A Girlfriend Getaway to Greece - Our Trip Report
#21
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Join Date: Apr 2003
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seeall: we stayed in House C at Lava Oias for 145 euros/night. The proprietor will send you a floorplan if you inquire. It had one separate bedroom and 1/2 bath (with a door from the main room). The second bedroom is just an alcove off the main room which has a small table & chairs, daybed, and kitchenette. The main bathroom is tiny with just a shower pan and hand-held shower (no curtain). This arrangement was fine for our group of friends but I would probably want more privacy if I was traveling with my husband and another couple.
The views varied a bit from location to location. All the Lava Oia houses have a spectacular view. It is close to Katikies (285 euros/night for a double room) and Delfini Suites (I would have liked to have seen Delfini properties because they are well reviewed on this forum, but no one was around). There was also a lovely yellow building two walkways north of Delfini, but I never found a name. We walked down to several properties closer to the tip of the village, but some views were partially obstructed or not as desirable for other reasons (looking directly onto other terraces or on laundry lines). I'm sure there are many spectacular properties that we didn't see, but I can vouch for Lava Oia.
The views varied a bit from location to location. All the Lava Oia houses have a spectacular view. It is close to Katikies (285 euros/night for a double room) and Delfini Suites (I would have liked to have seen Delfini properties because they are well reviewed on this forum, but no one was around). There was also a lovely yellow building two walkways north of Delfini, but I never found a name. We walked down to several properties closer to the tip of the village, but some views were partially obstructed or not as desirable for other reasons (looking directly onto other terraces or on laundry lines). I'm sure there are many spectacular properties that we didn't see, but I can vouch for Lava Oia.
#22
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Since we were arriving in Athens late one night and flying out very early on the second day, we opted to stay at the Sofitel for two nights. It worked out perfectly since the Sofitel is immediately adjacent to the airport, it is a brand new and beautiful, and we got a great Internet rate (156 euros/night vs. 335 euros/night). We even got upgraded to Deluxe double rooms.
In the morning, we took the new Metro directly to Syntagma Square (45 min.) and began a long day of touring. We arrived in time to peek in on a Russian Orthodox service and a Greek Orthodox service, then had breakfast in a sidewalk café in the Plaka. The Acropolis was amazing and we enjoyed the small museum very much. Rick Steve's guide provided excellent commentary. We saw everything in the area around the Acropolis, including the two theatres, Roman agora, Tower of the Winds, the Agora, Temple of Hephaestus, Palace of the Giants, the renovated Stoa of Attalos, and more. We walked through the Market area but it was so crowded, we made our way quickly back to the Plaka. Beers were probably double the price, but we got prime tables and spent a few hours reminiscing about our great vacation. We moved around, ordered appetizers and drinks at different cafes, admired the sunset and lighting of the Acropolis, and finally had dinner at Hermion. The atmosphere of the courtyard was lovely but the food wasn't as good as what we had elsewhere and the house white wine was awful.
We found our way back to Syntagma Square and got on the Metro. Imagine our surprise when everyone got off three stops prior to the airport, the train pulled into a tunnel, and all the lights went off! WHAT?! Turns out that the Metro stops short on Sunday nights (we had asked the concierge prior to departing the Sofitel that question and were told that the Metro runs 24 hours). Ultimately the train started moving back in the other direction, so we got off and caught a bus to the airport. It cost us an hour and what remaining energy we had, but it wasn't that big of a problem.
Final thoughts: We enjoyed every destination on this trip. Western Crete, Santorini, and Athens are all very different, but each offers so much to do. Since we are pretty high-energy travelers, we covered a lot of territory. While it would have been nice to have more time, what we had was adequate to see the highlights. We were blessed with great weather.
We loved the Mediterranean diet and continue to eat lots of yogurt, Feta, spinach, eggplant, other vegetables, and Greek salads. Greek yogurt is available at Trader Joe's and we found a Greek market nearby. We enjoyed Mythos beer, which is a light lager and most of the local wines.
Traveling with little luggage has great advantages, especially when trying to fit four people into European cars. We couldn't buy a lot of souvenirs, but that allowed more time for absorbing the culture and history of the places we visited.
Thanks again to everyone on this forum, especially brotherleelove2004 (for so much great advice) and wug (for the Lava Oia recommendation). Thanks also to Nancy for sharing her info and to my superb travel companions for putting up with my obsessive-compulsive research and note-taking!
Cigalechanta: I have 200 photos but they are not uploaded to the Internet yet. I'll let you know when I get to that!
In the morning, we took the new Metro directly to Syntagma Square (45 min.) and began a long day of touring. We arrived in time to peek in on a Russian Orthodox service and a Greek Orthodox service, then had breakfast in a sidewalk café in the Plaka. The Acropolis was amazing and we enjoyed the small museum very much. Rick Steve's guide provided excellent commentary. We saw everything in the area around the Acropolis, including the two theatres, Roman agora, Tower of the Winds, the Agora, Temple of Hephaestus, Palace of the Giants, the renovated Stoa of Attalos, and more. We walked through the Market area but it was so crowded, we made our way quickly back to the Plaka. Beers were probably double the price, but we got prime tables and spent a few hours reminiscing about our great vacation. We moved around, ordered appetizers and drinks at different cafes, admired the sunset and lighting of the Acropolis, and finally had dinner at Hermion. The atmosphere of the courtyard was lovely but the food wasn't as good as what we had elsewhere and the house white wine was awful.
We found our way back to Syntagma Square and got on the Metro. Imagine our surprise when everyone got off three stops prior to the airport, the train pulled into a tunnel, and all the lights went off! WHAT?! Turns out that the Metro stops short on Sunday nights (we had asked the concierge prior to departing the Sofitel that question and were told that the Metro runs 24 hours). Ultimately the train started moving back in the other direction, so we got off and caught a bus to the airport. It cost us an hour and what remaining energy we had, but it wasn't that big of a problem.
Final thoughts: We enjoyed every destination on this trip. Western Crete, Santorini, and Athens are all very different, but each offers so much to do. Since we are pretty high-energy travelers, we covered a lot of territory. While it would have been nice to have more time, what we had was adequate to see the highlights. We were blessed with great weather.
We loved the Mediterranean diet and continue to eat lots of yogurt, Feta, spinach, eggplant, other vegetables, and Greek salads. Greek yogurt is available at Trader Joe's and we found a Greek market nearby. We enjoyed Mythos beer, which is a light lager and most of the local wines.
Traveling with little luggage has great advantages, especially when trying to fit four people into European cars. We couldn't buy a lot of souvenirs, but that allowed more time for absorbing the culture and history of the places we visited.
Thanks again to everyone on this forum, especially brotherleelove2004 (for so much great advice) and wug (for the Lava Oia recommendation). Thanks also to Nancy for sharing her info and to my superb travel companions for putting up with my obsessive-compulsive research and note-taking!
Cigalechanta: I have 200 photos but they are not uploaded to the Internet yet. I'll let you know when I get to that!
#23
Join Date: Nov 2006
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Hi Lina, Fantastic trip report - really enjoyed reading it!! Please post your photos, I would be really interested to see them. When my DH and I visited Santorini, we took over 1000 photos!!
It's nice sometimes to get away from the boys and have some girly fun.
It's nice sometimes to get away from the boys and have some girly fun.
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Join Date: Jan 2006
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Wonderful report. My husband and I just returned from 3 weeks in Rhodes, Crete and Athens. We had wonderful weather except for the time we wanted to take the ferry to Santorini.....but this also means we must return. I think late October early November is a great time to visit Greece.
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