The island Anafi in the Greek Cyclades, information and pictures, beaches, hotels.

<XMP><body> </xmp> The island Anafi in the Greek Cyclades, information and pictures, beaches, hotels.
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The island Anafi in the Cyclades in Greece

Probably the most desolate of the Cyclades and of all Greek islands we have ever put foot on shore. We still intend to go back some day, because we found it very nice, but it is a bit out of the route and there are not many ferries that go here. If you have found a boat that can bring you to the island than it is wise to plan a little bit ahead and find out when you can return or go to the next destination. I went to Anafi because one of my friends (his name is Jan, but we call him Janafi) went to Anafi for a few months every year. I wanted to know why. In the middle of the night we arrived after we were fled from Santorini and with some help and luck we found a small room with shower and toilet, thanks to a girl that we met on the ferry (with 10 passengers on it!). We stayed in the village Klissidi at Margaritas (0286-61237). We thought our room was nice, and nothing more, but during the week jealous people came along, because Margaritas was the only place where they had real beds, and where there was a shower and a toilet in the rooms. This was unknown in the rest of the village. The first thing we noticed was the beautiful night sky filled with stars. There was only 1 light bulb in the village, and that was it. We hcould not even see our own feet. The island is quite barren, but beautiful in its own way, with shades of red, white, gray and green. The beach in Klissidi comes complete with trees and shrubs, and some large palm trees. There are plenty of mountains on the island, so if you want to visit the Chora from Klissidi you must first walk down to the harbor to catch the bus. It was not possible to rent a car or a scooter, so there are no more options (unless you want to take a donkey hostage). Everywhere on Anafi it is quiet. The harbor is small, but we liked it. There is a nice small beach with it, and the people are very nice. Each time we went to that beach in the harbour we were the only people there. Klissidi, our base, has a large beach with good sand and waves. It is also very quiet: well, all the beaches we have seen were really very quiet. A little bit more easterly are some beautiful large beaches (including naturist beaches), but you need good shoes and not toe slippers like us. If you want to eat out in Klissidi you have two options. You eat at Margaritas, where there are normally two main courses to choose from, and two or three side dishes (and they can cook delicious!), or you walk down and look in the pots and pans of the neighbor below, or open the oven to check if something is in there. We really enjoyed this. At Margaritas you can also have breakfast while enjoying the beautiful view. If you like absolute peace and quiet then this is your island. There are hardly more than a couple of cars, and at the beginning of Klissidi the road ends. In the evening there is not much to do, but we had great times just sitting on the terrace of Margatitas while eating and drinking ouzo and talking to other guests (a special kind of people return to Anafi each year). If you Anafi you must visit the mountain village of Chora (the main town). You can try to walk, but that would be a bad advice in the heat. You can take the bus in the port and then walk down the mountain from Chora after you have checked it out. it is a kind of ghost town, but very beautiful and unspoiled. It is full of beautiful old white houses, churches and squares. The view over the island and the sea are spectacular. We walked around for an hour and did not see anybody until the very last moment.

A bit more about Anafi
The island of Anafi is 38 km2 in size and has about 350 inhabitants. The highest point of the island is the 579 meters high mountain Vigla. There are not many villages on the island. Everyone arrives in the port of Agios Nikolaos. The main villages are the capital (or Chora), which is situated on the top of a mountain, and the small tourist resort Klissidi. The island lies two hours sailing east of Santorini. After the volcanic explosion on Santorini the island was covered with a thick layer of pumice (25 meters) from the eruption and this is one of the reasons why it never became a prosperous island. Anafi is mountainous and barren and there is no water. Anafi is one of the truly unspoilt Greek islands. During the high season it can be a lot busier, especially when tents are set up on Klissidi Beach, where the camping is free. According to later reports free camping is no longer allowed on Klissidi Beach, and neither is naturism. So now I don't know the details anymore. Pherhaps you do? Sometimes the residents become less tolerant if more accommodations are opened in a village and they try to "upgrade" their beach.
The sights of Anafi

Anafi has one of the nicests and most unspoilt choras (capital) of all the Greek islands, very authentic with pretty Cycladic houses and exterior baking ovens. The small capital Chora lies on a hill in the southwest of the island above the port of Agios Nikolaos. Most inhabitants of Anafi reside in this location on the hill, the Chora, which is connected by an asphalt road to the tiny port of Agios Nikolaos, where the few ferries arrive. From the port there is occasionally a bus to the Chora at the top of the hill and every now and then there is another bus back. The rest you will have to walk, because there are no cars for rent (but see the update). In the larger part of the Chora traffic (cars) is not allowed. The Chora lies on an altitude of 260 meters and originates from medieval times. There are narrow cobbled streets and many old and newer churches. Some of them have Byzantine icons. The streets lead upwards to the remains of the old kastro. You can see the findings from ancient Anafi in the Archaeological Collection.
There is a Venetian castle and the remains of an old city in Kastelli at an altitude of 327 meters. The ancient city of Anaphe and its successor the Venetian castle are placed on the cone-shaped mountain Kastelli. At the ruine field there are several burial chambers with niches, a water basin and traces of temples. The city was founded in the 8th century BC by the Dorians and flourished during Roman times. Here you can see the remains of the city walls and many Roman artefacts can be seen. The most interesting is a sculptured sarcophagus next to the small church of Panagia sto Dokari. On the island there are also the remains of an old Roman port that was called Katalymatsa.
In the southeast of the island on the top of a hill there is a deserted monastery that is built on the site of an ancient Temple of Apollo. On an isthmus there are the remains of an the ancient Apollo sanctuari. This place is now the monastery Zoodochos Pigi and it has been a place of pilgrimage since the Turkish occupied the island. Quite substantial remains of the temple walls and of the temple itself can still be seen.
The old Kalamiotissa Monastery stands on the highest and most impressive rock, on the east side of the island Anafi. It is unreachable by sea and hard to get to from the land. Nowadays the monastery is abandoned.

Beaches and naturist beaches on Anafi
The island of Anafi has beautiful sandy beaches. In front of the village Klissidi itself is a beautiful long sandy beach. A few times you will also see a couple of naturists here. The real naturist beaches are a bit east of the village, and these are beautiful sandy beaches. Between Klissidi and the first bigger beach which has been given a name (Exo Rokounas) are two beaches that are visited by naturists. These are the real naturiste beaches. The first is about a 10 minutes' walk away from Klissidi off from the tavern (not the one at the end of the beach but on the path behind it). The first beach is not very large. If you follow the coast you come to another beach, but it is hard to reach and you have a partially wade through the water. The beach of Exo Rokounas among can be reached from Chora as well. After about a 1,5 klimetres you will see the sign that points to the beach. Enter the path and then go right again. From this beach you can walk through the water (up to your chest) to the next beach. The beach behind this beach is called Mikro Roukounas and can also be reached through the water. Rokounas is the main naturist beach and it is within walking distance. It is about 300 metres long. Here you will find a fair amount of camping people. Nowadays there is a bus going from Chora and there is a taverna (when I was there years ago that was not the case, but it is the "progress" as we say). Again free camping sometimes seems to be made difficult. As I said, you can go there by bus from Chora or you can walk (60 - 90 minutes). At 9 kilometres from Chora is the monastery Zoodochos Pigi and below is a small sandy beach that is used by naturists. There are also more beaches and small bays / coves scattered about the island and the island is predominantly naturist.
Transportation on and travel to Anafi
On Anafi you will mostly only find footpaths for you and for the mules. All life, and hence the beachfun takes place solely on the south coast, and the bays and beaches can only be reached by foot or by boat. Although the island just a two hours sail away from Santorini, Anafi does not have many ferry connections, at least out of high season, one so it has remained one of the most serene and quiet islands of the Cyclades. Much accommodation is therefore not to be found on the island. In recent years the accessibility by ferry ro Anafi has improved a bit (or "worstened", depending on how you look at it, because there are also plenty of people who want to keep Anafi as inaccessible as possible). Just about every day there ist a ferry from Santorini heading to Anafi and there is also one back. Times of arrival / departure vay because there are several ferry companies sailing on Anafi. You can check with Danea, Saos Ferries and Nel Lines. The latter has (in 2008) deployed the small Panagia Tinou to sail to the island. Often these ferries call on every small islands on their journey, and therefore you will zigzag through the Cyclades and you may get a small delay here and there if you come from afar. Personally, I think it always actually fun to sit on a boat and see all the islands go by. If you check and cannot find any schedules on than you are probably too early and the timetables haven't been approved yet. Please try again later in the season. Sometimes the owner of the hotel you booked knows best and you can ask him / her.
Update 2009 by Colombo Francesco Luigi
Fascinated by your descriptions of Anafi I went there and found the island really wonderful and probably more spoilt compared to the period you were there (all the beaches are now reachable by car-bus-scooter, there is also a rent a car-scooter with a limited availability). From this year there is a ferry from Athens (it stops also in Santorini and Riva Therassia) twice a week much more faster then before (9,30 hours) and a boat from Syros also twice a week that stops in many Islands (I took it from Ios). I stayed in Ta Plagia, great location, simple clean rooms with all facilities (fan, no A / C), I had a patio with a beautiful view. The restaurants on Anafi are much better than on the other islands and also cheaper.
Accommodations on the island Anafi
As I have already mentioned, there is not much available in hotels, apartments and studios and alike. They are of course accommodations, but there is not a lot about it listed on the internet. You naturally would like to see a descriptiin and some pictures of any accommodation where you will be going to. I've put a few hotels here for those who prefer to book something in advance. The descriptions and pictures are from the hotels themselves.

Villa Apollon in Klissidi
Villa Apollon is located in the most beautiful place of Klisidi beach, with the deep blue water. It is built amphitheatrically with view southeastern and with traditional Cycladic architecture Villa Apollon consists of 2 full-equipped studios and 5 rooms. Every room and studio has its wonderful view to the sea. The traditional domes, stonewalls and the beautiful gardens create a unique Cycladic character to the complex.
Tel. Athens: 210-99 36 150 Klissidi Anafi, Tel.: 22860-61348 , Fax: 22860-61287 - Send an e-mail to Villa Apollon
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Apollon Village Hotel in Klissidi
Apollon Village Hotel consist a complex of fully equipped and elegantly furnished, spacious and sunny apartments, studios and rooms which can accommodate two to six persons. Each accommodation has been designed with special taste, following the traditional architecture of Anafi and Cycladic Islands with view to the sea.

Phone: 00302108068824 - Mobile: 00306977672130 / 00302286061348 - Fax: 00302109936150 / 00302286061287 -
Send an e-mail to Apollon Village Hotel
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Faros Rooms in Agios Nikolaos Anafi (the harbor)
Faros rooms are located near the seashore. It takes only 2 minutes walking to get to the first beach (Agios Nikolaos), 10 minutes walking to the second beach (Klisidi) and 20 minutes walking to the third beach (Katsouni). So, you don't need a car, bike or bus, to go for a swim. The rooms are built on the hill of the coast of Agios Nikolaos. Faros consists of 6 rooms, all of which are provided with a wc, refrigerator, boiler, ceiling fan, and a big balcony with a magnificent view to the Aegean sea. Five of them have two wooden single beds. The sixth has a wooden double bed, a small third bed and a kitchen sink. There's an engine running in the nearby region, so the place is not absolutely quiet, but the sound is not disturbing in the rooms (note by me: he means I think the sound of the power station at the other side of the bay. It wouldn't disturb me at all, and it is not that bad, can't hear it on the beach down below). Breakfast is not included in the price. The rooms are located close to the small port of the Island, as well as the road; so there is direct access to all kinds of transportation. The road distance to the Chora is about 4 kilometers. There is also a shorter footpath, which will take you there after 30 minutes of walking. People in Anafi are friendly (or become friendly).
Telephone Number of the new owner Martha Ferfiri: 0030-698.3363980- Send an e-mail to Faros Rooms
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Ta Plagia Bed and Breakfast in Anafi Chora
We offer bed and breakfast in our rooms �Ta Plagia� which are located in the village and have a breathtaking view of the aegean sea and all the modern facilities. We offer a friendly and relaxing atmosphere and reasonable prices (from �30-40 low season, �40-60 high season) In our cafeteria you can have a good breakfast with hand-made marmalade and sweets. In the evening we offer snacks with traditional ouzo and raki.
Tel (+30) 2286061308, Fax (+30) 2286061372 - Send an e-mail to Ta Plagia in Anafi.

Hans Huisman, Colombo Francesco Luigi, www.angelfire.com/super2/greece 2009