A week here
Written by Elena Philippou, who hosts Villa Olivia Clara above Platis Gialos.Updated August 2026
How seven nights go here, from the people who hand over the keys.
Most groups settle into the same shape by the second day. A slow morning at the pool, a beach or a village late in the afternoon, and then dinner outside somewhere. This is the week we would plan for you, and two things in it are worth booking before you arrive.
Nothing here is compulsory. Guests who do none of it and swim twice a day still have a good week. People ask us what seven nights look like, though, so here is what our guests do, in the order the island makes easiest.
Two things are worth booking before you fly. A boat day, because the boats are small and fill up in July and August. And a table at Cantina if you want it, because people report booking weeks ahead for August. Everything else can be decided the morning of.
Day 1
Your ferry lands at Kamares. The drive over is 20 to 30 minutes, and from 16:00 Elena meets you at the house and shows you round. Do not plan anything else. Swim in the pool, walk the seven to ten minutes down to Platis Gialos, and eat on the beach at Omega 3, To Steki or Yalos. The bakery behind them is Theros, which matters on day two.
Day 2
The house faces east, so the sun is on the pool terrace early. Most groups stay put until the afternoon. When it cools, walk down to Platis Gialos, one of the longest beaches on the island, and stay into the evening. The only part anyone mentions afterwards is the walk back up.
Day 3
This is the one to book before you arrive. Poliegos is uninhabited, twenty-five minutes from our beach by fast boat, and the water is the colour people assume is a filter. Six hours takes in Kimolos and lunch by the water at Psathi. If the meltemi is up, Riris will tell you which coast is sheltered, and that is worth more than any itinerary.
Day 4
Go up to Apollonia in the late afternoon. The Steno, the pedestrian street, has more places to eat along it than anywhere else on the island. If you want the walk, Apollonia to Kastro takes about 45 minutes on the old path. Kastro is the medieval capital, built so the outer houses are the wall, and it is the one village people photograph and then stay in longer than they meant to.
Day 5
Drive to Vathi, 15 to 20 minutes from Apollonia, where the bay is the calmest and shallowest on the island and the tavernas stand on the sand. Potters have worked here for generations and the workshops sell what they make. Or go north to Cheronissos for the fish, caught that morning. Each is half a day, and you can turn up at either without booking.
Day 6
The house has a full kitchen. One evening, most groups would rather not use it. Ask Elena and she will point you to Ilias Anastasiadis, who cooks in the house, and you book him directly. The other option is Cantina at Seralia, the cove under Kastro, reached on foot down about ten minutes of steps. Arrange either one in advance. Only one needs shoes you can manage steps in.
Day 7
Chrysopigi is five minutes down the road, the monastery on the rock with the short bridge, and the picture on every Sifnos postcard. Swim at Apokofto, on the Faros side, a proper sandy beach with tamarisk shade and room for everyone. Then come back. Guests tell us the last afternoon at the pool is the thing they wish they had done more of.
A boat day
The boats are small and the good dates go first. Ask before you fly.
Cantina, if you want it
Set menu only, three fixed services, and people report booking weeks ahead for August.
Both fill in July and August. Elena will tell you who to write to. You book directly with them, and you pay us nothing for either.
Take out the boat day and the two dinners and what is left is the same day repeated. That repetition is what a house gives you. Coffee on the terrace while the sun comes round. The pool until it is too hot to be sensible. The beach at five. Dinner outside, cooked by you or by somebody else. Nobody else on the property the whole time.
The season runs 15 May to 30 September. September is the month we would pick. The sea is at its warmest and the island has emptied out.
For this week, yes. The beach, the bus stop and the tavernas are all seven to ten minutes on foot, so a beach-only week works without one. Days four, five and six all involve driving.
No. Seven nights is what we would book ourselves. It covers the beaches, the villages, a walk, a boat day, and still leaves two afternoons with nothing in them, which is the part people remember.
A boat day, and a table at Cantina if you want one. Both fill in July and August. Everything else on this page can be decided the same morning.
Yes. The kitchen is fully equipped, the mini markets and the Theros bakery are down the lane at Platis Gialos, and a private chef can come to you for one evening if you would rather not cook at all.
She will tell you what falls inside them, which boat day suits the wind that week, and who to write to for the two that need booking. She answers the emails herself.