane for about 50 metres but then rejoin the stepped track at the point where the lane turns sharp right
4. This quickly leads on to the Kioni - Frikes road. Draw breath and take comfort from having avoided 2 kms of road walking! Go right and over the crest of the road through the village, past the small shop on the right.
5. Follow the road (now downhill) to Frikes for about 300 metres. Just after a right turn to the beach take the left turn which is an unmade but motorable track - there are red paint markings on the wall.
6. After about 400 metres take the mule track on the right denoted by two clear red and white blobs of paint either side of the track.
7. Follow the clear markings all the way up, through deserted settlements, noting a maintained but very remote church and enjoy marvellous views back to Kioni. NB the paint markings are clear and very frequent so retrace your steps if you've not seen one for 30-40 metres.
8. Eventually ( a couple of hours later) the track levels out and leads to a small lane - a right turn will take you the 100 metres to Aghia Paraskevi.
9. From the church go back down the lane which quickly leads to the Anogi - Stavros road where you can either go left to Anogi (about 1.5 km) or turn right down to Stavros (about 4.5 km). If taking the Anogi option this can then be linked to the main Anogi- Kioni track ( Track number 5) to form an excellent circular day walk with a lunch break at the small café in the village. |
Neil and Gill Varley, Ilkley West Yorks
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| Gosh your website is wonderful, I am amazed by the amount of content and the detailed descriptions of everything. I'll be arriving in Kioni for a week's stay on Sunday and I am so excited, your website has certainly worked its magic on me. See you soon |
| Jill Leahy |
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