kelliebellie

We are all set to go to Athens for the first week of April. Very excited! Now I need an itinerary. My Greek friend said to do Mykonos and Santorini, but I don't know if we will have time for both. We love ancient ruins, great food and drink, beautiful scenery. Not big into shopping (well I am, but husband isn't) or night life.

Any thoughts??

SusanInToronto

Both of those are very touristy islands from what I hear. I haven't been to Mykonos, but I did go to Santorini in 2000. While it was lovely, I regretted not having gone in 1976 the first time I went to Greece. Lots of tourists. Although maybe April would be ok. I have fond memories of Naxos (went in both 1976 and 2000), also Crete. The mainland has a lot to see though - maybe you could explore some of the mainland?

Sorry, I guess I'm not much help!

brotherleelove2004

Not much in terms of ancient ruins on Mykonos although you can go to the historical island of Delos by local shuttle excursion ferry. Santorini has 2 archaeological sites, Ancient Thera and Akrotiri. Look them up. They're both fantastic, especially Akrotiri. There's also the Museum of Prehistoric Thera in the main village of Fira.

Both islands will still be very quiet the first week of April and you might not have the best weather, but there's a lot more to see and do on Santorini.

kelliebellie

We can hop to Santorini on Ryanair for $20. I assume that's the way to go? Okay, so definitely Santorini. We travel this time of year a lot and are more than willing to get worse weather for smaller crowds. It is always warmer than Detroit!

brotherleelove2004

$20 is fantastic, book it! But be sure to read the fine print on their website about baggage allowances.

Sassafrass

The archeological sites right in Athens are beautiful and amazing!

joannyc

Great price! Is that direct non-stop roundtrip flights? Congrats!

Heimdall

Athens will be great the first week of April, so concentrate your time there. It's off-season on the islands until Easter, which is April 16th this year.

Elizabeth_S

Wow - what a fare? Which airline pls (also in Toronto)

neckervd

The cheapest ryanair OW ticket with 1 piece of checked in luggage up to 20 kgs costs 39 USD.
The cheapest Bluestarferries ticket costs 35 USD.

baladeuse

Please share what airline you booked with - I'm also in Canada and not seeing such great fares. It's funny, we used to cross the border to fly from Detroit because it was cheaper, but in recent years Toronto fares to Europe are always better. (So glad not to have to cross the border to Trumpland these days)

We were in Santorini and Naxos in April years ago, and the crowds were not bad. We flew to Santorini then went by ferry to Naxos - both lovely islands. Enjoy!

baladeuse

For ancient ruins, we loved driving around Naxos on our own and finding finding ancient statues just lying in the fields, or beautiful ruins we could explore at leisure because they were absolutely deserted at that time of year.

Southam

My guess is that you have quoted a fare in US$ even though you said it departed Toronto. Another guess: Jet Airways with a change somewhere in Western Europe? If it is a Jet itinerary, how long is your transfer when returning west? A previous post makes the good point that Ryanair is not required to estimate the total fare on its opening page. If anything, with a checked bag and a reserved seat beside your travelling companion, the total could come to well over $40 US. Not a fortune, but still....
For such a brief vacation, Athens and a short trip to somewhere on the Peloponnesus will easily take up your time.

kelliebellie

Very good guesses! Yes, it is $495 American dollars, out of Toronto on Jet Airways with a stop in Amsterdam. There is an 8 hour layover on the way there and an overnight layover in Amsterdam on the way back. This seems to happen a lot so we roll with it and have a nice time in the layover city. On the way there, we will check our bags all the way through and enjoy a nice stroll and lunch through the city. On the way back, we'll check into an airport hotel, go have a nice night in Amsterdam, and then walk to our gate in the morning. I booked it on Priceline after searching Google Flights. Kayak wasn't showing this fare.

I am pretty familiar with Ryanair and their goofball luggage rules. We pack pretty light and my suitcase was an approved carryon size last time, but I will double check.