Best hikes/walks in Greek Islands? Anything like Italy's Cinque Terra?

There's a 7-mile hike between Fira and Oia on Santorini that is several hundred meters above sea level along the clifftop. http://www.greek-islands.us/santorini/hiking/fira-oia-hiking.jpg Also, there's a hike between Perissa Beach and Kamari Beach that passes by the archaeological site of Ancient Thera near the summit of the mountain. The photo below was taken on the Perissa side. The Kamari side is a steep switchback road. http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/01/8f/cc/22/hiking-to-the-ancient.jpg On Crete there is the most famous/popular hike in the Samarian Gorge but there are other gorge hikes there as well. http://www.explorecrete.com/hiking/gorges.html

I'd love to take the hike from Fira to Oia. I know it's along the cliff, but is it a really difficult hike or how would you describe it? I've seen an online guide, but are there printed maps/guides available in Fira?

It's not a difficult hike but it can be very hot in the summer months. It's best to start out early in the morning. It takes 3-4 hours to walk the whole trail but it returns to the main road at one point if you don't want to complete it. The passing bus will stop for you. Be sure to take water, a snack, a hat, sunscreen, sunglasses and of course your camera. The trail is clearly marked and easy to find. Yes, there are printed maps and guides available once you're on the island, but nothing I know of will show the trail in any detail.

i walked halfway from fira to oia in late sep, and it was still very hod during the day, so i didn't finish it. the scene along the way was so beautiful, picture taking also took a lot of time. you'll likely need to stop by at least 1 bar for a cool mythos, and if you don't stay at one of those expensive cave hotel you can still pay about 10 euros and they allow you to swim in the pool. i found one so close to the cliff feel like swimming into the ocean, very cool. another hike on rodos is at the town of lindos you walk up to the top of the hill to see the ruin, again very hot, intense labor, and you walk down to the beach for an afternoon of beer and swim. sandy beach with beautiful water, better than the beaches at CT. not rocky at all.

Lee. THANKS so much. This sounds perfect. Thx. Nancy

Nancy For a really good site on walking in the Cyclades you could do no better than look here http://www.cycladen.be/IntroductionEng.htm Raymond, is a real enthusiast and we've always found his instructions to be really accurate. Have a great trip. Alan

Plenty of hikes on Crete, there's a good one from Gouverneto monastery down to the sea and back. Also the short hike down to Balos lagoon, and too many to list in the Lefka Ori.