East Cyclades Adventure

Day 1: Embarkation in Olympic Marina, Lavrion – Cape Sounion (6 nm) 

Sail to the bay of Sounion, where you can stop for the first night,  below the Temple of Poseidon. Enjoy a late-afternoon swim guarded by the God of the Sea.  

Day 2: Cape Sounio – Makronisos – Kythnos (26 nm)

Start your trip heading to Kythnos with a stop to Makronisos. Like a sun-drenched memory tormented by dark secrets, the blue of the Aegean is flecked with black traces of its past (dictatorship). It has been estimated that by the time the camp closed for good in 1961, over 100.000 people had suffered on Makronisos for their ideas, for their dignity. The island is marked by it’s memory …

 Then history turned a page and the island of torment transformed into place of joy. In mythology the island is named after Fair Helen, who stopped off here on her way to Troy.

Arriving at Kythnos island you can moor at the bay of Loutra . This small fishermen’s village of Loutra (Baths) has  a natural spa of thermal waters. 

The remains of a Mesolithic settlement from the 9th-8th millennium BC near Loutra, are the oldest evidence of domestic dwelling that has come to light in the Cyclades to date.  The first historically recorded inhabitants of the island (they are referred by to Herodotus) were the Dryopes and Kythnos was the name of their colony’s founder and leader.  The ancienr city of Kythnos stood on the site of modern-day Vryokastro, and important antiquities have come to light there. The island has two main settlements: Chora (or Mesaria) and Dryopida (or Chorio). Both towns are served by nearby harbors : Chora by Loutra with its thermal springs to the north-east and Dryopida by Kanala, with its church of the same name, on the south-east coast. The island’s port Merichas, lies between the two villages. 

Day 3:  Kythnos – Syros (Ermoupoli) (31 nm)

On your 3rd day you can leave Kythnos dehind and continue to Syros island. The capital of Syros island, Ermoupoli, is considered one of the most picturesque Cyclades capitals. Venetian mansions, spectacular sunset views, narrow alleys, neoclassical buildings, and impressive catholic and orthodox churches ooze a fairytale charm!

Don’t forget to visit  bay “Grammata” and swim at the crystal clear waters, which is a  Monument of International Heritage. This was the place where sailors from antiquity all the way to the Medieval ages and Barbarossa took shelter and while waiting were carving their prayers and wishes on the rocks.

Day 4: Syros (Ermoupoli)  – Mykonos (18 nm)

Let’s   sail towards Mykonos !! Don’t forget to stop at “Rhenia” for a swim. 

Mykonos is Greece’s most famous cosmopolitan island, a whitewashed paradise . According to mythology, Mykonos was formed from the petrified bodies of giants killed by Hercules. The island took its name from the grandson of Apollo, “Mykonos”. Set out on a journey to discover a fascinating world where glamour meets simplicity.

Day 5: Mykonos – Delos – Syros (Finikas) (23 nm)

Visit the archaeological site of Delos which is one of the most important mythological, historical, and archaeological sites in Greece.   The excavations in the island are among the most extensive in the Mediterranean. Delos had a position as a holy sanctuary for a millennium before Olympian Greek mythology made it the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis.  

From its Sacred Harbour, the horizon shows the three conical mounds that have identified landscapes sacred to a goddess in other sites: one, retaining its Pre-Greek name Mount Kynthos, is crowned with a sanctuary of Zeus.

Established as a cult center, Delos had an importance that its natural resources could never have offered. 

After your visit to Delos, sail towards Syros and moor at the safe bay of Finikas.

Day 6:  Finikas – Kea (Karthaia) (43 nm)

Starting from Finikas, towards the ancient bay of Karthaia at Kea island, with a beautiful beach and the ancient city and temple by the sea. You can moor at Vourkari and visit the capital of Kea “Ioulis”.  

Kea is an island of myth and tradition. In the Early Bronze Age a settlement appears at Agia Eirini on Agios Nikolaos bay, one of the largest natural harbours in the Mediterranean.  Settlements inhabitants were clearly influenced by the Minoan civilization. There were four cities in the island. Two cities in the West : Korissos (the modern –day port) and Poiiessa, one in the East :Karthaia and a fourth : Ioulis on the site of present-day Chora. 

This stone isle, which Man has literally bent to his will with countless stone walls and terraces, is still marked by its uninterrupted inhabitation since the Neolithic the forest of royal oaks which covers a large part of its inland and eastern sections. 

Day 7: Kea – Lavrion (15 nm)

On your last day, you will leave Kea and sail towards your  final destination, at Lavrion, in our base .You can stop at Makronissos for swimming and arrive until 18:00 back to Olympic Marine. 

Day 8: Disembarkation at 09:00 in the morning for check out.