Most evocative monastery: Corfu, Santorini, Mykonos, or Katakolon (Olympia)?

[mikeerdas]

My wife and I will be doing a mid-May Norwegian Jade cruise of the Greek Isles. If we were to pick only one monastery on one of the following islands, which should we choose and why? Ports are:

 

* Corfu - (8am to 3:30pm) possibly a decent option itinerary-wise since we have no current plans for touring. We like nature, ruins, wine/food and history. We're not shopping, crafts, or beach people.

 

* Santorini - (1:30pm to 10pm) Dinner at sunset in Oia will be the highlight. Other options open. Learned here at CC that this is a tender port where excursion people get off first. Leaning against Akrotiri (a bit out of character for us because we love ruins; but we also love atmosphere and awe-inspiring places in general).

 

* Mykonos - (8am to 6pm) Definitely going to Delos. Not set plans afterwards. Know this is a tender port but forget if excursion folks get priority to disembark, etc.

 

* Katakolon /Olympia - (9am to 6pm). Obligatory to see ruins of Olympia since my wife has never been. But no plans otherwise. Can anyone give a quick summary of current non-taxi public transportation options for getting to Olympia?

 

By evocative, I mean something that just has a tremendous spirit of place and is dramatically situated. Something peaceful and gorgeous and/or very atmospheric.

 

I have very fond memories of a 3 day independent visit I took of the monasteries at Meteora in Central Greece. Probably nothing as spectacular and unique as that, but what good options do I have to choose from?

 

Delphi, while not a monastery, is also dramatically situated. And is just one of those evocative-type places burned into my memory as among the most atmospheric I've ever been to.

 

In general, we prefer to DIY using pubic transportation while in Port; vs. booking ship excursions, taking taxis, or renting a car. But we might make an exception this time, at least for one day.

 

Would consider combining a monastery visit with a winery as well. Seems like there are several excursions offered on these islands to monasteries so I thought I'd ask here about how the various monasteries compare, etc. And if your visit was truly memorable or you could have given it a miss if you'd known in advance what you'd have experienced.

 

Would appreciate info on using public buses to get to any recommended monasteries, e.g. what bus number, do buses go frequently, etc. Or if there are any particularly good threads or DIY trip reports on DIY ports on your own for the Norwegian Jade itinerary: again, Venice > Corfu > Santorini > Mykonos > Olympia.

[Chloe1500]

I visited Corfu's monastery last fall, Theotokos, which is on the hill above Paleokastritska, (northwest of Corfu town). It is quaint and quirky, well worth a visit for the gardens and the view alone. I went there on a morning excursion from the ship, but for DIY, i understand there is a public bus from Corfu town to Paleokastritska (getting to the hilltop monastery would mean a hike). There are also taxis for hire. Perhaps others who have done this can provide the details.

[mikeerdas]

I visited Corfu's monastery last fall, Theotokos, which is on the hill above Paleokastritska, (northwest of Corfu town). It is quaint and quirky, well worth a visit for the gardens and the view alone. I went there on a morning excursion from the ship, but for DIY, i understand there is a public bus from Corfu town to Paleokastritska (getting to the hilltop monastery would mean a hike). There are also taxis for hire. Perhaps others who have done this can provide the details.

 

Thanks for the info Chloe. Will have to check out YouTube videos of it and see if that strikes me. The New Fort in Corfu Town looks very cool, I've noticed. And I also love visiting forts. Wonder if I'd have time to do both.

[Chloe1500]

Thanks for the info Chloe. Will have to check out YouTube videos of it and see if that strikes me. The New Fort in Corfu Town looks very cool, I've noticed. And I also love visiting forts. Wonder if I'd have time to do both.

 

Probably time for both, but it may also depend on what you have for transportation. That's why we took the excursion to Paleokastriksa in the morning, so we could have lunch in Corfu town, and spend time there too in the afternoon. The bus transportation just didn't mesh well with our schedule and plans, and we didn't want to rent a car.

[mikeerdas]

Probably time for both, but it may also depend on what you have for transportation. That's why we took the excursion to Paleokastriksa in the morning, so we could have lunch in Corfu town, and spend time there too in the afternoon. The bus transportation just didn't mesh well with our schedule and plans, and we didn't want to rent a car.

 

Thanks Chloe.

[marazul]

Mike,

just a warning. The monastery closes for a couple of hours after lunch.

The beach at Paleokastritsa is very nice and there are little boats that take you around to see the underwater caves. Very pretty.

 

We hired a taxi at the port for three hours to see the monastery, go to the boat and drive around a bit. Very reasonable.

 

I posted about it a couple of years ago. Also, search Paleokastritsa in this forum.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=34192339&highlight=paleokastritsa#post34192339