Kythira
Large, Thinly Settled Island Between The Peloponnese And Crete: A Venetian Castle Town, The Neraida Waterfall At Mylopotamos, The Abandoned Kato Chora And Remote Beaches · Chora (Kythira), Attica
Kythira sits alone off the south-east tip of the Peloponnese, between the mainland and Crete, and it feels like an island that ferry routes forgot: big, high, thinly settled, and empty enough that a road can run for twenty minutes without a village. Historically it was the seventh of the Ionian islands under Venice and Britain, which is why the capital, Chora, is a white village under a Venetian castle the Venetians called the eye of Crete for its command of the sea lanes. Below it Kapsali's twin bays make the summer port. Inland are the mills and cold waterfall of Mylopotamos, the abandoned Venetian gate and houses of Kato Chora, the cave church of Agia Sofia, the sacked medieval town of Paleochora in its gorge, and the rusting wreck of a cargo ship on the reef at Diakofti. Honest caveats: you need a car, some roads are rough, nightlife barely exists, and outside roughly June to September much of the island closes and the ferries thin out.
Kythira, off the south-east tip of the Peloponnese; Chora with its Venetian castle, Kapsali port below, Avlemonas and Mylopotamos; ferries from Neapoli and Gythio, Chora (Kythira), Attica, Greece
Kythira has few ticketed sites and no single set of opening hours. Chora's Venetian castle, Kato Chora, Paleochora, the Mylopotamos waterfall walk and the beaches are open at any hour and free, though the castle gate is sometimes locked out of season - confirm. The archaeological museum in Chora and the Byzantine museum at Kato Livadi keep short state or municipal hours, mostly mornings, with winter closures and closures on 1 January, 25 March, 1 May, Easter Sunday and 25 and 26 December. The Agia Sofia sea cave church near Mylopotamos opens only in summer and only with a keeper - confirm before driving down. Ferries run from Neapoli in about an hour to an hour and a quarter, with fewer sailings out of season, plus flights from Athens; book a car space, a hire car and August rooms well ahead.