Let’s just say we’ll never get enough of Greece. It was love at first sight and we’re still on the honeymoon! But Greece Act II required the road lesser travelled, even if we were somewhat late to the untouched island party. It was only mid-September 2016 and I couldn’t shake my Greece wanderlust for the following August. (I know, 🙄 said everyone). Well, the early bird catches the worm and also the best ferry schedules to Sifnos and Folegandros.

Sifnos ended up becoming our favorite Greek island so far. It has the perfect mix of all the greatest things: Cycladic architecture, sandy beaches (look, ma, no rocks!), just a few charming white-washed villages sprinkled across a relatively small area and divinely delicious food. Plus it’s the first time I’ve seen the sunshine yellow accent color!

One of our favorite days was a drive around the island. In fact, the main picture on all these pages is the end of the road in Sifnos! Along the way we got a real sense of the island’s deep beauty and culture. We saw Sifnian fishermen stringing their pale yellow nets and a free-roaming herd of goats hobbling slowly across our one lane road. Talk about an island traffic jam! When we reached the mini “village” of Cheronissos we joined local families for a dip in the small bay and felt truly transported back in time. (Even the cute boutique where I snagged two yummy tunics was from a sweeter era). Fast forward to dinner at the uber-creative and beachy-sleek Omega 3 and our time circle was complete. Sifnos felt old and new simultaneously in the most amazing way.

SIFNOS

where we stayed: Verina Astra in Poulati. We had two adorable rooms, Perseus and Cassiopeia.

what we loved: Huge private terraces overlooking the sea & Kastro village, incredible food, stunning infinity pool, far enough into the wild but close enough to town, gorgeous interior design and exterior floral situation!

things we did: hiked to Kastro along the sea, swam at the mini “beach” below our local church, walked to adorable Artemonas, shopped in Apollonia and scored a table at Drakakis (yum!), booked Omega 3 way in advance, drove to mini Cheronissos, spent an exceptional afternoon at Vathi beach and never wanted to leave this amazing island. Now that I think about it, there was a lot of eating on this vacation.

tip: definitely make resto reservations if possible, even at the lesser known places.

FOLEGANDROS

Add this up: 12 square miles small, population 650 + 1 taxi + many goats, donkeys & sheep + lots of sun (and a bit of wind) with the cutest main square ever. I mean this main square is straight out of central casting perfect. Folegandros is 100% wow.

If you happen to be on a Greek island on August 15, you’re in for a treat. It’s the celebration of the Virgin Mary and a Greek national holiday. And since Chris’s birthday is August 13, we’re usually on vacation for his big day. (Too big, these days, haha!). On this trip we were smack dab in the middle of this close-knit island community (650 residents!!) for all the revelry — dancing & singing at the church right outside the main square. What a special experience for us to join local grandmothers, dads, kids, families and friends gather in joyous celebration. We also  feel lucky that our Greece trips will be forever linked with our dear friends Tristan, Sarah, Logan and Sonja who joined us here and in Mykonos – our own special celebration of friendship.

And so, we all spent the rest of the week pretending to be Greek on this very chill 12-square miles of amazingness. 😍🇬🇷

where we stayed: Villas at Folegandros

what we loved: rugged location on the sea, shabby chic little houses with well-equipped kitchens, casual and cool hang out spaces, the vieeeeews!

things we did: tbh, there’s not a ton to do in Folegandros! We mostly soaked up the sun at the pool, ate lots of dinners in the main town while oohing & aahing over the cuteness, downed sunset cocktails at a very local “bar” on the side of the road aka: homemade wine from water bottles, swam at Agkali beach, and explored where our feet would take us after we deposited the rental car.