Gone Greco

Beyond ouzo and the Acropolis, five islands for waves and wandering in the playground of Zeus
By Marc Dubin

Rhodes
Though new marinas are sprouting up throughout the islands, Rhodes still reigns as the undisputed yachting center in the southeast Aegean. Sailboats share space with hydrofoils in Mandhr¤ki harbor, the most ancient of the Dodecanesian capital's three ports. During a week's charter, you can comfortably take in anchorages on Rhodes, such as the east-coast harbor town of Lindos, and SŒmi, H¤lki, TŒlos, and Nissiros--the four minor islands between Rhodes and Küs--plus make forays over to the Turkish ports of Dat‡a and Bodrum. As long as you avoid the period from late June to late August, when the fearsome meltemi winds make for nauseating sailing with 25-knot gusts, you should never have more than six hours between landfalls.

SŒmi and H¤lki, barren limestone specks to the north and west, both have belle epoque port towns, built with proceeds from sponge diving; of the two, SŒmi is livelier and more cosmopolitan, with the best anchorages outside the main harbor. The port of Mandhr¤ki, on Nissiros, manages to cram in an improbable number of tavernas along its narrow, flagstone alleys, some serving the local specialties of pitti¤ (chickpea patties) and pickled caper leaves. Hilly TŒlos has seven medieval castles, gorgeous beaches, and lush orchards.

A typical charter is a 38-foot sloop suitable for six (plus a skipper). Reputable charter companies in Rhodes include Vernicos Yachts (phone 011-30-241-30-241, fax 241-30-838) and Yacht Agency Rhodes (phone 241-22-927, fax 241-23-393). Prices, including skipper, start at about $2,500 per week--bearable if split six ways. Before or after your cruise, stay at Cava d'Oro (doubles, $40; phone and fax 241-36-980), a renovated thirteenth-century mansion in the old town. If you want a pool, a better choice is the recently refurbished Plaza Hotel (doubles, $65; phone 241-22-501, fax 241-22-514) in Neohüri, just west of Mandhr¤ki harbor.

At present, scuba diving is permitted only in the north cove at Kallith‹a, where the highlight is a small cave-and-tunnel system in about 40 feet of water. Two dive operations, both on the Mandhr¤ki quay, are Waterhoppers (241-38-146 or 93-422-617) and Dive Med (phone 241-33-654, fax 241-23-780). A full two-dive day at Kallith‹a with either operator costs about $55; five-day certification courses are also available, as are short courses for beginners. For other water sports, the youth-oriented package resort of Falir¤ki, about nine miles south of the town of Rhodes, is overly commercial for some tastes; the flip side is that everything from parasailing to waterskiing is available along its three-mile-long beach.

Despite the island's considerable size (about 45 by 22 miles), the best hikes are concentrated around the three main peaks on its west side. Bald, 3,986-foot Att¤viros, the highest point in the Dodecanese, seems forbidding, but the trail up from the village of Èyios IsŒdhoros (about five hours round-trip) is clear and easy, and sprawled across the top are foundations of an ancient temple to Zeus. The island's second-highest peak, 2,600-foot AkramŒtis, is known for its rare endemic flora. Starting from the village of Si¤na, make a 2.5-hour traverse just below the pine-tufted ridgeline and shoot up to the summit or descend to the village of Monülithos. The third peak, heavily forested ProfŒtis IlŒas (2,500 feet), north of Att¤viros, can be climbed from the village of S¤lakos on one of the last cobblestone paths on Rhodes.

S¤mos
Mountainous, green, and well watered, S¤mos looks like a guppy swimming away from the coast of Turkey, just a little over a mile distant. Until the late 1970s, this 184-square-mile island was a stop on the hippie trail to India, offering idyllic beaches and a cheap ferry ride to Turkey. Lately, S¤mos has become known for its boardsailing, particularly on the more exposed north coast, where the conditions and facilities (German-run schools with newish boards) are among the best in the Aegean, especially for those who are just learning.

On the relatively protected bay of VathŒ--situated on the island's northeast shore--the 16-room Hotel Panthea (doubles, $40; April through October, phone 273-22-275), perched above citrus groves two miles from the port, has its own boardsailing school on the shore 200 yards below. But the town of Kokk¤ri, its red-tiled cottages draped over twin headlands about eight miles west of VathŒ, has made a virtue of breeze-buffeted necessity by transforming itself into the island's premier boardsailing center. You can rent boards (about $7 an hour throughout the islands) and arrange lessons (about $15 an hour) right on the pebble beach, and most boardsailors will find plenty of action within a few hundred yards of shore. Stay at the wood-trimmed Hotel Olympia Beach (doubles, $45; 273-92-353) or contact Olympia Village for an efficiency unit (doubles, $60; 273-92-420, fax 273-92-457).

Even after prolonged harassment by bulldozers, S¤mos still has a good network of hiking trails. From Kokk¤ri, take the old path to the village of Vourliütes and continue on a roller-coaster route through a lush valley to the village of Manol¤tes, where you'll gaze down on terraced fields spiked with cypresses. Then descend to the coast at Èyios KonstandŒnos--about four hours in all. Starting from Manol¤tes, more committed trekkers can tackle 3,600-foot Mount Èmbelos, S¤mos's second-highest summit.

Bring your own bike for exploring S¤mos's miles of hills and precipitous canyons, or rent one at Hotel Panthea (about $13 per day). There are no marked trails yet, but you can tackle the wooded ridge of Èmbelos, best approached from Vourliütes in the north or the village of P¤ndhrossos to the south. Horseback riding has lately caught on near the major southeastern resort town of Pithagürio. Iron Bridge Trekking Centre, about a mile east of town, offers two-hour rides in the foothills and olive groves (call the center at 273-61-687 from 8 to 10 p.m. for ride schedules and prices, or call Hotel Polyxeni at 273-61-359).

Küs
The fertile but flattish landscape of Küs, the next substantial island south of S¤mos, may fail to impress at first glance, but the beaches and beach sports are among the best in the Dodecanese group. Most of the northwest and southeast coasts of this 111-square-mile island form one long swath of sand broken up by low, striated cliffs. As on S¤mos, boardsailors congregate on the north-facing shore to take advantage of steady 13-knot northwesterlies. The resort towns of Ting¤ki and Marm¤ri, four miles apart, are both well equipped with beachfront shacks dispensing boards and lessons. Here, the beaches shelve gently into green-blue water, with the islands of K¤limnos and Ps‹rimos on the horizon to keep you from drifting too far toward Turkey. Non-boardsailors can rent sea kayaks right on the beach (about $5 per hour).

In Ting¤ki, stay at the Hotel Ilios (doubles, $50; 242-29-411), a complex of two-story stucco bungalows less than a mile from the beach. Also inland, the Marmari Riding Centre has 24 horses available for one-hour shoreline rides, including a gallop through nearby AlikŒ marsh ($20 per person), or half-day trips into the foothills ($60; 242-41-783).

Küs can't compete with S¤mos when it comes to hiking, but the three-hour ascent of 2,622-foot Hristüs brings a huge payoff: a sweeping 360-degree view that takes in Turkey's Knidos Peninsula to the southeast, Nissiros, TŒlos, and H¤lki to the south, Astip¤lea to the west, and K¤limnos to the north. Start from the village of Zi¤, three miles inland from Ting¤ki.

Road biking is generally inadvisable in Greece--the highways tend not to have shoulders, and Greek drivers tend to have chips on theirs when it comes to sharing the road. But Küs is a happy exception: Rental agencies are thick in the port capital of Küs Town, the island's northernmost point (about $5 per day for a balloon-tire clunker, $14 for a touring or mountain bike), and in a Greek first, the municipality has marked a bike lane along parts of the coast road. Pedal west on the level coastal plain to Marm¤ri (about 11 miles) or beyond. In Küs Town, stay at the unpretentious, three-story, tile-floored Hotel Afendoulis (doubles, $30; phone 242-25-321, fax 242-25-797).

Scuba diving in Greece is generally restricted because of the potential for pilfering submarine antiquities. If you want to dive, consult the regularly updated list of permitted areas provided by the National Tourist Organization of Greece in New York City (212-421-5777). Since many of Küs's shores are off-limits, the best diving is on a reef off the island of K¤limnos--an hour and a half by boat north from Küs. During high season, the dive operation in the town of Vlih¤dhia offers daily afternoon dives.

Crete
This 160-mile-long block of limestone poised at the southern edge of the islands, just 200 miles from Africa, owes its mystique to its harshly beautiful mountains, which rear up to peaks of over 8,000 feet. While many towns on Crete's northeast coast have bowed to the sun-worship trade, the mountainous western half offers the best Mediterranean island trekking outside Corsica.

The most scenic routes thread the lunar Lefk¤ Øri (White Mountains), which loom above the northern port town of Hani¤. There the local chapter of EOS, the Greek Mountaineering Club, has marked several alpine trails as the local segment of the trans-European randon‹e path E4--which enters Greece from the north and will eventually continue through to Turkey. For information, call EOS at 821-24-647. If you're planning any serious trekking, you'll need the 1:80,000 scale contour map published by Verlag, available at either of the two bookstores on the main street of HalŒdhon in Hani¤. Mountain guide Jonathan Peat of Athenogenes leads regular treks in the White Mountains during late April and late September (call 01-36-14-829, fax 01-36-15-849).

One particularly recommended four-day hike skirts the Samarian Gorge (a ten-mile-long ravine), starting at the Kall‹rgi alpine shelter southeast of Hani¤. The first two-day section links the shelter, near the top of the gorge, with the 7,604-foot summit of P¤khnes; then you hike south to the little port town of Loutrü. Two more days take you from Loutrü west along the coast to Paleohüra. At Loutrü, one of the few natural harbors on this sheer coast, you can exercise your arms instead of sore feet in sea kayaks rented by the hour straight off the little pebble beach. Stay at the basic Hotel Porto Loutrü (doubles, $40; 825-91-091). Once you hit Paleohüra you'll have more chances to unwind on its sandy westerly beach, which has steady winds and sailboards for rent by the hour or the day. Stay right behind the beach at the imaginatively named Beach Hotel (doubles, $35; 823-41-512).

N¤xos
Largest and most vegetated of the Cyclades group of islands, a half-day's ferry ride northwest of the Dodecanese, hilly N¤xos lays claim to fine beaches and even better hiking. Despite such selling points, the lack of an airport capable of accommodating large jets has saved the island from going the way of neighboring MŒkonos or P¤ros. The countryside is reminiscent of Mexico, with field borders of prickly pears and the candle blooms of century plants.

Since the early 1980s a small boardsailing school has operated out of a tiny shack on the bay of Èyios Yiüryios, less than a mile south of the medieval town of Hüra, on the northwest side of the island. If you want to roll out of bed onto your board, stay at the small St. George Pension (doubles, $37; 285-23-162). Boardsailing conditions are even better at MikrŒ Vigla, a promontory five miles south of Hüra, where the new MikrŒ Vigla Hotel (doubles, $60; 285-75-240) has its own school that takes advantage of 20-knot winds. More sedentary beachcombers will prefer Plaka, the wide stretch of sand between MikrŒ Vigla and Èyios Yiüryios; toward its north end, the Iria Beach Apartments (doubles, $50; phone 285-24-178, fax 285-23-419) is a 25-unit complex just behind the beach. Head mid-beach to the Gor-gona for pitchers of wine and buffet-style meals.

The island's star hike is a traverse of its heart, from Apüllonas, on the north coast, to Èyii Apüstoli, just east of Hüra-three days of walking that can be done in separate chunks, using buses or taxis to get back to your starting point, or all at once, overnighting in villages en route. You'll come across kouroi (unfinished ancient statues) at Apüllonas and Melan‹s, a Byzantine chapel near H¤lki, and surprisingly lush canyons clogged with terraced orchards. Trekking Hellas, an Athens-based outfitter (phone 01-32-34-548), occasionally runs organized hiking expeditions on N¤xos.

Marc Dubin divides his time between London and S¤mos. His next book, out this summer, is Rhodes, the Dodecanese and the East Aegean: the Rough Guide (Penguin).