Check out Santorini. It's the most spectacularly beautiful of the Greek islands. The village of Oia is the most timeless village on the island and there are hotels in every price category. State your daily room budget and I'll give you some suggestions. The beaches disappoint some people because they're either black or red rock/pebbbles/grit and not of the 'usual' white sand variety, but the sea is beautiful. It's possible that it might not be warm enough for swimming in May, however, so be forewarned. Also, most hotels don't heat their pools.

Totally agree with BTL. Couldn't have said it better. We were in Oia a couple of months ago and it's almost sensual it's so beautiful.

My knowledge is 20 years old but from our many previous trips to Crete I do remember very good beaches, stunning countryside, picture postcard landscapes/fishing villages. Some of these may have changed but it does seem clear from the many reviews around (outside this forum) that Elounda Bay has some of the best hotels in Greece. (if not Europe)

ps In May, we are off sailing around one of the few Greek Islands we haven't been to - Kefalonia (Tuscany by the Sea). It looks very unspoilt (if you discount the Earthquake of 53).

I have never really "got" Santorini but its definitely a tick list destination.

Thank you so much for all of your quick replies. BTL, you seem to be the recognized authority on this site! How do you have the time to answer everyone?! And so thoroughly!

Do you think one week on Santorini is too much though? Would you split it up between two islands, and if so, which would you add? Is it too weird to go to Greece and spend time in only one place?

Re the beaches, I do have a vision of lying on white soft sand...but I can get over that part - Santorini seems to be the favourite. If you would split it up with another island though, is your next favourite one with the white-sand variety? (if not, that's okay. I would really want the two best, unless the consensus is that Santorini for one week is not too much of one thing).

Re hotels: I would love one that is luxury with a stunning view - the budget is in the $250-300/night range. Is that possible in that price range? thanks again, tamara

I know a helpful amount about Athens, Santorini, and some things about other islands, but as for the rest of Greece, my info is limited to the basics. Others here are more knowledgeable when it comes to other parts of the country.

I go for 4 weeks at a time. I certainly believe that staying in one place for 7 days is not a bad idea. Others will disagree. One week will fly by. That's a decision you'll have to make for yourself. Take into consideration your method of travel and the time it will take you to move from one location to the other. Start with packing up your stuff, checking out of your hotel, making your way to the ferry port or airport for the hop to your next destination, waiting for your departure, the actual transit time between islands, finding your way to your new hotel and finally, unpacking and settling in. That can take most of a day, if not longer, depending on where else you go.

Close to Santorini by ferry are Naxos and Paros, two islands with better beaches and lots to see and do without the annoying influx of hordes of cruise ship tourists and the crowding they cause.

"Luxury" is a word often mis-applied to hotels by their owners, but if you are thinking of the top 10% or so of hotels on Santorini, that probably won't be enough money, even in May. Some hotels that are very good bargains for the money spent are Strogili Houses, Rimida Villas, Aspa Villas, Nostos Apartments, Kima Villas, Atrina, Delfini Hotel (Cave House Suite) Filotera Villas, Caldera Villas, Chelidonia Villas, Aris Caves, Old Oia Houses, Fotinos Houses, MyBlue, Golden Sunset Villas and Esperas.

Several ferries go from Santorini daily to Naxos, which is popularly acknowledged as having just about the best beaches in the Cyclades... But I must correct you on "white" -- only coral-based sands (Caribben and Pacific) can be white -- in the Med, the palest sand beaches are golden. I trust thta will be good enough.

The question is, will it be warm enough to swim? You say only "May" and do not share what week -- and believe me, it makes a difference. It also makes a difference where YOU come from ... us NOrtheasterners are sturdier stuff than Southerners. I have swum off Naxos beaches by about May 15, and it's fine, though "brisk" to start with. In Naxos, Ag.Giorgios beach is shallow & warms up first; Ag Prokopios is DEEEEp, Ag. Anna Beach may work from mid-May on. Beaches are all great for sunbathing, all of May.

Naxos has some deluxe hotels but not at the super-luxe of Santorini -- and its luxury places are generally back from the beach and have pools (but are unheated, so what's the point?).
Here's a typical nice beachfront Ag. Anna hotel where it's all about breezes, view, quiet, etc.
http://www.castellostudios.gr/
--here's a great one on Plaka beach:
http://www.studiosathina.gr/indexeng.html
... as with all hotels, i suggest you check guest reviews by googling and adding "trip advisor"

What to do on Naxos? Plenty. heres a slide show of beaches, towns, sunsets etc.
http://travel.webshots.com/slideshow/552001505EYxVYT

BrotherLee can advise on Santorini hotels... the Naxos hotels will still have ample occupancy; Santorini is filling up VERY fast because of its rank as HOneymoon Heaven.

Enjoy your stay at BOTH islands.

Romance, views and sunsets are sure to be found in Santorini, Oia specifically. You can’t go wrong with this location, even for a full week. Naxos is a great inexpensive beach type stay but it’s not the Caribbean sand and seas, but still very charming. (I live in Southern California and we do have some great sandy beaches here but I’m not crazy about the big waves.) If I had a full week (meaning more than 5 days) I would split my trip into two locations but then I like to experience different places. I have been to both Oia and Naxos, as well as the Caribbean, but I LOVED Greece when we went this past May/June. It is now on the top of my list for places to visit (along with Italy, which I’m going back to this year.) I even loved Athens! All the food, the spices, the ruins…. I am often tossing around the idea of going to the Caribbean (because it IS so relaxing) or Europe for vacation and I always choose anywhere in the Mediterranean. Something about that area just draws me to it, even though the Caribbean is so much closer, and therefore cheaper.

loves2sing, I always advise Americans that if what they mainly care about is sun & beaches, save on airfare and just go to the Caribbean, Greece is wasted on you.

If you care about history, culture, architecture, art, landscapes -- Greece is the place. If not, the VIrgin Islands have great beaches.

Oh I don't know, I'm not much into history, architecture or art, and I didn't think Greece was wasted on me at all and I would still choose Greece over the Caribbean any day.

Hi Tamara
I am planning a trip to Greece at the moment and have found Matt Barrets website of great help - www.greecetravel.com.

Frances

I would like to add a wonderful NEW all-purpose Greece-info website to the frequently-recommmended Barrett site:

http://www.greek-islands.us/

Barrett's site has many fans over many years -- partly because it's easy to read & understand, easy to navigate to interests, and photos are interwoven with the texts so well.

Alas, the Barrett site's fame has outlasted its merits -- too much of it has not been updated in quite a while. Also, regrettably, I think it promotes certain places & services that the site-creator may be involved with financially.

This new link is the FIRST I've found that does it just as well, and is super easy to find info & print it out; no surprise, since its creator is a teacher(!!). He is Also Greek, living in Greece.

Check it out & compare, perhaps for a destination and also for topics like Greek cuisine & products. SUPER.

To love2sing -- I didn't mean DON'T go to Greece just for the beaches, as long as you have the money and time for the longer air trip.

I guess my advice was to people who are on a lower budget and mainly want good beaches at lower cost.

Santorini is one of the most beautiful islands I've ever visited, and a week will fly by there. We visited again during the last week of May, and while it was quite warm during the days, the water was still too cold for me, and I'm from Boston!

>Alas, the Barrett site's fame has outlasted its merits -- too much of it has not been updated in quite a while. Also, regrettably, I think it promotes certain places & services that the site-creator may be involved with financially.<

Thank you, travelerjan. Perfectly put. His site most certainly does promote certain places, services AND businesses. Whether he gains financially I do not know but I get uneasy at the number of times he gets recommended here.

Joe

I Completly agreee with Santorini- I was there last year for My Honeymoon. It was relaxing, beautiful, with some sights to see. We stayed at the Anastasis Apts. You can look it up on trip Advisor it is teh #1 rated hotel in Santorinin on trip advisor. It is between the 2 main town, and there is a bus stop right out fornt. Service is excellent..only 10 rooms. It has a beautiful infinity pool and is the perfect spot to have a bottle of wine and watch the sunset ever night!

I am totally biased, my parents live on Skiathos, absolutely beautiful island, and also where parts of the Mamma Mia movie was filmed, along with the next door island of Skopelos. Skiathos has about 60 different beaches, some of which are my favorite places in the the world. Its a 45 minute flight from Athens to Skiathos. Or you might try getting a package deal from a UK company, flying into the UK and then you get a direct flight from the UK to the island of your choice. Good Luck and I hope you have a wonderful time.

In November we stayed at Villa San Giorgio..a local small hotel very close to the square and shopping areas..and Caldera. Very clean and roomy...no view of sea at the room. "George" owns and runs the place...picks up at the airport and pier, and is a fine host. It was 40 Euro pernight, with juice, cake and coffee in the morning delivered by George. Very highly recommend! He recommended a Great local cafe. jack and kay

Santorini is by far the best, but there is a great company that specializes in Greek "tours" - they make all the arrangements for you...all you have to do is show up. Check out www.tourlite.com - I HIGHLY recommend them. I did Athens / Santorini / Mykonos a few years ago, and each island had it's own personality, but for relaxing, sight-seeing and the sheer beauty and romanticism, Santorini is definitely the way to go.

Thank you all so much for your replies. In answer to where I'm coming from, it's Israel, which is only one hour away, so extremely convenient. Although I'm originally from Canada though, and should be used to the cold, I'm not, and wouldn't be able to go into the cold May water. That's okay though, we're happy just to relax, see the views that everyone raves about, and do a bit of sightseeing.

I have another question though - what do you all think of splitting the week between Athens and Santorini? I'm feeling a bit guilty about just being in Santorini without at least a bit of serious history! (Don't get me wrong, we usually love a lot of sites; we were in Italy last year and did three cities in one week and it was fabulous - no veg-out time though!)

And one more idea - all of a sudden I thought "what about the Amalfi coast instead of Greece"? We have never been there either. What are your thoughts on the better choice of the two?

thank you!!!

tamara

Santorini & Athens. That Great city has been waiting for you for 3,000 years -- give it 3 days! The weather is delightful there in May, and the ancient sites will impress even a person from another ancient land.

Travelerjan, what a great way of putting it! thank you!

Does that also mean you would prefer that combo to the Amalfi Coast?

YEs.

I'd agree with the idea of splitting time. Athens is a great experience and the flight is less than 30 min. While we really like the Amalfi Coast, Athens and Santorini is a hard combination to beat.

Athens was my big surprise. I would stay in Athens and visit the islands by ferry. Very easy to do. We spent a day in Santorini. Two days would be the most I would spend there. See the movie Mama Mia(filmed on Santorini) We also went to Mykonos. I would only spend a day here. Athens and surrounding city is awesome. Can't recommend a hotel-we did the Greek Isles by cruise ship. Consider one of the smaller ones like the Windstar. Have fun. Janet

Mama Mia was filmed on Skopelos and Skiathos, but not Santorini.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0795421/locations

You might get some inspiration from a travel podcast I produced on Greece for my Travelrific Travel Show (www.travelrificradio.com). Enjoy the islands!

On our honeymoon 5 years ago we split our time between Santorini and Corfu with only one day in Athens. If I were to redo the trip we would give ourselves 2 or 3 days in Athens to really see and feel everything and the rest on Santorini in Oia. Santorini is just wonderful.

Thank you all again! It's amazing how generous you all are with your time and wonderful advice.

Another question: Are three days in Athens enough? I'm sure it's never enough - but is it possible to hit some good highlights and get a good feel for the place in that time? What are the must-sees there, without overdoing it in three days' time?

thanks again,

tamara

I don't know if you settled on a hotel in Santorini, but I HIGHLY recommend Ikies Traditional Houses in Oia. My husband and I spent the first part of our honeymoon there and it was absolutely fabulous. The service, the view, the room-- everything was wonderful. Santorini is a magical place-- enjoy your trip!

In Santorini we stayed at Canaves Oia which was fabulous. Breakfast was delivered to your room each day. Just magical. We had wanted to stay at Katikes but they were fully booked.

To answer your question, both the Amalfi Coast and Greece are incredible destinations, but I think for what you are interested in, Greece is a better fit.

To Mark 11: Your comments are totally offensive on a website that's meant to promote, in part, understanding and cooperation through world travel.

To answer your question re time in Athens, you could cover a lot in 3 days. We spent 6 and still left some things undone.

IMO the "must sees" include National Archaeological Museum and Benaki Museum (where you could spend a full day visiting both depending on your interests); the Acropolis; Roman Agora; Ancient Agora & Museum; Plaka (just for fun and interesting shops etc); Keromikos (Old Cemetary) & Museum; Syntagma Sq and Parliament, and National Gardens + Temple of Olumpic Zeus, across the street.

As a Greek-American who owns a condo in the beautiful Athenian suburb of Glyfada, these are my recommendations: I would split my time between Santorini and Athens(2-3 nights. Santorini has great beaches. Rent a Jeep and go to Perivolos, the black sand beach with rows of fabulous restaurants and bars beachfront. Visit a winery like Boutari. Santorini wines have grown popular internationally. The Athens suburb of Vouliagmeni has awesome beaches! The wealthy Athenians go there. You will experience true Greek life and no tourists! Stay at one of the private beaches for approx. $6-8 depending on day. Lounge chairs included, snack shops & restaurants on the premises. Easy access by bus. Before or after the beach, visit the seaside town of Glyfada, only 10-15 min. from Vouliagmeni. Lots of shopping, fabulous restaurants and modern Greek nightclubs. The nightclubs don't get started until 1:00 a.m., but they are so worth it! Make sure that you are not visiting a tourist club. Think Anna Vissi,Despina Vandi,Giorgos Mazonakis. If you could stretch your trip by 2-3 days, I would add Mykonos or Skiathos. These areas are known for their beaches! Corfu is great too, but the distance from Santorini will eat up too much time. Whichever beach area you choose in Greece, you cannot go wrong! The only question is: will the water be warm enough in May?