I think that the Greek Islands would ideally suit someone who enjoys sun tanning and a partying holiday. They have beautiful towns, beautiful beaches and a wonderful Mediterranean climate together with very good basic, fresh ingredients in the meals at the local restaurants.

Is that a wonderful recommendation? I am glad to have seen them, but it is not my type of holiday, and if you are not going to be spending a lot of time on the beach, I think you would run out of things to do on these smaller islands. Quite frankly, I enjoy big cities, and places of historical or business interest and most of the islands, while they do have some history, do not have ancient Rome or Ephesus, and when you think about it and appreciate that for example, the town of Santorini is only open during the tourist season, and when it is over, many people head off to the mainland in Athens, it is all a little bit plastic and yes, they are selling plastic toys, trinkets and generally a load of junk while complaining that due to the recession, they cannot sell much.

I do sympathise with them, because I saw very few tourists even paying to sit down and have a cup of coffee, or maybe that is because a double Greek coffee will keep you awake for 36 hours! In any event, I would probably prefer Corfu, which is obviously far more north than Santorini and has a completely different climate and is covered with wonderful forest of trees and Olive trees. Understandably, while Santorini has a population of approximately 10 000 out of season, Corfu has a year round population of 140 000 as apart from tourism its economy also relies on agriculture and fishing. In other words, when the tourists do home, they don’t have to close down every single one of those shops and restaurants that we all consider to be a vibrant little village, at the top of a cliff, and go away for 4 or 5 months.