Who to go with?
Sifnos is definitely aimed at families/couples who want a quiet retreat with few distractions.
How to get to Sifnos?
Short answer: Ferry. They run regularly from Piraeus (Athens). They're smooth sailings and they show continuous Mr Bean on the TV screens.
Where to stay in Sifnos?
We stayed in the port town of Kamares and booked into Sifnaika Konakia Traditional Settlements. The "settlements" are only a 5 minute walk from the ferry port, but the owner kindly came to pick us up in her car which saved us the walk with our luggage.
Our apartment was located in the valley overlooking the bay and surrounded by mountains. A peaceful rest is definitely the main selling point for this area - which was only broken when one of the neighbours attempted to land their actual helicopter in the farm next door whilst we were watching the sunset - only a few metres away from us!
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| The view from Sifnaika Konikia |
Cool things to do in Sifnos?
There's only so much reading, relaxing, sunbathing we can endure before we get restless, so we decided to walk to the top of the nearby mountain which had what we thought was a little church at the top of it. After some investigation, we discovered that the church was named Agios Simeon, so we packed some food and water and set off.
Apart from a few angry goats, we didn't see a single other soul during the two hour uphill walk in the blistering sun. The views from the top were a welcome reward and the church itself is worth a quick poke around.
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| The view from Agios Simeon |
At the top we met some American tourists who asked where our rental car was parked as they couldn't believe we'd walked up from the very bottom. They were quite insistent that we accept a ride back down with them in their car but we fancied the challenge of the walk back downhill.
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| Inside Agios Simeon |
The walk took approx 2 hours to get to the top, then about 1 hour to walk down. Ignore the Google estimation of 1:27 here, as it doesn't factor in the incline, heat or battles with goats.
We decided to eat (and drink) at a restaurant called Absinthe as it seemed to be a little different to the other restaurants nearby (albeit not the cheapest option). The goat curry was excellent and instead of a dessert we opted for the extensive absinthe menu. Not being an absinthe expert myself, the waiter recommended an American pre-prohibition option. The absinthe is served in a small glass with a sugar cube placed on a sieve and a water dispenser tap left to slowly drip through to sweeten the drink. It doesn't take long for the drink to take effect... and that was the end of my night.
How long to stay in Sifnos?
As nice as Sifnos is, you don't want to spend a two week break here. A few days is enough. When you're ready to leave, there's an independent travel agent who, when he's finished his game of Solitaire, can sell you a ticket for the next ferry.
I'd advise visiting Sifnos as part of some island hopping.
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