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Contents Quality of Tea Houses on the Kanchenjunga Trek Tea House Food on the Kanchenjunga Trek Internet on the Kanchenjunga Circuit Trek Electricity on the Kanchenjunga Trek Showers, Toilets etc on the Kanchenjunga Trek Dining Rooms & Kitchens on the Kanchenjunga Trek Cost of Rooms on the Kachenjunga Trek Tea Houses at Mitlung and Sinwa Chirwa's Tea Houses Tea Houses at Tapethok, Ranipur and Lelep Tea Houses at Sekathum and Itahari Lama Tar's Tea House Amjilosa's Tea Houses Thangyam's Lodge Gyabla's Tea Houses Phale's Tea Houses Ghunsa's Accommodation Tea Shops Between Ghunsa & Khambachen Khambachen's Tea Houses Ramtang's Tea Shops Lhonak's Tea Houses Tea Shop between Lhonak and Pangpema Pangpema's Tea House Tea Shop between Ghunsa & Selele High Camp Tea Houses at Selele High Camp Tea Shop between Selele High Camp & Tseram Tseram's Tea Houses Ramche's Tea Houses Tea House at Andhafedi Tortong's Tea Houses Kengsra's Tea Houses Hellok's Homestays Bhadrapur Links to My other Blogs on the Kanchenjunga Trek 1. Quality of Tea Houses on the Kanchenjunga Trek I had read several older blogs about the Kanchenjunga trek. The accommodation at that time was very basic and rough. In November 2022 I did the Makalu Base Camp trek and those tea houses were pretty dire! The tea houses on the Kanchenjunga trek were looking to be no better. However, I was very pleasantly surprised by the quality of most of the accommodation on the Kanchenjunga trek. The accommodation was only poor at Tseram and Ramche, but that was because the better tea houses were closed because of illness. Your experience at the tea houses will greatly depend on how busy the Kanchenjunga trek is. When I went at the end of October 2023 there were usually at most 6 other trekkers and their guides and porters at each overnight stop. I could choose the tea houses I wanted to stay in and the rooms as well. See my blog Kanchenjunga Trek - Trip Report . If I had started my Kanchenjunga trek a week earlier it would have been an entirely different scenario. There were several large groups and many tea houses were full. Trekkers had been sleeping in the dining room at Amjilosa. At Khambachen large tents were erected for the guides and porters to sleep in. Lhonak was full. In autumn I would recommend delaying the Kanchenjunga trek until after approximately the 25th October in order to avoid the peak season. A bit later would be better. There are less trekkers in spring but it can become very busy for a few days at Tseram during the climbing season. See my other blogs about the Kanchenjunga trek. 2. Tea House Food on the Kanchenjunga Trek The food was so much better than I expected. On the Makalu Base Camp trek there were no menus and the food was mainly Nepali dishes. On the Kanchenjunga trek most tea houses had menus and they could cook a variety of dishes. I only eat rice and noodle dishes when trekking so I can't comment on the quality of the western food when it was available. On long trekking days there was usually a tea shop on the way and they cooked dal baht and other dishes. It is best to check if they will be open before leaving your tea house. When I trekked from Selele to Tseram the tea shop had been dismantled and we hadn't taken a packed lunch. The cost of food and drink increased with altitude. Dal baht cost R200 ($1.50) at the start of the trek but the cost had increased to R800 ($6) at Lhonak. A cup of black tea cost R50 ($0.40) at the beginning of the Kanchenjunga trek and had increased to R150 ($1.15) at Ramche. 3. Internet on the Kanchenjunga Circuit Trek The only tea house on the Kanchenjunga trek that had wifi was at Ranipul, which is just before the bridge to Lelep. I could get internet on Nepal Telecom up to Sekathum. After Sekathum I could sometimes use WhatsApp with Nepal Telecom. Ghunsa used to have internet at the medical centre but it hasn't worked for a year. However, messages can be sent and received on WhatsApp in Ghunsa most of the time. 4. Electricity on the Kanchenjunga Trek All the tea houses that I stayed at had mains or solar power and there were lights in the bedrooms. Sometimes the lighting was a bit dim. At most tea houses on the Kanchenjunga trek up to Ghunsa there was free charging of electrical devices as they were connected to a power line. The exception was at Itahari near Sekathum as they had solar power. The tea houses north and east of Ghunsa all had solar power. Most of their batteries were not large enough to allow charging of electrical devices. The Kanchenjunga Guest House in Lhonak was an exception. Electrical charging was free for guests and they charged visitors R500 ($4) per device. I took a solar panel and 2 small power banks. I used the power banks but didn't need to use the solar panel. I had 3 batteries for my video camera but could have coped with 2. I had 2 USB adapter plugs. One of them had 2 ports which was very useful in Ghunsa as I quickly had to charge several devices one evening. I used the second adapter plug in the dining room. I used USB adaptors with 2 round pins and they can be bought in Thamel. The adapter plugs are usually loose when plugged into the electrical sockets at tea houses. I take tape so I can secure them properly. In the past I took Sellotape (Scotch tape) but this time I just used some micropore tape. 5. Showers, Toilets etc on the Kanchenjunga Trek Ghunsa is the best place to have a hot shower on the Kanchenjunga trek. I had a cold shower at Thangyam and could have also had one at Sekathum. The only rooms with attached toilets are at Ghunsa. The floors in the communal toilets can become icy and you definitely don't want to fall over in their. Most tea houses sell items like toilet paper, biscuits and soap. The prices increase with altitude! 6. Dining Rooms & Kitchens on the Kanchenjunga Trek The fire in the dining room can make a big difference to the comfort of a tea house. The fire isn't usually lit until about 16.00. They stop adding wood at around 19.00 unless the tea house is busy. It becomes cold by 20.00 which encourages the trekkers to go to bed! The coldest time of day is at breakfast time yet the dining room fire was never lit in the morning. If there aren't too many guests it is often possible to have meals in the warm kitchen. I always enjoyed that for both the warmth and the atmosphere. 7. Cost of Rooms on the Kanchenjunga Trek A single room costs between R500 ($4) and R1,000 ($8) per night. The price increases with altitude. At Ghunsa the cost of a room with an attached toilet was R800 ($6) . The most expensive room was R1,000 ($8) at Selele High Camp. Later on in this blog I have attached several of my bills and menus that show the cost of food and rooms. It may be possible to negotiate a lower rate but I didn't try as the cost was low. I was more concerned about obtaining a good room. However, I always determined the room cost before taking a room. 8. Tea Houses at Mitlung and Sinwa I forgot to take photos of the tea houses in these villages. We had lunch at a tea house in Mitlung and the food was good. Sinwa is quite a large settlement and there was a modern looking hotel. I met 2 trekkers who stayed there and they enjoyed their stay, except for the dogs barking at night. 9. Chirwa's Tea Houses There are 2 basic tea houses in Chirwa with about 5 bedrooms in each. I stayed at the Kanchenjunga Guest House and was charged R500 ($4) for a single room. There wasn't a menu. The cost of tea and food was very reasonable as can be seen from the photo of the bill. I could access the internet on my phone with a Nepal Telecoms SIM card. The other tea house in Chirwa was the Tamang Guest House. It was almost full when I arrived so I didn't stay there. 10. Tea Houses at Tapethok, Ranipul and Lelep There are tea houses in all these villages but I only have details of the two tea houses in Ranipul. Ranipul wasn't shown on my map and is across the river from Lelep. Trekkers usually stay at Ranipul at the end of the trek if they have taken the new trail westwards from Tortong to Hellok along the Simbuwa Khola river. The Hotel Dream & Lodge is the most popular of the 2 lodges at Ranipul and is used by groups. They have hot showers and free wifi. 11. Tea Houses at Sekathum and Itahari There are at least 2 tea houses at Sekathum and 1 tea house at Itahari which is half an hour past Sekathum. I stayed at Itahari and didn't see the tea houses at Sekathum. The tea houses at Sekathum are larger and would be used by groups. The tea house at the tiny settlement of Itahari has only 4 basic, but clean, rooms. It has an outside shower and toilet. The internet can be accessed on Nepal Telecom when outside the tea house. They have solar power but electrical devices can't be charged. There are 2 problems with the tea house at Itahari. Firstly if it was full you would have to walk back to Sekathum to find alternative lodging. Secondly their prices are too high. For example a cup of coffee was R200 ($1.50) whereas at other tea houses at this altitude it was R100 ($0.75). As there is no menu the high cost isn't readily apparent. 12. Lama Tar's Tea House The village of Lama Tar isn't shown on the map for the Kanchenjunga trek. It is a 2 hour walk from Sekathum and a 2.5 hour walk to Amjilosa. The tea house is basic but looks clean. It could be a good option if you are trekking at a busy time. It wouldn't be used by groups. 13. Amjilosa's Tea Houses There are 2 tea houses at Amjilosa. I had lunch at the one in the north of the village. The dal bhat was fine and cost R250 ($2). The rooms were dark and basic. They had several beds in each room. The other guest house looked better from the outside but my guide said it was about the same standard. The tea houses at Amjilosa were full the week before we arrived and trekkers were having to sleep in the dining room. Groups tend to stay at Amjilosa and I recommend that trekkers don't stay here. 14. Thangyam's Lodge Thangyam is shown on the map as Thyangyani. It is a 2 hour walk from Amjilosa and a 1 hour 50 minute walk to Gyabla. A lodge was built here in 2019 but it wasn't opened until last year because of Covid. It was built by the owner of the large hotel at Gyabla. The lodge has about 10 bedrooms, a western toilet, an Asian toilet, a shower room and a sink with running water. It is all very nice and the guy running it was friendly and switched on. It is a far better choice than staying at Amjilosa. It seems that groups don't stay here but unfortunately that could change. It isn't expensive and I paid R1,470 ($11) for my room, dinner, breakfast and hot drinks. Far cheaper than the rip off tea house at Itahari and it had a far superior standard of accommodation and food. 15. Gyabla's Tea Houses Gyabla has a very pleasant position on top of a hill. It is sunny and there are excellent views. I didn't stay there but spent an hour relaxing and drinking tea. There are at least 2 lodges. The Hotel Shingi Namjong is a large modern place. Some trekkers don't like it and prefer the more traditional and rustic tea houses. I have stayed in plenty of those! If you stay at Thangyam it would be too early to stop for the night at Gyabla. I walked on to Phale but everyone else who stayed at Thangyam walked on further to Ghunsa. 16. Phale's Tea Houses I stayed at Phale as it is an authentic Buddhist Village at an altitude of 3,215 metres. I could easily have walked another 1 to 1.5 hours to Ghunsa. However, I was in no rush and wanted to acclimatise well in order to go up Drohmo Ri East (5,965 metres) from Kanchenjunga's North Base Camp. There are 2 tea houses at Phale and I stayed at the Fale Guest House. I was the only guest there and really enjoyed my stay. The dining area adjoins the Tibetan kitchen. The owners were very hospitable and the food was good and plentiful. My bill for lunch, dinner, breakfast and the room was a very reasonable R1,980 ($15). The other tea house has more rooms but also 2 chained dogs that bark a lot in the evening! They would have disturbed my sleep but fortunately they stopped barking at 22.15. They must have been taken inside. 17. Ghunsa's Accommodation Ghunsa has more accommodation than any other village on the Kanchenjunga trek. It is the only village that has rooms with attached toilets. There is even a bakery. I stayed at both the Peaceful Guest House and the Mountain River View Side Lodge. They both had detached huts, with an attached toilet, at a cost of R800 ($6) per night. Only one of the huts at The Mountain River View Side Lodge had an attached toilet. I preferred the Mountain River View Side Lodge as it was smaller and quieter. Also the owners were very kind and helpful. Groups stay at the Peaceful Guest House and the dining room isn't large enough. The Kanchenjunga Guest House has a very good reputation but groups stay there. There are also several other decent looking guest houses in Ghunsa. The wifi in Ghunsa hasn't worked for more than a year. However, there is a Nepal Telecom signal and WhatsApp messages can be sent and received most of the time. 18. Tea Shops Between Ghunsa & Khambachen There are 2 tea shops at a location about 3.5 hours from Ghunsa. I only stopped for tea but they serve dal bhat and probably some other dishes as well. 19. Khambachen's Tea Houses The best known tea houses at Khambachen are the Khambachen Guest House and the Kanchenjunga White House. The Sun Rise Hotel & Lodge looked fine from the outside. I stayed at the Khambachen Guest House as they had a detached hut available. They also had rooms in the main building. I like detached huts as you can't hear other people walking around and they are generally quieter. The cost was R700 ($5.50) per night. The dining room at the Khambachen lodge was small and gloomy. At lunch time I ate outside at one of the tables. The lodge is in a very nice setting. I went over to have a look at the Kanchenjunga White House as it has a good reputation. The owner spoke good English and was very friendly. The dining room is large, bright and comfortable. They have a reputation for providing good food. There are 5 attached huts at the Kanchenjunga White House. The White House is popular with groups however. There are 3 large yellow tents in the photo below. They were erected a week or so before I arrived as all the tea houses were full. The guides and porters slept in them. 20. Ramtang's Tea Shops There are 2 tea shops at Ramtang which is 3 hours north of Khambachen. I had a really good vegetable noodle soup at the Ramtang Tea Shop. The other tea shop was called the Himalayan Guest House and it had a couple of basic rooms. The rooms are probably only used when the tea houses at Lhonak and Khambachen are full. 21. Lhonak's Tea Houses I stayed at the Kanchenjunga Guest House as it had attached huts and no one else was staying there. The room cost R800 ($6). There was a long drop toilet behind the huts. The Kanchenjunga Guest House had large enough solar powered batteries to accommodate the charging of electrical devices. It was free for guests but cost R500 ($4) per device for visitors. There were several tea houses in Lhonak and most of them looked reasonable and had communal toilets inside the tea house. 22. Tea Shop between Lhonak and Pangpema This tea shop is 2.25 hours from Lhonak and 1.75 hours from Pangpema. I had dal bhat and black tea on the way back down to Lhonak. It cost R1,150 ($9). 23. Pangpema's Tea House This tea house was closed as the owner had gone down to Ghunsa for 5 days to celebrate the festival of Tihar. He promised to return 2 days later to let a group stay there but he didn't keep to his word. Unfortunately you can't rely on this tea house being open in the off season or during Tihar. The tea house owner usually goes down to Ghunsa in the middle of November but he might go back up if a group wanted to stay there. At quieter times he stays in Lhonak until there are trekkers walking up to Pangpema. When the lodge owner is at Pangpema he can be contacted by radio from the Lhonak tea houses. I had read that there were beds in a dormitory but it must be small. There were 3 tents that would comfortably accommodate 2 people in each. There weren't any mattresses but they might have been stored in the building. There was 1 large tent that could accommodate many people. 24. Tea Shop between Ghunsa & Selele High Camp This tea shop is a 3 hour walk from Ghunsa and a 1.75 hour walk from Selele High Camp. I ordered dal bhat and while it was being cooked I lay outside in the sun on one of the mats they had provided. It took an hour for the dal bhat to be cooked and it was a very pleasant spot to wait. The dal bhat cost R500 ($4) and black tea cost R100 ($0.75). 25. Tea Houses at Selele High Camp Until fairly recently there was only one very basic tea house at Selele High Camp. Fortunately the accommodation has greatly improved. The old lodge was the Himalayan Hotel and they have now built a new annex to supplement the accommodation in the old buildings. This tea house is the first one reached after Ghunsa. It is located by a small river. I stayed at the Hillside Lodge as 4 French trekkers were staying at the Himalayan Hotel. The Hillside Lodge is on the top of a hill overlooking the Himalayan Hotel. It consists of 3 buildings. One building has a kitchen and dining room and the other 2 buildings have 7 bedrooms. The Hillside Lodge has an outside toilet. The floor was icy and in the evening we were warned not to use it! The room cost R1,000 which was the most expensive on the trek. 26. Tea Shop between Selele High Camp & Tseram In the high season there is a tea shop between Selele High Camp and Tseram. It isn't in an ideal position as it is a long 5.5 hour walk from Selele High Camp and then it is only another 1.25 hours to Tseram. It is better to take a packed lunch and just stop for a hot drink at the tea house. The tea shop had been dismantled for the season when we reached there. We hadn't taken a packed lunch and regretted it! 27. Tseram's Tea Houses Unfortunately when I stayed at Tseram the Kyabru View tea house was closed, as the owner was sick, and the Blue Sheep Hotel was full. I therefore had to stay at the Yaluangkhang Guest House which is old and rustic. I kept my rucksack in a bedroom but slept in my tent. The other 2 tea houses looked better. The Blue Sheep Hotel is close to the Yaluangkhang Guest House and the rooms are in single storey buildings. The 2 storey Kyabru View tea house is the furthest north and has 6 rooms. I have read a blog on the Kanchenjunga trek that mentioned that all the tea houses were full for a few days in April with expedition teams on their way to climb Kanchenjunga. 28. Ramche's Tea Houses There were 2 tea houses at Ramche but only the very basic Hotel Snow Home was open when I was there. It was the most basic tea house of the entire Kanchenjunga trek. It was probably representative of what the accommodation used to be like on the Kanchenjunga trek. There were about 5 very basic bedrooms and there were several beds in each room. I kept my belongings in my room and slept in my tent. I had a good night's sleep but it was a hassle packing up the tent the next morning as it was covered in frozen dew. The dining room is a structure covered with clear plastic attached to the kitchen. The dining room is warm on sunny days but very cold in the evenings. I had to go into the kitchen to warm up. Everyone went to bed by 20.00. There is a long drop toilet in a very small outside cubicle. It was the most basic toilet of the Kanchenjunga trek. The other tea house was closed as the owner was ill. It was a small modern building with a large tent for the dining area. I doubt that there would be space for many trekkers. 29. Tea House at Andhafedi Andhafedi is equidistant from Tortong and Tseram. It is a 1.25 hour walk from either village. There is a tea house just off the trail. I have read that it is often closed and I didn't visit it. Two trekkers that I met in Tortong had tea there. If it was open you could sleep there. However, there isn't a toilet. 30. Tortong's Tea Houses There are 2 tea houses at Tortong and I stayed at the Hotel Green View. The room cost R500 ($4). The other tea house was the rustic Torantang Hotel. I had a good stay there but it could be noisy if the hotel was full. I was disturbed by 4 Nepali lads in the room below me and had to move into another room. I heard that around the 5th November the tea houses at Tortong were completely full. 31. Kengsra's Tea Houses It is a very hard 5 hour hike from Tortong to Kengsra. Many trekkers don't stop at Kengsra and continue on for another 3 hours to Ranipur. If you have the time it would be more pleasant to break the hike in Kengsra. There are 2 new tea houses but only one was open when I was there. I stayed in the Kengsra Hotel & Lodge and had a good stay. The owner was very helpful and arranged a private jeep for my journey from Hellok to Taplejung. There was a very limited Nepal Telecoms signal that could only be accessed with an older type of mobile phone. The Kanchenjunga Hotel was closed but looked nicer. As it was at the top of a hill it would receive more sun than the Kengsra Hotel & Lodge. The sun went behind the mountains at around 14.30 at the Kengsra Hotel. 32. Hellok's Homestays There aren't any tea houses in Hellock but there are a few homestays. I had lunch at the one below. The dal bhat was excellent and the lady running it was very friendly and helpful. Most trekkers pass through Hellok at the end of the trek when taking the new trail west of Tortong. However, most trekkers don't stay at Hellok and walk another half an hour down to Ranipul. As I stated earlier in this blog there are 2 tea houses at Ranipul . Trekkers often stay the night there and take a jeep back to Taplejung the next day. The road does continue from Ranipul to Hellok but there is very little traffic. 33. Bhadrapur I stayed at the Pasupati Hotel and Lodge which is just outside the entrance to Bhadrapur airport. I had a room with a ceiling fan, and an attached bathroom, for R1,500 ($11.50) per night. Rooms with air conditioning cost R3,000 ($23). As is typical of many Nepalese hotels the bathroom hadn't been cleaned for a long time. The hotel was quiet until 22.30 when five Nepali arrived singing. Fortunately they quietened down after half an hour. It turned out to be a good choice as it was so close to the airport and the food was good as well. 34. Links to My other Blogs on the Kanchenjunga Trek Kanchenjunga trek trip report Hiking Times on the Kanchenjunga Trek Planning your Kanchenjunga Trek Day Hikes on the Kanchenjunga Trek

I did the Langtang trek in late November with a porter/guide. The best part of the trek for me were the excellent day hikes from Kyanjin Gompa. Click here to read my other blogs about the Langatang trek. Contents Introduction Map of Day Hikes on the Langtang Trek Langtang Lirung Base Camp Lirung Glacier Viewpoint Kyanjin Ri Yala Peak Base Camp Tserko Ri Numthang & Langshisha Ganja La Pass Other Langtang, Gosainkunda & Helambu Trek Blogs 1. Introduction to Day Hikes on the Langtang Trek The Langtang trek is very short. The first half of the trek is through forest at the bottom of a steep valley. Good mountain views are only to be found on the upper section of the hike between Thangsyap and Kyanjin Gompa. The trail is very popular with foreign and Nepali trekkers. As the Langtang trek isn't a circuit the same trail is used for ascent and descent thus effectively doubling the number of trekkers on the trail. You can probably gather that I am not that enthusiastic about the hike from Syabrubesi to Kyanjin Gompa! What I did like were the fantastic day hikes from Kyanjin Gompa. Many trekkers arrive in Kyanjin Gompa poorly acclimatised and struggle up Kyanjin Ri or Tserko Ri the following day. They then quickly hike back to Syabrubesi or onto Gosaikunda. As a result they miss out on most of the best parts of the Langtang trek. I recommend spending 4 full days at Kyanjin Gompa doing day hikes and enjoying the incredible scenery. Staying at Kyanjin Gompa isn't a hardship as there are good hotels with attached bathrooms. There are also several bakeries and a cheesery. I recommend the following at Kyanjin Gompa: Day of arrival - The short hike to the Lirung glacier viewpoint (4,161 metres). 1st day - The "flat" hike to Numthang (3,940 metres). If you are fit continue to Langshisha Kharka (4,125 metres). 2nd day - The hike to Langtang Lirung Base Camp (4,407 metres). 3rd day - Kyanjin Ri (4,596 metres). 4th day - Yala Peak Base Camp and/or Tserko Ri (4,984 metres). If you only go to Tserko Ri on the final day you could start the descent back down to Syabrubesi the same day. 2. Langtang Lirung Base Camp The hike to Lantang Lirung Base Camp is very scenic. The Langtang Lirung base camp is at an altitude of 4,407 metres which is almost 600 metres higher than Kyanjin Gompa. However, the ascent is gradual and the terrain is fairly easy. There is a sign in Kyanjin Gompa pointing the way to Langtang Lirung Base Camp. The trail is easy to follow but the actual location of the base camp isn't clear. You follow the lateral moraine as far as you can easily go and the last flat and grassy area is the base camp. The entire hike took 5.5 hours which included a stop for lunch and time spent enjoying the views at both the shrine and the base camp. Few trekkers do the hike to the Langtang Lirung base camp. They miss out on a fantastic hike. 3. Lirung Glacier Viewpoint This is a short hike that I did on the day I arrived at Kyanjin Gompa. It took 1 hour to reach the viewpoint which is at an altitude of 4,161 metres, a 330 metre ascent from Kyanjin Gompa. I enjoyed the hike even though the scenery wasn't as spectacular as on the 3 other day hikes that I did during my Langtang trek ( see my trip report ). 4. Kyanjin Ri The main summit of Kyanjin Ri is at an altitude of 4,596 metres but there is also a lower summit at an altitude of 4,324 metres. There are several posts on the internet incorrectly stating that the higher summit is at an altitude of 4,770 metres. My map identified the lower peak as Kyanjin Ri and the upper peak as Menchhyasma Ri. I haven't seen the name Menchhyasma Ri mentioned anywhere else. I was already acclimatised, having done the Kanchenjunga trek, which made a big difference. I passed all the other young, but unacclimatised, trekkers and reached the lower summit of Kyanjin Ri in about 1 hour. It took less than an hour to hike to the main summit. The views from the lower summit were fantastic, those from the upper summit were slightly better. Jiran and I had both peaks to ourselves and I enjoyed the views and the tranquility. I wasn't looking forward to the descent as I thought we had to return the way that we had come up. It had been fine walking up but it looked steep and slippery for descending. I was therefore pleased when Jiwan told me that we could descend along a different route. It involved continuing along the summit ridge for a short while before gradually descending. It was an easy path and it took 1.5 hours to return to Kyanjin Gompa. 5. Yala Peak Base Camp Very few trekkers do this hike so my guide and I had the trail to ourselves. Usually only those intending to climb Yala Peak (5,500 metres) would go to Yala Peak Base Camp. Initially the route from Kyanjin Gompa follows the path to Tserko Ri. The path crosses a river and then steeply ascends to Tserko Ri. After half an hour there is a fork in the path and the route to Yala Peak Base Camp goes to the right. There is a sign at the junction pointing to Yala Kharka which is on the way to the base camp. From the junction the trail traverses eastwards along the mountain side. It gradually ascends following the northern mountain side of the Langtang Khola. The path traverses open countryside and there are very good views all the way. It took us 2 hours 45 minutes to reach Yala Kharka where there are several stone shelters for yak herders. We had our packed lunches there as it was sheltered from the wind. There were excellent mountain views. From Yala Kharka it was another 45 minutes to Yala Peak Base Camp. We wouldn't have known it was the base camp but for the 2 Thai climbers camping there. We could see Tserko Ri from the base camp and the climbers' guide said it would take about 40 minutes to walk there. My map shows that there is a path from the base camp to Tserko Ri but I cannot remember if there was actually a proper trail. However, the grassy terrain between the base camp and Tserko Ri looked very easy to traverse. We decided to walk a bit further up towards the north to enjoy the views. We slowly walked for another half an hour until we reached an altitude of 4,914 metres. There wasn't a path but the terrain was grassy and easy to cross. The scenery and solitude was fantastic. We then walked for 45 minutes over the grassy terrain to Tserko Ri. My Garmin Inreach Mini registered an altitude of 4,984 metres at the summit. The views were even better but there were about 20 other people. Photos of the summit views are in the next section on Tserko Ri . We reached the summit at 12.45 and were fortunate that there was little wind and the sky was clear. We stayed about an hour at the summit and by the time we left we were the last people there. There are 2 ways to descend. The route most people use for the ascent is on the western side of Tserko Ri. This is a steep route and can be slippery going down. There is a longer and less steep route on the southern side and a lot of trekkers descend that way. We took the longer southern route back to Kyanjin Gompa. After a while it joined the path that we had taken in the morning. It took 2 hours and 20 minutes to walk back. In hindsight I wish we had taken the more direct western path back to Kyanjin Gompa. It would have been quicker and the scenery would have been different. It was a long 8.5 hour day but an excellent hike. It is a more interesting way of getting to the top of Tserko Ri and the ascent is more gradual. It is also likely that there will be no other trekkers on this route whereas the usual route up Tserko Ri is popular. 6. Tserko Ri The summit of Tserko Ri (4,984 metres) is often the main objective of the Langtang trek. Unfortunately many trekkers aren't properly acclimatised and attempt it after only 1 night at Kyanjin Gompa. As a result trekkers often struggle with the altitude and the 1,150 metre ascent from Kyanjin Gompa. The internet states that the hike can take up to 8 hours. Most trekkers should be able to do it much faster than that unless there is snow on the ground. As mentioned in section 6 I hiked up the eastern side of Tserko Ri from Yala Base Camp. I haven't hiked on the normal route up which is on the western side of Tserko Ri. I hiked back down from Tserko Ri to Kyanjin Gompa on the easier, and longer, southern route. It wasn't shown on my map for the Langtang trek but was used for the descent by most of the trekkers when I was there. It took 2 hours and 20 minutes to descend on this southern route. It would be quicker to descend back down the western side but it would be steep and possibly slippery. It is definitely worth the effort to hike up Tserko Ri as the views are amazing. The views are different and more extensive than those from Kyanjin Ri. It is therefore worth hiking up both peaks. 7. Numthang & Langshisha Kharka The trail from Kyanjin Gompa to Langshisha Kharka (4,125 metres) follows the Langtang Khola eastwards. It is an easy trail as it only ascends 110 metres to Numthang and then ascends another 185 metres to Langshisha Kharka. Not many trekkers do this hike and those that do often turn back at Numthang (3,940 metres). Langisha Kharka is at least another hour further on and you have to cross a moraine. I believe the hike would take around 8 hours. It would be a very good acclimatisation hike for the first day at Kyanjin Gompa. When I hiked to Yala Peak Base Camp the trail was high above the trail to Namthang. It gave me the impression that the trail to Numthang wouldn't have good views as it was at the bottom of a steep valley. As I only had one day left in Kyanjin I hiked to Langtang Lirung Base Camp instead. I have since seen photos of the hike to Numthang and there are excellent mountain views. The valley may not receive much sun though. I now wish I had had an extra day for the Langtang trek so I could have done this hike. 8. Ganja La Pass This pass is to the south of Kyanjin Gompa and crosses over to Helambu. The pass is rarely used by trekkers as it can be dangerous and involves camping. It would be safe to walk towards the pass as a day trip. My guide had crossed the Ganja La and pointed out the route to me. The route went through forested areas and it appeared there wouldn't be good views for much of the route. The route can be difficult to follow and you would need a guide who knows the route. I didn't do this day hike as I only had 3 full days in Kyanjin Gompa and the other day hikes are much better in my opinion. 9. Other Langtang, Gosainkunda & Helambu Trek Blogs Planning the Langtang Trek Langtang Trek - Trip Report Planning the Gosainkunda & Helambu Trek Gosainkunda & Helambu Trip Report

We drove from Gjirokaster (see my blog Gjirokaster, Albania: Nothing Special! ) to Himare and spent 4 very pleasant days there. We then drove up to Berat (see my blog Berat, Albania: Travel Guide ). Contents Introduction Himare & Livada Beach South to Palermo Castle & the road to Saranda Old Himare North to Dhermi & Llogoraja Pass Link to my Other Blogs on Albania 1. Introduction None of Albania's coastal towns are special architecturally and the main reason to visit them is to enjoy the beaches and sea. At the moment Albania's coastal resorts are relatively undeveloped compared to those in most other European countries. However that is rapidly changing. We wanted to stay at one coastal town during our one week drive up Albania from Greece to Montenegro. For us it was a choice between Ksamil and Himare. Ksamil now seems to be spoiled by over development and I couldn't find any ideal accommodation. I found the very nice and reasonably priced Mihalis Apartments at Himara and therefore decided to spend 3 nights there. They can be booked through Booking.com and my review of the apartments is number 7 on my blog UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 2 . The main reason to stay at Himare is for the beaches and the sea. There are 2 main excursions that can be made by either driving north up the coast or south down the coast. 2. Himare & Livada Beach Himare isn't a beautiful town, but it is also not overdeveloped nor too touristy. This is probably because the beach isn't that special and is very narrow. There are far better beaches to the north at Livada and at Dhermi. From our apartment it was a 10 minute walk down to Livada beach. We drove the 2 kilometres every night to Himare to have dinner and do grocery shopping. We always had a short walk around Himare after dinner but there wasn't much to do or see. Apart from the short seafront promenade Himare is scruffy. We parked on the street when we went to the southern part of Himare. It is a 10 minute walk to the promenade in the northern part of Himare. This is where most of the restaurants and shops are. Free parking is difficult to find in the northern section of Himare. However, you can find parking by entering " Private Parking Himare " in Google Maps. It costs 300 Lek for 3 hours and 700 Lek for the day. Livada beach is one of the nicest beaches that I have been to. The water is clean, inviting and warm. We didn't see any jelly fish whilst we were there but it was just the start of summer. There are sun loungers and umbrellas on most of Livada beach, but there are public areas as well. We paid 500 Lek for 2 sunloungers and an umbrella. I think we got a good deal and in the peak season it would be at least double that. There is a good road to Livada beach and we managed to park along the seafront road. Whilst we were there they were constructing a seafront promenade and the area above the beach was messy. The peak summer season was just about to start and the timing of the construction was poor. There are quite a few restaurants and hotels along the north and central sections of Livada beach. However, it is still very undeveloped. The south end of Livada beach is quieter as the road doesn't extend that far. Although I really liked Livada beach I wasn't that impressed with the development going on. It will improve once the promenade is completed. However, I don't think the promenade will be as nice and classy as the one at nearby Dhermi. 3. South to Palermo Castle & the Road to Saranda We drove from Gjirokaster to Himare via Saranda (see my blog Albania to Montenegro - Week 9 ) . We didn't stop to look around Saranda as I was worried about the security of our possessions in our car. Also the Bradt guide book stated that Saranda was an unappealing concrete jungle! For once they didn't unnecessarily rave about a place. The road is very scenic with superb coastal views. It is a single lane mountainous road and easy to drive along. As usual we had impatient Albanian tailgaters behind us. It was never for too long as they had little hesitation in overtaking on blind corners! It is about 1 hour 20 minute drive each way. Palermo Castle is a 20 minute drive from Himare. On the way you can pull off the road into a lay by to view a submarine tunnel that was used by the Russians in the 1950's. There is limited free parking at a restaurant on the side of the road near the castle. There is also a rough dirt track that runs down to the small beach and the castle and there is plenty of parking there. The road was far too rough for my liking and I personally wouldn't risk driving down it. The entrance fee is 300 Lek and in summer the castle is open from 09.00 to 18.00. The castle isn't that old as it was only built in the early 19th century by Ali Pasha Tepelana. It is not a must see sight but it is interesting enough. It takes about half an hour to see it. 4. Old Himare We could see Old Himare from our apartment and it looked quite interesting perched on a hill. It is quite a distance from new Himare and we therefore drove up one morning to have a look around. There is limited car parking just off the main road, but there is more parking just behind the nearby church. Unfortunately Old Himare looks more interesting from a distance than close up! There really isn't much to see except the good view down to Livada beach. There are very few buildings and they are uninteresting ruins. We saw a few poor souls trudging up the road in the heat from Himare. It is probably at least a 30 minute unpleasant walk to Old Himare and I don't recommend it. Some people do stay near Old Himare but you need a car if you do. The Bradt guide book has a different opinion of Old Himare! It states Old Himare " has an astonishing number of churches in varying stages of dilapidation, some with beautiful frescoes. It is a pleasant and scenic walk of 30-45 minutes from Spile to Old Himare ". Unfortunately guide books can rave about places that aren't special, which was also the case with Girokaster. See my blog Gjirokaster, Albania: Nothing Special! 5. North to Dhermi & Llogoraja Pass It is a 30 minute scenic drive along the coast from Himare to the small town of Dhermi. The coastal road runs high above Dhermi and it is about a kilometre drive down a good road to Dhermi. We parked in a street above the sea front promenade and then walked the short distance down to the beach. Dhermi's seafront is very upmarket compared to Himare and Livada and strolling along the promenade is very pleasant. There are lots of restaurants and classy hotels. There is still construction going on but I think the end product will be nice. Dhermi's beach is long and wide like Livada beach and the sea is very inviting. A good place if you want a beach holiday but it probably isn't cheap by Albanian standards. Llogoraja Pass is 20 minutes further on. The coastal road climbs steeply, with numerous hair pin bends, to the 1,027 metre summit. It isn't particularly difficult or dangerous driving up the pass as it is a 2 lane road. You just have to be careful to do tight turns on the hair pin bends so you avoid oncoming traffic. We had bad weather when we drove up the pass, but we could see that the views would be good on a nice day. It was windy and cold at the top despite it being mid June. From Llogoraja Pass you can drive on towards Vlore. The new Vlore bypass road has now been opened and starts well before you reach Vlore. It is a scenic road but you have to watch out for loose rocks on the road. This is due to the road being cut through hillsides that haven't been properly stabilised. Vlore itself is probably too far for a day trip. 6. Links to My Other Blogs on Albania Kruje, Albania: Travel Guide Berat, Albania: Travel Guide Gjirokaster, Albania: Nothing Special! Driving through Albania: From Greece to Montenegro The Greek Islands to Albania - Week 8 Albania to Montenegro - Week 9

Contents Introduction Opening Hours Tickets Parking What to See My Other Blogs on Greece 1. Introduction Mycenae is one of the most important archaeological sites of Greece. The period of Greek history from 1600 BC to 1100 BC was called the Mycenaean period because of its importance. At Mycenae's peak in 1350 BC, the citadel and lower town had a population of 30,000 people. Mycenae is a very popular and busy site. The main path from Lion Gate to the Citadel can look like Mount Everest on summit day! All groups stop at Lion Gate and are given a talk there. As a result Lion Gate becomes very congested and it is difficult to take photos. It is important to time your visit to Mycenae so it doesn't coincide with the peak time of tour groups visits. It is best to arrive early or late in the day and this also avoids the summer heat. In the mornings aim to arrive at opening time but by 09.00 at the latest. In the afternoon you should arrive after 17.00, the later the better. Parking will also be a lot easier. We also visited the nearby archaeological of Tiryns on the same day. See my blog Tiryns, Greece: Travel Guide . 2. Opening Hours at Mycenae Winter: From 01.11.2022 to 31.3.2023 08:30-15:30 Summer: April : 08:00-19:00 02.05.2023 - 31st August 2023 : 08:00-20:00 1st September - 15th September : 08:00-19:30 16th September - 30th September : 08:00-19:00 1st October - 15th October : 08:00-18:30 16th October - 31st October : 08:00-18:00 Good Friday: 12.00-17.00 Holy Saturday: 08:30-15:30 Holidays 1 January 25 March 1 May Easter Sunday 25 December 26 December 3. Tickets for Mycenae Tickets for Mycenae cost Eur 12 from April to October and Eur 6 from November to March. There is free admission for children up to the age of 5, under 25's and students. However, students and under 25's have to reside in the EU. You must provide documentary proof. Admission is free on the following days: 6 March 18 April 18 May The last weekend of September. 28 October Every first Sunday from November 1st to March 31st. 4. Parking There is a car park which is usually full with buses. You can park along the road but at peak times you may have a problem finding a parking place. 5. What to See at Mycenae It would take about 1.5 to 2 hours to see everything at the site including the museum. It all depends on your level of interest in ancient Greece. The main sights to see are: 5.1. Lions Gate Mycenae is fortified with Cyclopean walls of huge irregular stones and has two triumphal entrances. The larger entrance is the Lion's Gate and it was built around 1400-1300 BC. The heads of the lions are missing, but they would have faced frontally to fulfil their role as guardians of the entrance. 5.2. The Cyclopean Walls Mycenae's Cyclopean walls are the most famous example of Cyclopean masonry. The term derives from the mythical Cyclopes. He was believed to be the one who built them as only he would have had the strength to move such huge boulders. There are good views of the Cyclopean walls to the right of Lions Gate, before entering it. Very few people come here. 5.3. Grave Circle A Grave Circle A is a 16th-century BC royal cemetery. The burial complex was initially constructed outside the walls of Mycenae. It was later enclosed in the acropolis when the fortification was extended during the 13th century BC. A total of nineteen men, women, and children were buried here. Among the funerary gifts found were several gold death masks, full sets of weapons, ornate staffs, gold jewelry, as well as gold and silver cups. It has been estimated that Circle A contained about 15 kilos of gold. 5.4. The Royal Palace Mycanae's palace is in a central location atop the citadel and was the main building within the fortified walls. The state rooms were arranged around a central court which led to the Megaron (a grand reception hall). The ruins are only at ground level but you can distinguish what was a great court, the throne room, the megaron and the royal apartments. 5.5. The Royal Tombs There are 3 spectacular royal tombs outside the walls of Mycanae. We found them to be the most interesting thing after Lion Gate. They aren't busy like the rest of the archaeological site. 5.6. The Tomb of Aegisthus The Tomb of Aegisthus is among the earliest examples of Tholos Tombs. It was built of small stones in the early 15th century BC. Aegisthus organized the assassination of Agamemnon along with his mistress. There is no evidence that Aegisthus was buried in this tomb. Tour groups usually just look down into the tomb and don't bother to go down and enter it. It is worth doing so. 5.7. The Tholos Tomb of Clytemnestra Near the tomb of Aegisthus is the Tholos Tomb of Clytemnestra, the legendary wife of Agamemnon. Its name implies that Clytemnestra was buried in it but there is no such evidence. The tomb was looted by Veli Pasha during the Ottoman rule, but otherwise is in excellent condition and shows exceptional masonry craftsmanship. When we visited we had the tomb to ourselves! 5.8. The Treasury of Atreus The Treasury of Atreus is four hundred metres down the road from Mycanae's main site. It was built between 1350 and 1250 BC and is the best preserved Tholos tomb. It's an architectural masterpiece displaying the high level of craftsmanship reached by the Bronze Age masons. The entire monument is constructed with exceptionally well cut stones. The tomb was never buried by earth and always remained visible throughout the centuries. It was robbed in antiquity and there is no indication of who was buried there. Its function as the tomb of Atreus, the father of Agamemnon, is by no means certain. 5.9. The Museum The entrance to the archaeological site of Mycanae includes the museum. It contains many valuable items excavated from this site. Unfortunately the gold masks found in Grace Circle A by Schliemann, the archaeologist, aren't here. There is a copy of one. 6. My Other Blogs on Greece Monemvasia, Greece: Travel Guide Tiryns, Greece: Travel Guide Epidaurus, Greece: Travel Guide Nafplio, Greece: Travel Guide Corinth, Greece: Travel Guide Delphi, Greece: Travel Guide The Monasteries of Meteora: Travel Guide Naxos, Greece: Travel Guide Mystras, Greece: Travel Guide Tinos, Greece: Travel Guide Syros, Greece: Travel Guide Andros, Greece: Travel Guide North Macedonia to Greece - Week 4 Nafplio, Greece to the Peloponnese - Week 5 Peloponnese to the Greek Islands - Week 6 The Greek Islands - Week 7 The Greek Islands to Albania - Week 8

Contents Introduction Novi Sad Sremski Karlovci Accommodation My Other Blogs on Serbia 1. Introduction We drove from England to Greece and we stopped for 3 nights in Novi Sad on the way down. We had a bad introduction to Serbia at the border! There was a long queue and it took an hour to get through passport control. We then had to buy third party car insurance. This took 45 minutes as the insurance agent was uncertain of the procedure. He had to phone for advice several times. He became agitated and it didn't help that he couldn't speak English. When he finally finished he informed us that the cost was Eur 215! We queried it but the amount in Serbian Dinar was on the car insurance document. There was nothing we could do but pay. The maximum we paid for car insurance in any of the other non EU countries, like Albania, Montenegro and North Macedonia, was Eur 50. We were puzzled that no one else was buying 3rd party car insurance at the border. I later discovered that the EU, Norway, Switzerland and even Iceland have an agreement with Serbia. Drivers from those countries don't need to buy car insurance. We weren't that impressed with Serbia and there doesn't seem to be many interesting sights to see. We had intended to drive from Novi Sad to Subotica for a day trip but we changed our mind. Parking is apparently difficult and apart from a few nice buildings it didn't seem worth the effort. Unfortunately some travel guides and books rave about places that aren't special. They promote them with a couple of pictures of the only things worth seeing. In the end we spent our 2 full days in Serbia looking around Novi Sad and Sremski Karlovci. One full day would have been more than sufficient. See my blogs Venice to Serbia - Week 2 and Serbia to North Macedonia - Week 3 for an account of our drive to and from Novi Sad in Serbia. 2. Novi Sad 2.1. The Promenade along the Danube Novi Sad is Serbia's 2nd largest city. It sits on the west bank of the Danube and has a very pleasant promenade running from the Reljkoviceva bridge in the north to the Strand in the south. The Strand has beaches and grassy parkland on the bank of the Danube. It is a very popular area in summer but it was deserted at the beginning of May. 2.2. The Petrovaradin Fortress The main attraction when visiting Novi Sad is Petrovaradin Fortress. As its name suggests it isn't actually in Novi Sad but in Petrovaradin. Petrovaradin is on the opposite bank of the Danube and faces towards Novi Sad. To reach Petrovaradin Fortress cross the Danube on the Varadin bridge and then walk towards the right, up to the fortress. Entrance is free but there is a charge for the museum. We tried to visit the tunnels below the castle but you have to join a tour. Unfortunately there weren't any tours when we were there. The main thing to do is to walk around the castle walls and enjoy the views. Once you have reached the castle you need about half an hour to see it. There are toilets for a small fee. 2.3. The City Centre The historic buildings in the Novi Sad's centre can be seen in a couple of hours. The buildings aren't that old as most of Novi Sad was destroyed in 1848 by Hungarian troops. Novi Sad is a pleasant city but it really only warrants a 1 night stopover, unless you use Novi Sad as a base to see Belgrade and Subotica. I doubt whether either of those places are really worth visiting. 3. Sremski Karlovci 3.1. How to Get There Bus numbers 61 and 62 regularly run between Novi Sad and Sremski Karlovci. The journey takes about 20 minutes and only costs the equivalent of Eur 1 each way. We took the bus from the main street named Bulevar Mihajla Pupina near the Varadin bridge. It can also be boarded at the bus station. 3.2. What to See The Bradt Guide says that Sremski Karlovci is a small historic town and one of the most attractive in all of Serbia thanks to its unspoiled character and wealth of handsome Hasburg-period architecture. The centre of Sremski Karlovci has some attractive buildings but it is a small area and it doesn't take long to see. There are 3 small museums . My photos show most of the sights. You can see everything, excluding the museums, in about half an hour. Sremski Karlovci is a quiet town with very few restaurants and cafes. It certainly isn't touristy and there were no other visitors. Most of the historic buildings are around the main square (Trg Branka Radicevica) and date back to the 18th and early 19th century. 4. Accommodation We booked a very spacious 2 bedroom apartment in Novi Sad through Booking.com for only Euro 45 per night. It was very central and on the bank of the Danube. It was excellent value but it needed repainting and felt neglected. It was in communist era apartment block which didn't give a good first impression. A review of this apartment is on my blog " UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 1 " (number 9). 5 . My Other Blogs on Serbia Venice to Serbia - Week 2 Serbia to North Macedonia - Week 3

Contents Introduction Piran Koper Izola Ljubljana Skofja Loka Radovljica Lake Bled Lake Bohinj Vrsic Pass My Other Blogs on Slovenia 1. Introduction We visited Slovenia for 1 week at the end of April 2023 while driving from the UK to the Greek islands. We were on a 3 month road trip visiting interesting places on route to and from Greece. The aim wasn't to cover everything in the countries that we visited. See my blog Venice to Serbia - Week 2  for the daily trip report of our week in Slovenia. It would have been preferable to visit Slovenia towards the end of our trip in late June. The weather would then have then been warm enough to swim in the sea and in the lakes. By then the snow would have melted on the Julian Alps and we could have hiked in the higher alpine areas that I enjoy. Slovenia is too busy and expensive at that time of year. So we decided to visit Slovenia at the start of our trip and to enjoy the coasts of Albania, Montenegro and Croatia on the way back. We were lucky with the weather as it was warm and sunny when we were on the coast. It was cloudy, but dry, in Ljubljana. The weather forecast for our 3 nights at Lake Bled and Lake Bohinj was abysmal, but it was dry until the day we left. Then it poured! We were very impressed with Slovenia. It was a very easy country to travel in. The roads weren't busy and driving was very straightforward, even for someone used to driving on the wrong side of the road! Most people seemed to speak English and were very courteous and friendly. Accommodation wasn't particularly cheap and we found cheaper accommodation in all the countries we visited south of Slovenia. Petrol though was about 20% cheaper than in the UK, France, Switzerland Italy and even Greece. 2. Piran 2.1. Accommodation in Piran Piran is similar to the many historic towns further south in Croatia. The accommodation is more expensive than Croatia, even in the off peak season. This might be because Slovenia has a very small coastline for Slovenians to visit. Piran is absolutely packed in July and August. We rented a compact apartment in the small village of Pobegi for 1 night at a cost of Euro 75 through Booking.com . Pobegi is 4 kilometres from Koper and a 25 minute drive to Piran. The apartment was very well equipped and in pristine condition. I have reviewed the accommodation on my blog " UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 1 " (number 6). 2.2. Parking in Piran Parking in Piran is very expensive and it cost Euro 2.60 per hour. We parked in the Fornace parking lot and there is a free shuttle for the short distance into Piran. 2.3. What to See in Piran Half a day in Piran is ample for wandering around the old town. It is an unspoiled historical town with Venetian architecture. The main square in Piran is Tartinijev Trg and it is surrounded by attractive historic buildings. It is very near the sea front as it was originally the inner harbour of Piran. In 1894 the harbour was filled in to create the main square. The tourist office is in this square. We climbed up the road to the Cathedral of St George and its Bell Tower. We continued up the hill to the old Walls of Piran. It costs Euro 3 to enter a small section of the walls and 3 of the walls' towers. There are very good views of Piran from the towers. It was open until 20.00. We wandered around the streets in the lower town and there were hardly any other visitors. Most of the restaurants and cafes are along the seafront. It was warm enough in late April for us to sit outside on the waterfront for our evening meal of calamari and sardines. From the parking lot below the entrance to the walls there are steps that descend steeply back to the Piran's old town centre. It makes a good circular walk around Piran. 3. Koper It is only an hour's drive to Ljubljana from Piran. We visited Koper and Izola on the way and we had most of the day to explore them. 3.1. Parking in Koper We stopped off at Koper first and there were plenty of parking spaces, unlike at Piran. It would usually cost Eur 1 per hour but a kind local told us that it was free as it was a holiday. We had all our luggage in our car. It seems that Slovenia has less theft than many other European countries. 3.2. What to See in Koper We walked into the centre of Koper along the seafront promenade and then to the main square called Titov Trg. It is an attractive square surrounded by historic buildings. The tourist office is also located there. Surprisingly there were very few other tourists, just like at Piran. We paid Euro 4 each to climb up the 36 metre high City Tower and there were good views from the top. Every town seems to have a tower to climb and we decided not to go up towers in future as the cost soon mounts up. Koper's historic centre is very interesting, but not that extensive, so it took less than 2 hours to see. 3.3. Restaurants in Koper It was lunch time when we finished sightseeing and we went to a cheap seafood eatery outside the market called Fritolin . Fritolin is recommended in the Lonely Planet guide and it was busy with locals. We ordered 2 portions of grilled calamari and french fries for a total cost of Euro 21 and ate it at an outside table. It was very tasty and the portions were good! There are many other cheap eating spots and cafes in the market area. 4. Izola Koper's helpful tourist office had told us that it was a 6 km walk to Izola along the seafront promenade and that we could then take a bus back to Koper. We decided to do this as we needed the exercise and didn't fancy trying to find parking in Izola. The walk to Izola took 1 hour and 15 minutes. It was a very pleasant walk and was popular with the locals who were cycling, roller blading and walking. There were several free toilets along the way. We had a quick walk around Izola and then took the short bus ride back to Koper. Izola is a pleasant town but there aren't many historic sights to see. The bus runs regularly between Piran and Koper. Even on a holiday it ran every half an hour most of the day. The tourist office at Koper provided us with a sheet detailing the departure times and told us where the bus stops were. Our bus ride from Izola to Koper cost Euro 1.30 per person. 5. Ljubljana 5.1. Introduction Slovenia is such a compact country that it only takes an hour drive from Ljubljana to the coast, 40 minutes to Lake Bled and 30 minutes to Skofja Loka. The roads in Ljubljana weren't congested at all. Ljubljana would be a convenient base to visit places like Lake Bled and Skofja Loka. I wondered if there would be enough to do in Ljubljana as I had read that there wasn't much to see apart from the Castle. Ljubljana is a picturesque city and we enjoyed wandering around for a couple of hours. Half a day is adequate unless you want to visit the museums. 5.2. Ljubljana Castle Ljubljana Castle is the main site. It is a steep 15 minute walk from the city centre. A funicular railway from the city centre costs Eur 3.30 one way or Eur 6 return. Entrance to the central courtyard of the castle, and a small section of the wall, is free. To see a bit more of the castle is expensive and, in my opinion, not worth it. Much of the interior has been renovated and so doesn't look ancient. The entrance ticket of Eur 12 enables you to go up the viewing tower and enter the Puppetry and Slovenian History museums. To appreciate the History Museum you need to pay an additional Eur 4 for an audio guide as there aren't sufficient signs in English. It is worthwhile seeing the Ljubljana Castle from the outside and the free interior sections. I wouldn't buy a ticket unless you want to take a photo from the tower or are interested in puppetry. Details of the current ticket prices are on the Ljubljana Castle website . 5.3. The Bridges in Ljubljana The Ljubljanica river bisects the city centre and there are 3 well known bridges crossing it. They are not very old, nor particularly beautiful, but most travel books refer to them. You would probably have to cross them while looking around the city. The Dragon Bridge was built in 1888 and has a dragon on each corner. It is northeast of the old town. There are public toilets on the southwest side of the bridge. The Triple Bridge is south of Presernov Trg. The central section was built in 1842 and in the 1930's two pedestrian side bridges were added. The Cobbler's Bridge was rebuilt in 1931 and is south of the other 2 bridges. It is a pedestrian bridge and in medieval times shoemakers lived and worked on the bridge. 5.4. A Circular Sightseeing Walk in Ljubljana A good way of seeing Ljubljana is to do a circular walk. You could start anywhere. We began at St James Bridge in the south and walked northwards to Dragon Bridge along the west bank of the river. We then crossed Dragon Bridge and walked back to St James Bridge on the east bank of the river. Some of the main areas we saw were: Novi Trg, an old area of Ljubljana. Kongresni Trg, which has an excellent view of Ljubljana Castle. There are some attractive buildings in the square like the University of Ljubljana and the Ursuline Church of the Holy Trinity. Presernov Trg, Ljubljana's main square and is surrounded by some beautiful buildings like Hauptman House and the Franciscan Church of the Annunciation. The Triple Bridge Miklosiceva Cesta, which runs from the railway station to the river. This street has some of the finest a rt nouveau buildings in Ljubljana. Trubarjeva Cesta, a bustling street lined with shops, restaurants and cafes. Dragon Bridge. Ljubljana Castle. The Central Market in Vodnikov Trg, which has a large open air food market. Pogacarjev Trg, which has a covered market and a fish market. On Fridays there is a weekly food fair known as the Open Kitchen. The Old Town, which runs along the east side of the river from Triple Bridge in the north to Hercules Fountain (near St James Bridge) in the south. 6. Skofja Loka 6.1. Getting to Skofja Loka It was surprisingly easy to drive out of Ljubljana. Once we had got off the motorway we drove on pretty, rural roads with the snow covered Julian Alps in the background. We reached the historic town of Skofja Loka after about 30 minutes. Parking was easy and free. 6.2. What to see at Skofja Loka Skofja Loka has quite a large historic core and we spent about 2 hours wandering around. If you visit the castle museum you will need longer. The main site is 13th century Loka Castle and it is a steep 10 minute walk up to it. There are good views from the castle and it is pleasant wandering around the grounds. Otherwise there isn't much to do unless you visit the museum and the entrance fee is Eur 5. The other main place of interest is Mestni Trg. It is surrounded by colourful 16th century houses. The most famous of these is Homan House which was built in 1511. Other things to see in Skofja Loka are: Jakoba Church dating back to the 13th century. It is free to enter. Capuchin Bridge da back to the 14th century. Spodnji Trg with a 16th century granary. 7. Radovljica The Lonely Planet guide book says that " The town of Radovljica is filled with impossibly cute, historic buildings ". That is very misleading as the historic part of Radovljica is limited to Linhartov Trg. Trg means Square but in reality Linhartov is a street. The street is lined with 16th and 17th buildings. It doesn't take long to see them. We spent half an hour wandering around. There is nothing else of interest to see in Radovljica. 8. Lake Bled 8.1. Getting to Lake Bled It is only a 45 minute drive from Ljubljana to Lake Bled as Slovenia is a compact country. Lake Bled was very congested as it was a warm and sunny holiday weekend in late April. I dread to think what it would be like in summer! We turned off at the first parking sign we saw and the charge was Euro 15 for 4 hours or Euro 25 for the whole day! That's as expensive as Venice. We decided to pay Eur 15 for 4 hours rather than drive around the congested streets to find somewhere cheaper. 8.2. Walking around Lake Bled There is a 6 km paved path going all the way around Lake Bled. It was congested around the town of Bled but not bad otherwise. Apart from the number of people it is a very beautiful and easy walk with great views all the way around Lake Bled. It should only take about 90 minutes but we took 3 hours with a lot of stops for photos. Lake Bled is very photogenic with the island, the castle perched above the lake and the snow covered Julian alps in the distance. Some people were swimming and the water didn't feel too cold, even though it was the end of April. 8.3. Bled Island You can take a boat over to Bled Island. Only row boats and electric boats are allowed to prevent noise pollution. We didn't bother as it is expensive and the island appears to be a tourist trap. A Pletna boat, which looks like a large gondola row boat, costs Eur 15 per person. An electric boat from Bled town costs Eur 14 per person. You can also rent your own rowing boat but it doesn't work out much cheaper. Once you are there you have to fork out another Eur 12 to enter the church and bell tower. So for the 2 of us it would have cost Eur 54 for a 1 hour to 1.5 hour experience at a tourist trap! 8.4. Bled Castle It is a steep 15 to 20 minute walk up to the castle, but that is not as steep as the Eur 15 entrance fee! You can also drive up and there is paid parking at the top. The main reasons to visit Bled Castle are for the views and the museum. 9. Lake Bohinj 9.1. Towns and Accommodation at Lake Bohinj There isn't a town called Bohinj. The only settlement on the lake is Ribcev Laz on the south eastern corner. It is the main hub for Lake Bohinj. We stayed in nearby Stara Fuzina, an unspoiled village a 10 minute walk from the lake. Ukanc, the only other settlement near the lake shore, is a very small village on the western shore. We booked a 1 bedroom apartment through Airbnb for Eur 98 per night. I have reviewed it in my blog " UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 1 " (number 8). 9.2. A Hike around Lake Bohinj The Lonely Planet guide says that Lake Bohinj is more beautiful than Lake Bled. I don't agree with that but Lake Bohinj is certainly less crowded and touristy. We hiked from our apartment in Stara Fuzina clockwise around the Lake Bohinj. The hike is 12 kilometres long and it took us 3 hours. Unfortunately the trail on the south bank of Lake Bohinj follows the road and the views are often blocked by trees. At the western end of Lake Bohinj it was more open and there were good views of the lake and mountains. The north side of Lake Bohinj is more popular for walking. There isn't a road nearby but unfortunately trees often obscure the views. This is the more popular side of the lake for walking and I can understand why. In my opinion it is better to hike there and back on the north side instead of walking around Lake Bohinj. The disadvantage is that it is busier but you could probably get around that by starting early in the morning or late in the afternoon. 10. Vrsic Pass 10.1. About the Vrsic Pass The Vrsic Pass is in north western Slovenia near the border with Italy. It was built during the first world war and there are 50 hair pin bends up and down the 1,611 metre high pass. Vrsic Pass is closed in winter which means it is closed from November to April, depending on the snow. You can check whether it is open on the AMZS website . The road to Vrsic pass goes from Kranjska Gora on the eastern side to Bovec on the western side. The drive to Kranjska Gora takes 45 minutes from Bled and 1 hour 15 minutes from Lake Bohinj. 10.2. The Road up the Eastern Side of the Vrsic Pass The road up Vrsic Pass was a bit narrow going around some of the hair pin bends, but otherwise it wasn't a difficult drive. There are several parking spots on the road from where you can enjoy spectacular views of the Julian Alps. When you reach the top of Vrsic pass you could turn around and drive back down. The longer alternative is to drive down the western side of Vrsic pass and complete a circular route back to Lake Bohinj or Bled. It would make the drive even longer if you started at Bled. 10.3. The Road down the Western Side of the Vrsic Pass We did the circular drive and continued over Vrsic pass down 24 hair pin bends to Bovec. The hair pin bends weren't as tight, and the scenery wasn't as dramatic, as on the way up. We looked out for the Russian Chapel built as a memorial in 1916 by the Russian prisoners of war who constructed the road. Unfortunately we missed it and decided not to drive back up to find it. From Bovec we drove south on road numbers 203 and 102. We then turned east on the narrow and mountainous road number 403 to return to Lake Bohinj. It took us 3 hours 45 minutes to drive back from the top of Vrsic pass to Lake Bohinj. In comparison it only took us 2 hours to drive up to the top of Vrsic pass. 11. My Other Blogs on Slovenia Venice to Serbia - Week 2 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 1

Contents 1. Introduction 2. Skopje Parking The New City Centre Old Skopje 3. Tetovo 4. Excursion to Popova Sapka 5. Accommodation in Tetovo 6. Links to My Other Blogs on North Macedonia 1. Introduction We stopped for 3 nights in Tetovo during our road trip from the UK to Greece and visited Skopje as a day trip. See my blog Serbia to North Macedonia - Week 3 for our daily trip report . We stayed in Tetovo as we found a good apartment at a very reasonable price. With the benefit of hindsight I wish that we had stayed in Skopje instead. 2. Skopje 2.1. Parking We parked at the Shopping Centre Vero on the south side of the river. It is a short walk along the riverside to the centre of Skopje. We visited Skopje on a Sunday and so the parking was free. You have to pay most days but the charges are reasonable. It is a large car park below the shopping centre and there was a security guard. There is a good supermarket on the upper floor of the shopping centre as well as free toilets. There is parking at Kale Fortress in Skopje but reviews mentioned that vehicles had been broken into. 2.2. Skopje's New City Centre I was very impressed with the new area of Skopje that runs along both banks of the River Vardar. It is a spacious area, with well designed buildings, and there are huge statues, monuments and fountains everywhere. This area was renovated by the Skopje 2014 project. Some critics believe that it is like Disneyland and want the monuments and statues removed. I must really like Disneyland! Makedonija's Square is the focal point of the area on the south side of the river. In the middle of the square there is a huge statue of a Warrior on a Horse. The warrior is Alexandra the Great. There are numerous restaurants and cafes around the square. To the north of Makedonija's Square the ancient Stone Bridge crosses the river to the historic centre of Skopje on the north bank. Just north of Stone Bridge is a plaza with an impressive monument to Philip II of Macedonia, Alexander the Great's father. In the plaza there is the Fountain of the Mothers of Macedonia and 3 other fountains. There is a beautiful water and light show at night. There is an esplanade to the west of Stone Bridge that runs 6 kilometres along the south bank of the river. It is a good place to walk and at night the path is lit. There is even a beach on the river at City Park. 2.3. Old Skopje We had difficulty locating several of the historic sites in old Skopje, despite the many signs. Eventually we found them but it was tiring and frustrating as it was hot. We wandered around the pedestrianised streets and alleys of the Old Bazaar area. It is atmospheric but most of the shops are geared for tourism. There were a lot of tourists, and some tour groups, despite it only being late April. We visited 4 main sites in old Skopje: The Cifte Amam National Art Gallery In my opinion it is the most impressive building in Skopje. It used to be a hamman (Turkish bath house) but is now an art gallery. We didn't go in but admired the exterior from the plaza on the south eastern side of the building. The Church of Sveti Spas The exterior of this Ottoman era church is unimposing. It was built partly below ground level since the church's bell tower couldn't be taller than a mosque. It is famous for its intricately carved wooden iconostasis. This is a screen of icons and religious paintings separating the nave from the main part of the church. It was made in the early 1800's. There is an entry fee of Eur1. Mustafa Pasha Mosque This is the largest mosque in Skopje and was built in 1492. We had a quick look inside just before prayers commenced. The Kale Fortress Entrance is free as the 10th century fort is very neglected. You can walk along the walls which give good views over the city and river. There is nothing else to see as only the Fortress walls and towers are still standing. The entrance is at the north east side of the fortress. 3. Tetovo Tetovo is a lively town with few tourists but there isn't a lot to see. The main things to see are: 3.1. Tetovo's Central Shopping Area Tetovo's main street is Boulevard Illyria (also called Marshall Tito). It runs from Illyria Square to the Palma Shopping Mall which has a large supermarket. Boulevard Illyria is very vibrant, lined with shops and restaurants for locals rather than tourists. Northeast of the junction with Blagoja Toska street is the large indoor Green Market. Running south from Illyria Square is Ilindenska street, another major shopping street. The Serena Dzamija Mosque and the hamman are on this street. There are a couple of shops selling small barbequed chickens for Eur 5 which is something we enjoy! 3.2. The Sarena Dzamija Mosque This small and colourful 16th century mosque is the prettiest building in Tetovo. Both the interior and exterior are stunning. It is in the centre of Tetovo on the river Pena. 3.3. The Hamman (Turkish Bathhouse) at Tetovo It is a beautiful 15th century building in a very scenic spot in the centre of Tetovo. It is across the river from the Sarena Dzamija mosque. It now houses an art gallery. 3.4. Arabati Baba Bektasi Teke The Bradt guide book says this is " one of the prettiest sites in town " although it is " in considerable disrepair ". Their first statement is wrong and misleading! The place is a mess and there is nothing worthwhile to see. Don't waste your time going there. 4. An Excursion to Popova Sapka Popova Sapka is a ski resort a 20 kilometre drive from Tetovo. It is 1,800 metres above sea level. It is a scenic drive up on a good road but sadly the road side was strewn with litter. The Bradt guide mentions that " parking is at a premium ". We were the only visitors in late April so parking wasn't a problem. It must be a lot busier in the summer months as it makes a good day outing for locals from Tetovo and even Skopje. There are hotels at the ski resort. In the summer time a number of hikes are possible. There was a hiking signpost at the ski resort (see the photo) but we didn't see any route signage. Hiking maps for the area can only be bought in North Macedonia. It is therefore difficult to plan a hike from abroad. Besides we knew that there might be too much snow around in late April so we didn't come prepared to hike. As we couldn't get a good view of the mountains from the ski resort we walked half an hour up a nearby hill. 5. Accommodation in Tetovo We booked a spacious 1 bedroom apartment in the centre of Tetovo through Airbnb . It cost Euro 112 for 3 nights plus Euro 20 for underground parking. I reviewed this apartment on my blog " UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 1 " (number 10). 6. Links to My Other Blogs on North Macedonia Ohrid Town, North Macedonia: Travel Guide Serbia to North Macedonia - Week 3 North Macedonia to Greece - Week 4

Our visit to Rovinj was part of a 3 month road trip from the UK to the Greece. See my blog Rab to Dolomites, Italy - Week 12  for our daily trip report covering Rovinj. Contents Rovinj Pula Accommodation in Rovinj My Other Blogs on Croatia 1. Rovinj 1.1 About Rovinj & What to See Rovinj has a very Italian appearance and apparently some inhabitants still speak Italian. It is an unspoilt historic town, but not Venetian like so many of Croatia's coastal towns. That made a nice change as we had just visited numerous Venetian towns in Montenegro and Croatia. Rovinj is a reasonably large town and there is little traffic so it is great wandering around. There are not too many sights to see, but Rovinj is an exceptionally nice town in a beautiful setting. Rovinj's main square is Trg Marsala Tita and it has a clock tower. In summer there are often street performers in the square. A street called Grisia branches off the square to the west through a Balbi's Arce and then climbs up to St Euphemia's Church. The 18th century St Euphemia's Church is at the top of the hill in the centre of the old town. Its tower is very impressive and is visible from most parts of Rovinj. There isn't an entry fee and it is worthwhile seeing the interior. There are good sea views from the plaza by the church. 1.2. A Circular Walk around Rovinj It is nice to walk around the perimeter of Rovinj. Start from the southern end of the harbour and and walk along the harbour to the piers in the northern section. The promenade along the harbour is surrounded by cafes and restaurants. Then continue walking westwards along the sea and soon the street climbs up to St Euphemia's church. From there descend eastwards along the northern part of Rovinj. There are houses and shops on either side with a few alleys on the left descending to the sea. Trg Valdibora is at the bottom of the hill and from around this area is an impressive view of the northern side of Rovinj. Then walk south to the very nearby main square of Trg Marsala Tita, which is just off the harbour. Just north of Trg Marsala Tita walk down Rovinj's main shopping street (Via Carrera) that runs south eastward. At the end of Via Carrera take a side street to the right and you will be back at the harbour where you started. 1.3. Parking in Rovinj We parked at a reasonably sized car park on the eastern side of Rovinj and it was a 10 to 15 minute walk into the centre. There were always places available and it cost Eur 1 per hour. Payable in advance by cash or card. Click here to see the location on Google Maps. 1.4. Beaches in Rovinj We spent half a day at Zlatni Rt (Golden Cape). It is a 6 minute drive from Rovinj to the edge of Zlatni Rt (Golden Cape), and then depending on where you park, a 10 to 15 minute walk through wooded parkland to the sea. The closest parking is on the road where it ends at Zlatni Rt. However, you have to get there early to find a spot. Otherwise there are large parking lots a bit further back. We parked at " Parking Monvi " which is a huge parking lot. You can pay at a machine with a credit card or cash, exact change only. We paid Eur 7 for the day, but there is also an hourly charge. There are a couple of beaches in the large park (Lone Beach and Zlatni Rt), but we just found a nice shaded spot on the rocky shoreline. I think we were near Punta Cabana . It is a popular area so go there by mid morning to obtain a good spot and also to find parking. There were a couple of restaurants nearby and they were renting out sun loungers and umbrellas. 2. Pula 2.1. About Pula & What to See Pula is a working port that isn't as reliant on tourism as other Croatian coastal towns. It isn't a particularly attractive town, unlike the numerous Venetian coastal towns dotted along Croatia's coast. However, Pula is more authentic and caters for locals rather than tourists. There are many interesting historical sights in Pula and it is definitely worth visiting for half a day. Many of the sights date back to the Roman era and include: The sixth largest amphitheatre in the world dating back to around 14 AD. The Roman amphitheatre is the main tourist site in Pula and the entrance fee is Eur 10. In summer it is open from 08.00 to 22.00. We entered at 09.00 and there were very few people until 09.30. Unfortunately they were constructing a large stage and screen for summer events. This prevented us from taking photos of the entire amphitheatre and the construction was noisy. They do this in summer at many amphitheatres and it spoils the experience for visitors who are paying high entrance fees. The Triumphal Arch of the Sergii which was erected in 27 BC. The Temple of Augustus which was completed in 14 AD. The Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary that dates back to Roman times, although much of the present structure is from the 17th century. The Venetian castle built in the 1600's. We didn't enter the Venetian castle as there was a Eur 6 entrance fee. This fee also includes the museum but we didn't want to visit it. Instead we walked the entire way around the castle on a reasonable path. There were good views of the moat, castle walls, Pula harbour and the amphitheatre. The views wouldn't have been much better from the castle. The Pula indoor market which was constructed in 1903. 2.2. Getting There & Parking in Pula We visited Pula as a half day trip as Rovinj was a more attractive town to base ourselves in. Pula is a 50 minute drive from Rovinj. Car parking can be a problem in Pula but if you are willing to pay Eur 4 per hour there is a good solution!" Parking Karolina " is a large car park with 200 spaces next to the amphitheatre and it still had spaces when we left at midday. The Eur 4 per hour charge is the most we paid anywhere during our 3 month road trip but it was worth the convenience. Before exiting you pay at the ticket machines by card or cash. There are clean toilets for a charge of Eur 0.7, but there are also free clean toilets at the amphitheatre. 3. Accommodation in Rovinj We stayed in an excellent 1 bedroom apartment about a 10 minute drive from the the centre of Rovinj. We booked it through Booking.com for only Eur 61 per night. I have reviewed it on my blog " UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 2 " (number 15). 4. My Other Blogs on Croatia Hvar Island, Croatia: Travel Guide Split, Croatia: Travel Guide Trogir, Croatia: Travel Guide Omis, Croatia: Travel Guide Krk Town, Croatia: Travel Guide Brac, Croatia: Travel Guide Rab, Croatia: Travel Guide Montenegro to Croatia- Week 10 Brac to Rab, Croatia - Week 11 Rab to Dolomites, Italy - Week 12

Contents Introduction Ways of avoiding Crowds at Meteora A One Day Itinerary for Meteora Summer Opening Times at Meteora's Monasteries Dress Code at Meteora's Monasteries Great Meteoron Monastery Varlaam Monastery Agia Triada (Holy Trinity) Monastery Agios Stefanos (St. Stephan) Monastery Agios Nikolaou (St. Nicholas) Monastery Roussanou Monastery Viewpoints at Meteora Accommodation at Meteora Links to My Other Blogs on Greece 1. Introduction Meteora was one of the highlights of our 3 month European road trip. The scenery is out of this world with the 6 ancient monasteries perched on sheer rocks. The only negative was the numerous tour groups. If you have a car you could visit all of Meteora's monasteries in one full day. Two nights would be sufficient if you visit one monastery on the day of departure. We stayed three nights and had two full days in Meteora. Most of Meteora's monasteries close for one day during the week. It is only at the weekend that all the monasteries are open. None of the monasteries open before 09.00 and most close early. If you only stay two nights your visit could be spoiled by bad weather. When we visited Meteora in late May it was very foggy when we arrived and it was raining on the day we left. We thought that the view of the monasteries perched on the sheer rocks, and the scenery, were more spectacular than the interiors of the monasteries. Our visit to Meteora was part of a 3 month road trip from the UK to the Greece. See my blog North Macedonia to Greece - Week 4  for our daily trip report covering Meteora. 2. Ways of avoiding Crowds at Meteora We struggled with the large tour groups that arrived at Meteora by coach. They would crowd into the small chapels, and take over the space, while their guide explained the history. There would occasionally be a queue of tour groups waiting to enter a chapel. You have to understand the logistics of these tours to be able to avoid the crowds at Meteora: Most coach tours only visit 3 monasteries at Meteora. Two of them will be the Great Meteoron and Varlaam, if they are open. The third monastery that groups usually visit is either St. Stephan or Roussanou. Coach tours don't often visit the Agios Nikolaou (St. Nicholas) Monastery and the Agia Triada (Holy Trinity) Monastery. There are too many steps leading up to them for their groups who have already walked up to the Great Meteoron and Varlaam monasteries. Some coach tours have to pick up clients from their hotels and don't arrive at the monasteries until after 09.00. Most coach tours stop at a restaurant for lunch. My recommendation for avoiding the tour groups and crowds is: Great Meteoron Monastery The Great Meteoron monastery only opens at 09.30 so you won't beat the crowds by going early. The best time may be at lunch time around 12.15 pm. That is when we went. Varlaam Monastery We went at lunch time (12.30 pm) and avoided many of the tour groups. As the Varlaam monastery opens at 09.00 another strategy would be to go early, around 08.30. It takes 10 minutes to walk from the gate at the base of the monastery up to the entrance. I am not sure what time the gate is opened. Agia Triada (Holy Trinity) Monastery You can visit the Aga Triada monastery at any time as it isn't popular with tour groups. Agios Stefanos (St. Stephan) Monastery The third monastery on most tour groups' itineraries is either Agios Stefanos or Roussanou. We arrived at the Agios Stefanos monastery at 08.45 and one tour bus had already arrived. We waited at the gate until it opened at 09.00. It is a short walk to the entrance. As it took time for the tour group to buy tickets we had the chapel to ourselves. By 09.30 there were several tour groups queuing to enter the chapel. When we left there were 13 tour buses outside the monastery! We passed Agios Stefanos at 11.00 a.m. and all the tour buses were leaving. The next day we saw that all the tour buses were leaving just before 11.30 a.m. Therefore late morning is probably a good time to visit. I don't know what Agios Stefanos is like in the afternoons. It is open until 17.30. My guess is that it may be quiet from 16.30. You would have plenty of time to see it before it closes if you arrive around 16.30 to 16.45. Agios Nikolaou (St. Nicholas) Monastery You can visit the Agios Nikolaou monastery any time as it isn't popular with tour groups. It is best to visit the more popular monasteries at the start of the day and at lunch time. Roussanou Monastery The third monastery on most tour groups' itineraries is either Roussanou or Agios Stefanos. We visited Roussanou at 14.00 and there weren't any groups. I didn't observe it at other times but feel that some groups might come here first as for Agios Stefanos. 3. A One Day Itinerary for Meteora This itinerary is only feasible at weekends when all the monasteries are open. During the week you will have to visit the monastery that is closed the following morning. Arrive at Varlaam monastery at 08.30. You should then be one of the first to enter when it opens at 09.00. Your visit shouldn't take longer than 75 minutes. Drive to Agia Triada (Holy Trinity) Monastery. The monastery can be seen in 45 minutes. Drive to the nearby Agios Stefanos (St. Stephan) Monastery. You should get there after 11.00 a.m. which is when the tour groups start to leave. You only need half an hour for this monastery. Drive back to the car park at the Varlaam monastery. Have a bit of lunch or a snack there. There are no restaurants at any of the monasteries so you will have to bring something. Walk 10 minutes to the Great Meteoron Monastery and enter by 12.30 at the latest. Drive down to Roussanou Monastery. Drive down a bit further to Agios Nikolaou (St. Nicholas) Monastery. Visit the view points afterwards or at sunset. 4. Summer Opening Times at Meteora's Monasteries Summer is deemed to be from 1st April to 31st October. Great Meteoron Monastery Open from 09.30 to 15.00 Closed on Tuesdays Varlaam Monastery Open from 09:00 to 16:00. Closed on Fridays. Agia Triada (Holy Trinity) Monastery Open from 10.00 to 16.00 Closed on Thursdays Agios Stefanos (St. Stephan) Monastery Open from 09.00 (09.30 on Sundays) to 13.30 and 15.30 to 17.30 Closed on Mondays Agios Nikolaou (St. Nicholas) Monastery Open 09:00 to 17:00. The monastery is open every day Roussanou Monastery Open from 09.00 (10.00 on Sundays) to 16.30 Closed on Wednesdays 5. Dress Code at Meteora's Monasteries The dress code requires women to wear a dress or skirt covering their knees and men and women to cover their shoulders. All of the monasteries, except Varlaam, lend free wraps so you can comply. Varlaam sells them for Eur 3.50 and they only accept cash. I wore long trousers and in late May it wasn't too hot. Lani brought her own wrap to put over her long trousers. Some monasteries aren't strict about the dress code but Varlaam and Roussanou are. 6. Great Meteoron Monastery There is very limited parking in front of Great Meteoron monastery and it isn't free. Most people use the free car park at Varlaam Monastery or park on the road. Finding parking can be a problem at peak times. It is a 10 minute walk from the free car park at Varlaam monastery to the Great Meteoron monastery. There are then more than 300 steps up to the entrance of the monastery. The Great Meteoron is the oldest, largest and grandest of the monasteries. Entry costs Eur 3 and it takes about an hour to see. There is a beautiful chapel, a museum, an old kitchen and excellent views from the monastery. The refectory is now closed to visitors. It is one of the monasteries you should see and for that reason it is always busy. 7. Varlaam Monastery There is a free car park at Varlaam monastery. If it is full you can park on the road. Parking can be difficult as visitors to the Great Meteoron monastery also use this car park and road. There are 142 steps up to the entrance of Varlaam monastery. There you will have to buy a garment for Eur 3.50 in cash if you don't comply with the dress code . They are strict about this. The entry fee is Eur 3.00. At Varlaam monastery you can: Visit the beautiful church dating back to the mid 1500's. See a huge old wooden water barrel. View the old winch which was used to haul people and goods up to the monastery. Visit the museum. The most interesting exhibit is a short film shot in 1924 showing how the monks lived. Enjoy spectacular views from the pleasant terrace. Use the best toilet facilities of the 6 monasteries! 8. Agia Triada (Holy Trinity) Monastery The monastery of Aga Triada isn't popular with tour groups despite being featured in the James Bond movie "For Your Eyes Only". It is more beautiful and interesting than the nearby Agios Stefanos (St. Stephan) Monastery which is visited by tour groups. There is free parking and if it is full you can park along the road. It is a steep climb up about 145 steps to the entrance. The entrance fee is Eur 3. Aga Triada's church has beautiful restored frescoes. There is a garden and there are boulders which you can clamber up to admire the views. 9. Agios Stefanos (St. Stephan) Monastery There is a small free car park in front of the entrance of Agios Stefanos monastery. If the car park is full you can park along the road. This is the monastery with the easiest access as there are very few steps. As a result it is the third most popular monastery. The entry fee is Eur 3. The monastery was bombed in World War 2 and rebuilt afterwards. The interior of the chapel is beautiful. The views from the terrace aren't as spectacular as at some of the other monasteries. 10. Agios Nikolaou (St. Nicholas) Monastery You can park in a small layby across the road from the steps leading up to the Agios Nikolaou monastery. From there it is a 10 to 15 minute steep climb to the monastery. Luckily that deters a lot of people so it is the quietest monastery. The entrance fee is Eur 3. This monastery is the smallest at Meteora. It is very atmospheric and the small chapel is beautiful. I am not sure if it could accommodate a tour group! You can sit in the chairs and admire the fabulous frescoes. You can climb up to the roof top from where there are excellent views of Meteora's stunning scenery. 11. Roussanou Monastery We parked on the road above the Roussanou monastery and had a 10 minute walk down to the monastery. Equally you can park on the road below the monastery which would involve a 10 minute walk up. If there is no parking in one area drive to the other area. There is an entrance fee of Eur 3 and the dress code is enforced. The Roussanou monastery has a small chapel with gruesome seventeenth century frescoes of beheadings, spearings and mutilations! There is a small terrace outside with good views over to the other monasteries. You can see the Roussanou monastery in 15 to 20 minutes but walking to and from the monastery adds another 20 minutes. 12. Viewpoints at Meteora We went to several good viewpoints: The rocks by Varlaam Monastery's car park. The rocks before the Agia Triada (Holy Trinity) Monastery, when coming from the west. The " Main Observation Deck of Meteora " on Google Maps. They are popular viewpoints and are easy to find. They provide some of the best views of the monasteries. 13. Accommodation at Meteora Most people visiting Meteora stay in Kalambaka as it has the most accommodation in the area. It is a 15 minute drive to the Great Meteoron monastery Kastraki is a smaller and more attractive place to stay. It is a bit closer to the monasteries but has less accommodation options. We booked a 1 bedroom apartment in Kalambaka through Booking.com at a cost of Eur 61 per night for our 3 night stay. My review of this accommodation is on my blog " UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 1 " (number 12). 14. Links to My Other Blogs on Greece Monemvasia, Greece: Travel Guide Mycenae, Greece: Travel Guide Tiryns, Greece: Travel Guide Epidaurus, Greece: Travel Guide Nafplio, Greece: Travel Guide Corinth, Greece: Travel Guide Delphi, Greece: Travel Guide Naxos, Greece: Travel Guide Mystras, Greece: Travel Guide Tinos, Greece: Travel Guide Syros, Greece: Travel Guide Andros, Greece: Travel Guide North Macedonia to Greece - Week 4 Nafplio, Greece to the Peloponnese - Week 5 Peloponnese to the Greek Islands - Week 6 The Greek Islands - Week 7 The Greek Islands to Albania - Week 8

Our visit to Meteora was part of a 3 month road trip from the UK to the Greece. See my blog North Macedonia to Greece - Week 4  for our daily trip report covering Meteora. Contents When to Visit Delphi Entrance Tickets Opening Hours Parking & Toilets The Main Archaeological Site The Museum The Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia Accommodation My Other Blogs on Greece 1. When to Visit Delphi The main factors to consider when visiting Delphi are the heat and the crowds: 1.1. The Heat at Delphi From mid June to mid September it is likely to be very hot and tiring walking up and around the Delphi's archaeological site. The solution would be to visit early or late in the day. If you visit early aim to get there when Delphi opens at 08.00. Walk around the archaeological site first and the museum afterwards If you visit Delphi later get to the ticket office between 17.00 and 17.30 and visit the museum first. Unless you have a special interest in archaeology 2.5 hours is sufficient to see the museum, the main archaeological site and the Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia. 1.2. Crowds at Delphi The main problem at Delphi is tour groups and there can be many of them! Just 2 to 3 large groups in the museum can spoil your experience. It will be crowded and noisy. There is more space at the archaeological site but large groups can still spoil your visit. The way to avoid the tour groups at Delphi is to come at opening time or later in the day. Many tours come from Athens. They won't arrive until mid morning and will leave mid to late afternoon. We visited Delphi in the off season (mid May) and when we arrived at 14.45 we saw the last of the tour buses leaving. 2. Entrance Tickets at Delphi The admission cost is Eur 12 and the ticket covers both the archaeological site and the museum at Delphi. There are 2 ticket offices and some ticket machines. If there is a long queue at one ticket office try the other one. Delphi provides free admission and reduced rates for certain people, including young people up to the age of 25, students and senior citizens. You have to provide proof of your eligibility and in most cases you must reside in an EU member-state. See the Ministry of Culture website for further details. There is no charge for visiting Delphi on 6 March, 18 April, 18 May, the last weekend of September, 28 October, and every first Sunday of each month from November 1st until March 31st. 3. Opening Hours at Delphi The archaeological site and museum at Delphi are open from 08.00 to 20.00 every day except Tuesday. On Tuesday Delphi's opening hours are 10.00 to 17.00. The exceptions to this are: 1 January: closed 6 January: 08:30 - 15:30 Shrove Monday: 08:30 - 15:30 25 March: closed Good Friday: 12:00 - 17:00, Last admission 16:40 Holy Saturday: 08:30 - 15:30, Last admission 15:10 1 May: closed Easter Sunday: closed 15 August: 08:00 - 20:00 25 December: closed 26 December: closed 4. Parking & Toilets at Delphi There is a small free car park near Delphi's museum but if it's full you have to park on the road. It can be difficult to find a vacant spot and that is another reason to avoid peak times. There are modern and clean free toilets outside Delphi's museum but none in the archaeological site. 5. The Main Archaeological Site Delphi's archeological site is on a hill with the stadium at the top. Some visitors and tour groups don't walk up to the stadium but I think it is worth the effort. It took us slightly more than an hour to see everything on the site. There were a lot of ruins but Delphi was one of the most interesting ancient archaeological sites that we saw in Greece. The main things to see are: 5.1. The Treasury of the Athenians This is the first building that you will encounter as you walk up the site. This impressive building was constructed to house offerings to the sanctuary of Apollo. It was originally built in 490 BC and was completely reconstructed in 1906. 5.2. The Temple of Apollo This temple dates back to the 4th century BC. There are only six columns standing and they were re-erected after the temple was uncovered in the late 1800's. 5.3. The Serpent Column The Serpent Column was an offering dedicated to Apollo at Delphi in 447 BC by the 31 Greek city-states which had fought in the Battle of Plataea. In 324 BC it was moved to Constantinople by Constantine I the Great and it is still there. In 2015 a replica of the column was made and erected at Delphi. 5.4. The Theatre This impressive theatre was constructed in the 4th century BC and it could seat 5,000 people. 5.5. The Stadium The stadium was built in the 4th century BC and is in a scenic location. 6. The Museum at Delphi Some people recommend visiting Delphi's museum first so you can obtain an understanding of the archaeological site. However, apart from an illustration of what the site may have looked like in ancient times the information at the museum was only about the artifacts on display. I am not a huge fan of museums but I enjoyed this one. It is in a modern building and the artifacts are well displayed. We visited the museum first and wandered around for 45 minutes. There were some interesting displays, but a lot of the narrative was complex and difficult to understand. 7. The Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia The Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia is a 10 minute walk, or a 2 minute drive, east along the main road from Delphi's museum. Entrance is free. The main thing to see is the ancient Tholos which is a circular building with a conical or vaulted roof. 8. Accommodation at Delphi We stayed in the pretty town of Arachova which is a 10 minute drive from Delphi. We booked a 1 bedroom apartment through Booking.com at a cost of Eur 45.50 per night. See my review on the blog " UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 1 " 9. My Other Blogs on Greece Monemvasia, Greece: Travel Guide Mycenae, Greece: Travel Guide Tiryns, Greece: Travel Guide Epidaurus, Greece: Travel Guide Nafplio, Greece: Travel Guide Corinth, Greece: Travel Guide The Monasteries of Meteora: Travel Guide Naxos, Greece: Travel Guide Mystras, Greece: Travel Guide Tinos, Greece: Travel Guide Syros, Greece: Travel Guide Andros, Greece: Travel Guide North Macedonia to Greece - Week 4 Nafplio, Greece to the Peloponnese - Week 5 Peloponnese to the Greek Islands - Week 6 The Greek Islands - Week 7 The Greek Islands to Albania - Week 8

Contents Introduction Tinos Town Villages around Exobourgo Mountain The Village of Kardiani Hikes on Tinos Car Ferries to and from Tinos Car Repairs Accommodation on Tinos Links to My Other Blogs on Greece 1. Introduction 1.1. Our Itinerary for the Cyclades We wanted to visit 4 of the Cyclades islands during our 3 month European road trip but I discovered that it was expensive to take a car on the ferry. I investigated leaving our car in Athens and renting cars on each island. That worked out to be even more expensive so I reverted back to using our own car. There aren't car ferries between all the islands so using our own car limited our choice of islands. I used the Ferryhopper website to determine which islands were serviced by car ferries. We wanted to avoid very touristy islands like Mykonos and Santorini. I eventually devised a circular route to 4 Cyclades islands with Naxos being the only touristy one. Our itinerary was Athens (Piraeus) - Syros - Naxos - Tinos - Andros - Athens (Rafina). We stayed 4 or 5 nights on each island. 1.2. Why we chose to visit Tinos The Rough Guide says that " Tinos still feels like one of the most Greek of the larger islands in the Cyclades ". The Tripadvisor forum mentioned that the hiking trails were excellent. We wanted to visit Andros (see my blog Andros, Greece: Travel Guide ) and Naxos ( see my blog Naxos, Greece: Travel Guide ). There are car ferries between Naxos to Andros that stop at Tinos. 1.3. Is Tinos worth visiting? Tinos is an authentic Greek island unspoiled by tourism. The main visitors are Greeks visiting the island for religious reasons. Tinos is an attractive island with pretty villages and reasonable roads for exploring the island. There are a couple of good hiking trails, but many trails are becoming difficult to follow as they aren't being maintained. See the hiking section of this blog for details. We were a bit underwhelmed by Tinos Town. It pales in comparison to Naxos Town. We enjoyed wandering around Naxos Town every evening but one visit of about an hour was enough for Tinos. The island of Tinos is definitely worth visiting but you do need a car. A stay of 3 to 4 nights is sufficient. 2. Tinos Town The main, and probably, only sight to see is the imposing Panayia Evangelistria Church. Most Greek visitors come to the church to see an icon famous for its healing powers. There are 2 long straight streets going uphill from the harbour to the church. You can enter the church and there isn't an entrance fee. The western street has a long thick runner attached to the side of the street to protect the hands and knees of devotees crawling up the hill. We didn't see anyone doing this. The eastern street is lined with stalls and shops selling religious items. We found free parking on the upper section of the western road to the church. When driving in Tinos Town ensure you have all your car papers as the Port police stopped us and asked to see them. Most of the restaurants are in the central harbour area. 3. Villages around Exobourgo Mountain Exobourgo Mountain is 570 metres high. It is an imposing mountain of barren rock and is circled by several pretty Greek villages. The top can be reached by steep steps from the village of Xinara but we didn't climb up. We visited the villages of Tripotamos, Skalados, Xinara and Falatados. Tripotamos is the most interesting of these villages and is a 10 minute drive from Tinos Town. It has old buildings, tunnelled alleyways and churches. Some dilapidated buildings have been restored and turned into small hotels and holiday homes. Vehicles can't enter the village and there is limited parking on the main road above the village. Falatados is also worth visiting and has several white washed churches. There are 2 free car parks. The first one was full but there was space at the next car park. 4. The Village of Kardiani We stopped off at the beautiful village of Kardiani on our drive up north to Mamados to do a hike. We parked on the main road and walked down to Kardiani. We were concerned the road to the village would be steep and narrow but it was fine. 5. Hikes on Tinos 5.1. The Condition of Hiking Trails on Tinos The Tinos Trails website lists 12 hikes that have well marked trails on Tinos. These trails aren't well maintained. A March 2023 review on Tripadvisor reported that many of the paths were overgrown and impassable. The reviewer said " It got to the point that I was dreading every time the trail got into nature, and was relieved when the way marking led to asphalt road. The opposite of what you're supposed to feel when hiking! ". The reviewer said that trails M3, M3a and E4 were fine and I can confirm that in June 2023 trails M3a and E4 were in good condition. The reviewer didn't walk trails T3, M2, E1, E2. It is possible that the trails will be cleared but also possible that they will become even more neglected. A good way of checking is to read recent user reviews of the hikes on the Wikiloc and Alltrails websites. 5.2. Tinos Trail M3A - Livada Beach to the Lighthouse on Papargyros Cape This is a very scenic coastal trail that takes about 40 minutes each way. It isn't a circular hike so you walk back on the same trail. The trail starts from Livada beach. There is a signpost just above the middle section of the beach. Once you have found this sign it is very easy to follow the trail. It is very well marked with red & white paint. The Alltrails app shows the route. Initially the path climbs up and then descends steeply before climbing to the lighthouse. It isn't a difficult path but there are lots of loose stones so it is best to walk carefully. The final section is a bit exposed when it is very windy. The tourist map indicates that almost the entire road to Livada beach is unpaved. In reality only the final 3 kilometres is unpaved. It is possible to carefully drive a saloon car until the last two hundred metres before the beach. We parked on the side of the road just before that section. If you want a longer hike you can add on the M3 hike from Myrsini to Livada beach. This trail was reported to be in good condition in March 2023. You would have to hike back up the same way. The Alltrails app shows that there is an elevation gain of 400 metres and that the hike takes 3 hours 15 minutes. 5.3. Tinos Trail: E4 Mamados - Mali - Koumelas - Marlas - Mamados This circular trail descends from the inland village of Mamados to the coastal villages of Mali and Koumelas. The trail back ascends to the village of Marlas, close to the starting point at Mamados. The trail was well marked, except in 1 place, and is in good condition. We used the Wikilok app to help follow the route. The Alltrails app has a fairly similar route. It is an open walk with good views and takes about 2.5 hours. There is a beach at Mali so you can have a swim there. There is a free car park at Mamados. I recommend this hike and in June 2023 it was one of the few trails on Tinos that weren't overgrown. 6. Car Ferries to and from Tinos We travelled to Tinos on a car ferry from Naxos and departed on a car ferry to Andros. Both ferries stopped at Mykonos. When we saw the cruise ships moored at Mykonos we were pleased that we weren't staying there! There are several car ferries sailing between Tinos and Andros but only two car ferries that sail between Naxos and Tinos. Both routes are fairly quick and take less than 2 hours. The cost for the car was between Eur 36 to Eur 40 which I felt was reasonable. 7. Car Repairs We had some problems with our car while we were on Tinos. A local recommended a garage and the mechanic was excellent. He spoke good English, was very helpful and the cost was very reasonable. The workshop is behind a Shell petrol station on the northern outskirts of Tinos Town. It is on the left hand side of the road to Tripotamos. Only the Shell petrol station is visible from the road. The workshop name is Delatolas, K., & A. O.E. 8. Accommodation on Tinos We stayed in a studio apartment that we rented through Airbnb for Eur 70 per night. We weren't very impressed with it but it gets good reviews. I have reviewed it on my blog " UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 2 " (number 3). 9. Links to My Other Blogs on Greece Monemvasia, Greece: Travel Guide Mycenae, Greece: Travel Guide Tiryns, Greece: Travel Guide Epidaurus, Greece: Travel Guide Nafplio, Greece: Travel Guide Corinth, Greece: Travel Guide Delphi, Greece: Travel Guide The Monasteries of Meteora: Travel Guide Naxos, Greece: Travel Guide Mystras, Greece: Travel Guide Syros, Greece: Travel Guide Andros, Greece: Travel Guide North Macedonia to Greece - Week 4 Nafplio, Greece to the Peloponnese - Week 5 Peloponnese to the Greek Islands - Week 6 The Greek Islands - Week 7 The Greek Islands to Albania - Week 8

Contents Introduction Andros Town A Drive around Andros island The Beach at Agios Petros Batsi and Gavrio Hiking on Andros Car Repairs on Andros Accommodation on Andros My Other Blogs on Greece 1. Introduction I first heard of Andros about 4 years ago when I read a newspaper article about the wonderful hiking trails. Unfortunately when we got there the trails didn't live up to expectations. Andros isn't particularly popular with foreign tourists despite being only a 2 hour ferry ride from Athens. Another reason why we visited Andros is that we had our own car and there are several daily car ferries from Andros to Athens and Naxos. We arrived from Naxos (see my blog Naxos, Greece: Travel Guide ) . 2. Andros Town 2.1. Parking in Andros Town The centre of Andros Town is pedestrianised and the streets around the centre are a bit narrow. There is limited parking. Google maps show 2 car parks and we went to the car park to the north of Andros Town. The car park was small and we got the last space. The car park is very convenient as it is on the seafront and near the centre. The other car park is to the west of the town centre. 2.2 What to See in Andros Town Andros Town is very attractive and juts out into the sea on a rocky spur . It isn't spoiled, or touristy, as most visitors stay on the northwest side of the island. We spent a pleasant hour or so wandering around the old streets. There are two museums and beaches on either side of the town. 3. A Drive around Andros Island We drove from the northwest of the island to Andros Town on the east coast. We then drove southwards to Korthi where we stopped for lunch. The road crosses back over to the west coast after Korthi and we drove up to Gavrio. The trip took 5 hours and the scenery was beautiful. Unfortunately there were few places to pull over on the mountain roads to enjoy the views and take photos. 4. The Beach at Agios Petros There are lots of good beaches on Andros but we only visited the one at Agios Petros. It is an excellent sandy beach but it is fairly open and could be affected by wind. Most of the beach is for public use but at the southern end there are 2 roadside tavernas that have sun loungers and umbrellas on the beach. There was no charge, but at least Eur 8 of food or beverages had to be ordered from the taverna. I think this is Eur 8 for 2 people. There was plenty of parking near these tavernas. 5. Batsi and Gavrio 5.1. Batsi Batsi is the main resort on Andros. There is nothing of historical interest but Batsi has been developed well. We usually had our evening meals at one of the waterfront restaurants followed by a pleasant stroll on the seafront. There is a large beach in the centre and plenty of free parking in June. 5.2. Gavrio Gavrio is the port for Andros. It is a small pleasant town with very little for visitors to do. There are free car parks at the southern end near to where the ferries dock. 6. Hiking on Andros 6.1. Overview Andros was the last of the 4 Cyclades islands that we visited. On the other 3 islands the hiking trails were well signposted but often overgrown. Hiking trail 11 on Andros passed within 100 metres of our accommodation so it was the first hike we attempted. Unfortunately the first section was overgrown so we abandoned the hike. We only did one short hike. This was due to concerns about trail maintenance and because I couldn't find circular hikes that appealed. 6.2. Planning Hikes on Andros The Andros routes website is run by volunteers who hike, and maintain the trails. There is a page that details all the hikes and another page that provides information on path maintenance . It does seem that they try to maintain the trails. The AllTrails website shows trails for 48 hikes. They all have reviews providing useful information. If the reviews are recent they can provide a good guide to the condition of the trails. 6.3. Trail 9A - Paleopolis Archeolgical Site This short trail is described on the Androsroutes and AllTrails websites. It takes about half an hour each way and is in good condition. The Androsroutes website showed the route condition as " open, with a lot of overgrown vegetation at parts ". Bizarrely there was no overgrown vegetation in June 2023. Whereas for trail 11 the website didn't report any overgrown vegetation but we found it to be a problem. The route on the Alltrails website starts above the main road. We parked in a layby off the main road, just past the museum at Paleopolis. When driving from the north it is on the right hand side and has space for about 10 cars. From the layby walk back along the road to Paleopolis until you see a 9A sign pointing to the left. Don't descend the steps before that. There is a sign indicating that there is no access. Half way down you can go left or right. These paths lead to different ends of the beach. At the north end of the beach there are rocks from where a couple of people were swimming. At the far south end there is a small sandy beach, but you have to clamber over a large boulder to reach it. We didn't see any archaeological remains. 7. Car Repairs on Andros We had to have the front springs and shock absorbers replaced on our car. I found AutoTechnics on the internet and the owners of our accommodation recommended them. The garage ordered the parts from Athens and they received and fitted them 2 days later. They did a good job and the cost was reasonable. It was very convenient. They are located at Agios Petros, across the road from a great beach. We spent half a day on the beach while they fixed our car. We could see our car in the workshop from our sun loungers! 8. Accommodation on Andros We stayed in a 3 bedroom house on the mountainside above Batsi which we booked through Booking.com for Euro 65 per night. It was very good value which is probably because the house is a 10 minute drive up a steep hillside. I reviewed the accommodation on my blog " UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 2 " (number 4). 9. My Other Blogs on Greece Monemvasia, Greece: Travel Guide Mycenae, Greece: Travel Guide Tiryns, Greece: Travel Guide Epidaurus, Greece: Travel Guide Nafplio, Greece: Travel Guide Corinth, Greece: Travel Guide Delphi, Greece: Travel Guide The Monasteries of Meteora: Travel Guide Naxos, Greece: Travel Guide Mystras, Greece: Travel Guide Tinos, Greece: Travel Guide Syros, Greece: Travel Guide North Macedonia to Greece - Week 4 Nafplio, Greece to the Peloponnese - Week 5 Peloponnese to the Greek Islands - Week 6 The Greek Islands - Week 7 The Greek Islands to Albania - Week 8