anywhere like halki?

[sunfun]

I know there probably isn;t anywhere with the same charm as halki,but is there anywhere that comes close,that any of you have come across?We like traditional.quiet.laidback places...like halki! ;D

[Deleted]

I visited several Greek islands 25/30 years ago that "were" blissfully peaceful etc. Then the tourists came in force and the day trips started. They are not worth mentioning now. Does the trend seem familiar??

[Di]

We liked Leros, but that's going back some years now. We stayed in Alinda (I think) and it was very laid back, but I don't know what it's like now It's also a bugger to get to Must admit, you can't beat sitting in Apostolis, listening to the music and watching the moon disappear behind the town hall ;D ;D Bliss ;D ;D

[johnr]

Lesbos is a big island about the size of Rhodes, with some highly developed parts but no Faliraki equivilant; Molyvos is a rather attractive town given its level of development. When we were last there a few years ago, the isalnd still passed the "traffic light test", ie. there weren't any, though that might have changed.
We particualrly likes a small town called Sigri which is quite isolated and has some Halki-esque qualities. It has a few good tavernas, nothing too raucus in the way of nightlife and a good, child friendly beach. It is quite an interesting place, once a Turkish town before the "population exchange" (=ehtinic cleansing) in the early 20th century.
Close by, there is a petrified forest, which is magical; the trees and creatures have been turned to stone in an instant. The trunks of the great forest giants are now limestone, with a canopy of leaves of the thinnest, purest emerald, that the wind no longer rustles. Here a white rabbit, perfectly preserved by transformation to chalk, is about to disappear down into its burrow. There, a sapphire humingbird sips glassy nectar from a ruby flower. On larger wings, formed from pink terra cotta, a flock of pigs is poised to take flight...

[kathy]

Although it's not Greece, Gozo, the island off the coast of Malta was a beautiful, serene and tranquil place when I visited. Although it is quite a few years ago, I believe it is still much the same from what I have heard from others who have been there recently.
Worth a look!
;D ;D

[muriman]

I've just (late Sept/early Oct 09 been on a sailing trip around the northern Dodecanese and of all the islands visited (including Kalymnos, Patmos, Leros, Lipsi, Arki) I thought Agathonissi was about the nearest to having a Halki-like character, possibly followed by Lipsi.

Incidentally, I used Thomson flights to and from Kos airport and taxi via Mastichari (which is roughly equivalent to Kamira Skala, as a means of getting a ferry to a meeting point at Kalymnos). Returning through Kos airport on Wednesday 7th October was chaos - makes Rhodes Diagoras seem like a model of efficiency.

[sunfun]

:)Thanks everyone for the ideas.Johnr,we saw a petrified well once at mother shiptons cave(yorkshire i think,can't remember) It was fascinating.I think we'd like to see the forest.it sounds magical,as you say.Cheers!

[geedee]

We went to Sigri many moons ago. The road into the village had only just been tarmacked. We really enjoyed it. It was peaceful and at that time was very quiet. Donkeys were in common use and we often passed village ladies shelling almonds under the shade of a tree outside one of the houses.
The church was a reminder of the Turkish past as it had previously been a Mosque!
Traders would arrive loaded with domestic goods and haberdashery. This would attract a large gathering of the residents who would examine the goods, hold items up for scrutiny and no doubt haggle and have a good old chinwag at the same time.

[johnr]

Sunfun, sometimes the urge to indulge in flowery writing overwhelms my sense of reality... The petrified forest is interesting but ranks a little lower than Mother Shipton's Well as a wonder of nature. The pigs were supposed to be a clue.

[daisy]

Not really but did love Kefalonia before Captain Correllis Mandolin

[Kinygos]

The pigs were supposed to be a clue.

Ah, hyperbole and irony, so lost in a generation of the emoticon.
johnr; a voice crying in the wilderness; and some fell on stony ground.
Respect is due. It is normally me that they do not understand!

[sunfun]

:-[Yes johnr and kinygos,i fell for that one.
Some may think i'm stupid,but i prefer to think that my child-like qualities took over when reading that fascinating description! ;D ;D ;D
By the way girls...you didn't notice it either! ;D ;D ;D

[Kinygos]

Lesbos is fine, and green being quite far north.
The pieces of petrified tree are mostly used as door stops from my memory.
More like petrified logs!
There is nowhere quite like Halki though and, although so much about it drives me crazy, I will keep going back.
I just worry where the island is heading. This year especially; the concept of takings down so put the prices up.
When Chalkibert & I go to Kamiros Skala at the halfway point in the fishing trip we pay €2 for 500ml of beer; that's not why we go!
Then we hear, "well they have to bring the beer over", and so on, to excuse doubling the price on Halki.

I spent a week in Efate island Vanuatu* and, without the cost of a week's fishing for marlin**, I would say it was no more expensive than Halki, even comparing a lobster meal in Vanuatu with lamb in Halki, and they did not take the tables and chairs away while I was eating!
I do hope the Halki people get a grip on the 21st century, keep the good and do not adopt the bad!

*Hotel Melanesian (from the Greek - Island of black people)
**Crusoe Fishing Adventures; possibly the cheapest big game fishing on the planet!

[davidfromealing]

Just back from Lemnos. A great island, very friendly, cheaper than most - very Greek.

[daveandgill]

We went to Finikounda (spelling subject to variation as usual) on the mainland, Peloponese. This is a quiet resort of around the same size as Halki, although nowhere near as pretty.
It has around 14 tavernas, a long sandy beach and another very long beach a few minutes walk away.
In the next coastal town a short bus ride (or 10 euro taxi) away is the most amazing ruined fort, well worth a day's visit.
We enjoyed the tavernas and have never had such good food on holiday. It is one of the few Greek resorts that we would be happy to return to (if we couldn't get to Halki, of course).


Dave