s9frey

From the sounds of it, Fira in the summer months is a bit too much of a party scene for me. Wondering whether you'd recommend staying in Fira or Oia mid November?

I'll be there from the 10th-13th with my boyfriend. We're 30-year-olds looking for a little relaxation and scenic views, but also a little energy. I should mention that we're not into clubs, but we do enjoy checking out local shops, going out to dinner and having a few drinks.

Would love to hear your thoughts! And of course, if you have favorite places to stay (I love the idea of a cave room), that would be helpful. Everywhere I see looks beautiful!

brotherleelove2004

Stay in Fira. Almost every business in Oia will be closed for the winter by then except for a few shops where the locals shop for necessities.

mariha2912

I feel that this season was a somehow extended one in Santorini and there are more bookings than usual on end October/start November, but let's face it: You go off-season!
I very much doupt there will be any party scene on Fira and Oia will be far too quiet.
I have been to Santorini off-season and for me it was dead-boring but it was not my first time there, so I guess this had taken the excitment off somehow.

s9frey

I guess that explains why I was finding such great deals in Oia!

Has anyone stayed at the Canaves Oia Suites - they were offering a 3rd night free and it sounded like it was closer to town. True? Or still not worth staying in Oia?

WWK

I think you'll be bored out of your mind going to Oia in November. In fact, I wouldn't recommend going to Santorini at all in November.

DebitNM

We just left Santorini yesterday. We stayed in Fira. MANY places are getting ready to close in next couple of weeks. They are tired and ready. I won't go, personally.

Sojourntraveller

Makes no sense to me. First, why so short a time? Second, while I actually prefer off-season, it has to be somewhere with a large enough resident population to insure some liveliness.

I can't see travelling directly to anywhere though for just 3 days. Is this part of a larger plan? If so, of what duration and where else will you be going? That can mean some suggestions might make more sense than others.

The more relevant information you provide, the more relevant responses can be.

WWK

To be honest, I probably wouldn't visit Greece in November unless I was going for work or personal reasons.

isabel

Never been to a Greek island in November, but some people's main point of going is to see the scenery - won't that still be the same in November? There will still be sunsets, the island and it's natural and architectural beauty will be the same. Perhaps even better without crowds of people. You could still go for a hike, or just sit and enjoy the view.

I have been to other places that are primarily summer tourist destinations in November and there are clearly trade offs. If you enjoy shopping or looking in small galleries, etc. then you probably won't be able to do much of that as they will be closed for the season. If you plan to travel by public transportation, buses and such may have greatly reduced schedules. But unless <i>all</i> the restaurants are closed it seems like the lower costs and lack of crowds would be worth it.

s9frey

I'll be in Greece for two weeks total - coming to run the marathon and extending the trip around that event. Since, the marathon is on November 9th, that's when we're coming.

Before we get to Santorini, we are planning to visit Meteora, Delphi and Athens (where the marathon is). After that, we wanted to spend a little bit of time on one of the famed islands. Of course, I would love to visit in the warmer months and stay for a longer period of time, but planning around vacation days and November 9th imposed some limitations, as I'm sure you can understand.

It might be worth noting that I live in Michigan - where it will likely be in the 40s and never expected the trip to Santorini to be a beach vacation. We spend a lot of time on the shores in Michigan well into winter. To me, it was more about the scenery of Santorini. Blue water, white building, sunset...

s9frey

I probably should clarify that we fly in the weekend of the 2nd!

dotheboyshall

The only Greek Island I would even consider in November would be Crete.

I hope your Greek is good as many of the English speakers will have gone home to the mainland

DebitNM

I " think" Mykonos maybe be more open in November. We are here now and spent several hours on Delos, which I highly recommend.

DebitNM

Unless you plan to fly, check the ferry schedules, as they have already been reduced in frequency.

HappyTrvlr

We just visited Santorini for the second time, both late Sept, early Oct. Again, the staff at hotels and restaurants were tired and not terribly pleasant. Plus it was unseasonably cold. Wish we hadn't given it a second chance.

Heimdall

<i>It might be worth noting that I live in Michigan - where it will likely be in the 40s...</i>

The problem won't be temperature. You may be lucky and get some bright sunny days, but just as likely it will be cloudy and windy, with perhaps some rain, and that's enough to spoil a sunset. And no, Mykonos won't be "more open in November".

Were it me, I would extend my time in Athens, where restaurants and clubs will be in full swing, and all the shops open. Another possibility is Nafplio, a coastal town only about 2 hrs from Athens.

Sojourntraveller

Given the intent is to run the marathon then the timing now makes sense. It also makes sense to extend your time while there. The question it leaves is what does it make sense to do with the time available.

For me, Santorini in November still does not make sense. I would suggest you choose to spend your extra time in one of the two biggest and warmest climate islands, that is Crete or Rhodes. Both are big enough that there is life and a chance of reasonable weather at that time of year.

As DebitNM also mentions, I would suggest you plan to fly. Ferries are iffy at that time of year. It might make more sense to concentrate solely on the mainland as Heimdall suggests.

The weather may not be much different than in Michigan. When people ask about visiting Rhodes or Crete in October what I always tell them is that if you get 3 days of rain in a 2 week period, it doesn't ruin a vacation but if you get 3 days of rain in a 1 week period it has a far larger impact. If you go to Santorini for just 3 days and it rains all 3 days (which is entirely possible)then what?

If you spend your entire 2 weeks on the mainland, you can pick and choose when you go where (other than the days around the marathon) dependent on the weather. That of course assumes you do not do what most do and pre-book everything.

I would arrive on the 6th to allow time to acclimatize and get over jetlag. Run the marathon on the 9th and then go off elsewhere depending on what the weather forecast shows you. If it will be sunny in Delphi and around the Peleponnese, fine go there. If it will be sunny on Crete or Rhodes, then go there. Go where the forecast tells you it will be worthwhile going. I would not try to pre-plan where I would go in November. Who knows, it might be the weather forecast for that week will be rain everywhere except Santorini in which case THEN will be the time to decide to go there.