lisa

Greece was fantastic. Stayed 2 nights at the Athens Hilton -- very nice hotel. Even numbered rooms have an Acropolis view. We had a room on the 10th floor with a view of the Acropolis which was gorgeous. As HHonors Gold members also had executive lounge access with complimentary beverages all day, cocktails & hot hors d'oeuvres in the evening from 6-9 pm along with some lovely Greek wines, and a terrific buffet breakfast. Rooms have gorgeous marble bathrooms with deep soaking tub and separate shower. Location is good, 1 block from Evangelismos metro station which is 1 stop from Syntagma and 2 stops from Monastiraki. The Plaka is walking distance if you like to walk (we do, & it was about a 20 minute walk).

On Santorini we stayed in Imerovigli at the Anastasis Apartments and absolutely LOVED this place. The hostess, Despina, is fantastic, and the views are incredible. Highly recommended. On Folegandros we stayed at Anemomilos Apartments which has one of the most spectacular settings imaginable, on the edge of a huge cliff overlooking the Aegean. We recommend this hotel also.

Every meal we had in Greece was great, the people were warm and welcoming, we adored the beaches on Folegandros and the hiking on Santorini. Overall it was an incredibly relaxing trip. Weather was perfect. Visited 3 wineries on Santorini also & came home with several bottles (whites were better than reds). Flights and ferries were all on time or very close.

Feel free to post questions.

tracyk

Welcome back! So glad to hear you had a great time on your trip. By the way, in case you were still wondering, Olympic Airlines refunded me in full for that Santorini/Athens ticket I ended up not using. It posted to my account just a few days ago. It took awhile (about 7 weeks), but I'm pleased it actually came through!

m_kingdom2

I'm pleased to hear you're walkers. I always walk on holiday or take a taxi if it's a long way or it's the evening. I adored Athens, I just wish more people would explore it, and see what a fabulous city it is.

I'm also pleased you liked the Hilton. I popped in there, but found it a little sterile, although the view from the top was pleasant. And the shards of glass sculpture outside I think is wonderful. It is a short walk from there to everywhere. Unlike London, Athens centre is pretty compact!

kleeblatt

Thanks for your short trip report. I'm considering going to Folegandros with my husband. I've heard it's still undeveloped yet lovely and the people are very friendly. How are the beaches? Sandy or pebbles? Can you rent a scooter or motorbike there? How are the hotels? Thanks for your info.

katiecat

Hi! Thanks for your trip report and glad you had a great time. My husband and I are going to Athens and Santorini in October (we have reservations at the Plaka Hotel and Katikies) and are very interested in visiting some wineries while on Santorini. I'd love to hear more details about the 3 you visited, like: which ones were they; how long did the wine tastings/tours take; were they easily accessible or in walking distance from Oia or Fira (we're staying in Oia). Do you need to make reservations to visit them? Sorry for so many questions - thanks in advance for the information!

lisa

Schuler -- Now is a great time to go to Folegandros, because it is still relatively undeveloped but has just enough of modernity to help make your trip easier. E.g., it does now have one ATM machine, and you can now rent a car if you wish (we rented one for 2 days at 30 Euro per day). Scooters are available as well. Plus there is excellent bus service, and boat service to the many lovely beaches. Some of the beaches are sandy, some are pebbles, and some are rocky. All were lovely. I recommend exploring as many of them as possible. If you go to Angali Beach (either by bus or driving), you can catch a boat to 2 other beaches nearby, Aghios Nikolaos and Livadaki, the latter of which is "clothing-optional." We also liked Ambeli Beach, Livadi, and Vardia. We did not get to Katergo but it is supposedly the prettiest one. At all of the beaches we went to, the water was crystal clear and the perfect temperature. The people were great and the town of Chora is adorable, with a suprising number of restaurants, all of which were great! We liked our hotel, Anemomilos Apartments, mainly because the views were unbelievable -- just gorgeous. You can see it at www.anemomilosapartments.com. There are many less expensive options though. I would definitely try to stay in Chora.

Katiecat -- We did not go to the biggest and most popular winery on Santorini which is Boutari, because we were more interested in the smaller operations. The first one we went to is Canaves Roussos which is a very traditional, family-run operation. They have a lovely little tasting area outdoors, and offer a menu of snacks to go with the wine. Late August was a great time to be there because we got to see them harvesting the grapes. The white wine grapes on Santorini are a variety called Assyrtiko which I don't believe are found elsewhere. We bought a couple of bottles of white there, which we drank while we were on the island. Then another day we went to a much larger operation called Sigalas, near Oia. It had a larger, more corporate feel and while it was nice, we did not enjoy it as much, although a couple of their whites were good. We did not buy any there though. Our favorite wine stop was a tiny little family winery called Chatzidakis. It isn't much to look at (really just a driveway leading to what looks like a shed -- we weren't even sure we were in the right place), but the wine is really good, and it is such a tiny operation and they love to share it with visitors. The husband used to be the assistant winemaker at Boutari, married a local woman from Santorini who had family land there, and together they started their own winery in 1997. It is about 300 meters outside of the town of Pyrgos (which is worth a short visit itself). The wife poured us tastes of all of their wines, and their red was the only red I had on Santorini that I liked. All of their whites were excellent, and we bought one bottle of each of three different ones. Even their 8-year-old daughter participates -- she designed the labels for one of their white wines, and we enjoyed meeting her too. You can read more about their wine here: http://greekproducts.com/hatzidakis/. We did not make appointments for any of these winery visits -- we just walked in. There were other visitors at Roussos and Sigalas, but at Chatzidakis we were the only ones. Canava Roussos has a website at http://www.canavaroussos.gr/uk/company.html. You can also read more about Sigalas at http://www.greekwinemakers.com/czone.../Sigalas.shtml

stacey131

I love Greece as well. Went to Athens, Mykonos, Santorini and Crete. I think that Crete is highly under rated as it was my FAVORITE. We stayed at the Creta Maris and it was wonderful. Right on the beach with great restaurants and clubs nearby...a little touristy, but a good time.

katiecat

Thanks so much for the info, Lisa. Chatzidakis sounds wonderful - we'll definitely try to visit that one.

kleeblatt

Thanks, Lisa! It sounds like you had a very nice time there!

BocaBob

do you know what times the Ferry's go from Santorini to Mykonos
Thanks

brotherleelove2004

BocaBob, there's only one ferry that goes directly from Mykonos to Santorini, the Hellenic Seaways Express Catamaran. Here's the website. Please note that this ferry apparently does not operate in the off-season.

http://www.greekislands.gr/hfd/

There is another way to get between these two islands. First take a ferry from Mykonos to Paros, then another from Paros to Santorini. The website below will give you the schedules for this route:

www.gtp.gr

BocaBob

Thanks BLove2004. That was a big help.
I was able to find the prices but could not determine the times it leaves Santorini and arrives in Mykonos. Perhaps when you have a spare moment you can help me with this.
Also do you know how and where I would receive the tickets. Thank you for your time

brotherleelove2004

You'll have to wait until next year, closer to the time of your trip to get a current schedule of departure and arrival. If you look at the Hellenic Seaways website you can expect the schedule to be something like the one posted for this last season. You'll see that daily service doesn't begin until late May and the rest of the time it's either 4 or 5 days/week. Look for the Spring 2006 schedule to be posted sometime in late March, early April. And don't worry about buying tickets in advance. The ferry won't be that busy in the Springtime. But if you absolutely have to have them, wait until you're there and go to a tourist agency to purchase them. Just look for the Hellenic Seaways logo in the window or go inside and ask. English is always spoken.

lisa

Topping this post because we have finally posted some of our photos from Greece on homepage.mac.com/lisaandmarktravel. They are at the bottom after all of the Tanzania stuff. You can see some of our pics from Santorini including where we stayed (Anastasis). The last two photos are from our balcony at Anemomilos Apts on the island of Folegandros. Eventually we will get around to posting the rest...hope somebody finds this useful as I appreciated all the advice I got here before we went!

brotherleelove2004

Nice pics, Lisa!!

dina4

Lisa,
Thanks for the Santorini winery information, and the tip on the Athens Hilton's view rooms!
I'm trying to help my parents plan a trip to both, and they're actually staying at the Hilton.

Dina

moschoula

Hi!

I have been a lot of times in Santorini! Mainly I have been stayed in Kamari, a seaside village. Kamari is a village that provides everything! Restaurants, bars, clubs, cinema, water sports, the Ancient Thera, and the unique black beach! It is not so far away from the capital, which is Fira, and it is much cheaper than the capital. There is a regular bus root to Fira and it is only 15 minutes to reach the capital. Kamari is a place that combines quite and fun! You can visit this web site to read more about Kamari.

www.kamari.gr

Have fun!
Moschoula

annabelle2

Thank you for sharing your photos-- they are great. Very inspiring. Also good info on the wineries in Santorini and the beaches etc. on Folegandros.

Will save these tips and your tips on the "Greek isle less visited" thread re: Folegandros, to help me with my trip planning -- not going until early summer 2007 but my second trip w/ a small group of friends, which takes way more planning than I normally would do.

Stayed in the Athens Hilton many many years ago and have a good memory of that view!

How long was this trip?
Thanks

lisa

Thanks Annabelle2! It was 12 nights total -- 1 in Athens at the beginning, 5 nights on Santorini, 5 nights on Folegandros, and another night in Athens at the end. We both agreed we could have happily spent a week on each island though.

chobby100

Did you go to Oia? Would you have rather stayed there? Is there enough to do in Imerovigil (restaurants, tavernas, small store for provisions)?