The island of Kithira - Peloponnese, Greece

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The island of Kithira - Peloponnese, Greece

A trip that is strongly recommend if you have an extended stay is the beautiful island of Kithira, and according to legend is the birthplace of Aphrodite.
The island of Kithira (or Citera) is located south of the Peloponnese, between the Ionian Sea and the Aegean Sea.
It is part of the Ionian islands even though the architecture and its landscapes are more of a resemblance of the Cyclades islands.

Kithira

As you reach Kithira
Kithira is reached by taking the ferry Myrtidiotissa from Githio from Piraeus and Crete (port of Kissamos).

Timetables are available on the site of Porphyra

You can also reach Kithira from Neapoli between May and October, from where the ferry Agios Andreas reaches the island 2 times a day.

Schedules are available to the emergency telephone: +30 2736 034 371 or +30 2734 023 980.

Kithira

The legend
The mythology has it that when Cronos cut the genitals from his father Uranus, he threw them into the sea, where they are thought to be the two rocks that emerge from the sea on the east coast of Kithira.
Aphrodite escaped from the foam formed by the genitals and re-emerged in Cyprus.

These two islands are still in dispute for exclusivity of the birth of Aphrodite.
Besides the myth, the island is truly beautiful, with beaches and clear blue sea as can rarely be found.

Kithira, now inhabiting about 3000, today shows many villages abandoned since the Second World War, due to many people immigrating to Australia or moving to Athens. Tourism is a treasure discovered only recently and so the island is still almost virgin to intrusive facilities.

The beauty of the island lies in the feeling of being “outside the world" that you feel from the arrival.
Some beaches are better reached by scooter.
There is a very beautiful and romantic bay that opens the at the foot of Hora, the capital of the southern part of Kithira

Kithira

Sights: Agia Pelagia, Potamos (excellent restaurant O Sotiros), Paleochora, Mylopotamos, Hora or Kithira.

The problem of this region is that there is water shortage afflicting the island in the warmer months. Tankers often supply the only available water at some locations.
In front of Kithira, even further south to Crete, is the islet of AntiKithira, just over a cliff but with an inhabited village.

A really beautiful route that will take several days is to visit the Peloponnese, take the ferry to Githio, spend a few days Kithira, return to the same ferry from Githio and go to Crete. In Crete, coming from Githio / Kithira, you arrive in the small port of Kastelli / Kissamos, at the extreme west.

But the town is a perfect starting point for visiting the lagoon Balos and Elafonisi.

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