donnae_b

We are thinking of a week in Greece and then three days in another destination, do you have any suggestions?

thank you,

brotherleelove2004

If all you have is 10 days you definitely don't have enough time for 2 countries, especially if all you have is 3 days for the second one! Do some research and choose one Greek island and a mainland destination outside of Athens, such as Nafplio. 10 days will fly by.

Heimdall

Are you flying from the US or Canada and changing planes in a European city? It should be easy enough to arrange a 3 day layover at that stop. London, Paris, or Amsterdam would all be good places for a three day city break, while others, e.g. Frankfurt, have less to offer.

I'll have to say, though, brotherleelove has a good point. I've taken short layovers, but only with much more time at the final destination than you. One week in Greece isn't enough time, especially if part of it are travel days.

walkabout

I agree that you could easily spend all 10 days in Greece, but if it's your preference to see 2 countries, then I like the idea of staying in one of the cities enroute as Heimdall suggested, particularly if it's London, Paris or Amsterdam.

Malta and Sicily are also fairly close by. (I liked Malta, but I wouldn't give up 3 days on a Greek island to go there). Or for a totally different experience from Greece you could go to Istanbul.

You probably already know this, but if you choose 2 different countries, make sure you get an open jaw ticket, i.e., fly into your first destination, and home from your 2nd destination--don't backtrack.

colduphere

Istanbul - very easy to get to from Greece.

tengohambre

Go for it, we did the same thing a year or so back. You can see a lot of one destination in a week and get the flavor of a European city in 3 days. Sure, longer is better but not all of us have weeks to devote to one place. Go visit for a couple of places, see what you like, and then return to your favorite at a later time.

Rome is a great and easy combination with Greece. Aegean Air flies non stop from ATH to FCO, easy flight. I think they also may fly to BCN, non stop. Istanbul also is a great suggestion. I would think a city in southern Europe would be easier. Book an open jaw and let Aegean or another carrier get you between you arrival and departure airports. Good luck.

parosblue

If you want to go from Greece to a city in another country, Istanbul would be my choice.

Heimdall

An interesting fact is that the great circle route from Chicago to Athens would take you almost directly over London: http://tinyurl.com/3arhodk. Fly from New York to Athens and you pass by Paris. My suggestion to stop in a northern European city takes advantage of that fact.

I don't know where donnae_b lives, but I'm assuming somewhere in North America. Going from New York to London, for example, would take about 7 hours, then another 4 hours to Athens, breaking up a long flight into two shorter segments. Flying to/from a southern European city along with Athens would add more to total flying time.

donnae_b

I live in California.
Thanks

txtree

What time of year? I'd vote for a layover in London, Paris or Amsterdam.

suze

I like the idea of a city stopover (doesn't have to be near Greece just convenient on plane routing). I'd put it at the beginning of the trip, not the end though.

brotherleelove2004

If you're going to do it you could do a LOT worse than Paris! It's such a wonderful city. And the Art Museums...............OMG!

svrurzan

Try Sofia, in Bulgaria, it's right near Greece, and has a shocking amount of things to offer, be it culturally, historically, environmentally, or just for a bit of shopping, I found it to be one of Europe's Best Kept Secrets.

donnae_b

Svurzan,
How far is it by train?
Thanks

namaka

Hi donnae_b,
We too are from California and are heading to Greece this summer. We are using miles on BA that allow us to have a stop over in London either before or after we leave Greece; we chose on our way to Greece. It breaks up the journey a bit and will allow us to get a little more accustomed to the time change. The best part is that is doesn't involve any more miles than if we were just flying straight to Greece although it did up the taxes and fees "just" a bit!

clausar

Being Athenian, and having seen most neighbouring countries and cities, i would suggest 2 cities that can be combined perfectly with Athens.
1. Rome
2. Istanbul
Both cities are amazing in terms of culture, food, there are plenty of things to do and see, and they are only a short flight away from Athens.
Flights to Rome tend to be cheaper ( especially if you book in advance with Easyjet).
Sofia/Bulgaria cannot be reached by train from Athens, you would have to overnight probably in Thessaloniki/Nothern Greece, and even then it's not sure if you can continue to Sofia by train, as they Greek Railways rescheduled recently and cut off many city combinations to other balkan cities, in order to reduce tjeir deficit. Sofia is not a bad choice, but i wouldn't consider it to a major european destination.

brsknc

We are making tours in Istanbul with special prices. You only have to take your visa and we will plan everything for you. Our programs include everything like breakfast lunch dinner hostel tours etc.Contact from [email protected]

marthapan

there are too many Greek islands that you can spend a lot of years to see them. i suggest you Agistri island in Greece and if you want to see a different country visit Cyprus. there are many beaches in cyprus with fantastic hotels and you can go to Oasis Scala beach in Agistri. great place, a paradise on Earth

Heimdall

>>...and you can go to Oasis Scala beach in Agistri. great place, a paradise on Earth.<<

She would say that — she owns the hotel!

clausar

Angistri Island might be a nice choice for stressed Athenians, to spend their weekend... i wouldn't recommend it to someone from overseas who obviously doesn't know Greece yet....