June Honeymoon in Greek Islands

Old May 26th, 2017, 09:31 AM
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June Honeymoon in Greek Islands

Hi All –

Yes, here is another thread about a possible honeymoon in Greece. My fiancé are planning to leave around June 10 or June 11 of next year. Neither of us has ever been to Greece and since we’re both fans of Greek food, good beaches, and beautiful scenery, we thought it would be a good choice. Here is our first attempt at an itinerary.

Monday – evening flight from NY to Athens
Tuesday – arrive Athens
Wednesday – Athens to Naxos (visit Plaka Beach and Agios Prokopis while in Naxos)
Thursday –Naxos
Friday – Naxos
Saturday – Naxos to Paros (stay in Naoussa or Parikia on Paros; visit Kolymbithres and Faraga beaches in Paros while we’re there)
Sunday – Paros
Monday – Paros
Tuesday – Paros to Santorini (stay in either Oia or Imervogli; visit Perissa Beach, do a catamaran cruise around the caldera)
Wednesday – Santorini
Thursday – Santorini
Friday – Santorini
Saturday – Santorini to Athens; Athens to New York


What are your thoughts? Recommendations on a good base in Naxos? Recommendations on good beaches to visit or good restaurants that we should go to?

Thanks so much!
northfork280 is offline  
Old May 26th, 2017, 01:08 PM
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I'd probably start in Santorini, then take the boat to Naxos, and finally Paros.

In Naxos, we stayed at The Nissaki Beach Hotel only steps away from the main beach in town. Since it's your honeymoon, try to book one of their suites.

What we liked about hotels in that area was the easy walk into the center of town. The beach is not so great, ( think city beach) but Naxos has plenty of other beaches that make up for it. And if you walk further along ( to the left of the hotel as you face the water) the town beach gets much more scenic and beautiful.

About Paros: We go often, and will be there again this summer. I really prefer Nauossa to Parikia, which is where the boats and crowds (!!) land.

Our favorite hotel in Nauossa is STELIA MARE, but book way ahead. It's extremely popular and gets sold out quickly. The upper floor rooms and suites are far nicer
than the standard rooms on the first floor near the pool.

The hotel is a very short walk into town. But for exploring the island, I'd highly recommend getting a car so you can visit some of Paros's best beaches like Parosporos and Golden Beach.
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Old May 26th, 2017, 02:18 PM
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We just returned from our second trip to Paros. Stayed at Stelia Mare again and would highly recommend it. It was early in the season and we were upgraded and received excellent service from the time we checked in until our departure 4 days later. We also stayed in Folegandros and Milos....great trip!
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Old May 26th, 2017, 03:02 PM
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Paros was our favorite island. I would stay Nauossa over Parikia.
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Old May 27th, 2017, 08:05 AM
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Never count on returning from an island to Athens and then connecting with a plane back to the USA all in the same day. It is always better to arrive in Athens the day before your flight home. That allows for any hiccups in your transportation.

For that reason, it is best to leave time in Athens for the end of your trip. On arrival on Tuesday, go straight on by plane to one of your islands and then work your way back to Athens.


Your division of time isn't too bad although personally, I don't like to waste time moving from place to place. Your choice of islands is really not something anyone else can comment on. One person likes Santorini while another does not. No one here can say which you will or will not like based on the information you have provided.

Food, beach, scenery are the only criteria you have given and they are pretty much to be found on any Greek island. Things like nightlife or crowds are criteria that can suggest one island over another.
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Old May 27th, 2017, 08:37 AM
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Given your stated wants, you have received pretty good advice so far.

Perhaps I can sum it all up.

Do consider catching the first available flight to Santorini on the day you arrive. Getting over jet lag on Santorini is a way better plan than Athens.
There is at least 6 flights a day to Santorini with Aegean airlines. Sign up to their web site and watch out for seat sales. Normally starting in November or December for the next year.

Ferry sequence Santorini to Naxos to Paros is logical as every hop brings you back towards Athens.

Personally I think 3 nights in Santorini is enough. It is a perfect island for a honeymoon but my budget can only afford the caldera views for a brief period of time.

Santorini http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr5...7632154800782/

Take the ferry to Naxos. Do stay at St George beach. Right beside Nissaki is my favourite hotel Boutique Hotel Glaros. Smaller, less expensive, and amazing for a honeymoon. St George is part of Naxos town so you get a beach vacation with all the activities of town just a 10 minute stroll away.

Plaka and Prokopios beaches are better than st George so take the local bus out and visit. However the town and beach combination is unbeatable.

Naxos Town http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr5...7632094558042/

St George Beach Naxos http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr5...7632113170279/

Plaka beach tavernas hotels https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr...57655106193251

Take the ferry to Paros. I too would stay at Nauossa.

Fly back to Athens from Paros. Again watch Aegeans web site for seat sales.

Do Athens last. Do not contemplate trying to return from an Island and fly home on the same day. A couple of years ago our flight from Naxos was delayed 4 hours. Brits, Americans, French and South Africans all missed their same day connectors. No big deal for us as we were flying home after a couple of days in Athens.
Athens http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr5...7632121475515/

If you can find a spare day add it to Naxos.
Trip around Naxos http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr5...7634605629689/
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Old May 30th, 2017, 05:41 AM
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Thank you for all of your great suggestions and recommendations. I think we will alter the itinerary to fly straight to one of the islands on the day we arrive in Athens and build in a day or two in Athens on the way home.

I know that every person's island selection is unique, but is there an island that you think is really worth visiting and substituting for one of the three that we selected (i.e. perhaps it has a number of great beaches)?

Does anyone have any specific hotel suggestions in Santorini in either Oia or Imervogli? We're willing to splurge on Santorini for about $300 to $400 per night.

One other question: do we need a car to get around to the different beaches? Stanbr mentioned using the local bus on Naxos. Are the other two islands serviced by efficient public buses?

Thanks so much!
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Old May 30th, 2017, 07:48 AM
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All three islands have efficient local bus systems. We used to rent a car but now just use the bus. The car of course gives you maximum flexibility and allows you to cover more ground. You do need to be aware that you need to find parking for that car. Sometimes it can be difficult to find a parking spot. When we rent we normally do it for a day so we can return the car to the rental agency so they can deal with parking.

Since you were quite specific about the islands you have chosen no one has made any comment about your plan. However since you asked, doing both Naxos and Paros for three nights each only gives you a small taste of the islands. Every island hop eats up a half day of vacation even that short one hour ferry ride between Naxos and Paros so in reality you are only getting 2.5 days on each island.

Personally I would drop Paros and use all that time for Naxos, Naxos really needs a week just to see the beaches the town and the mountain villages.

Aggia Anna and Ag Prokipos beach areas https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr...57656297072028

Naxos Mountains and Villages http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr5...7632110674306/

Naxos 2016 https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr...57671589993576

As for hotels in Santorini you might want to consider Firestafani. It has the famous caldera views but is just far enough away from Fira to be too far for the cruise ship crowds to get to but is certainly close enough for you to get into all the action of Fira when you feel like it.

Many of us here use booking dot com. Enter the village your dates and do a search. It will give you hundreds of hotel possibilities with price, availability and reviews. The reviews are important. So is the rating anything less than an 8 has some recurring problem that will be reflected in the reviews.
You can narrow down you choices then come back for opinions on specific hotels. Or you can make your own choice and just go ahead and book directly through the booking site or contact the hotel directly. Don't be put off by a notice that rooms are not available. The hotels keep a block of rooms for direct bookings.

Think in terms of Euros. $ can be Canadian, Australian or US. If you have a budget in Euros then we all have the same frame of reference.
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Old Jun 1st, 2017, 07:47 PM
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northfork280, to stanbr's last point, I am in the middle of planning a trip to Greece for this summer and have found that contacting the hotels directly not only yields availability when it appears not to be available online but I have also gotten much better rates on the rooms by contacting the hotels directly. Food for thought.
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Old Jun 4th, 2017, 06:40 AM
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As you'll be island hopping, I think that a tool for greek ferry schedule will be super useful for you. I would propose that you try https://www.ferryhopper.com as it has info even for indirect connections between islands!
panathen is offline  
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