greece for $5000 possible?

bridget1312 · February 2012

Hey all. I don't know where to start.... We want to go to greece for our honeymoon, crete, santorini and athens for like 10 days. we live in california and don't know where to look, we were hoping to spend like $5000 maybe a little more, is this possible? And where can we get help??? I am terrible at trip planning... thanks!! B

Pburke2010 · February 2012

It's definitely possible. I would just start googling "greece on a budget" and see where that takes you. I was able to find a lot of good ideas when I googled "New Zealand honeymoon on a budget" A travel agent can also help out.

Have you looked into doing a cruise? You don't have to worry about hotels or food, and you'll see a lot of the country. It's usually cheaper (and less of a hassle) to do a cruise.

Good luck!

MrsGandthebeag · February 2012

I really wanted to do Greece for our hm but we decided against it for a couple reasons, one being the state that the country is in right now. It's not really safe and their economy is in the hole. We did a mediterranean cruise and two of the stops were Athens and Crete. They were both kind of dissapointing. It was a week after the riots ended last summer.

Hilraythebride · February 2012

My FI and I are going to Santorini and the greek Isles for our honeymoon. I do have to say it may be possible but I want to let you know that the flights are pretty pricey.

I looked at flights for the two of us, nothing booked yet, but they run anywhere from about 3-4K for both of us there and back.

This is from Philadelphia so it may be more coming from LA since you will have to fly to the east coast (I think) then out.

If you find anything please post!!

We booked out hotel at booking.com, since we are going for 2 weeks we wanted to book something early so no one could take it and just stay there one or two nights and then we couldn't get our room because of that.

It is a great site and is affiliated with priceline.com. For the hotel we chose you don't have to put any money down either!

I don't think their economy should have anything to do with it because you are going to the little islands so it shouldn't be a problem.

Best of Luck!

Elinetrouwt · February 2012

Definitely possible! Airfare from the westcoast will be the biggest expense, but in low season I think you should be able to find something under 2k for two. Check expedia and the like, and book as fast as you can. Delta, Jet Airways and American usually have the best deals for US-Europe flights. Don't look for a direct flight to Greece, but go anywhere in Europe and look for a cheap connecting flight (try Ryanair and Easyjet).

10 days for Athens, Santorini and Crete is a bit much - I'd stick with two of those. If you find flights for 2k, you"ll have 300$ per day left, which should get you far enough. Get yourself some travelling guide to get some ideas about where to go and what to do, I personally like the Rough Guides a lot. They should also have an indication about what you can get for your daily budget. Use sites like tripadvisor to find good accomodation, and if you really dislike planning, go through a travel agent.

snoangel79 · February 2012

The islands shouldn't be an issue, you would see that in Athens more than anything. I went in Sept 2010 for our honeymoon and the economy issues had started around the Spring before if I remember correctly. Santorini was amazing! I would have just stayed there the whole time! We went to Athens for two nights (just for the history), wasn't impressed with the city at all but if you do go the history is really worth it!

The airlines are expensive btw that is the bulk of the trip (we are from MA).

hcampana · February 2012

Seems possible!!

Like you said, depends on the price of the plane tickets.

We stayed here in Santorini and loved it! http://www.villalukas.gr/
It was only 100-120 euros and had the most beautiful view. If you go to Santorini you HAVE to get a room on the Caldera, or else it's not worth it. The room was very nice too. It's not a fancy resort hotel, but the owner Lukas is friends with the people who own the resort next door so we were allowed to go use their pool. And if you do go, ask for a room that is not next to the reception. Tell him it's your honeymoon and you want something private. We were in the room that was next to the reception and it was slightly annoying. Other than that, it was perfect. Form the hotel you can do the cliff walk to Oia.. It take a couple hours but is amazing! You can also walk to the main town which I can't quite remember the name of, Fira? I think you can get transportation from the ferry port for about 15 pp tp the villa. Then if you want to do some exploring rent a quad.. They are soo fun! We went to Kamari beach and loved it.

You might want to consider doing closer island than Crete. Isn't that pretty far? Also, do yourself a favor and don't bring like 2 giant stuffed full suitcases. It will be really difficult when you take the ferry. Travel light. Most Europeans travel with little tiny bags. Trust me, you don't need to bring as much as you think you do.

MrsGandthebeag · February 2012

If you watch the news Greece is in major turmoil at the moment and might go into civil war. There are riots again in Athens. If you go, I'd stick to just the islands and do a nice cruise. Crete wasn't impressive and neither was Athens. Santorini looks amazing though.

hcampana · February 2012

I disagree that Athens is not impressive, I liked it and mainland Greece a lot. But pp is right, you really don't want to be in Athens during this time of turmoil. See if you can get a flight to Satorini or Mykonos and just do a couple of the Cyclade islands. I recommend Sifnos because it's a great change from the crowded tourist places and the resorts. It's very natural and beautiful. It might be easier to get a flight to Crete though. If that's the case, you can do Crete and Santorini because I believe they have ferries from Crete. Honestly in 10 days, 2 islands is enough, do 3 max. You really want to have time to both relax, and explore.

CountrieBum · February 2012

You can do it! I have it planned for about 4000 but I'm leaving from the East coast. Crete is far from the other Cycladic isles. So you might want to think about a trip that has Athens, Mykonos, and santorini, And do a little island hopping in between, I hear Paros, Keas, Naxos and Milos are all cute little islands with vineyards and small town feel that might be fun to explore.

I am also going in the most expensive time of the year JULY! We are doing all 4 star hotels, maybe one 5 star hotel. Athens looks amazing but with all the stuff they have going on I might limit my stay there to just a day.

Some tips: book your ferries between island early! They book up weeks before the actual day especially in peak travel season, I went to Greekferries.gr and they seemed reasonable and easy to navigate.

Do some research too, I spent 2 days just trying to figure stuff out. In the end it will all be worth it though!

bridget1312 · February 2012

thanks ladies.. we actually decided to go to the caribbean instead.. It works much better with our budget and still somewhere we have never been... Thanks so much for all your input... best of luck to everyone!!!

eat drink and be merry!

greece for $5000 possible?

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