Greece

cantwaitforthefuture · January 2015

I posted this over at thenest.com, but their travel boards are not super active. Anyway, this is not for my honeymoon, but nonetheless, I thought maybe someone would have some input on this board. Has anyone been to Greece? My husband and I already have our vacation planned for this summer (Turks and Caicos) but we were thinking of planning a trip to Greece the following summer. We originally thought we would go to Athens, then Santorini, then Mykonos. Now, I am wondering if we should go to Athens at all? I have traveled extensively through Europe, and lived in Rome as a teacher for year, but never made it to Greece. I always thought Athens would be a place to go, but the more I hear, the more it seems that there is not much to see in Athens? Is this correct? Any information would be helpful.

jenna8984 · January 2015

I actually really liked Athens. But most of that was the Acropolis that I loved. I will honestly say that it's not a beautiful city. Like when people talk about Paris they said how stunning it visually looks. Athens is not like that at all. It's a bunch of depressing looking concrete buildings. But I still found the history awesome to see. And I was younger so I had a blast in the clubs at night.

I also went to Santorini and Mykonos and I can tell you DO NOT miss those!! They are the absolutely best two islands and probably my favorite places on Earth.

cantwaitforthefuture · January 2015

Yeah, I've been to Paris and a bunch of other major European cities. I always enjoyed just walking around the little streets, eating amazing meals, etc., in addition to sightseeing. It sounds like Athens doesn't really have that? My husband and I are both in our early thirties, so we will not be into the club scene. Thanks for the input, though! Santorini and Mykonos are both musts for us!

CMGragain · January 2015

Ten years ago, we did a Greek Islands cruise with Princess Cruises. It was one of the most memorable vacations ever, but we were exhausted. There are many cruise companies that will take you around Greece and show you a variety of places. Mykonos and Santorini are usually included. These days they are also going to Crete. This is a very economical way to see a wide variety of places in a short time.
I cannot recommend Costa Cruises. Talk to a travel agent. Their services are free.

cantwaitforthefuture · January 2015

We briefly looking into a cruise, but we want to stay on each island for a few days to really get a feel for each. We have two weeks budgeted for this trip, so I think 4-5 days for each island should be perfect. Thanks for the idea, though! On a side note, I've been on 3 cruises in the past and have loved them, so for others this might be a nice option.

jenna8984 · January 2015

I definitely think staying on the islands is the best way to go. Santorini is absolutely magical at sunset and all the people who were on cruises had to miss it and get back to the ship.

I mean overall I thought Athens was worth a few days. There was definitely a cute little downtown area near the Acropolis that had some amazing cafes and shops. We stayed at the Marriott downtown and it had a rooftop pool with a perfect view of the Acropolis- I would recommend it!

JennyColada · January 2015

Athens was a fun time for me, I did really enjoy it.

Crete seems to be where the Greeks go on their vacations, so I wish that we had more time to check that out. We spent about 4 days in Athens and saw various ruins and such. It was a fun time and I did enjoy it (even if I didn't much enjoy the people that I went with!).

I would love to go back to Greece and focus on some of the other islands (Crete, Mykonos).

JoanE2012 · January 2015

jenna8984 said:

I definitely think staying on the islands is the best way to go. Santorini is absolutely magical at sunset and all the people who were on cruises had to miss it and get back to the ship.
I mean overall I thought Athens was worth a few days. There was definitely a cute little downtown area near the Acropolis that had some amazing cafes and shops. We stayed at the Marriott downtown and it had a rooftop pool with a perfect view of the Acropolis- I would recommend it!

I agree. I've yet to visit Greece, but when we do go, it's definitely not going to be on a cruise. I think this is the type of place that warrants at least a couple of full days on each of the islands.

cantwaitforthefuture · January 2015

Thanks for the feedback, ladies. After hearing from everyone, and looking through a travel book about Greece, it does seem like a big mistake to skip Athens.

We have two weeks budgeted for this trip. For anyone that has been to Greece- this is the breakdown of where and how many days we are thinking of staying at each place:

Athens- 5 days (including the day we fly in)

Mykonos OR Naxos (not sure which, yet)- 4 days

Santorini- 5 days

Any feedback on this would be helpful and welcome for anyone that has visited any of these places.

JennyColada- I'm wondering if you remember the "Planka" area of Athens? From all of my research, this seems like a great area of Athens to stay. We are looking at both hotels and apartments in this area.

Thanks again for all of your help, ladies!

jenna8984 · January 2015

Awesome, that sounds good to me. Planka is the cute area I was talking about with the cafes, you should try to stay near there. The downtown area where I stayed is closeby on the subway, and the subway is easy to use.

Not sure if you are thinking of flying to the islands or taking a ferry. For a ferry, you would take the subway about 45 minutes to Pireas and then the ferries are about 5 hours to Santorini/ Mykonos. You have to buy tickets at the ticket office the day before so you cannot get them online prior to arriving in the country.

Santorini you must stay in Oia in one of the classic cliffside caves. They are literally caves built into the side of the cliffs (like all the pics you see online). Absolutely nothing like a traditional hotel, you will have to check in at the office in town, then they walk you about 10 minutes down and around 100 stairs to get to your personal room. It's so fucking awesome. We did not rent a car there, there are plenty of cheap taxis. You have to walk down to the ocean at Oia where there's black sand and rocks to cliffjump. There's a dock where "sisterhood of the traveling pants" was filmed and an amazing seafood restaurant right on the water. It's the only one there so I don't need to give you a name haha.

cantwaitforthefuture · January 2015

Thanks, Jenna8984! We are planning on taking a ferry, so that is very helpful information. One question- is it not a good idea to buy tickets for the ferry the day you plan on taking it? Do the tickets sell out? I noticed you said to buy them the day before.

Now, we are thinking of going to Naxos instead of Mykonos. We read the beaches are really beautiful there and it's much less touristy. Did you go to Naxos at all?

jenna8984 · January 2015

Depending on time of year that you go. The islands are HUGE in the summer time and a lot of teenagers even bring their cars on the ferry and stay on the islands for weeks at a time. So the ferries do sell out easily in the summer months. It was also nice to trek down there the day before so we knew exactly where to go the next day and wouldn't risk missing the ferry.

I went to Aeginas for a quick day trip, but nope not Naxos.

emmyk2016 · March 2015

When I went to Greece in 2012, we were able to reserve the ferry tickets to Mykonos ahead of time, we just had to pick them up at the ferry terminal place.

I think we stayed in Athens for maybe 3 days including the day we flew in, and that was just about right. We had enough time to see the ruins and get a feel for the city, but we did not run out of things to do. I think we would have been unhappy if we missed out on the beach for more days in Athens because we didn't find too much to do other than visit the ruins.

We loved Mykonos! It was beautiful and there were lots of fun restaurants and bars and things to do at night! The beaches we visited were not totally white-sand/rock-free but they were fun and beautiful nonetheless. We were able to walk around almost everywhere, and there are also busses and cars for rent. It was a little crowded with Italian teenagers, but we were there in July, so it was no surprise.

WinstonsGirl · March 2015

I've been to Athens twice and also to Patmos. Patmos was a neat little island. I personally think 5 days in Athens is too long. The Acropolis is stunning and should not be missed and the Agora was nice too, but I think I would have been fine with just 2 days total (not counting flying). I found it to be not the nicest city and I didn't feel safe in the evening like I do in many other cities, even with DH with me.

AmandaDoo · March 2015

Hi

How much would you budget for 10 days in Greece?

Thanks!

jenna8984 · March 2015

AmandaDoo said:
Hi
How much would you budget for 10 days in Greece?
Thanks!

Depends on a million things. What time of year, flying from where, what level hotels, which islands if any? Could be anywhere from $3,000-10,000. I spent about $2800 for 2 weeks BUT I stayed with my Greek best friend for free and had her family's car for free. Hotels and car would have easily been another $2,000.

Knottie64628330 · March 2015

I am greek and I have spent A LOT of time there. If you go to Greece you can't skip seeing Athens. The acropolis is beautiful and if you go up during the sunset, it is quite a sight to see. The Acropolis museum is pretty new and also a great visit. You can also explore the little streets below the acropolis where there is plenty of shopping and restaurants to explore. There is also Lekavitos which is a hill over looking the acropolis and all of Athens. There is a restaurant and bar up there. It is gorgeous at night. You just take a cable car up. I would suggest 2-3 nights in Athens. There is a day cruise that leaves in the morning from Athens and comes back in the evening and it takes you to three small islands off the coast. They are all so different and so fun to visit. I would go to Santorini for 3-4 nights. Go to Mykonos if you have time. The beaches are really great there. Santorini only has black sand beaches but the sunsets and the architecture are unlike anything Ive ever seen.

Viczaesar · March 2015

WinstonsGirl said:
I've been to Athens twice and also to Patmos. Patmos was a neat little island. I personally think 5 days in Athens is too long. The Acropolis is stunning and should not be missed and the Agora was nice too, but I think I would have been fine with just 2 days total (not counting flying). I found it to be not the nicest city and I didn't feel safe in the evening like I do in many other cities, even with DH with me.

This. I needed to go to Athens for historical reasons (I study the ancient Mediterranean) and I'm glad I did, but it's not a city I'd linger in.

I loved Mykonos, but it's a small town and doesn't really need 4 or 5 days. I did take some of my favorite pictures there, though. Have you thought about Corfu? I was just talking to my mom about how much we enjoyed Corfu a couple of days ago.

OwningAHome1981 · March 2015

jenna8984 said:
Awesome, that sounds good to me. Planka is the cute area I was talking about with the cafes, you should try to stay near there. The downtown area where I stayed is closeby on the subway, and the subway is easy to use.
Not sure if you are thinking of flying to the islands or taking a ferry. For a ferry, you would take the subway about 45 minutes to Pireas and then the ferries are about 5 hours to Santorini/ Mykonos. You have to buy tickets at the ticket office the day before so you cannot get them online prior to arriving in the country.
Santorini you must stay in Oia in one of the classic cliffside caves. They are literally caves built into the side of the cliffs (like all the pics you see online). Absolutely nothing like a traditional hotel, you will have to check in at the office in town, then they walk you about 10 minutes down and around 100 stairs to get to your personal room. It's so fucking awesome. We did not rent a car there, there are plenty of cheap taxis. You have to walk down to the ocean at Oia where there's black sand and rocks to cliffjump. There's a dock where "sisterhood of the traveling pants" was filmed and an amazing seafood restaurant right on the water. It's the only one there so I don't need to give you a name haha.

You can get ferry tickets online - we did. I dont know for the express ferry, but you def can, but we got them from a travel agent (who got them online). One of our ferry rides was an overnight & the other was like a 10 hour one. We didnt go to Mykonos. We did Crete, Athens & Santorini.

Also it is Plaka not Planka. Athens is good to see for a day or 2. I'm pretty sure you have to fly into Athens anyway so it's worth checking out.

OwningAHome1981 · March 2015

Knottie64628330 said:
I am greek and I have spent A LOT of time there. If you go to Greece you can't skip seeing Athens. The acropolis is beautiful and if you go up during the sunset, it is quite a sight to see. The Acropolis museum is pretty new and also a great visit. You can also explore the little streets below the acropolis where there is plenty of shopping and restaurants to explore. There is also Lekavitos which is a hill over looking the acropolis and all of Athens. There is a restaurant and bar up there. It is gorgeous at night. You just take a cable car up. I would suggest 2-3 nights in Athens. There is a day cruise that leaves in the morning from Athens and comes back in the evening and it takes you to three small islands off the coast. They are all so different and so fun to visit. I would go to Santorini for 3-4 nights. Go to Mykonos if you have time. The beaches are really great there. Santorini only has black sand beaches but the sunsets and the architecture are unlike anything Ive ever seen.

The volcano & hot springs excursion is great on the Thelassa boat. You get to see the volcano, swim in a hot spring & they give you food & drinks & you watch the sunset & they have a live saxophonist. It's a few hours long.

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