Rafting in Greece
Greece is the third most mountainous country in Europe. It has a number of big rivers that offer a good selection of difficulty levels for rafting in many parts of the country, all year round (including Voidomatis, Arachthos, Lousios, Evinos, Aos, Pineios, Aliakmonas, etc) . There is good infrastructure for the prospective rafter in the form of companies offering rafting related services, accommodation in renovated beautiful traditional buildings and restaurants offering high quality, cheap local cuisine. Greece's fantastic natural heritage, with world class peaks, gorges, beaches, wetlands etc (eg, Vikos gorge, Samaria gorge, Olympus mountains, Meteora, Elafonisos beach and many more) is combined with an amazing cultural heritage going back many thousands of years . Even though sadly most of the Greeks have moved to the big cities (half of all Greeks live in Athens) and the old ways and traditions are fading, an immense wealth of an architectural (and culinary) heritage is preserved all over Greece, in the form of churches and monasteries, traditional villages, stone built bridges, excellent local dishes and many more.
Cyprus has a relatively large collection of different kinds of habitat, providing its inhabitants with a stage where they can do a wide selection of outdoor activities. But as Cyprus doesnot have navigable rivers, the prospective rafter would have to go abroad to engage in rafting. Greece seems to be probably the best option for (prospective) rafters living in Cyprus, as Greece is very near. Until recently, going for rafting to Greece from Cyprus was a rather expensive proposition, as rafters would need to travel to Athens (or Thessaloniki), at quite high flight cost. At the same time, in many cases Athens (or Thessaloniki) are quite far from the rivers where rafting takes place, making the activity even less accessible for those living in Cyprus. From 2012 there are cheap flights to a number of destinations in Greece (eg Patra) decreasing the total cost of a rafting expedition tremendously.
From 2012 Cyprus Walks Etc is cooperating with Greek associates in offering interested clients rafting expeditions from Cyprus to Greece. While we can arrange plain vanilla rafting services, we recommend to compose a trip that includes at least an unforgettable hike combined with a memorable rafting expedition. An example of such a trip is the one in picture-perfect Zagorochoria region in northwest Greece. It includes rafting in Voidomatis river together with hiking in nearby Vikos gorge.
Cyprus has a relatively large collection of different kinds of habitat, providing its inhabitants with a stage where they can do a wide selection of outdoor activities. But as Cyprus doesnot have navigable rivers, the prospective rafter would have to go abroad to engage in rafting. Greece seems to be probably the best option for (prospective) rafters living in Cyprus, as Greece is very near. Until recently, going for rafting to Greece from Cyprus was a rather expensive proposition, as rafters would need to travel to Athens (or Thessaloniki), at quite high flight cost. At the same time, in many cases Athens (or Thessaloniki) are quite far from the rivers where rafting takes place, making the activity even less accessible for those living in Cyprus. From 2012 there are cheap flights to a number of destinations in Greece (eg Patra) decreasing the total cost of a rafting expedition tremendously.
From 2012 Cyprus Walks Etc is cooperating with Greek associates in offering interested clients rafting expeditions from Cyprus to Greece. While we can arrange plain vanilla rafting services, we recommend to compose a trip that includes at least an unforgettable hike combined with a memorable rafting expedition. An example of such a trip is the one in picture-perfect Zagorochoria region in northwest Greece. It includes rafting in Voidomatis river together with hiking in nearby Vikos gorge.
Below one can see a selection of rafting spots in Greece (most of the ones shown in the map are of a low to medium level of rafting difficulty):