Need Santorini help!

Old May 2nd, 2014, 12:44 PM
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Need Santorini help!

Hello! My husband and I planned a last minute trip to Santorini (we leave in two weeks) and I need some help. We have 6 days / 6 nights total. I know I want to stay in Oia for some or all of the trip. Is it worth staying in two villages? We are not looking for nightlife, just good food, shopping, views of course! Is weather warm enough mid-late May for swimming in the pool or is it worth booking a room with a hot tub? I also need some must do activities / attractions (sailing, wineries, hikes, beaches?) and of course restaurant recommendations. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks so much!
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Old May 2nd, 2014, 03:41 PM
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Stick to Oia and use the bus, moped or a rental car to explore. No sense moving when you only have 6 nights.

You won't know if it's warm enough to swim until you test the water. Although it's a little chilly at first until my body adapts, I swim in the sea when I'm there in May.

Go to the TripAdvisor Santorini forum and clik on "Things To Do" in the green stripe at the top of the page. You'll find lots of restaurant reviews on TA as well.

If you want hotel recommendations please state your maximum daily room budget in EURO. Or you can use the filter system at http://www.booking.com to narrow your choices based on your personal preferences, and you can conduct your search village by village.
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Old May 2nd, 2014, 04:42 PM
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Thanks for the comments. I have found that availability shown on booking.com has not been consistent with actual availability through emailing the hotels direct. I was hoping to stay at Atrina but they're mostly booked so I would need to split the stay. How are Nostos apartments supposed to be? Perivolas? I would like to keep the budget to Eur 300-400 per night if possible but would stretch it if need be. Is it easy enough to go out to eat in another town and take a taxi back and forth or do you recommend having a car rental?
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Old May 2nd, 2014, 05:00 PM
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If you find availability on booking.com but not from the hotel directly, the reason is that booking.com has a number of allocated rooms. The hotel is not allowed to sell these rooms, as per their contract with booking.

It is very possible that a hotel is full if you email it directly, while you can find rooms through an online operator.
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Old May 2nd, 2014, 05:18 PM
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I didn't think our rooms at Perivolas were worth the money, although the caldera view was exceptional. Hopefully you can find something else.

Make sure you visit one of the seafood restaurants in Amoudi Bay, just below Oia ( accessed by long staircase at end of town in Oia). We really enjoyed our dinners there.
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Old May 2nd, 2014, 05:47 PM
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Clausar - does this mean there are still rooms available or that it's being overbooked? A few hotels have said "we are fully booked" while booking.com shows multiple rooms available. I don't want to book only to show up and have no room..
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Old May 2nd, 2014, 06:49 PM
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Any of the hotels on the cliff in Oia facing into the caldera are going to be excellent view-wise. Nostos is practically next door to Atrina so they share the same basic vantage point. If it's a choice between Nostos and Perivolas I'd stay at Perivolas every time, although there's nothing wrong with Nostos. I just prefer the decor at Perivolas. It's a subjective thing. Taxis are always available but a rental car gives you flexibility and freedom to come and go at your own pace. That said, by mid-late May parking will have started to be a bit of a challenge. Not impossible, though.

It's not easy to know if there will be overbooking or not for any hotels. It does happen sometimes. The best way to book would be through the hotel's website, but since the hotels do allocate a certain percentage of their rooms to booking.com it should be a safe bet if booking.com accepts you even if the hotel says they're full. I suggest you try booking through booking.com then a few days later contact the hotel to ask if you're on their radar.

I agree with the recommendation for dining down in Amoudi Bay. If you don't want to walk down there's a road so you can drive or take a taxi.
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Old May 3rd, 2014, 05:27 AM
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wysiwid has given you lots of good suggestions for additional places to visit when you are in Santorini. Our favourites are Red beach near Akrotiri you can do both in one trip. Also the walled village of Pyrgos will give you a great view over the island. You might also visit the traditional village of Finikia which is an easy walk from Oia about a kilometer. You will see what Santorini used to be like.
Santorini http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr5...7632154800782/
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Old May 3rd, 2014, 05:52 AM
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lauren316

Hotels, especially the expensive ones on the caldera are very professional, in the unlikely event of an overbooking they will contact you , either directly or through the agency where you made the booking and offer you an alternative ( they will usually upgrade you to a higher room category).

Overbookings are extremely rare. Allocated rooms always have a release period, if a room doesn't get booked within the release period, it will have to get returned to the hotel.
I know this is too technical, but some agencies provide the guests names to the hotel on the time of the booking, while others only when the booking gets finalized.

You can always check with the hotel in order to make sure that they have received your booking.
Yes it can happen that you 'll find a room availble on booking.com, even the hotel tells you that they are fully booked.
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Old May 4th, 2014, 05:27 AM
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Thanks all. I have narrowed down the hotels to either Nostos for the 6 nights or spending 3 nights in Atrina and 3 nights at a new hotel Pezoules. The advantages to Nostos are the total cost and the fact that we can stay put, however the rooms seems nice but I read a few complaints on the bathrooms, breakfasts seem rather simple and the pool looks small with no real lounge area. Anyone have any thoughts?
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