When a romantic retreat to Greek islands is envisaged, peculiarly strong image comes to the mind. It is a view of whitewashed houses tumbling down a volcanic cliff, a personal infinity pool that appears to stretch out to the deep blue of the Aegean Sea and a sky lit by a sunset so famous and gorgeous it can bring even a crowd to its knees in haunting silence. It is the dream of Greece of classical dimensions, which is largely shaped by the magnificent island of Santorini. A faith, however, that the soul of Greek romance can be localised in a single island, however mythically illustrous, is to read but the opening chapter of an epic romance. The Greek archipelago does not consist of a single-mass; on the contrary, it forms a fringe of more than two hundred inhabited islands abasping like jewels in the Ionian and Aegean Seas. The islands have different rhythms, different history and landscape and different personality. This definition of the best Greek island to visit as a couple is not the location search, it is more of a unique love story of the couple and how matching them with the personality of the island will bring the shared desires to life. It is all about your choice of whether you intend to have an adventure-filled story, relaxing trip, history-filled excursion, or simply luxurious vacation.
To the couples who actually dream of that very cover shot in a postcard, to those who want to get the highest of iconic romance for a honeymoon, or a milestone celebration, there is no doubt that they have to start with Santorini. It is not an island, it is a geological phenomenon and a life-list experience, which even with all its worldwide popularity, still has the ability to amaze. The island has a dramatic crescent that was a relic of huge volcano eruption in the thousands of years ago that resulted in a deep flooded caldera. Living at the brink of this natural wonder is the real magic of the Santorini. Enticingly notched into the vertical cliff-face, the villages of Oia, Fira and in particular the lesser-visited Imerovigli present, perhaps, some of the most remarkable views in existence on the planet. In this case, the conservation of the archetypal cave houses has been done so superbly this has been translated into an oasis of luxury, and the terraces as well as the plunge pools are suspended over the sea. A typical day in Santorini is an indulgence of leisure, meant to enjoy luxury eating breakfast in the morning with a caldera view, basking in an afternoon by the pool, and getting engrossed in the custom of the sunset viewing to descend behind the horizon.
To experience all the romance in the Santorini is to experience two-involved activities. An archetypical experience of any couple is the ability to have a catamaran cruise in the caldera, and this is usually accompanied with the possibility of swimming in the volcanic hot springs and snorkeling in transparent waters, an adventure that culminates into a spectacular sunset with sea itself. To feel more connected with real activity, a spectacular ten-kilometer walk is available, that is situated along the rim of the caldera, between the beautiful cities of Fira and Oia, and it is a reward by itself with constantly changing and impressive views. The island also produces some of the best wines and this volcanic soil alone permits unique wines with the dry Assyrtiko being one of the finest and having a wine tasting experience on the verandah of any wine making companies like Santo Wines or Venetsanos is to get a taste of the island. Nostalgic happiness may be spent in the outdoor cinema in the evening, or walking through the volcanic sand beaches on the island, such as the impressive Red Beach or the sands of Perissa, which completely contrasts the whitewashed rocks.
Where Santorini is a romance of the sublime view and a luxury of quietness, there is also another form of love story that can be witnessed on an island of larger size and riotous nature. To the couple whose relationship is cemented in action, on-the-edge experience, and the adventure of exploration, the enormity and breadth and depth of Crete are ready and waiting. Crete being the largest island in Greece is a miniature of the country itself and an island where snow-capped mountains tower over prehistoric Minoan palaces and steep-sided canyons snake their way down to sun-kissed, deserted beaches. It is a place that will only tempt you to hire a car and take a spontaneous road trip, where you know there is something new hidden somewhere on the next hairpin bend. They could spend their days discovering together the stuff stuff legends, like defeating the Samaria Gorge together, which is not underestimating, it was a very bonding hike through one of the most breathtaking canyons in the whole of Europe or they could lose themselves in the narrow romantic Venetian streets of the Old town of Chania, and end up in a serene taverna by the famous Lighthouse of harbour.
The vastness and diversity of Crete allows anything to be gratified by it. The first day could take you back in time to the Palace of Knossos, the legendary centre of the Minoan culture whilst the following one could be spent going in search of the posh pink sands of Elafonisi Beach on the distant south-western coastline. The two major cities of this island, Chania, and Rethymno, are romantic centres in their own rights complete with well preserved Venetian harbours, maze like streets and a cuisine that is considered among the best in the entire Greece. Those couples wanting genuine isolation will find the more unruly south coast has a series of tiny villages and out-of-the-way coves, not connected by road at all in some cases, where that feeling of exploration is huge. Crete is the place of the couple which gets easily bored, the couple which does not find the intimacy just in the moment of silence, but in the excitement of being in a mountain road together or in discovering some old ruin on their own or in arriving to an amazing point of view holding each other hands.
But when the epic Crete is too large, the chic reputation of Santorini too saturated, there is a secret spot in the Mediterranean that the loving couples seek closeness in the exceptional beauty and a tingling edge of wildness. This is the wild, geological poetry of Milos. Milos is also a volcanic island; it has one of the most beautiful coastline, or rather a masterpiece of natural sculpture, with more than seventy-five beaches, largely different and frequently surreal. It is the best place to go to the couple which speaks the same language, who can be united with taking pictures of otherworldly landscapes and visited distant shores which seem like they are on a different planet. Sarakiniko is the unquestionable highlight of the landmark of Milos, or bay with the chalk white volcanic rock, with the sea having made smooth undulating shapes of volcanic rock, giving the view of a breathtaking, lunar like scene. Spending a day here and jumping off the white cliffs into a turquoise water is a memorable experience.
On Milos the spirit of discovery is also to be found on the water. Boat ride around the island is a must because it is the only chance to reach Kleftiko, a former hideout of pirates there is where any towering white rock walls touch the sea caves and natural rock arches standing in emerald water. One has a feeling of creeping through a hidden world when snorkeling in these passages. Beyond these famous spots, Milos charms with its authenticity. At the small, colorful fishing village of Klima, the two-story houses, the so-called syrmata with their brightly painted boat garages on the ground floor face the seaside. Milos is tough and scenic, and love affair with the rough, expressive beauty of nature. It is of the couple who prefer to bring a camera than a dinner jacket, and whose vision of an excellent day comprises of staring at the sunset in a deserted wild beach that they have found completely on their own.
Although Milan shines with its high-dramatic, rocky coasts, some couples desire something that is more pleasant and less hectic the romance, which can be experienced on long and smooth beaches of golden sand and when the only thing to be done is to swim, read, and rest. To spend such a casual love affair there is no better island in the Cyclades than Naxos. It is a small island, which is inviting and undiabetic at first. Whereas the nearby islands of Mykonos and Santorini provide luxury resorts and party nights, Naxos is an experience closer to the ground. It is endowed with some of the improved and conveniently had beaches in Greece. The long stretch of continuous Agios Georgios, Agios Prokopios, and Plaka give kilometers of golden, fine sand and crystal clear calm waters. This is where the couple can easily secure a spot in the shades of their own to place the towels and spend the day shifting only to jump inside the sea or to walk to a nearby taverna to have a slow meal.
The charm of Naxos extends beyond its shores. The chief town or Chora, is a charming labyrinth of steep and meandering streets which wind up a Venetian castle. The Portara, the monumental marble gate of an ancient temple, which was never built, to Apollo stands on the edge of the port. It has now become the typical sunset point of the island and it holds a very strong and historical anti-caldera Santorini alternative. The online site is also the greenest island in Cyclades, and has a fertile geography of olive of olive groves, orchards, and traditional villages. Such agricultural hub guarantees bright and inexpensive food, with fresh local cheeses, potatoes and meats. Naxos is to those people who fall in love with plainness, with the combined joy of a perfect meal, a long walk on the beach and the experience of really relaxing together with absolutely no feeling of tension or of being put on.
Bidding goodbye to the dry, sun-kissed vistas of the Cyclades, another idea of romance with the Ionian Sea opens its doors, and that one with deep hues of green and with the sense of European high society. To the couple who admire the nostalgic flair of the past, the history of Venice and green countryside, the Island of Corfu will present them with another, but not less romantic story. The beauty of Corfu is aristocratic and soft and is covered by a lush quilt of olive forests and cypress spiers. The history of the island is the history of the Venetian, French, and British empire, and all of them left their imprint on the Venice architecture and culture. Corfu Town, a UNESCO Heritage site, though, is half of Italy on an island of Greece. Lovers have days to get lost in its winding narrow cobble stone street, explore secret squares, and gawk at its architecture.
The romantic end of the city is the Liston, a beautiful arcade of cafes, where you can relax and drink a coffee to observe the life. Outside the town the island has a shore-line of rugged cliffs and sheltered coves, especially at Paleokastritsa, where the emerald sea breaks on the beach of pebbles hidden in the gulf at the foot of a hill with a crowned monastery. A couple might hire a small motor boat and go on an excursion of these remote bays, find a quiet place to take a swim and eat a picnic lunch. The romance of Corfu is sophisticated and cultured. It can be seen in the performance of a classical music concert staged in an ancient fortress, in the visiting of the beauty of the Achilleion Palace, or in the visiting of a candlelit dinner at a garden taverna with the vision of jasmine in the air and the surrounding sound of the cicada. It is an island of a serious reflective love story.
However, to some people, elegance and opulence are not the most luxurious things to be; it is authenticity and seclusion. To the two who want simply to be rid of the multitudes, of trifling to locate a spot that is an individualized indulgence, then the small and rocky island of Folegandros speaks its beckoning. Folegandros can be described as what Santorini was decades ago and renders breath taking drama minus the commercialism. One of the most beautiful Chora of all Greece, whitewashed houses clustering around an unglazed square and perched like a teetering precarious village on the brink of a 200 meter precipice, make up its Chora. It has no cars in the heart of its historic center and it spends its evenings in its three interconnected public squares having dinner in its plain and family-owned tavernas under the shadow of the plane trees.
The wedding ceremony of lovers is the sunset pilgrimage. An now whitewashed winding pathway, which runs zigzag up the side of the mountain, takes the visitor on to the famous Church of Panagia, which is situated at the edge of the Chora. The low hike, which takes half an hour, is an adventure in itself with views that keep on growing in size until you reach the top of the island and the Aegean. The views across the ocean at the highest and sunset point are riveting and heart-wrenching especially when you can be the only person around having such a view. Beaches on the island are wild (usually, pebbly) and cannot be accessed easily, also being quite secluded. Folegandros is an doing nothing kind of island. It is to the couple who looks at each other in silent contemplation, who savors genuine food, who appreciate the rough beauty of an unspoiled countryside and who are able to enjoy the feeling of having found a very personal place.
Greece is beautiful in the sense that those two stories do not have to be mutually exclusive. Island hopping is one of the achievable dreams because the country has a good ferry service and a couple of people may include the awe-inspiring luxury of Santorini with the relaxing beaches of Naxos, the unique scenery of Milos with the untouched simplicity of Folegandros. You will be able to design a trip that can show the various elements of your relationship. In the end, the quest to find the ultimate Greek island is the lovely extension of the path of being together. It is trying to know what you love, what gets you excited, and what gives you inner rest. Discover your idyll on the edge of a dramatic caldera, on a wild and windswept beach, in the walls of a medieval city or in a secluded and quiet cove, the Greek islands offer a breathtaking and memorable scene to the memories of your togetherness you will be drawing and treasuring.
The good thing about Greece is that these tales do not have to be mutually exclusive, and the discovery quest is only being begun. The outstanding ferry system of the country itself makes the dream of island hopping a small thing, with a couple being able to create a sort of story out their different sides of relationship. Depending on your mood, you can design a trip that takes you through legendary luxury rubbing shoulders with down-to-Earth days at the beach, or bang in the wilderness with untouched simplicity. The conclusion of one island story is just the starting point of another call and Aegean sea as well as Ionian sea has many more such calls, it is just a matter of listening. In the pursuit of the ideal setting of a love story, one can be taken to beaches, where history has become even more touchable, where style and elegance rule, or where the scenery of fantasy films done in Hollywood are to be seen.
The running may veer eastwards, upon the limbs of the Dodecanese island-group, where the past is more eloquent, and more medieval. In this case, the island of Rhodes is a monument to a different variety of romance which designates chivalry, great battles and stone-hewn magnificence. Its center is the great Old Town of Rhodes, a UNESCO World Heritage site, one of the best preserved medieval cities in Europe. The only thing is to stroll in its Street of the Knights as it transports one back to times when the Knights of St. John, who dominated the island during centuries, ruled. To the couple where history holds the key of association, losing oneself here with each other in this maze of stone-paved lanes, dark courtyards and towering arched passages of stone is a strongly romantic experience. The size of the Palace of the Grand Master and the fortification walls is immense and it takes you to a totally different world.
Other than the rich history of its major town, Rhodes has a wide range of landscape within which couples can tour. Just a short trip along the coast one can see the beautiful village of Lindos, a blinding vision of whitewash houses tumbling down a hill in the shadow of its own Acropolis. The experience of reaching the top together is an amazing view of the turquoise St. Pauls Bay, which arches in a heart-shaped cove that seems designed by nature with the idea of being romantic. Long and sandy beaches, such as Faliraki and Tsambika, also rely on the island and guarantee visitors the much-needed leisure time in addition to a green interior area that is ideal to have a look and drive around. Rhodes is to the man who loves the size of his love-story, to the couple who think that perhaps they love the hollow of the past in an old stone avenue as much as they love the fullness of a sunset to an eternal citadel. It is a location to experience belonging to extensive and epic history of human exploration and fervor.
A bit nearer to the center of Cyclades, there is another island that presents an ideal mix of stylish elegance and rustic beauty which is a chic sister to a neighbor who is Naxos. The place is Paros, an island which has mastered the art of balance. It satisfies the couple that enjoys the better things no longer satisfied with the high fashion boutiques, cosmopolitan eateries, sleek cocktail bars but yet hankers after the gorgeous beauty of a native Greek island. The island has two main centers of gravity. The main port is a crowded town of Parikia with its wonderful old town and the impressive Panagia Ekatontapiliani historic church complex. However, the most romantic spot in Paros should be the northern fishing village of Naoussa. It is an idyllic fishing harbour with its coloured boats and a fragment of a Venetian fortification and is surrounded by a maze of snow-white and marble-marbled alleys with expensive boutiques, art galleries and some of the most picturesque restaurants in the Aegean, their tables abutting the waterfront.
In its unforced elegance Paros has its romance. It is about getting dressed up to have a beautiful dinner in Naoussa, drinking champagne and watching boats bobbing at the harbour and then strolling through the lanes which are so beautifully illuminated. Beaches are also great on the island, its most well known surf spot being the beautiful Golden Beach, to Kolymbithres, where the sea has polished the rocky surfaces into granite sculptures. Couples also can make a brief ferry trip to the small sister Island of Antiparos, a bohemian, off-the-beaten-path oasis where everyone goes to relax and enjoy beautiful sea caves. The chic couple, the couple with the desire to be in the thick of a trendsetting society yet given to the thought of ducking out into a quaint beach or a small village on a whim, Paros is for them. It is the embodiment of relaxed Cycladic chic.
And if you liked the wildness of the Folegandros but you would like to have that bit deeper, more spiritual feeling of solitude, then the island of Amorgos will provide it. Amorgos is a long mountainous Island with raw, dramatic beauty situated on the eastern edge of the Cyclades. It is a destination that is old and primitive and is most recognizable in two fronts; the spectacular Monastery of Hozoviotissa and the place where Luc Besson made his cult classic film, the Big Blue whose main shooting was done there. The monastery is a masterpiece in architecture and the statement of faith, standing as a shinning white jewel on an unbelievable cliff rim, 300 meters out above the sea. To get there and not climb up its steep steps is a kind of pilgrimage, and the payoff is not so much the breath-taking icons that are in it, but the peace and also the infinite blue perspective that awaits you on the little balcony.
The Big Blue spirit is all over the island with couples creating romance out of its rough and plunging hiking trails, deep blue sea and its strong energetic force. Many believe that the main Chora is one of the prettiest as well as the most typical in Cyclades, a preserved village with narrow lanes, old churches, and peaceful squares where people treat you with the sincere smile. The beaches of the island usually remote bays over the end of lengthy tracks such as the breath-taking Agia Anna beach right under the monastery. Amorgos is not the place destination of an amateur traveler; it is the destination of a tourist who wants to develop the strong bond with nature and feel the deep serenity. It belongs to the couple that will prefer to spend the day walking through one village to another and finding ancient ruins and finally exploring the deep blue water and experiencing the ethos of the ancient soul of the island.
Totally another type of romantic tale is located in the Saronic Gulf, only a ferry ride away, on the totally inimitable island of Hydra. The spell of Hydra becomes obvious in a second of landing: no cars. Actually, no automobiles of any sort are allowed in the island, and only a small truck used to haul goods around. Every transport is either by foot, by boat or by the well known donkeys and mules of the island. This is the only detail which maintains a tranquility and a charm of another era which is drunken. Its capital and chief port are a perfect amphitheatre of stately, granite-stoned mansions of the sea-going rich, sliding down in a cascade of houses to the busy harbour and its fleet of yachts and fishing-boats. Hydra has been the domain of artists, writers, sculptors and musicians and the likes of Leonard Cohen cannot resist its eternal beauty.
Hydra romance is artsy, smart and simply cool. It is the story of lazy mornings in a long-established harbourside cafe, days filled with swimming off the rocky bays of smooth rock platforms which run up and down the coast, nights of a fine meal taken in an intimate restaurant in a side street. no grand sands here, but a romantic walk, or a splash across in a water-taxi is open to lovers, and a water-taxi to small, pebbled bays such as Vlychos, or Mandraki, where water is clear as glass. The shortage of vehicles invites the person to explore by foot, and the coastal routes provide an eye-pleasing experience of the Saronic Gulf. Hydra is the best place to go on a short stylish vacation, particularly, a couple who would like to enjoy art, read books and feel the inner stillness that can be reached by the sound of (no) traffic. It is the place to walk hand in hand as it is a place to speak, or just be together in the surrounding of simple sophistication.
In the case of the couple in whose love story the music, laughter and some cinematic fantasy are playing the main roles, one should go to the green, pine-covered Sporades islands, and to Skopelos in particular. This is the island where the dreamy fictional place of Kalokairi in the box office hit film titled Mamma Mia! was shot. and its beauty is as real as was on the screen. Skopelos is one of the greenest islands in Greece where often the thick pine forests almost reach to the surface of the beautiful beaches and the contrast between the dark green of the trees and the emerald and sapphire colours of the water is magnificent. The romance in this case is light-hearted, frolicsome, an opportunity to experience your own movie-musical fantasy.
No visit to Skopelos could be complete without the pilgrimage to the Chapel of Agios Ioannis Kastri, the little church which affords a viewpoint on a dramatic headland, where filming during the wedding scene occurred. The trek of almost 200 steps cut in the rock is breathtaking and the panorama view at the top is just an ideal place to have a romantic moment. Skopelos aside its Hollywood stardom is a huge natural beauty of an island. Its capital town is a picturesque mess of whitewashed dwellings complemented with slate rooftops and flowering balustrades, whereas its coastline is punctuated with some of the most beautiful beaches including those of Kastani (another legendary movie set) and Panormos, as well as Stafilos. It is a lovers paradise island of those couples who love to sing along, those who get happy enjoying hidden chapels, and also those couples who are not able to enjoy unless they get in beautiful green nature.
Lastly, back in the Ionian Sea we have the place called the island of Zakynthos, or Zante, the romance is made up of single instances of sheer, jaw-dropping natural beauty. Whereas the beauty of Corfu lies in the Venetian sophistication, Zakynthos wins by the brute force of its seaside attraction. It hosts one of the most famous beaches in the whole world: Navagio or Shipwreck Beach. Nestling, deep in a butterglass cove and reached only by boat, this white sand shore with a rusted wreck of one of the smugglerships being grounded on it, against a background of electric-blue water, is beautiful almost beyond belief. The final romantic perspective does not have the beach itself, but the viewing platform on the top of the cliff, where it is possible to observe the scenery on the scale and in colour.
The wonders of Zakynthos continue on the water. Couples would definitely not go without a boat outing with the aim of reaching Navagio Beach but also to see the amazing Blue Caves that is found at the North point of the island. In this case the sunlight is bounced off the limestone sea floor and lights up the caves with a sea-blue light that imparts the appearance of glowing to even the water itself. The beach of Laganas is also the most important nesting site of the endangered loggerhead, Caretta caretta, sea turtle and a visit to the sheltered beaches of Gerakas or Dafni provides the opportunity of observing these amiable animals in their natural environment, and an emotionally appealing one to any couple in love with the animal kingdom. Although certain areas in the island have quite an active night life scene, one can simply get away to the less busy regions and concentrate on the natural beauty. The romance of Zakynthos is epic and dramatic, as the pair which desires the photographic documents of their holiday to be magnificent and the memories of them to be full of the breathtaking scenes only the Mother Nature at her most dramatic can create.
Whether it is the chivalric nobility of Rhodes, the jubilant amusement of Skopelos, the carefree elite of Paros or visceral religiosity of Amorgos, the Greek islands are offering an almost limitless palette out of which couples can create their ideal vacation. It is a self-discovering journey, not only knowing yourself but also as a couple. The strongest memories are created here, when one is having a simple meal in a cozy taverna, when one takes control of a hiking trail, when ones storms the alleys of a civilization or when one just follows a sunset into the eveningless sea. The best island, though, turns out not to be a place at all, neither on a map nor even in a mood, but a feeling. It is the one that is the reflection of the beat of your very own relationship and the one offering you the most beautiful setting of the continuation of your story, a story that is even more enriched and enhanced by the eternal, indisputable magic of Greece.
