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Showing posts with the label island hopping

Greenland spent decades funnelling every visitor through an old American airbase, and that has just ended.

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Greenland spent decades funnelling every visitor through an old American airbase, and that has just ended. Every international arrival used to land at a former military strip far inland, then transfer to a small propeller aircraft. Now a runway built for jets serves the capital directly from Copenhagen, Reykjavik and Newark, a second airport has opened in the south, and a third is due at the icefjord town. With all three running, most of the country sits within about ninety minutes of one connection. That rebuild is the reason to look now. Check whether the northern airport is operating before planning around it, since the opening has moved more than once, and expect prices that reflect a place where almost everything is imported. Beds are few and fill fast in the short summer. Compare flights and hotels for Greenland at https://destination.chat and build in spare days, because weather cancels flights here as routine rather than misfortune. The icefjord is the headline. A glacier that ...
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In Coron, the boat costs more than the bed.

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Book a week in Coron and the biggest line on your budget usually isn't the hotel — it's the water. That surprises people, and it's the first thing worth understanding before you compare anything else. Coron is built around island-hopping. The lakes, the lagoons, the wartime shipwrecks that made the place famous for divers — none of them are things you walk to. You reach them by boat, on day tours that stack up fast across a trip. Book those one by one at the pier or through your hotel desk and you'll usually pay the most; compare and bundle them ahead and the same days cost noticeably less. [see also our guide to island-hopping tours] if it's your first time working out which tour covers which spot, because they overlap in confusing ways. There's a name trap here too, and it quietly wastes money. "Coron" refers to three things: Coron Town, where you actually sleep, sits on Busuanga island; Coron Island, the separate one with the lakes, has no town; and...
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Krabi or Phi Phi — where should you actually base yourself?

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Here's a question that quietly decides your whole budget: do you sleep on the mainland or on the island? Most people booking Krabi and Phi Phi never really ask it — they just pick the postcard — and the ones who compare first usually pay less for a better trip. Start with what these two places actually are, because they aren't interchangeable. Krabi is the mainland gateway: Ao Nang for beach-and-restaurants convenience, Krabi Town for a cheaper, more local base, and Railay, a peninsula so cut off by cliffs that you reach it only by longtail boat. Phi Phi is offshore — Phi Phi Don is the one with hotels and the nightlife, while the famous Maya Bay next door has no accommodation at all and closes to overnight stays. So "Phi Phi" on a booking site can mean anything from a party hostel to a quiet resort a boat-ride from the pier. [compare hotels across Ao Nang, Railay and Phi Phi Don] before you assume they cost the same, because they really don't. The part that catch...
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Kythira: how to get there, where to stay, and why this island deserves far more attention than it gets

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Kythira is one of those Greek islands that most people know by name but few have actually visited.  And that's precisely what makes it so special. No mass tourism, no crowds, villages that feel frozen in time, and beaches you don't have to share with hundreds of strangers — Kythira is the definition of a hidden gem. The island has a small airport with seasonal flights, mostly from Athens. Alternatively, there are ferry connections from Piraeus and from ports on the Peloponnese coast such as Neapoli and Gythio. Comparing your options — flight or ferry — can make a significant difference to your overall cost, depending on the season and how early you book.  At https://destination.chat you can compare flights, accommodation, and other travel services in one place, quickly and without the usual endless searching. For accommodation, the Chora — the island's main village with its Venetian castle — is the most popular base, and for good reason. The views from up there are stunning...
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Ithaca: how to get there, where to stay, and how to experience the island of Odysseus without overspending!

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Ithaca doesn't need much of an introduction — the name says it all. Birthplace of Odysseus, symbol of the journey home, and one of the quietest and most authentic destinations in the Ionian Sea. If you're looking for an island that hasn't been swallowed by mass tourism but remains genuinely beautiful, Ithaca is exactly that. The island has no airport, so the most common route is flying into Kefalonia and then taking a ferry or shuttle boat across. Alternatively, there are direct ferry connections from Patras and Astakos on the mainland. Comparing flight and ferry prices early can make a noticeable difference to your overall costs.  At https://destination.chat you can compare flights, accommodation, and travel services in one place — quickly and without the usual back-and-forth between tabs. For accommodation, Vathy — the island's capital — is the most popular base, with hotels and studios set around one of the most impressive natural harbours in Greece. Kioni and Frikes...
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Koufonisia: how to get there, where to stay, and how not to overpay!

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Koufonisia is one of those islands that makes you start searching for flights the moment you see a photo. Turquoise water, narrow fishing village streets, beaches that need no filter. The question is how you get there and what it's going to cost you — because without a bit of planning, you can easily end up paying much more than you need to. There's no airport on Koufonisia, so the most common route is flying into Athens or Naxos and then taking a ferry. From Piraeus, the high-speed boats take around 5 hours, while from Naxos you can be there in under an hour. If you search flights and ferry tickets early, the price difference can be significant.  At https://destination.chat you can compare flights, accommodation, and a whole lot more in one place — no need to juggle a dozen open tabs. Accommodation on Koufonisia fills up fast, especially in July and August. If you're travelling during peak season, booking several months in advance isn't being overly cautious — it's...
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Ios island on a budget: flights, hotels, and what you actually need to know

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Ios has a reputation. Some say it's the party capital of the Greek islands, others say it's one of the most beautiful places in the Cyclades. The truth? It's both — and you don't need to spend a fortune to experience it. If you're planning a trip to Ios, the first thing to sort out is how to get there without overpaying. The island doesn't have its own airport, so your main options are flying into Athens or Santorini and then taking a ferry.  From Piraeus, regular ferries take around 7–8 hours, while high-speed boats cut that down to about 4. From Santorini, it's just 45 minutes by fast boat. Comparing flight and ferry prices early makes a real difference — at https://destination.chat you can check flights, accommodation, and more in one place, so you're not wasting time jumping between tabs. Now, about where to stay.  The Chora — Ios's hilltop village with its narrow white streets and blue-domed churches — tends to fill up fast in July and August, s...
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Lipsi, Greece: the tiny island escape you'll wish you'd found sooner...

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There's a particular kind of quiet you only find on the islands tourism hasn't fully caught up with yet, and Lipsi is one of the last places in the Aegean where you can still feel it. This tiny Dodecanese island, tucked between Patmos and Leros, has stayed refreshingly low-key: a handful of whitewashed villages, turquoise coves you can have almost to yourself, and a pace of life that makes you forget what day it is. There's no airport on Lipsi itself, which is part of what's kept it so peaceful. Most travelers fly into Leros or Kos and hop on a short ferry from there, or take a longer boat from Piraeus if they're starting from Athens. It's a bit of extra planning, but the payoff is an island that still feels like a discovery rather than a destination. Once you're there, a small car or quad is genuinely useful. The island isn't huge, but the best beaches, like Platis Gialos and Katsadia, are spread out enough that having your own wheels makes exploring fa...
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