Greece

I'm in the early planning stages for a trip to Greece this summer and am looking for recommendations. Am thinking 2 weeks in Athens, Crete, and Santorini. Would love hotel, restaurant, and excursion recommendations. Shopping too! Also, if you've been to other parts of Greece and had a great time, let me know. Am open to pretty much anything right now. I know we will be spending a lot of $$ because we are going during high season but it's our belated honeymoon, so I can't wait! Have started researching Santorini and am getting so excited! I just keep telling myself 7 more months. Lol

Thanks all!

Re: Greece

Do you plan to fly or take boats to get around? Crete and Santorini are in 2 different sections of the Greek Island. To get the most of your trip I always suggest staying to one section so you don't spend too much time and money on traveling from Place to to place.
Crete is nice but too me it is very large and I always felt like I didn't really ever learn my way around.

I love Santorini and it is a place that shouldn't be missed.It is very different from all the other islands and has beautiful views.
That being said you could do Mykonos if you are into nightlife or do Paros and with a day trip or over night in Antiparos which is only 20 minutes by ferry from Paros and small enough to get around in one day.

Paros has 2 great towns Parika and Noussa. I personally like spending a little time in both Noussa is beautiful at night and gathers a lot of tourists.

I have traveled all over Greece and Antiparos is one of my favorites. It is only a few square miles so you can walk the entire main town where there are tons of restaurants, shops and little bars and beautiful beaches. You can take a bus or rent a car to for 5 minute ride to some of the sites outside of the main town like the amazing cave and more secluded beaches.
Most people I have sent to the island for a day have either stayed longer or gone back for another visit.

Message edited 1/25/2012 4:20:00 PM.

Re: Greece

I don't want to spend all my time getting from one place to the other, so I'm leaning towards flying even though I know we would see more with the ferry. I may leave that up to DH and go with his preference. He loves boats so I'm guessing that is what he would want to do.

My concern about Crete is what you mentioned about it being so large and perhaps not getting a feel for it. I also think we may need to spend more time there than what we'll actually be able to do.

My not yet formulated plan is to spend a couple days in Athens, go visit family for 3-4 days, I wanted to spend 4-5 days in Santorini on the tail end of the trip. I was thinking Crete to maybe fill in the void but it probably isn't enough time. Maybe I should fill it with another place. I know Mykonos is another popular spot so that may be a good option for a few days. We are not huge partiers but it may be worth it to see. Where in relation to Santorini is Paros/Antiparos? I haven't been to Greece in so long, I need to take out a map.

Also, do you have a hotel recommendation for Santorini? I'm trying to figure out where to stay and it seems like the caldera side but I'm not sure about town. Where's the best area to stay - Oia, Firastefani, Imerovigli.

Thanks for your input!

Re: Greece

If you took the ferry from Athen's many of them stop in Paros on the way to Santorini. You could easily get off and stay for a few days and get back on and continue to santorini. You could then take a ferry all the way back to athens or fly back. Time wise it cuts your travel days down quite a bit.
There are fast ferries that will take you to Paros in 3 and half hours or the traditional ferries that are more like 5.5 hours.
They run great little day trips off of paros to Delos & Mykonos.
Delos is one of the most important mythological, historical and archaeological places in Greece.

My famliy is actually from Antiparos. The island is so small that we use Paros as our Mainlaid. The kids have to go there for HS since there is none on Anitparos LOL.

If you have any additional questions let me know. I have arranged a ton of trips for friends who wanted to visit Greece. I am thinking I should quite my job and work for the Greek Tourism Board LOL.

Re: Greece

Thanks for the info! Really helpful.

So it sounds like Mykonos and Paros/Antiparos may work for a few days.

Do you know if the high speed ferry travels from Athens to Santorini? Is it still the Flying Dolphin? I don't want to take an 8 hour ferry to Santorini but 4-5 hrs just for the experience may be worth it and then we can fly back to Athens.

What is the order of the islands? Is it Mykonos, Paros, Santorini? I'm just trying to figure out logistics. It sounds like it may work to hop from one to the other.

Also, do you have a town/hotel recommendation for Santorini?

Thanks so much for the info.

Re: Greece

There is a fast ferry from Athens.

This is a review someone wrote about the place in Santorini to stay. I agree with it. If you tell me what area you would like I can give you some reccommendations. I have been there 4 times and have stayed all over.
_______________
The two basic choices are beach vs. caldera view from the cliffs. That should be your first consideraton. If you choose the beach, Kamari and Perissa/Perivolos are the most popular areas with lots of shops, restaurants and bars. If you want something quieter there is Monolithos and Vlihada.




If you prefer a view over the caldera there are 4 villages to choose from. Fira is the island's social/commercial center and is where the island bus hub is located. Firostefani is right next to Fira and because of development is no longer separated, but offers a slightly quieter atmosphere than Fira. Imerovigli is about a mile from Fira at the highest elevation of any of the villages on the cliffs. It's very quiet there as it's mostly private homes and small hotels. Oia is on the north end of the island away from the rest of the villages, 7 miles from Fira. There are lots of excellent shops, restaurants, hotels and galleries there but the nightlife is limited to a few mellow bars. If you want youth-oriented nightlife within easy walking distance to your hotel stay in Fira or Firostefani.

Re: Greece

We just came back from visiting Greece as part of a series of stops last summer.

Warning: (THIS IS JMO AND I DON'T WANT TO GET SLAYED OVER THIS COMMENT) however, be prepared to be very surprised when you go to Athens. It is seriously one of the dirtiest cities I have ever seen. NYC is clean in comparison. The streets are filthy and honestly, there were streets lined with refugees from Pakistan who can only legally stay in public areas, like in front of universities without being deported. The graffiti is out of control, there is not one spare inch of space that isn't covered with it. The streets are lined in what looked to be white or light colored stone? or material of some kind but they are so black and are litered with trash. I know ever city is dirty, BUT, this really took the cake. Also, if you are planning on driving while you are there, be aware that since the city is so congested, cars are allowed to drive only a certain days of the week based upon your license plates. so even numbers, for example would be MON, Wed & Fri and odd numbers are Tues, Fri & Sun

Santorini is seriously Stunning, breathtaking and gorgeous! You don't need any excusrions here unles you absolutely have to! the top of the city is small and the shopping is really fun with lots of little places to get lunch or snacks along the way. Make sure to go there for dinner so you can see the sunset while your eating dinner! The beach is gorgeous too, but is on the other side of town than where all the shopping is.

Have fun!

Re: Greece

NJGirl - I'm thinking caldera side and we can just make a day trip(s) to the beach. I'm more interested in being near things rather than the more quiet, out of the way areas. It sounds like Fira or Firostefani are the best options. I would appreciate any hotel recommendations you have for both. Is there anywhere you've stayed that you really like and would highly recommend? Thank you! There's so much info, it's hard to sort it out and figure out best places to stay, eat, shop, etc. I find it's always best to get recommendations from people who have been there and it sounds like you have a wealth of knowledge. Many thanks.

Moonmist09 - I don't plan on spending a ton of time in Athens, probably a day when we get there to see the major sites and a day on the back end to fly out. My parents and family are from Greece but I literally haven't been there in 10 1/2 years. I still have a ton of family there, I think more than in the states, and it kills me it's been so long since I've seen them. DH and I will be going together for the first time so he'll get to meet my family over there and I'll get to meet the newer members as well! DH has been to Greece when he was in the military but wasn't allowed to go to Athens. He's a huge history buff so it will be great to do the historic sites with him. We're really only going to Athens to sightsee. My family is in Pireaus, so normally we would go there but we will be going in August when the locals all vacation and my family will be in the villages my parents grew up in. We will be visiting them there. Athens definitely has its issues but Greece is unbelievably special to me because of the family ties.

Re: Greece

Re: Greece

Re: Greece

We went there for our honeymoon. We went there over 6 years ago so things may be a little different. We loved Greece. We went to Athens, Rhodes, Crete and Santorini. I liked Santorini and Rhodes the best. The hotels we stayed at in Athens and Crete were just ok, but I liked the other hotels. The one nice thing about the Athens hotel was we were within walking distance to the plaka.

In Crete, we stayed at Oia Mare Villas in their jr honeymoon suite. It was really nice. The Katikies hotel is also beautiful there. Ambrosia resturant in Santorini was very good.

Have a great time! You will love it.

Re: Greece

we actually just booked a 10 day vacation to Greece for this june. we're doing 4 nights in mykonos (staying at Mykonos Grand), 4 nights in santorini (staying at Gold Suites) and 2 nights in athens (staying at Hotel Grande Bretagne). we just booked it last night, so haven't looked into activities yet. i do know that we are taking a high speed ferry from mykonos to santorini though.

Re: Greece

Re: Greece

Re: Greece

You do not need much time in Athens...don't spend more than 2 nights there. Santorini is amazing, I dream of going back there, be sure to take a trip to the wineries, ride the donkeys and visit the black sand beaches. I loved Mykonos too, gorgeous.
We also went to Ios.

we were 4 girls and did a Contiki tour, one of the greatest trips I ever took!

Message edited 2/6/2012 11:56:21 AM.

Re: Greece

Sorry it took me so long to respond. I have stayed at both Cosmopolitan Suites Hotel and Villa Renos in the town of Fira. Both are beautiful with amazing views and close to everything.

Re: Greece

WGreece for oura honeymoon almosy 5 years ago and it was fabulous. We went to Athens and Santorini and loved both.

We didn't find Athens dirty and filthy at all and we know several people who have said that. It's an incredibly old city so it's not necessarily planned out but had tons of things to see and do. We stayed at the St. Geoorge which was fabbulous. They have a restaurant on the roof where you can have breakfast every morning and has fabulous city views.

In Santorini, we stayed at The Majestic in Fira. It was a 5 minite walk into town with Caldera views. The place is gorgeous and the staff so accomodating. While there, we went and visited the blck sand, red sand and white sand beaches which were all fantastic. We rented an ATV for about 2 days to go exploring the island, which was tons of fun. We also did an excursion that took you to a hot springs and climbing on the volcanoe.

Re: Greece

ETA

mrsgoodtime -

Yeah, that was me. I never did see another bride in my dress. Lol

I only posted one pic on LIW. I tried to post some others but they were too big and didn't feel like dealing with resizing or uploading to another site in order to post.

The cakes were fun. They weren't my main favor but a small extra I had for each guest.

Definitely let me know how your trip to Greece goes. Would love to hear about your experiences.

Message edited 2/9/2012 2:55:49 PM.

Re: Greece

Re: Greece

We want to go this summer as well! Great ideas on this thread. Good luck with the plans.

Re: Greece

I went to Athens, Mykonos, and Santorini about 5 years ago. Best vacation ever!! We stayed in Athens for about 2-3 days, then took airplane to Mykonos for 5 days then took high speed ferry to Santorini for 5 days. Sight seeing in Athens, beach and relaxation in Mykonos and romance and some more sightseeing in Santorini!
We stayed at The Mykonos Grand, it was a great hotel. The service was better than the Four Seasons in Maui! We went to different beaches around the island, some had some fun bars and we danced, others were quiet and the water was beautiful.
We stayed at the Santorini Princess in Imerovigli. It was a nice hotel but I would stay in Fira. You can get the beautiful sunset views basically in any area. It was really hard finding taxis to take us back to imerovigli at night after dinner even though it was 8 minutes away. If you stay in Fira you can probably walk to the restaurants. There are some really good restaurants in Fira. Santorini is much more romantic and geared towards honeymooners. We took a day trip to the volcano, hiked up the volcano and swam in the hot springs. We also visited some vineyards in Santorini. Very beautiful. Drank wine and ate cheese watching the sunset. Didn't go the beaches in Santorini cause I heard they were pretty far and weren't that nice.
You will have a great time! Enjoy!!