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A warm efharisto to all of the people in Greece who shared their stories, knowledge and enthusiasm for their country. Thank-you to Brana at LP for bringing me onboard and to my co-authors for their insights. Thank-you to my fabulous daughters, Monique and Simone for letting me work and also encouraging me to take breaks. Thanks to Kirk for being my rock and to Bing, the loyal coonhound, for keeping me company while I burned the midnight oil.
Boundless gratitude to Alexandra Stamopoulou for her INSPIRATION. She travels with me everywhere. Ryan is a peachy companion, on the road and off. Boundless thanks to Anthy, Costas and Matthew who first introduced me to Greece, and then to Hydra, the other love of my life. Efharisto poli to Oren who made researching Poros a blast, and to Rachel, Jenny and Timothy for their enthusiastic companionship. Margarita, Kostas, Zisis and Okeanida also make Greece home for me.
A big thank you to Brana, for entrusting me with half of the Cyclades, and to everyone who helped me en route. In particular: Edd and Meg for research input in Mykonos and Delos; Aristoteles in Kea; Konstantinos in Syros for aiding a stranded travel writer; Alexander and Eleni in Kythnos; Spiros in Andros; Giorgios in Milos; Sofia and Dimitris in Tinos; and the good people in Milos who rented me a scooter that coped with sand, gravel and cobblestones.
A hearty efharisto to everyone who helped out during my research trip, but especially to my exceptionally beautiful wife, Yuriko, who kept me on track, focused and constantly smiling. The Greek islands are a joy to island-hop through, and a big part of that joy comes from meeting and talking to happy Greeks! – thanks to you all.
Many thanks to Georgia Lale, Annia Ciezadlo, Ioanna Theodorou, Maria Papadimitriou, Rod Ben Zeev, Polycarpe Nana Toukam, Dora Papagiannou and everyone else who shared their knowledge of and affection for wonderful Athens. At Lonely Planet, thanks to editor Brana Vladisavljevic for being calm and collected, and to Alexis Averbuck for her work in previous years. And special thanks to Peter Moskos, who got me to Athens in the first place.
Huge thanks of all the wonderfully friendly Greek people – domatia and taverna owners, travel agents, ferry attendants, gas station employees, taxi drivers – for giving invaluable tips and helping out in all sorts of situations. You’ve once again reinforced my long-standing opinion that Greece is possibly the best place to travel on Earth. I would also like to thank my wife, Maria Makeeva, for accompanying me on this journey, driving thousands of miles and helping with the research.
Big heartfelt thank yous to all the wonderful people I met during my travels around Crete, who so generously and patiently shared their knowledge, insights, wisdom and passion and made me once again feel connected with the island.
Thank you to Chara Stavropoulou and Manolis Avgerinos on Skyros for sharing their local knowledge, to Alexandra on Skopelos and to Amy on Alonnisos. And to everyone who was so generous and welcoming throughout Evia and the Sporades.
Thanks to the many wonderful people who helped me on my way around the Ionian islands; without Greek hospitality I’d have learned a whole lot less and had a lot less fun into the bargain. And thanks as ever, with all my heart, to my dear wife, Sam.
Special thanks to Fokas, Maria Cristofi, Skevos Travel, Marianna, George at GNTO and all the Greek friends who helped me along the way with my research.
Climate map data adapted from Peel MC, Finlayson BL & McMahon TA (2007) ‘Updated World Map of the Köppen-Geiger Climate Classification’, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 11, 163344. Illustrations pp70-71 and pp280-281 by Javier Martinez Zarracina. Cover photograph: Shipwreck Beach, Zakynthos; Matteo Colombo/AWL ©
This 10th edition of Lonely Planet’s Greek Islands guidebook was researched and written by Korina Miller, Alexis Averbuck, Anna Kaminski, Craig McLachlan, Zora O’Neill, Leonid Ragozin, Andrea Schulte-Peevers, Helena Smith, Greg Ward and Richard Waters. The previous edition was written by Korina Miller, Alexis Averbuck, Carolyn Bain, Michael Stamatios Clark, Greg Ward and Richard Waters.
This guidebook was produced by the following:
Destination Editor Brana Vladisavljevic
Product Editors Sandie Kestell, Ronan Abayawickrema
Senior Cartographer Anthony Phelan
Assisting Cartographer Corey Hutchison, HunorCsutoros, Rachel Imeson,James Leversha
Book Designers Gwen Cotter, Clara Monitto
Assisting Editors Judith Bamber, Carly Hall, Victoria Harrison, Kellie Langdon, Louise McGregor, Kristin Odijk, Susan Paterson, Monique Perrin, Chris Pitts, Sam Wheeler
Cover Researcher Naomi Parker
Thanks to Elizabeth Jones, Jenna Myers, Genna Patterson, Alison Ridgway, Victoria Smith, Marissa Tejada, Angela Tinson
Ebook thanks to Ruth Cosgrove, Julie Dodkins, Blazej Hadzik, Craig Kilburn, Wayne Murphy, John Taufa, Yanxiang Wang, Juan Winata.