Bouquet of Cyclades: Santorini, Paros and Folegandros

Reception at Santorini airport at 7.45 p.m. Transfer to your hotel and installation. Presentation of the stay. Free dinner.
Night in a hotel in Santorini.

From Megalochori, rising between the vines to the beautiful village of Pyrgos, before reaching the top of the island (Mount Prophet Elias - 567m) and its essential monastery. There follows a panoramic descent to the site of ancient Thera. Founded in the 9th century BC, it was the ancient capital of the island during Greek and Roman antiquity (around 1-hour visit). We discover the remains of buildings (theater, church, school ...), columns, carved ashlars ... in front of an exceptional panorama, and in line with the seaside villages of Kamari and Perissa. Via an old mule track, we descend to the superb Kamari beach (it is said to be the most beautiful beach on the island) passing through the astonishing Zoodochos Pigi cave and its chapel. Relax at the beach and transfer to the hotel.
Dinner and overnight in a hotel in Santorini.

The classic Santorini hike along the caldera. Short transfer to Oia, at the northern end of the caldera. Going up the maze of alleys, we leave the dazzling white houses and their blue shutters to follow a path in volcanic ash-colored with red, yellow, or black to Fira, the bustling capital of the island.
Free time to enjoy the small town (archaeological museum, shops). Transfer to the hotel.
Dinner and overnight in a hotel in Santorini.

Ferry to Paros and its famous windmill which stands on the port. It is the guardian of this vibrant city, the old center, where you can stroll among the ruins of the ancient Paros and to the Basilica of "Our Lady of the Hundred Gates" (Panagia Ekatontapiliani) a major Orthodox monument in Greece.
Continue on foot to the hotel.
Dinner and overnight in a hotel in Paros.

From Parikia to Naoussa, we set off for an impressionist discovery of Paros combining windmills, ancient marble quarries, monasteries ... to end in style in Naoussa, a charming village in the typical Cycladic style in front of an Aegean sea. Naoussa Bay is also famous for its beaches. That of Kolymbithres in particular, with its rocks polished by the wind and its creeks with fine sand.
Dinner and overnight in a hotel in Paros.

From Prodhromos, on the eastern flank of the island, we walk the "Byzantine road" centuries-old path that leads us to Lefkes and then south to the chapel of Agios Nikolaos. A superb route takes over in the valley of Kavouropotamos to Aspro Horio, literally: the white village. Then we descend to the village of Dryos by the sea.
We can continue to Piso Livadi, passing through pretty bays including Chrysi Akti or the Golden Beach.
Dinner and overnight in a hotel in Paros.

From Pounta, south-west of Parikia, a short crossing (10 minutes) brings us to Antiparos. The main village is built around a 15th-century Venetian kastro(castle), itself built around a tower of which the base remains. We set off to discover this island, towards its highest point (the unmissable Profitis Ilias, 301 m high). Against a hill, opens the cave of Saint John, whose stalactites and stalagmites are covered with inscriptions dating back several centuries.
Return to Paros and transfer to Parikia.
Dinner and overnight in a hotel in Paros.

Ferry to Folegandros. Arrival early afternoon or evening. Transfer to the hotel in Chora, beautifully perched on a cliff with magnificent panoramas of the Aegean Sea. Depending on the time of arrival, visit the area, walk to the Church of Panagia, and the outskirts of Chora.
Dinner and overnight in a hotel in Folegandros.

We leave Ano Meria for a long hike offering superb views; we discover several bays and beaches as well as the lighthouse of Aspropunta and the coastal villages of Agios Nikolaos and Angali. Wonderful paths and an atmosphere of vastness and end of the world on the program, before returning to Chora.
Dinner and overnight in a hotel in Folegandros.

We set off to explore the northwestern part of the island. Departing from Ano Meria, we descend on superb paved paths to the beach of Agios Georgios where a few clumps of tamarisk provide the most sparse shade. We go back up the Fournides hill before descending to Ambeli beach. We return to Ano Meria via the chapel of Agios Panteleimon.
Dinner and overnight in a hotel in Folegandros.

Late morning ferry to Santorini. Free afternoon. Possibility to visit the extraordinary site museum covering the ruins of the Minoan city of Akrotiri which was destroyed and then covered by ashes during the volcanic explosion of - 1500 BC. Although almost all of the frescoes are on display in the Athens Museum, the Akrotiri site is a must-see. It pleasantly completes a circuit to the south of the island of Santorini, on the Loumorades hillside via the red beach and the contemporary village of Akrotiri.
Dinner and overnight in a hotel in Santorini.

Transfer to Santorini airport (transfer schedule depending on your flight back). End of stay.