I don't think it makes much difference whether you do Istanbul or Athens first — probably whichever works out best with the flights. Either way, on such a short holiday, you will have to fly between the two.

One possible itinerary would be Istanbul first, then connecting flights straight through from there to Santorini. If you wish to experience a Greek ferry, you could go from Santorini to Piraeus and round out your trip with two or three days in Athens. How to allocate time in Greece depends upon your interests. If you want to see the museums and all the major ancient sites, I would recommend at least three days in Athens.

I've never found a car to be necessary on the smaller islands, e.g. Santorini, or in Athens. Public transport is very good in Greece, and much of the centre of Athens is pedestrianised.

To be clear, connecting flights from Istanbul to Santorini will be via Athens. With any luck you can find flights with a 2-3 hour layover, so won't even have to leave Athens Airport.

Thanks Heimdall! Would you recommend Santorini and Crete or just one? If so, which one? We are looking for culture and for an experience with a Greek island. Also hopefully somewhere not packed with tourists.

Hi Bluelark, I was in Santorini with my daughter in July & loved it even though it was very hot! The scenery is amazing, the sunsets were breathtaking & I will never forget the "blueness" of the sea & sky! However if you are looking for a historical /cultural aspect, maybe Crete would be better but since we did not go there, I really cannot say. We did not regret our choice of Santorini. We spent only a day in Athens which was enough for walking around the Plaka area & seeing the Acropolis. We did want to go to the Temple of Poseidon during the 5-6 hours we had on our way back but were nervous about not making it back in time so regretfully decided against it & went to the new Acropolis museum instead.
BTW, DD went to Istanbul on her own with friends & said it was the most amazing place she has ever been to! Enjoy!

With only a week in Greece, and your preference to not have a car, I would recommend Santorini. With a travel day in-between, you have time only for a 3/3 or 4/2 day split between island and Athens. Crete is a huge island, and you need a car to conveniently get around. Santorini is smaller, with a good bus system. Three or four days there would be enough to see most of the sights, leaving you time to relax and gaze at the beautiful scenery.

Thank you all so much! This is really helpful advice. I think we're leaning more towards Santorini, especially since we won't have a car and also since this will be a relatively quick trip and it would be nie to have some relaxing time. Would you recommend plane or ferry to/from Santorini - or maybe best plane one way and ferry the other. I am also concerned that we have reliable schedules so we don't get caught missing connections to other places, esp planes.

Any recommendations for places to stay in Athens and/or Santorini? We like authentic places, moderately priced. Good and convenient locations are important too, esp in Athens

Happy New year all! And thanks for taking the time to help with our planning, even on a holiday.

Also, I had only mentioned Santorini and/or Crete because we have such limited time. However, if we just want to visit one island (or two at most) in addition to Athens, in order to get the feeling of the Greek Islands, are there other islands we should consider instead of these two? Like Hydra perhaps? Thanks again.

There is so much more to Athens than Plaka and the Acropolis! If you enjoy museums, there is also the National Archaeological, Benaki, Byzantine, and Goulandris museums to name a few. It wasn't until I walked up Apostlou Pavlou past the Ancient Agora one evening that I began to appreciate how much Athens has to offer. Sitting at a sidewalk cafe and drinking a cappuccino freddo while watching the sun set on the Acropolis was an absolute delight. Since then I have discovered other neighbourhoods in Athens where you can get away from the tourist crowds.

We are all cross-posting!

Whether you do Istanbul or Athens first, I would recommend a connecting upon arrival in Athens directly to Santorini. Ferries to Santorini take over 7 hours, and leave mostly in early morning, while flights take about 50 minutes and are spread throughout the day. If brotherleelove sees this post, he may have some suggestions on flights to Santorini.

On the way back to Athens, if you want to experience a ride on a Greek ferry, take Blue Star from Santorini to Piraeus. The views are stunning, starting as the ship sails through the caldera, with stops at Naxos and Paros on the way. If you want to save time, a flight back to Athens would be better.

When in Athens I like to stay at Cypria Hotel, which is moderately priced and just off Syntagma Square. It doesn't have a view, but is very convenient and has rooms with generous sized bathrooms (many Athens hotels have tiny bathrooms). There are many other good hotels near Monastiraki Square and the Acropolis. I'm sure you will get other suggestions.

This forum is so wonderful; thank you!
I am curious as to why you would recommend going to Santorini directly from Istanbul, and then on to Athens and home, versus Istanbul to Athens and then Santorini and home. (Hope that wasn't too confusing.)

Also, thoughts about Hydra instead of Santorini? And places to stay in Santorini and how to go about seeing whatever island we stay on?

Hi Bluelark. I did almost this exact trip in September, spending 7 days in Greece and 3 1/2 days in Istanbul. Here would be my input to your questions:

1. If you were spending more than just 2 days in Istanbul, it probably wouldn't matter which you did first. However, you will jet lagged at least one day and maybe 2 upon arrival, so if you were to do Istanbul first, I'd be concerned you might spend you entire time jet lagged in this amazing city. I LOVED Istanbul, but it is the most chaotic, non stop city I've ever visited (in a good way!) Due to your extremely short amount of time in Istanbul, I would recommend saving it for last.

2. My 7 days in Greece were roughtly spent as 2 1/2 days in Athens (PLENTY!), a day trip to Delphi and 3 days on Santorini. Santorini is everything you see in posters and more. If you can, stay in Oia. It is the prettiest town on the island (stucco houses in the cliffs and blue domed churches) + the Oia sunsets just a short walk from your hotel. I also booked a 5 hour catamaran cruise around the caldera. The scenery is beautiful, you can swim in the Med if you like or in my case, just lie on deck and soak up some rays. I did not visit Crete but I can say, Santorini was my favorite part of Greece that I visited.

3. In Athens, I stayed at the Central Hotel, recommended by a friend. Very nice hotel in the Plaka, just a 5 minute walk from Syntagma metro station, with a good breakfast.

4. Aside from the Acropolis/Parthenon, I also visited the New Acropolis Museum, the Byzantine/Christian Museum, and walked up Lyvitticus (major sp??) hill. The New Acropolis is large. I visited it on the day I landed, so was dead tired and consequently, found it a bit overwhelming. I LOVED the Byzantine Museum. If you appreciate icons, vestments, etc. you will enjoy it also.

One other suggestion for Athens. If you enjoy fine dining, I recommend a restaurant called Spondi. The only restaurant in Greece with two Michelin stars. It's in an outer neighborhood so you'll want to take a taxi from your hotel. Delicious, artfully prepared food with a very nice wine list. Not cheap, of course, but I'm a big foodie/wino and thought it was good value.

Anyway, hope this helps and that you and your daughter have as wonderul a trip as I did.

Hydra is lovely, but I think it's best done as a day trip from Athens ( Piraeus). The hydrofoil takes about two hours. It's a tiny island, (carless) and you can walk much of it in a day.

Santorini really deserves a few days. The scenery is breathtaking, and you will need at least half a day to do a tour of the caldera and sulphur springs. There's also gorgeous beaches ( Red Beach and others), wineries, and wonderful fish restaurants down at Amoudi Bay, close to the heart of Oia.

BTW, I agree with the post above. Istanbul is an incredible, one-of-a-kind city, but it demands your full attention, and you won't have much of that left after the long flight from the U.S. I'd try to head to Santorini first, where you can recover on one of the most beautiful and relaxing islands on the world. Then go on to Istanbul ( connect through Athens) and finally, Athens for the last leg of your trip.

Have a great trip!

Just wanted to add that May ( especially toward the end of the month when it's a bit warmer) is our favorite time to visit Greece. You may find the water cold for swimming, but you'll be avoiding most of the heavy crowds that start in June.

Good points from MinnBeef and Weadles about jet lag, and that would apply equally to Istanbul or Athens. Couldn't you squeeze an extra day into Istanbul? I think it would be worth it, even at the expense of a day on Santorini or in Athens.

The reasons I suggested "a connecting upon arrival in Athens directly to Santorini" is: a) you will already be at Athens Airport, and Santorini is only another 50 minutes flying time, about the same it would take to travel to central Athens by taxi, metro, or bus; b) you won't have to waste time transferring into Athens & checking in/out of a hotel, then doing it all over again when you return to Athens after Santorini; c) there is a slim chance that weather or industrial action could delay your return from the islands, so Santorini first is a sensible precaution; and, if you save Istanbul for last, I can add d) It will allow you to de-lag on a quiet, beautiful island rather than a busy city.

Just to answer your question about why Athens last - to be in Athens a day before your flight home is a smart idea. Weather, strikes etc could make it very difficult/impossible to get to Athens the day of your international flight home. So to avoid the stress most people recommend putting the days in Athens at the end.

We just spent a week on Naxos and just loved it!

Enjoy your trip!

Thanks again to all, and jamikins thanks for the explanation on why to do Athens last. However, just looking at it I'm wondering how much time and trouble it would be to start with Santorini, then bak to Athens and on to Istanbul, then back to Athens for a few days and then back to NYC. I too am concerned about the effect of the strikes and potential strikes, but also want to try to keep it fairly simple. You all are far more knowledgeable on this than I am so I'll go with your recommendations.

Can you fly open jaw, into Istanbul and out from Athens or vice-versa? That would eliminate some back-tracking. Then you would only be in Athens at the beginning or end of your trip, and at the airport for a few hours waiting for the connecting flight to Santorini.

The only other way you could avoid going through Athens so many times would be to fly direct to Santorini from another European city, which would still require connecting flights. If you had more time, you could travel through Turkey to a port connecting with Kos or Rhodes, then take a ferry from there to Santorini.

You should start with Greece, by flying to Santorini, then spend a few days in Athens, before you fly to Istanbul and return home from there. There is no need to fly home from Athens.

As for strikes etc, i don't think that we can seriously predict how the the summer season will develop. Greece will have to make some very crucial economical decisions before March 2012, decisions that will affect the future of many Greeks for the next decade. This will bring hopefully a certain stability in the country, so that the strikes of 2011 won't happen again. ( regarding strikes, 2011 has been a record year in Greek history).

Just think positive and keep in mind that during 2011 Greece received 15 Mi. tourists....

Heimdall.. piase kokkino... lol

Clausar, piase kokkino...again! At least we aren't arguing!!! lol!

I touched my glass of κόκκινο κρασί.

Clausar lives in Athens, and knows what is going on regarding the strikes. I must say, after many years of travelling in Greece, 2011 was the first time I have been affected by strikes in any way, and that was just a taxi strike. I was a bit worried about a threatened air traffic controller strike on the weekend of my departure home, but it was declared illegal and never went ahead.

Most of the strikes last summer had little effect upon tourists. Certainly, while on Santorini, you will have nothing to worry about. If you want to learn about Greek current events, check out the stories in http://www.ekathimerini.com/ and http://www.athensnews.gr/. A good resource for news about pending strikes is http://livingingreece.gr/.

Yes, I was worried about conditions in Greece too but except for a taxi strike, we also did not have any trouble. I was not looking forward to getting to the airport by public transportation with all our luggage (DD had been there for 6 weeks)but luckily the hotel was able to arrange for a private driver with car to take us to the airport.
We split our stay in Santorini between Firostefani and Oia & did not regret our decision. Firostefani made it easier to get to Thira, the Red Beach etc. We enjoyed staying out late at night & then taking a taxi back to our hotel from the town, only a 5 minute drive but love spending our last night in Oia. We also spent 2 nights in Naxos, a totally different experience, the beach there was amazing!

Thanks again, and now I think I'm getting a little confused.
I'm wondering if we should just concentrate on Turkey, wondering if Greece will too much like other parts of Europe. But if we do just Turket, will it be relaxing enough? Also, if I stick with plan to do 1-2 islands, Athens and Istanbul, which islands? I'd thought Santorini, but others o consider?
Thanks for the patience I know ot will require to answers there new questions!

Everybody has encouraged you to do both Greece and Istanbul with focus on Greece and a few days in IST.
What made you actually change your mind ?

As per your initial plan of seeing 2 islands, i am afraid 1 week is just not enough to do 2 islands and Athens.
Should you wish to replace Santorini with another island, then Paros or Naxos would be ideal, they are both nearer to Athens, and have many gorgeous beaches and they are less expensive.
Both islands are easy to reach by boat or plane.

If you want to see more islands, you could do the one day cruise from Athens, that goes to Aegina, Poros and Hydra ( 3 beautiful islands).

Since you already started considering a change in plans, might I recommend that you fly to Izmir airport from Athens or Istanbul, (free shuttle to Selcuk, if you fly Atlas or Onur air) to tour Ephesus, visit other nearby sites, stay night and then take early ferry to Samos the next day? The distance is very little. You can possibly get to Athens from Samos. Or get to istanbul with a short and very frequent flight.

I hope you try at least some of the following restaurants when in Istanbul:
- Changa or Musee de Changa
- Borsa or Divan hotel
- Bursa Garaj or Set Kebap
- Hamdi or Sardunya
- Aleko or Poseidon

Currently there are no problems in Turkey. But there is no guarantee of'course. In general there are fewer strikes here because of a rather unusual (!) interpretation of democracy and human rights. In fact, with the strengthening of USD Turkey is now much cheaper than most of Europe, except for four and five star lodging in Istanbul.

Greece is not like other parts of Europe.

Thanks to everyone. I'm afraid I was just getting a little overwhelmed with choices and differing opinions of friends I've been talking with.
I am going back to the original plan; I think it suits us best.
Fly to Athens airport and then fly on to Santorini.
Three days on Santorini - will try to stay in Oia.
Fly to Athens.
Two days in Athens (+ possibly a one day cruise to Aegina, Poros and Hydra)
Fly to Istanbul.
Three to four days in Istanbul.
Fly out of Istanbul to New York.

Any comments, suggestions of where to stay or anything else?

Perfect!!!

The Central Hotel in Athens was very nice, reasonabily priced, clean and had a nice inclusive breakfast. Located in Plaka.

In Istanbul, I stayed at the Mavi Ev (Blue House). Right across the street from the Blue Mosque and just a block from the Hagia Sophia. The call to prayer coming through my windows each morning was surreal and fascinating.

In order to recommend suitable Hotels, what would be your budget more or less?

Moderately priced but clean and well located, nicely furnished but luxury not as important as location and cleanliness, small boutique hotels are great, have used Fodors 2-3 star places before and been very pleased with them. Must have private bath.

In Athens i would recommend either the Plaka or the Acropolis area.
Hotels in Plaka/Monastiraki :
Plaka Hotel(3 stars - very very popular hotel in the Plaka, next to Monastiraki Station,
Attalos (3 stars - inexpensive and clean, near the Monastiraki metro station),
A for Athens ( brand new 4 star hotel located directly on Monastiraki Square)

Hotels in Acropolis :
Athens Gate ( 4 stars - super location/great view)
Parthenon ( 4 stars - very good location)
Both hotels are located 100-200 meters from the New Acropolis Museum, the pedestrianized Dionisiou Areopagitou Street and the Acropolis)
Philippos Hotel ( 3 stars - in a very quiet residential area )

Just caught this thread, so sorry to jump in, but I agree with Heimdall on the hotel in Athens. The Cypria Hotel is great. I've been staying there the last 10 years on my trips to Greece. They have good sized rooms and most rooms have American-sized bathrooms with a tub. Make sure when you book that you ask for a twin room. If you ask for a double you'll get one double bed.

And your itinerary looks great. I would try to do a day trip from Athens (Delphi or Nafplio) instead of the one day cruise though. It gives you a good overview of Greece.

A few good restaurants in Santorini are Nicholas Taverna (Fira), the Flame of the Volcano (Fira on the caldera walkway just around the corner from the cable car on the way to Firostefani), and Sunset Taverna (Amoudi at base of Oia). You'll get authentic, fabulous food for a good price.

Nikolas is a very good restaurant with authentic food ( from my Greek perspective....) but in Ammoudi the best taverna is Katina, the favorite taverna of locals.
I should also add Anemomylos, the restaurant of the same named Hotel, located not exactly in the center of Oia, but in walking distance.
Owner cooks authentic Greek food, with dishes that you won't get elsewhere... It is not only delicious but also inexpensive.

As for the 1 day cruise, i wouldn't recommend it either, you don't have much time on each island, doing a day trip to Delphi or Argolis would be a much better choice.

Thanks to everyone for your great suggestions! I still am looking for hotel recommendations on Santorini, esp in Oia.

Also, we are finalizing our timeline and about to purchase our airline tickets - flying into Athens and immediately on to Santorini, from Athens to Istanbul and then home form Istanbul.

I am wondering about the days of the week we will be in Istanbul. It looks very likely that part of our three to four day stay might include a Sunday and a Monday. I know the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Market are closed on Sundays, and many sights are closed on Mondays. Also, I'm assuming sights are probably more crowded on Sundays, though May will not be as bad a time as the summertime.

Any thoughts? Do you think we will be able to see Istanbul in 3-4 days even if it included a Sunday and a Monday?

Just trying to be thorough in my planning.

You'll be fine in Istanbul on a Sunday and Monday. I arrived at around 9:00 on a Sunday morning and was there through Wed. afternoon. You'll be fine.

In Oia, I stayed at the Chelidonia Villa. They are cave houses. Each villa looks out to the caldera from your patio. You cannot beat the view. I stayed in the studio and it ran me 180 euro/night. Well worth it. The owner is a real character but is very helpful and will take the time when you check in to show you on a map where the bakery is (for breakfast), some restaurants, etc. I was very very pleased with Chelidonia Villas.

MinnBeef, thanks for the check in re: Istanbul and Oia.

A couple of more questions...
1. Which airport on Santorini should we fly into and out of from Athens?

2. We will have 3-4 nights on Santorini, arriving in the evening. Is Oia still the nicest place to stay, or best to change hotels in between?

3. With three days on Santorini and 1 1/2 days in Athens, would an extra day be well spent taking a drive out of Athens to Delphi or Argolis (or elsewhere?) If so, can we just hire a taxi to take us there and give us the tour, or how would this work? We do not want to drive.

4. Here is our proposed itinerary. Comments please -
Day 1 - Depart NYC and travel
Day 2 - arrive in Athens just after 12:00 and fly on to Santorini (which airport?0
Day 2, 3, 4 - Santorini
Day 5 - Fly to Athens in the morning and rest of day in Athens
Day 6 - Athens
Day 7 - Car trip to Delhi or Agolis, or alternatively fly to Istanbul
Day 8 - Fly to Istanbul or all day in Istanbul (depends on above decision)
Day 9, 10, 11 - Istanbul
Day 12 - Fly home

Would really appreciate input on all the above. Thanks in advance!

Sorry about mistake above in itinerary - should be days 3and 4pm Santorini.

.... Days 3 and 4 on Santorini!

Santorini is a very small island, there is only one airport !

Oia is the nicest village of the island, i wouldn't recommend to change it. Imerovigli is very nice as well, but it is rather an artificial place with hotels only.

Both tours to Delphi and Argolis are very nice, if i had to choose i'd choose Argolis.
You can book that on the spot at your hotel in Athens, there are 2-3 companies offering the same tours.
It is a full day tour, they are being offered with and without lunch. ( the difference is small.)
Book the tour with lunch, otherwise you will be ending paying much more, during the stop at the restaurant.
Oh and if you book with Key Tours, i know they stop at a very good restaurant with delicious food in Nea Tiryns....

Do not make the tour with a taxi driver , you will pay lots of money, and you won't have a guide to show you around.

Bluelark, we spent last week of 2011 in Athens. I asked some questions in this forum before my trip, and I received a lot of useful advices from Clausar. So, please, consider what he recommend!

We did two trips from Athens: one day trip (with lunch) in Argolis - Mycenae, Epidarius, Corinth Canal and a bit of Nafplion. It was so interesting, the guide gave us a lot of information. It was Key tours, and once more Clausar is right about the restaurant.

The second was an afternoon tour to Cap Sunion - Posiedon's temple. More than the temple, we loved the road till then. Small islands, blue sea, nice churches..

As Clausar said, no need for car to visit Athens or for these day trips.
In Athens, if needed, the metro is clean, cheap and safe.

We visited in Athens Acropolis, New Acropolis museum, Keramikos, Stoa Attalos, National Archaeological, Benaki, Cycladic art museum. Plus of course, a lot of walk, stops for coffee and baclava, dinners in tavernas, etc.
We loved Athens and 7 days was not a too long time for us there.

I hope you will enjoy also.

Two or three years ago we visited Istanbul, which is an unique city in the world. Amazing.

Have a nice trip. Whatever you will decide!

On my opinion Argolis deserves at least 3 nights/2 full days. There is soooo much to take in.
On Delphi wider area there is plenty to see and do too, but for most people focus is museum and ruins. Given that on Delphi there is only one site (splitted on lower and upper part) while on Nafplion wider area there are at least 2-3 different sites plus (larg-ish with plenty to see) town itsself,I think Delphi is a better option as a day trip.
A wide site with lots to see, but only this one site to explore.Somehow more leisurely visit, rather than trying to jam-pack 3-4 different sites into one sole day. I still think an overnighter would make things easier in Delphi, but as a day trip, more suitable.
You can buy a good guidebook and DIY on Delphi. Get a taxi from Athens city center to KTEL bus station B near Liossion street, be there around 7.00 AM, get a ticket for the 7.30 bus and about 10.00+AM you'll be in Delphi. Expore museums and sites, then walk to modern town, have a lunch taking in the views, maybe do some shopping, be on bus station a bit earlier to insure tickets, and jumb on the 16.00 or even better the 18.00PM bus back to Athens. Right now bus tickets cost 15.10 euro one way. A taxi from city center (if you flag from the street, if on call add 3-5 euro) to bus station will cost no more than 7-10 euro. -On the bus returning to Athens you can ask to be dropped of on metro station Kato Patisia and connect to city center. This is not an option departing Athens, only returning!-

It looks like we'll be arriving on Santorini by plane at about 6:30 pm and will then need to get ot our hotel in Oia. What is the easiest way to get there? We'll be arriving on Santorini after a very long flight from New York, with a layover in Athens, so we will be pretty tired.

Book a transfer, thats the easiest and fastest way to go to Oia.
You could also take the local bus and go to Fira, and from there the bus to Oia, plus running with luggage through half Oia...( depending on where you will stay)
Have a look at this website, ask them for a quotatyion, they offer shared transfer to Oia for 11 Euro per person and also ask the hotel that you booked for a price.

Should your hotel be not accessible, ask hotelier t0 pick you up at the bus station for instance ( or to the nearest point where a vehicle can stop).

In some cases ( hotels with many steps at the caldera, they transfer the luggage with a mule.....

oops forgot the website, here it is :

http://www.santorinitransfer.com/index.html

I haven't read all the responses and may be repeating others but will add my two cents, anyway. Forget about multiple islands, especially, Crete. We spent a whole week there last summer and it wasn't enough. People are right. Just fly to Santorini without leaving the airport whether you are coming from NYC or Istanbul. We also came from NYC and flew right to Santorini. Easy and saves time.

In Athens, we stayed at Athens Gate hotel. I highly recommend it. Superior location, can't beat it, and superior views of the Acropolis from the roof top.

3 days in Santorini should be good but you can stay longer, pf course. 4 days in Athens would long for me. You can consider a day trip to Delphi from Athens if you have time.

Have a great time!

Bluelark,

I guess, my previous post was too late. Ignore it.

Our hotel sent a driver to pick us up from the airport. It was free, we just tipped the driver. The driver also helped us carry the luggage closer to the hotel and on the steps. I know that many hotels offer that service.

Gina
Transfer from the airport is usually NOT free, OP should ask the hotel for a price. If the transfer is free, they will have it stated on their website.

Is three full days too much on Santorini? We'll be coming from a very long trek to Santorini and o really want to enjoynhe island before we start the more hectic part of the trip, but just want to check that that's not too long.