- Greece 2022: Retrospective
- Day 86: Athens Flight to the UK
- Day 85: Sifnos to Athens (Koropi)
- Day 84: Sifnos Troulaki Monastery and Kamares
- Day 83: Sifnos Sightseeing
- Day 82: Mum and Dad Arrive on Sifnos
- Day 81: Piraeus to Sifnos
- Day 80: Athens Airport Meet Up by Metro and More Piraeus
- Day 79: Exploring Athens Part 2: Hadrian’s Library, Roman Agora & Ancient Agora
- Day 78: Exploring Athens Part 1: Acropolis, Parthenon, Museum and Temple of Zeus
- Day 77 Agistri to Piraeus
- Day 76 Agistri Part 2 – Megalochori and Dragonera
- Day 75: Agistri – Chalikiada, Megalochori, Dragonera, Livadakia and Aponisos
- Day 74: Aegina Temple of Apollo, Ferry to Agistri
- Day 73: Exploring Aegina – Aegina Town
- Day 72: Exploring Aegina – Nectarios, Aphaia, Agia Marina, Ancient Olive Grove, Marathonas and Perdkia
- Day 71: Travelling from Stalis, Crete, to Aegina via Piraeus
- Days 67-70: Last Few Days in Stalis
- Day 66: Day Trip to Agios Nikolaos and Elounda
- Day 65: Gym in Malia, Sunbathe in Stalis
- Days 63 & 64: Malia and back to Stalis
- Days 59-62: More Malia
- Day 58: Malia, Gym and Jogging
- Day 57: Stalis to Malia
- Days 52-56: Stalis Life
- Day 51: First Day in Stalis
- Day 50: Ios to Crete
- Days 48 & 49: Last Two Days on Ios
- Day 47: Southern Ios – Tris Ekklisies, Magganari, Kalamos and Chora
- Days 45 & 46: Exploring Northern Ios
- Day 44: Ios Mylopotas Relaxation
- Day 43: Amorgos to Ios
- Days 42: Kos to Amorgos
- Days 37-41: Kos Town Downtime
- Day 36: Kos Paradise Beach, Kefalos and Zia
- Days 34-35: More Kos Town Relaxation
- Day 33: Kos Lido Water Park
- Days 31-32: Kos Town
- Day 30: Kos Paradise Beach
- Day 29: Kos Town Hotel Move
- Day 27-28: Astypalea to Kos and Kos Town First Day
- Day 24-26: An Unexpected Extension on Astypalea
- Day 23: Astypalea Part 2 – Vatses, Kaminakia, Marmari, Steno, Schinonta and Chrisi Ammos
- Day 22: Exploring Astypalea: Tzanakia, Agios Konstantinos, Livadi and Chora
- Reflections on Paros
- Day 21: Paros to Astypalea
- Day 20: My Last Day on Paros
- Day 19: Exploring Paros by Quad Bike (ATV)
- Day 18: Paros Revisiting Aliki
- Day 17: Parikia Again
- Day 16: Chilling out in Parikia
- Day 15: Antiparos Again
- Day 14: Paros Parkikia Sightseeing and Beach
- Day 13: Antiparos e-bike Experience
- Day 12: Paros Golden Beach
- Day 11: Paros Krios, Marcello and Naoussa
- Day 10: Paros Aliki Beach
- Day 9: Paros Logaras and Punda Beaches
- Day 8: Visiting Antiparos
- Day 7: Travelling to Paros
- Day 6: Back to Kalamata
- Day 5: Elafonisos
- Day 4: Monemvasia
- Day 3: Climbing Mount Taygetus
- Day 2: Mystras
- Day 1: Manchester to Kalamata
- It’s Almost Time… Kalamata Here I Come!
- 2022: Another Greek Summer Beckons
Friday, 9th September 2022
Car Hire
It was Marion’s first time on Sifnos, so we wanted to get out and explore the island. Shortly after our arrival on Wednesday, we enquired at several car rental shops for prices and availability. The best deal was at Proto Moto, which I’ve used before, but they only had availability from midday today for a vehicle we could then return at noon tomorrow. This was fine, though, as it gave us time to relax in the morning and meant we could keep the car overnight.
Breakfast and Beach
With my parents’ arrival yesterday, we decided to skip the hotel breakfast as it’s not the most exciting spread. Instead, we walked to a cafe called Pipis on the main road next to the beach. The food was nicer but more expensive for smaller portions, so we agreed to return to the hotel for breakfast tomorrow.
After a brief return to the hotel to get beach-ready, we walked out along the golden sand of Kamares Beach and set up at our usual spot on the sunbeds at To Kohyli. The weather was still improving from our arrival on Wednesday, and it was the best day so far for sunbathing and swimming.
Kastro
After a short wait to pick up the hire car at midday, we set off on the now-familiar inland road from Kamares to the island’s capital, Apollonia. The car came with a full tank of fuel, so we didn’t have to stop and fill up and instead continued through Apollonia and across to Kastro on the eastern side of the island.
Naturally, we walked down to the iconic Church of the Seven Martyrs for a look around and photo opportunity:
We stopped at Konaki Taverna for a drink and snack lunch on the way back from the church. Marion and I had chocolate crepes while my parents shared a club sandwich. We then jumped back in the car and headed south to the beach resort of Platis Gialos.
Platis Gialos
Although it’s not my favourite resort, Platis Gialos is a popular destination on Sifnos. The beach is fine, though relatively narrow in places and nowhere near as nice as Kamares (in my opinion). It has some very nice tavernas, though, and is a pleasant size, being neither too large to feel crowded nor so small that there’s nothing to see or do.
We parked towards the south end of the village and headed out onto the beach with our towels. Mum and Dad decided to stroll along the sand while Marion and I laid down to sunbathe and then had a brief swim. We didn’t stay long, though, as I’d rather sunbathe on Kamares Beach, so our visit was just to see the resort.
Agios Simeon and Apollonia
We returned to Kamares late afternoon and retired to our rooms for a rest. Our plan for the evening was an early dinner in Apollonia followed by a sunset visit to my favourite place in Greece (possibly in the world!): Agios Simeon church.
Unfortunately, when we arrived in Apollonia just after 6 pm, none of the shops were open, and neither was the restaurant we wanted to eat at – it was still relatively early for dinner – so we had a quick stroll through the narrow painted streets instead.
We then got back in the car and headed to Agios Simeon, knowing that we would be early for sunset but that the views would still be incredible.
We walked around the church, enjoying the views and tranquillity. It really is a spectacular spot and I make a point of visiting each time I come to the island.
Knowing it was still a while before sunset, we decided not to hang around as we wanted to eat dinner, so with photos and memories captured, we got back into the car and returned to Apollonia. Our chosen restaurant, The Catch, was now open, and we enjoyed a great meal: chilli nachos to start, followed by Pollo Asado tacos for me. Marion had a chicken salad, Mum had a celery salad, and my Dad had a burger.
After we’d eaten, we had another walk through the streets of Apollonia, which were now bustling with people, and all the shops were open. After a while, we stopped for some ice cream and returned to Kamares in the car. As it wasn’t even 9 p.m., we agreed it was too early to return to the hotel, so we walked to Captain’s Bar and had a cocktail – a perfect way to end the day.
