Greece and the Greek Islands

[bignasty28]

Has anyone gone to Greece or the Greek Islands with any recommendations or things that have to be seen? Good hotels, restaurants, etc? Any comments are welcome. I'm planning a trip in May and want to hit two of the Greek Islands as well as Athens. Thanks in advance

[Audiogenic]

You can swim in Greece from late May to early October no problem. High season starts after mid June for airfare. Last minute sites don't really exist for this kind of destination unfortunately.

If you are in the GTA, shop at the greek travel agents on the Danforth for tickets as they buy in bulk because every season lots of local Greeks go down. Olympic, Alitalia, British Airways, Air Transit, and KLM are popular choices. Both Air Transit and Olympic fly direct.

As far as islands go, Santorini (voted 2nd best lovers travel destination in the world for 2005) is an excellent choice if you are going down with someone special. Rhodes, Mykonos, Paros, Naxos, Crete are other beautiful islands as well.

The currency is Euro so it can get a bit expensive. The locals are all ALL off in August. Not humid, excellent food, above average looking people, very hospitable as well. Also use www.tripadvisor.com and www.greeka.com as well for user opinions on places to stay there.

Don't plan to stay in Athens more than a couple of days as it is very populated, VERY smoggy in the summer and can reach temperatures up to 40 celcuis.

[ericw]

you dont need to book hotels in advance for the islands. just pick one once u get off the ferry.
bargain hard! dont pay more than 20-25EUR a night (with pool/3*)
ask for the EXACT location of the hotel!

Go to Santorini! Definitely the most beautiful greek island. U can take the overnight ferry from athens~ save u one night accommodation and time.

Mykonos has nice beaches and is good for partying. BUT make sure u dont go to the wrong club ~ it is a famous gay island

[mlc2000]

Agree with previous poster, Santorini should be on your list.

Wife and I honeymooned in Cycladic Islands (Mykonos, Naxos, Syros and Santorini) with a few days in Athens. Santorini is absolutely spectacular.
When (not if) we go back, we will spend more time in Santorini. The view is to die for. Most of the villas are built into the side if the cliff, overooling the sea.
The roof of one, is the pation for the villa above it, and its roof is the patio of the villa above it. Ours was the lowest on teh cliff, there were no others belows, just a sheer drop of 350' to the sea. What a wonderful place to be.

Athens is a must, there's so much history therem but fortunately its all very close together, and most of it can be seen in 2-3 days.

As a side note, we travelled in August, and 40 degrees was the normal temperature. There is almost no rainfall during the summer, so the skies a beautiful blue all the time - great for photos!!

When we were there, (1999) the currency was the Drachma and was almost on par with the Canadian Dollar. $1 CAD = $525Dr. a beer was about $1000-1500Dr. Dinner with wine was 38,000Dr ($70CAD).

[analyst88]

Since Santorini is a small island, it does not provide much activities.
It is also getting more up market type of tourist area nowadays. It is worth to stay for about 3-4 days. Just watch the sunrise and sunset, you'll properly fall in love with Santorini.

I preper Kos: its more lively and lots of activities. You will see more young people from Europe there. A nice place to meet people.

http://www.santorini.net/home.html

http://www.kosinfo.gr/

Have fun ~~ :)

[ericw]

As for the dining in Santorini, the one below in Fira Town is pretty good. great service, good food, and awesome view!

http://www.ji-wang.com/RTW2005/Greek%20Islands/images/img_5570.jpg

personally, i prefer the sunset in Fira to Ia~

[gleberental]

you didn't say what Class you're planning to travel.

we were backpacking in europe in 2004 and we were in greece in march and went to Crete and stopped at Santorini on the way back to Athens.

Crete is different from the "islands" because it is a BIG island with highly varied climate, cool damp and lush in the interior mountains, then hotter, drier and more like the other islands along the south coast.

our favourite place in Crete was Paleohora on the south coast. just across a fairly narrow strait is Libya in North Africa:
http://www.interkriti.org/visits/paleohora/
http://www.west-crete.info/paleohora.htm
http://www.crete.tournet.gr/Paleochora-ar-435-en.jsp

...not a whole lot to do, but a cute little town in gorgeous setting on the ocean, great hikes in the surrounding hills, and apparently the ocean is bathtub warm at the end of the summer and into the fall (though not in march!)
we stayed at the Lissos Hotel, just up the street from the bus stop:
http://www.crete.tournet.gr/Lissos_Hotel-sm-9124-en.jsp
...i think it was probably only 20 euros a night, but apparently they've tarted it up last year, so it' ll probably be more... 24-hr hot water is nice, but i kind of liked the communal outdoor solar-heated shower... ah well, modernity!

the big draw in the area is the Samaria Gorge, which is apparently the longest in Europe... we didn't hike it because it's only open during the summer, although we did hike another gorge that's within an easy walk of the town.
http://www.explorecrete.com/hiking/samaria.html

as for Santorini, beware the touts at the ferry dock! our ferry arrived at 2 in the morning from Crete and we took up a tout who said his place was on the edge of the main town, however as his van sped us through the night i could see we were headed away from the lights of the town... the next morning when i went out for a walk it was clear we were WAY out of town... so we decamped and got the guy to drop us at the hostel in the centre of the main town.
the hostel, although a bit dodgy (my S/O always talks about the funny bites she had on her face after staying overnight, though i never had any) had an excellent location.

my favorite thing there was to sit on their patio with a beer in my hand looking out over the ocean, playing the role of the travel-wizened backpacker to the hordes of tourists that the the many-times-daily-visiting cruise ships disgorged to ooze for a few hours through the overpriced gift shops and back alleys of the main town... then were gone, until the next lot arrived a few hours hence.

the other great thing after eating "continental "breakfasts"" at hostels and elsewhere (i.e. frequently a bit of stale bread, tea and dubious preserves), was in santorini we happened across Mamma's, just up the street from the hostel, where we had a REAL north american-style breakfast -- pancakes, eggs & bacon, etc... for the first time in 4+ months on the road, and 4 more in London beforehand:
http://onesummerineurope.com/7-3-02_santorini.htm

cheers,
michael

[bignasty28]

Everyone's suggestions have been great. We've booked a 10 day trip from May 19-29 and I think we got a pretty good deal on the plane tickets through Alitalia ($750 per person + tax and service charges)... Air Transat was 900 + tax and charges... I think we might do Athens for a few days, and hopefully two other islands if time permits... i'm almost certain that we'll do Santorini from all the suggestions and the pics... it looks amazing... I'm not sure about the 2nd island though... so with regards to hotels on the islands. A few of you said that you can just go without a reservation?! isn't that kinda dangerous? you might be sleeping on the streets if you can't find anything.. 20-25 euros for a hotel sounds amazing though. I'm trying to stay as economy as possible, but would like some decent accomodations. More suggestions are welcome. Thanks again to everyone who replied

[ericw]

Everyone's suggestions have been great. We've booked a 10 day trip from May 19-29 and I think we got a pretty good deal on the plane tickets through Alitalia ($750 per person + tax and service charges)... Air Transat was 900 + tax and charges... I think we might do Athens for a few days, and hopefully two other islands if time permits... i'm almost certain that we'll do Santorini from all the suggestions and the pics... it looks amazing... I'm not sure about the 2nd island though... so with regards to hotels on the islands. A few of you said that you can just go without a reservation?! isn't that kinda dangerous? you might be sleeping on the streets if you can't find anything.. 20-25 euros for a hotel sounds amazing though. I'm trying to stay as economy as possible, but would like some decent accomodations. More suggestions are welcome. Thanks again to everyone who replied

May is far from high season. I went there in early june last year. hundreds of private hotel owners were waiting at the ferry terminal.

25EUR is enough for a 3* private hotel. Below is what i got for 25EUR in Fira, Santorini.
http://www.ji-wang.com/RTW2005/Greek%20Islands/images/img_5515.jpg

[overboost]

This is a great thread. I am also in the planning stages of my short trip to Greece. I can't believe such a nice hotel can be had for so cheap!


May is far from high season. I went there in early june last year. hundreds of private hotel owners were waiting at the ferry terminal.

25EUR is enough for a 3* private hotel. Below is what i got for 25EUR in Fira, Santorini.

[bignasty28]

so people just wait at the ferry terminal and you just bargain them down? wow..... sounds amazing

[ericw]

so people just wait at the ferry terminal and you just bargain them down? wow..... sounds amazing

YES!

[mlc2000]

Everyone's suggestions have been great. We've booked a 10 day trip from May 19-29 and I think we got a pretty good deal on the plane tickets through Alitalia ($750 per person + tax and service charges)... Air Transat was 900 + tax and charges..

Club Class on Air Transat when I flew to Athens in 1999, was additional $300pp roundtrip On Alitalia it was $3000 pp.

On a 10 hr flight, I think the upgrade is worth it. At least for me, I'm 6'6".

[mlc2000]

You can get a hotel in Niagara Falls for cheap, but you can;t see the falls.
Same goes for Santorini. The view of the caldera (what u see from the other pic from that restaurant) is so utterly breathtaking, that you'll be p!ssed of staying at a hotel with no view of the Caldera, which this hotel obviously has no view of, otherwise the RFD'er would've included the picture with a view. You can stay anywhere with a pool like that.

Trust me, you want to be on the cliff. We went totally 5STAR When we booked Santoriini, we had the option of staying at Santorini Palace, a 5* hotel. BUt it had no view of the caldera, so we settled for a 4STAR villa on the cliff, aptly named Honeymoon Villas. Turned out to be the most beautiful spot on all of our trip.

Photo shows where the resort is at 1
2 is where our room was.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y188/itsfatboy/b0a00f5d.jpg

The next is the roof of our room, you can see what an amazing view it is and how incredible it is to wake up to that view.
http://www.santorini.gr-santorini.com/hotels/honeymoon/gallery6.jpg

And other RFD'er waw correct, not alot to do in Santoriini, except visit the city buried by the volcano, Akrotiri. Its pretty interesting.

We did a day trip, visitted Akrotiri, took a boat to a fishing village on the outer islands, went to a sulfur spring that really stank, then took boat to Ioa to watch sunset, took donkey ride up the cliff.



May is far from high season. I went there in early june last year. hundreds of private hotel owners were waiting at the ferry terminal.

25EUR is enough for a 3* private hotel. Below is what i got for 25EUR in Fira, Santorini.
http://www.ji-wang.com/RTW2005/Greek%20Islands/images/img_5515.jpg

[bignasty28]

May I ask how much you paid for that room with that incredible view? I'm trying to go as economy as possible, but for that type of view, splurging will definately be considered.

So Santorini has not much to do... does that mean 3 days there should be sufficient? I'm thinking 3 in Athens, 3 in Santorini, and 3 in another island (to be decided)

[ericw]

So Santorini has not much to do... does that mean 3 days there should be sufficient? I'm thinking 3 in Athens, 3 in Santorini, and 3 in another island (to be decided)

That should be enough. considering taking the night ferry to Santorini, give u an extra day on the island.

[mlc2000]

May I ask how much you paid for that room with that incredible view? I'm trying to go as economy as possible, but for that type of view, splurging will definately be considered.

So Santorini has not much to do... does that mean 3 days there should be sufficient? I'm thinking 3 in Athens, 3 in Santorini, and 3 in another island (to be decided)


Can't remember the rate, but when I look online the price showing for May is 216Euro /night for Petra Studio - thats what we had.

Dunno if thats expensive....I think it will sound very cheap when you get home, and think that you COULD HAVE stayed there, but went cheap and had to take a bus to see the view. Kinda like going all the way to Athens, and then not seeing the Acropolis. The view in Santorini is the equivalent to the Acropolis in Athens.

Heres a link (http://www.santorini.gr-santorini.com/hotels/honeymoon/index.html) to the hotel,check it out.

Here's a few pix from when I stayed there.

1st is the breaksfast room, with the view
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y188/itsfatboy/HMV1.jpg

2nd is the infinity pool, with the view (and my wife of 2weeks at the time)
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y188/itsfatboy/HMV2.jpg

3rd is the view from our patio, stopped for some refreshments.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y188/itsfatboy/HMV3.jpg



You may want to consider Mykonos as well. BIg island, great night life, lots of beaches and very close to Delos - the whole island is an archaelogical dig site. Quite impressive.

[bignasty28]

Looks fantastic...

Anyone have any other insights for other Greek Islands?


Mykanos? Paros, Naxos, Sifnos?

What type of transportation is there on the islands? Any good restaurants or other attractions that need to be seen? Thanks again to MLC2000 for the insight

[mlc2000]

First, its Mykonos.
Great island, one of the larger islands in Cycladic Islands.

Here is my itinerary from my honeymoon

4 days in Mykonos.
Stayed at the Myconian Ambassador Hotel, 5*
Set on a hiilside, overlooking Platy Yilaos Beach
http://images.traveltainment.de/images/content/booking_thumbs_gr/05000/THB_999_H7293.jpg

We took the bus to Downtown Mykonos a few times, once in the day and twice at night. Its fantastically intricate myriad of walkways and there's lots of terrific places to eat. Theres a tour to Delos, which as mentioned before is an island, the whole thing is an archaelogicial digsite. Pretty cool.
Heres one pic
http://ivizlab.sfu.ca/arya/Photo/Delos-1.jpg

From there, we too a Ferry to Syros and spent 3 days there.
Stayed at the Sirou Melathron.
Syros is the capital centre of the Cyclades, and the architecture is so different,
more Italian flavoured, lots of arches and wrought iron as witnessed on the front of out hotel.
Not your typical white buildings with blue domes.

http://www.vacation.gr/htlimgs/syr-melathron1.jpg

From there, took a Hydrofoil to Naxos and spent 2 days there.
There wasn't much to do there except see the Naxos Gate. The gap at the bottom is 5' across and 6' deep. if that gives you some scale.
Its the only thing left that wasn't pillaged, probebly because it was so massive.

http://www.mlahanas.de/Hellas/Geo/Bild/NaxosGate.jpg
, we stayed at the Naxos Beach II.
Small hotel across the bay from the port.
http://www.dinerscosmosclub.gr/TridionImages/Scan-1-4_tcm103-12759.jpg

From there we took a Ferry to Santorini, and you know all about that.
From Santorini we flew back to Athens and stayed there for 2 days.

Looks fantastic...

Anyone have any other insights for other Greek Islands?


Mykanos? Paros, Naxos, Sifnos?

What type of transportation is there on the islands? Any good restaurants or other attractions that need to be seen? Thanks again to MLC2000 for the insight

[bignasty28]

Is food and stuff cheap on the islands? Do you have to pay for most of the popular attractions and sights?

I'm not sure how much money to bring or how to go about booking accommodations. I was thinking of just showing up and seeing what I could get in terms of a room, but that might be risky. What's there to see in Athens other than the accropolis?

[mlc2000]

Theres the national museum. its huge. U pay to get in,
The rest below are free

Theres the oylimpic stadium (the old one, not the one 2 yrs ago.).
Theres the Plaka (plaza) where theres a huge old church and an open air market. Theres Zues's gate. HAdes gate, tower of the winds.

cant remember if I paid to get into acropolis.

[bignasty28]

What's the best way of booking hotels and ferries when touring the greek islands?

Calling them directly? travel agent?

There are so many nice places, I want good bang for my buck I guess...
I'm really excited by all the pictures that people have posted so far.. hope my trip conjures just as nice photos

[mlc2000]

Not hard to get good pix of the Cycladic islands....it rarely rains in the summer, so its always blue skies and hot sun.

[bignasty28]

Any greek travel agents in the GTA? I want to book ferries and hotels and car rentals and all that. Check the Danforth?

[scoop]

Nice thread. We are looking into taking our honeymoon in Greece in August. Things are pretty pricey that time of year though from what I can find. Might postpone till the fall in hopes prices drop a bit...