Greek trip Re-boot: March 2016

Old Jun 14th, 2015, 03:06 PM
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Greek trip Re-boot: March 2016

Thanks a mill for all the good advice on my prior thread. We had to postpone our trip but plan to go next March. As recommended, starting a new thread for our first trip to Greece.

We are pretty active and like history/archeological sites. Prefer views/walks/boats/trains/relaxing & sightseeing over water sports/fine dining/drinking; ok getting a car and driving though.

Trip so far:
Mar 9 SFO to FRA via ORD Booked bus class with miles
Mar 10 arrive FRA; flight to Berlin (not yet booked)
Mar 10/11/12 Berlin
Mar 12 flight to Athens (not yet booked)
Mar 12-18 or 19 Greece: up for grabs
Mar 18/19 fly to Naples or Rome
Mar 1819/20/21/22 Amalfi Coast
Mar 23 near FCO (6 a.m. flight!)
Mar 24 FCO to AMS and AMS to SFO Booked bus class with miles

I contacted Fantasy Travel recommended on another thread; They asked if something like the following would work for us. Any thoughts?

Day 1: Athens. On arrival you will be met by our assistant and transferred to your hotel by our mini bus or by our taxi driver. Rest of the day at leisure.

Day 2: Athens. After breakfast we meet you at your hotel or close by, in order to start the morning Half Day Athens Sightseeing Tour (see details in the tours sections) The remaining afternoon is at your leisure.

Day 3: Delphi/Kalambaka. Early in the morning, departure for the 2 days tour in order to visit Delphi with the Archaeological site.After the visit depart for Kalambaka, passing through the picturesque villages and towns of central Greece. Dinner and overnight.

Day 4: Athens/Meteora. Amidst striking scenery, perched on huge rocks which seem to be suspended in mid-air, stand ageless monasteries where you can see exquisite specimens of Byzantine art. Return to Athens via Trikala, Lamia, Thermopylae (visit the monument of Leonidas). Arrive in Athens early in the evening. On arrival you have a transfer to your hotel for your overnight stay.

Day 5: Athens/Santorini . Morning transfer from your hotel to the port by our mini bus or by our taxi driver to embark on the ferry to Santorini. Upon arrival we meet you at the port and transfer you to your hotel for 2 nights stay.

Day 5-7 : Santorini(Days Free) .Volcanic island, known as the "Lost Atlantis", fascinating for its white houses on the rocks and black sand beaches. Opportunity to enjoy an unforgettable sunset in the capital "Fira" or the beautiful area "Oia."

Day 7: Santorini/Athens.Transfer from your hotel to the airport to take the flight for Athens. On arrival you will be transferred to your hotel by our mini bus or by our taxi driver for your overnight stay.

Day 8: Athens/Airport. You will be met by our assistant at your hotel and transferred to the airport by our mini bus or by our taxi driver for your departure flight.
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Old Jun 14th, 2015, 03:45 PM
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I wonder about the timing of your trip to Greek island of Santorini, weather? Will things be open then?
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Old Jun 14th, 2015, 06:01 PM
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Good question -- the Fantasy Travel agent framed this itinerary as a
"Winter in Athens - Meteora - Santorini" trip -- hopefully they will have the inside scoop on what is open, schedules, etc. which is one reason I was consulting a travel agency.

The fellow who emailed made it sound flexible with regard to # of nights spent where.

Unfortunately I have to travel during "Spring Break" and other US term breaks; would have preferred April/May or Sept/Oct.
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Old Jun 23rd, 2015, 12:17 PM
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Just trolling for any other feedback.
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Old Jun 23rd, 2015, 11:17 PM
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Hello!

This could work, but here is a twisted itinerary:

I think arranging for a connecting flight to Santorini upon ariving to Athens airport from Berlin is a time saver. It sort of doesn't make much difference if you visit 4-5 days earlier or latter on middle March in terms of how lively the island will be. If your dates happened to fall around the 25th March this was a slightly different matter (National Holiday, commemorating the Rising Against the Ottomans on 1821). And I always feel safer been on mainland towards the end of the trip so that I do not have to worry in case a ferry or flights from the islands goes wrong and I have to take an international flight next day. Chances are very slim for something going wrong, especially on the flights, butjust for peace of mind.
By arranging a flight back from Santorini and starting immediately the trip to Delphi/Meteora, saving Athens for the tail end of the trip, again you may save backtracking in Athens all the time.
It is a bit unclear to me what about the mainland trip... Is it on a bus tour or a private tour with a car and driver (and a licensed guide?)
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Old Jun 23rd, 2015, 11:20 PM
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By the way just notived that your thread is under the generic Europe forum but not tagged into the Greece forum, so people who check only the specific forum might not have notice it, thus the lack of repplies up to now...
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Old Jun 24th, 2015, 12:33 AM
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Hi ann.

Like mariha said, the best plan would be to fly straight into Santorini from Athens. 2 nights in the island were ok for us but another day would have allowed us to explore the island.

When you fly back to ATH then you can pick up the car and head to Delphi. We arrived late in afternoon so we opted to stay 2 nights in town. We spent almost a full day looking at the sites and museum, about four times as much as the standard tour visit. This is a physically intense site.

The town of Delphi is nothing to write home about, in a 'trip redo' I would have stayed in Arachova instead(though our hotel room had a drop dead -literally- gorgeous view into the valley).

We then drove to Kalampaka early in the morning and visited 2 monasteries that afternoon. The rest we did the next day, actually, DH opted out of 2 monasteries as he was still recovering from our infamous Samaria Gorge hike in Crete. I was very happy to be visiting the monasteries at our own pace. It was magical but very, very physical.

Next day we returned the car to Athens airport and used the metro to go into town.

Also, as mariha pointed out, it is not a great thing to schedule an island flight or ferry on the same day as an international flight.
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Old Jun 24th, 2015, 08:50 AM
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Many thanks for the good info -- we can easily shift Athens to later in Greek portion. Sounds like a good plan.

Also, I am liking the idea of just getting a car and driving to Delphi on our own vs. a tour group. We do like to get out and explore.

Marigross we will have 2 nights in Berlin before heading to Greece, so we will have a bit of time to recover from international flight (from the US west coast, no less).

Mariha we will be back in the US by Mar 24 so will avoid the big holiday.

Although we'll be stopping on the Amalfi Coast for a few days after Greece, I like the idea of moving toward mainland/Athens as the time in Greece gets short.
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Old Jun 24th, 2015, 11:50 PM
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I watch most bus tours skipping the stadium while visiting the upper main archeological site in Delphi and usually skipping the lower archeological site completely. I think this is simply unacceptable and I never get how people traveling on bus tours are fine with this.
Visiting on your own you will have flexibility to visit on your own pace and focus on whatever takes your fancy and if possible avoid the busier part of the day.
As a parenthesis, what many people do not realise is that the season on mainland sites differs to the summer beach destinations/islands season. Season for destinations such as Meteora and Delphi starts around early March and ends about late October although there are quite a few visitors and tours visiting on winter too, contrary to what happens on the islands... In addition Delphi is a popular winter destination although March is a transition month on that aspect ( weekends on March are so and so with Greek visitors in comparison to say December but very busy on 25th March and depending how snow conditions go up to the ski center).
Middle March will not be jam packed on Delphi sites but still busy and even if you arrive in town and see few visitors around, this is not the case for the sites and museum.

Having a car you will not have to merit your self strictly only on Delphi archeologicla sites and Meteora monasteries. There is plenty to see and do on those areas and even the tiny Delphi town that is "nothing to write homme about" offers some interesting activities and back streets. How many of the tour crowds have even heard -let alone visit- the Angelos and Eva Sikelianos house, now museum of Delphic Festivals for example?
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Old Jun 25th, 2015, 09:46 PM
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It is so great to get insider knowledge of Greece/Delphi -- we are *definitely* wanting to see/spend time in Delphi and environs.

I'm sold on getting a car and tooling around these areas.

I've been reading about Delphi since a child and I can't wait to get there!

My son is going to Thessaloniki next week for a vacation--hoping he has a great time. He's actually been to Greece in a post-college trip with history-major buddies, so he will have gotten there twice before we do! Don't think we will get that far north on this trip but maybe another day.
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