angtort

I'm traveling to Greece, before going on to Italy to visit family, with my wife and 2 cousins (they're brothers & sisters). We're all in our late 20's, early 30's. We plan on spending 3 nights each in Athens, Mykonos, and Santorini. Need help with hotel selections, whether to take the ferry or fly, etc... Nothing has been finalized or booked as of yet, but here's our itinerary thus far:

Day 1-3, Athens, looking to stay at the Attalos Hotel. Probably spend our time there mostly sightseeing.
Day 4-6, Mykonos, arrive by plane. Not sure where to stay at. Prefer to be close to the beach. Would like a hotel w/a pool, but not a necessity.
Day 7-9, Santorini, arrive by ferry. Looking to stay at the Loucas hotel. Heard some nice things but not sure if we want to stay in Fira or Oia, both sound great. Definitely want a place with a view of the Caldera. This will probably be more of a relaxing 3 days then the others.
Day 10, depart Santorini for Athens via Air. Then from Athens it's on to Rome.

Would really appreciate any of your thoughts/suggestions. Thank you in advance.

brotherleelove2004

I think your plan is a good one. If you haven't already read, you can get from Mykonos directly to Santorini by daily high-speed catamaran. Otherwise you'll have to take a ferry to Paros and then another on to Santorini.

http://www.greekislands.gr/hfd/

Decide before booking the Loucas if you want the more hectic atmosphere of Fira available to you day and night. If it's not a priority, definitely stay in Oia instead.

http://www.united-hellas.com/tourism...ini/hotels.php

angtort

Thanks for the info. You mentioned staying in Oia, have any recommenations? How about places in Mykonos?

brotherleelove2004

In that price range you have a lot to choose from. Do you require a swimming pool or not? Sorry, don't have any recommendations for Mykonos.

In Oia you might consider the Chelidonia Villas, The Filotera Villas, Laokasti Villas, Delfini Pension, Hotel Fregata, Oia Mare, VIP Suites, Amoudi Villas, Lauda Hotel, La Perla Villas or my current favorite, Aspaki Suites.

angtort

Brotherleelove, a friend recommended staying in the town of Imerovigli at the Anastasis apts. Any thoughts? I don't know much about Imerovigli.

jamesandi

Hi there! Just wanted to add my opinions...Oia is nice but very very far and hard to get to in the summer. (it's hard to get cabs and buses are packed and slow) Definitely stay in Fira, it has much more nightlife/restaurants and is closer to the beaches. Even Fira has the caldera view. Go up to Oia one night for the sunset. It's too romantic and very very quiet for young people (I'm young and was on my honeymoon there and it was almost too quiet for us!!) Stay in Fira. In Mykonos, it's definitely best to stay near the town or near a bus stop. You're going to want to go out at night, but once again, you're not going to want to drive at night, so you need to be close to a bus, or stay in the city and rent a car to go to the beaches. There are sooo many cool beaches, you're going to go to different ones everyday, so it doesn't matter to stay directly on the beach. I highly highly recommend Petasos beach or Petinos - right next to two great beaches - Psarrou is amazing! And you can take the boat from the other beach to Paradise. Good luck...oh, and don't forget to hit a bazukia in Athens - amazing! Go to one with the Greek idols or pop star, or whatever it's called the singers are, ( do you know that Greek show?)...All my best!!

jamesandi

Sorry, read your post again, thought you were Greek...you won't know the show! Sorry! (I'm Italian too!) Go anyway to the Bazaki.

brotherleelove2004

Imerovigli is a good possibility but you need to know that if you plan to take advantage of Fira's nightlife and like to drink, you'll have a strenuous uphill 1.5 kilometer walk back to your hotel if you don't find a taxi.

jamesandi

Oh sorry, one more thing...(almost had the exact same itinerary as you!)
1) Book the Flying Hellas Fst dolphin from Mykonos to Santorini *****VERY IMPORTANT: Book business class**** If the sea is bad, everyone in economy gets sick - business class is only a few Euro more and higher on the boat so you are less likely to get sick. Believe me!
2) Book Aegean Air flight from Santorini to Rome (not direct, but cheaper - stops in Athens, same plane)

That's it now. Let me know if you need any more help!

jamesandi

K, one more thing - thank you to Brotherleelove2004 for your help planning my honeymoon last year - it was amazing and you gave me great tips and advice. You will never know how much it helped us - we have so many wonderful memories!

brotherleelove2004

You're welcome, glad I could be of help.

angtort

Thank you both for your insight & help. Your experiences have made my planning much easier. It sounds like for Santorini, staying in Fira would suit us best.

Jamesandi, as you stated, it sounds like we've got(had) the same itinerary. The aegean flight from Santorini to Rome, with a stop-over in Athens, is exactly what I was looking at. I've been examining every scenario which would be most efficient and yet keep the total cost of this trip down (it doesn't help that the Euro in relation to the US dollar, isn't in our favor). Could you provide some recommendations for hotels on each of the different desinations? If you'd prefer to take this offline, I'll provide my email address.

Thanks again!!

jamesandi

Yes! We did the exact same thing - exact it was for my honeymoon and we had different hotel preferences in mind. We flew to Athens, spent 3 days there, flew to Mykonos for 4 days and then took the ferry to Santorini for 4 days. Then we flew to Rome via Aegean!
You know, I thought we wanted a relaxing, calm honeymoon. Then, we got there and it was exciting and fun. More fun than I ever thought I could have on a honeymoon!
All I can really recommend is that:
1) Athens - stay somewhere central, with air conditioning. It is sooooo hot there! The food is amazing - you will gain 5 pounds at least. Discover the nightlife - go to a Bazukia (sp?)
Everyone is very nice, except the cab drivers. Acropolis - wow! Go early in the morning - I mean like 9 am or the sun is to hot up there!
2) Mykonos - just amazing. The best beach by far is Psarrou, but definitely check out Paradise - lots of young people - not as crazy as people say though. Live Dj's and cheap and yummy lunches! Don't rent a car - we got into an accident to the young overtired Italians on bikes riding around. Take the bus to the city at night and the boat to the beach during the day. Defintiely stay at Petasos Beach or Petinos Beach - BEST LOCATION - worth the extra $$$. Believe me. Some hotels are very very remote and will be hard to get to.
3) Ferry boat - business class - very important as I said before!
4) Santorini - check the board and tripadvisor for Fira hotels.

Are you going to Rome? All I have to say is SCAVI TOUR. This will make your trip. Make time and room for this tour. It is unbelievable and not too many people know about it - it's not spoiled yet. It is incredible.

Hope this helps...

angtort

Rome is just a stop on my way farther south to Naples, so won't be able to check out that tour.

What transportation did you use to and from the airports/ports at each of the different cities? I guess it depends on what hotels I choose and their distances? But is there anyone services you'd recommend over the other for all 3 cities?

jamesandi

Well, in Athens, we took a cab from the airport to the hotel. We arrived very early in the morning (1 am) so we didn't want to explore other options. However, I'm pretty sure they built a subway or train of some sorts that goes into town. definitely do a search on this on fodors. I really can't remember.
Mykonos - there are only 30 cabs (or less) on the island, so it's really hard to get one. So we rented a car. Mistake, we got into an accident, if you remember. Most hotels send free transport to the airport to pick up their guests. When you book your hotel, tell them you heard it was free. At our hotel in Mykonos, they didn't charge us but charged some other friends of ours...very odd indeed...
Santorini - holy moly good luck! Definitely speak with your hotel about how to get to your hotel. When you get to the port, it is pretty baron. Very few cabs, and I mean like 2, and a few buses, and a few buses from a few hotels.
Any other inquiries?
Oh yes, and the stray dogs won't bite - but don't feed them or they'll follow you home!

brotherleelove2004

Getting to your hotel from the ferry port is not so difficult if you know the routine. Get off the ferry as fast as possible to avoid the rush to the port busses that will take you into the main village of Fira. Make your way down to the ramp at the back of the ship before it docks to get a jump on getting off the ship, then make a beeline to the big teal green or cream with teal green trim busses. Once you're in Fira you can take a bus or taxi to whichever village your hotel is in. If it's in Fira, email them in advance and ask for specific direction from the bus square. Bus ticket from the port to Fira is 1.5 Euro. From Fira to the outlying villages is 1 Euro. Taxi from the port to Fira is about 15 Euro. Taxi from Fira to outlying villages is 10-15 Euro. Always make sure of the price before getting into a taxi.

Alex8

Hello. We have stayed at Anastasis Apts, and it is very good. Despina, the owner, is charming as are most Greeks. Anastasis is on the far edge of Imerovigli. We have also stayed at Astra Apts, which are nice, but overpriced. We prefer Imerovigli to Fira, because it is more upscale. Walking to Fira is something we enjoy. You can arrange for a reasonable car rental which they will deliver to your hotel.

bc_canuck

My wife & I did a similiar trip in 2004. We took a regular ferry from Athens to Mykonos (the taxi ride to Piraeus couldn't be duplicated at any theme park). On Mykonos we stayed in the Rochari area of Mykonos town. It is a bit higher than near the water and gives you a nice view. There are a few hotels there and all have pools. It is only a five minute walk to the center of town (Mykonos town or Chora as it's called locally isn't very big). There are two bus stations, one at each end of town that take you to the other beaches on the island.

We took the Hellas Flying Dolphin to Santorini and I agree with jamesandi, go business class. Even if it isn't rough, in economy your assigned seat by the window may be taken by someone else.

On Santorini we stayed at Volcano's Villas near Oia. Being old farts we didn't need the night life. I think Fira is a good choice as it's central for clubbing, dining and is the bus terminus for the island. Do try to go to Santorini Mou tavern outside of Oia for a fun wining/dining evening.

We also flew to Rome from Santorini via Aegean Air. It had a stop in Athens where we had to change planes. The plane to Athens was a small Avro RJ100 but the leg to Rome was a 737. You might want to check if you have to change planes.

From Fiumicino airport you can take the Leonardo Express (train) to Termini station in Rome. Runs every 30 minutes.

Heimdall

Chora (or hora) is the term used for the main town on an island, so every island has a chora.

angtort

A big concern of mine is the flight from Santorini arrives in Athens at 8:10 AM and then the flight to Rome departs at 9:00 AM, all with Aegean Air. If there's any delay on that first leg, we may miss the flight to Rome and then the next flight isn't until late afternoon. Do you think to be on the safe side we should get into Athens the night before?

Also, I've been hearing from some folks that Athens in the summer is very hot, muggy, and dirty place. And that 3 nights is more than enough, could do it in 2. Any thoughts? Thanks.