It is difficult to suggest anything at the moment without knowing a bit more of what you want. Do you want a hotel with a spa for instance? Do you want to do anything else apart from relax? Do you want a village or a town? Are you prepared to travel to get there- eg take a ferry, long coach journey? If you could just a little more I am sure there will be loads of suggestions! Welcome to HT Lou.

Thanks for the welcome Fiona

Guess I need to be a bit more specific! Ideally the holiday wouldn't involve too much travelling although a couple of hours on the coach could be put up with if the destination was worth it. Never been to any of the islands by boat before so wouldn't know what to expect - if it's more tiring it would probably be best left.

As for hotel / apartment etc, the holiday has to be quite reasonable so either B&B (no spa necessary but would be a lovely bonus!) or self catering seem most likely, unless anyone can recommend a reasonable half board.

Although first and foremost I need some relaxation I don't want to feel entirely cut off and would appreciate being in a central location, near to a good beach and with excursions available should I feel I have the energy. Of course good food and a choice of tavernas would be good too - not bothered about clubs / discos etc - really don't have the energy! A relaxing day and good food by night is what I'm after.

I hope that's helped a little bit, I would very much value everyone's opinions here.

Looking forward to any suggestions!

Lou

Hi Lou2

My wife suffers from chronic fatigue too. When we select our destinations we always try to pick somewhere reasonably flat, especially if you are out and about during the day as the heat tends to affect her condition as well. Recomendations I can give are Gouves on Crete , Pefkos Rhodes and Skala Kefalonia all are relatively flat and are quiet resorts with all amenities available quite nearby. We always pick resorts which do not have loads of night clubs so you don`t end up with all the associated problems, just peace and relaxation. At these resorts we have always been near to the beach, excursions have been available either by rep or direct and have a good selection of tavernas nearby. Have a great time wherever you go.

Don

How about Samos. It has a fairly new airport which is very clean and not many planes in and out. Far less hassle than most Greek airports which are in the main awful!! There are only a couple of airlines that fly there from here - Britannia being one and I think the other is Excel. Take a look at Thomson holidays or Kosmar.

Would suggest you stay either in Pythagorio or Kokari - both of which have lots of tavernas situated round the small harbours - very scenic and quiet. Pythagorio is only 10 minutes or so from the airport. Lots of apartments and b&b's to choose from.

Samos has a beautiful interior - quite mountainous - so if you feel up to hiring a car it is well worth seeing. Samos town has lots of shops and a bustling port with ferries to other islands and Turkey.

Hope this is of help,
Pippa

Hi Lou, and welcome.

You'll probably get loads of places to chose from as we all have our favourites.

We stayed at Polycrono in Halikidiki a couple of years ago after just finishing weeks of renovation work on our house. Obviously, although not quite in same situation as you, we really needed somewhere to recharge our batteries and this was perfect.

Polycrono is very flat, with a beach front promenade that is lined with tavernas and places to eat where you can just eat and chill the night away over a bottle of wine. Lots of Greeks come here for weekends away so it must be good.
There were several excursions available including scuba diving, although the visibility was very poor when we went. In particular we enjoyed the "Greek night" where you can join in as much or as little as you please.

The next resort along is Hanioti which is much bigger and busier if you fancied a change, it's only a few mins in a taxi.

We booked through Olympic and stayed self catering in the Kosmas studios. We had a ground floor studio and it was clean and well kept, with your own patio area to sit out on an evening - plus it has the advantage of a pool and it's just a few steps away from the seafront.

Hope that helps,
Dawn

I would agree with Rhodes( Pefkos) and with Halkidiki- either of the two resorts that Dawn mentioned
Perhaps Dawn or someone else can help me here- I remember there was a big complex of two hotels (AI) that we went to for a Greek night which may be ideal for relaxation. They were standing on their own when I was there ( but that some years ago!)
Tolon has a lovely beach but may be too long on the bus( about 3 and a half hours) It has lovely tavernas and bars but not a club scene and there are too many excursions to choose from. If you went there you would have to be careful which hotel you pick as some are on a hill. The main part of the resort isn't though.
As said already here Crete is a great destination. As well as Gouves there is Elounda- haven't stayed in either but I think you might like them! Loads of things to do Crete if you want them.
I am not disagreeing with the rec. for Samos- just haven't been there so can't comment!

I remember there was a big complex of two hotels (AI) that we went to for a Greek night which may be ideal for relaxation. They were standing on their own when I was there ( but that some years ago!)

Fiona, that might be the Sani Beach (I think!) but I'm not sure what else there is there though.

Dawn
I think I've tracked them down- pallini Beach and Athos Palace. However, they are probably a bit far away from the village( Kalithea). Brochure says 10 minute stroll which probably means a 20 min route march!

Ah right - thanks Fiona.

Only a few more hours until my hols (off to Tunisia for a change this year), we leave for the airport at 2am so I'm getting excited here at work now

Thanks so much for all the tips everyone, there's a lot of information here and I'll need some time to digest it / get searching the web!

Don: I hope your wife doesn't suffer too badly and is keeping well.

Really appreciate the advice everyone
Thanks again and puddleduck, have a great holiday

Lou

I would agree that Samos would be nice and relaxing. We went to Kokari and it was lovely, although it was in October we could imagine it would be the same in the summer. Restaurants lovely especially around the harbour. Breakfast in the restaurant was a treat watching the fish in the water as well having cocktails late at night in peace and quiet. Nice resort and good for gentle walks.

Just remembered we went to Elounda a few years ago. Very quiet and nice harbour walks. We stayed at Plaka just opposite Spinalonga Island. 10 mins in the car from Elounda. Very quiet fishing village which had a lovely little cafe on the beach. Some very good restaurants. It is a very small village, the last one before you hit the hills. We stayed in Studios up the hill (Golden Sun) which were very good, but if you have CF then the last thing you want to do is walk up hills, they did have others in the village. Elounda is lovely. Not much to do but enough to keep you interested and rested for a week. There are loads of accommodation in this resort and also some very posh ones at the other end towards Ag. Nik. Hope this helps.

Pefkos is great but please be careful with your choice of accommodation, some of it is set back from the road up very steep inclines so wouldn't be suitable for you.
Aghia Marina in Crete or maybe Ornos in Mykonos might be better.

We have just come back from 2 weeks in Samos and it was wonderful and so relaxing. We stayed in Pythagorio which is by the airport so no transfer problems!
We stayed at the Kouros Bay Hotel, via Thomson, Bed and Breakfast The hotel is on the beach with no road and just the odd aeroplane to watch taking off!
It is just a 20 minute stroll with no hills into Pythagorio or a 2.50 Euro taxi ride. The town is beautiful with plenty of lovely restaurants to chose from - we didn't have a single bad meal.
The harbour has restaurants and bars with cosy wicker chairs to sit in comfortably while you watch the world go by.
Plenty of trips if you want them. We did the Island Tour which was excellent and the day trip to Ephesus, Turkey. We also took the hydrofoil for the 1 hr trip to Paxos which we loved.
I can thoroughly recommend Pythagorio, Samos for a relaxing holiday!

Just had a colleague raving to me about Samos. She has been a few times and adores it. At the moment she is going through a very hard time of it- bowel cancer- and dreaming of the time she can return there.

PJ I think you mean Patmos.Paxos is in the Ionian Sea.Yes Samos would be a good choice but also consider Stoupa.

If you are considering Samos then please don't leave it too long before you book. There are only a couple of airlines that fly in so obviously not as many seats as some other destinations. Remember also that many of the smaller Greek islands tend to close down at the beginning of October.

Pippa

Just wanted to thank everyone once again for all their very helpful suggestions.

Have actually opted for an Italian Lakes holiday this time (hoping the moutain air will do me some good) but if I'm fortunate enough to be able to book for another holiday soon, will definitely be trying out some of your suggestions. In fact, my family well be trying them out before I do!

Thank you!

Lou

hi lou2 i`d go to stoupa 3hr flight 90 min transfer a lovely compact resort best going june or sept.