brotherleelove2004

DO IT NOW!!

plwoo

brotherlee -

thanks for the hotel recommendations! you're full of awesome advice!
do you think the hotels you listed above (Delfini Hotel, Lauda Hotel, Anemomilos Hotel, etc.) are better than Ecorama's Muses Studios #4?

Carley

OKAY!!! Really, thanks for your help. I know you are right, it would kill me to wait and then have to pay twice as much. It is just that we haven't fully finalized our plans on what islands we are going to. Do you think we have choosen a good mix of islands? We have 14 days for our travel. Don't want to go to far south and have choosen Crete as we can get a timeshare there. We hear and read Santorini and Mykonos are musts.

brotherleelove2004

plwoo- You've been paying attention! Musses Studios #4 is a good deal. I was very comfortable there and had a kitchen so I could prepare my own food from time to time. The sea view is vast just not of the caldera. But if you want a caldera view the other 3 are good choices. Musses will be less-expensive, at least it was when I was there.

Carley-You'd be surprised how quickly the rest of your plans will come together once you commit to the Aegean tickets.
I personally think you can drop Mykonos from your itinerary (others will disagree) unless going to Delos, upscale shopping, partying and sunbathing are high on your list of "must-do's".

Of general interest: Out of curiosity I plugged in a mid-June date for a flight from Santorini to Rome, and came up with 135 Euro, taxes included. I haven't seen prices like this in a very long time. I hope someone can take advantage of this.

plwoo

thanks brotherlee!
my wife and i are headed to oia in the beginning of july 2006 and thinking of staying at the Musses Studios based upon your review. do you have any pictures of the studio? what was your experience like staying there? what ammenities do they offer? do they have A/C, pool, parking, internet access, or a balcony (a sea view is just fine for us since we'll be able to see the caldera anytime while we are out exploring in the day)? how far is the studio from the center of oia? any additional details you could provide would be greatly appreciated!

brotherleelove2004

plwoo-give me your email address and I'll send you a few jpegs I took. I was very comfortable there. Someone comes to clean every day. There's no pool. There is a TV, A/C and a balcony and a kitchenette w/fridge. No internet access in the rooms, but Ecorama Holidays has an internet cafe. Parking is available very close by. You're a 5-10 minute walk from the center of the village and about 1 minute from a caldera view. There is an excellent bakery/minimarket just across the street for fresh and warm pastries and breads to enjoy with your morning coffee (be sure to try the spiral-shaped spinach pies and the apple pies). Restaurants are also close by. I highly recommend the Laokasti Villas/Restaurant.

plwoo

brotherlee,
my email address is [email protected]. thanks for the additional description. does the ecorama holidays charge a fee for using internet at the cafe or is it free for guests?

sounds like the location is pretty good. the bakery/minimarket will definitely help!

what dish do you recommend trying at the Laokasti Villas/Restaurant?

brotherleelove2004

Photos and reply on the way to your email address.

Carley

What islands would you suggest? We don't have much time to do many so thought we would do the popular ones and maybe get back another time to do some more. What time spread would you spend on each Island? Can we do a day trip from Mykonos to Paros? Really appreciate your advice and help.

brotherleelove2004

Paros is a good choice. It's fun without being pretentious, and it's close to Santorini and yes, you can get there from Mykonos for the day. I suggest at least 3 days per island so you can relax and enjoy yourself. Anything less is too hectic and you'll end up feeling unsatisfied. Naxos is another good choice and you can easily get there from Paros or Santorini. both Paros and Naxos have excellent beaches.

Carley

I hope you are still on your computer. My husband just came home and we are trying to figure out our plans. Thanks for the info on Naxos and Paros. What I can't find is flights to Santorini from Athens. What should I be looking for. Am I missing something. HELP!!

brotherleelove2004

Go to this website:

http://www.aegean-air.gr/aegeanen/home/

Carley

Thanks so much. The website I was on just wasn't showing Santorini. You are right once you have to make your plans it all starts to come together. We really weren't going to start planning until maybe March but this is forcing us to do it now. How do you get to Paros or Naxos from the other islands? Can it be a day trip? I'm sure I be back so stay tuned.

brotherleelove2004

There's a highspeed ferry between these islands as well as a car ferry, depending on the time of year and the day. Blue Star Ferries and Hellenic Seaways operate them.

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

http://www.bluestarferries.com/ENGLISH/defaultmain.htm

www.gtp.gr

Schedules for the upcoming summer season won't be posted but you can at least get an idea from the Hellenic Seaways website what to expect with the highspeed catamaran. Daytrips will be limited to just a few hours because of the ferry timetables.

Carley

Well, we are booked. The only glitch we have is a 5 hour delay in Athens getting to Mykonos. Tried all sorts of senarios but nothing worked so will make sure we have good books. Now that we have our flights booked for Greece and from Toronto to Greece via Vienna where we have a 2 day stop (planned) we just have to worry about our rooms in Athens, Santorini and Mykonos since we have a timeshare in Crete. So you will definitely be hearing from me again. Thanks so much for helping me.

brotherleelove2004

Are you flying to Mykonos? Did you know there's a fast ferry (takes 2 hours) from Rafina and a bus from the airport to Rafina (I think the bus takes about 45 minutes)? Depending on when you arrive in Athens you might be able to make that connection and not have to wait 5 hours (assuming it's not too late to consider this alternative). From October 9-29 the Rafina ferry leaves at 07:20 seven days/week and again at 14:15 on Fridays and Sundays. There are daily 05:45 and 12:15 busses from the airport to Rafina for 3 Euro. I thought you might like to have this information.

When searching for a hotel in Athens you'll want to avoid any of them in the Omonia Square area. Lately it's gotten an 'unsafe' reputation at night there because of goings-on in the streets by druggies and prostitutes. If you stick to the Plaka area you'll be very centrally located and within easy access of all the sights as well as shopping and restaurants. The Attalos Hotel on Athinas Street is a good budget hotel that was completely refurbished for the Olympics so everything is in good condition. There's also a rooftop lounge area that overlooks the Acropolis. I can't help you with recommendations for Mykonos, but when you're ready I can certainly try to help you find something within your budget on Santorini.

Carley

We have already booked the flights. We actually don't arrive from Santorini to Athens until 12:30pm so the morning ferry doesn't work and we are flying on a Thursday so the rest of the ferry routes don't work either. When you consider at most we will probably only have just over 4 hours wait and by the time we took a bus and a ferry it would almost be that much time so the plane works just as well or better. Have contacted the Attalos and waiting for a reply from them. In Santorini would be looking for something that definitely has a view. It doesn't have to be 5 star but nice.

brotherleelove2004

Here's someplace to start:

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

More info here:

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...2004&fid=2

If it's in your budget check out the Aspaki Villas.

babylene

Hi! Thank you so much for the information. I tried to book on line and they refused both my and my husband's credit cards (Canadian). Did anyone else have a problem? I 'll try to phone them. Can I get the same price from a travel agent? Thanks.

babylene

Just a follow-up to let you know that I phoned the airline in Greece and made the reservations. I had to use another credit card...don't know why. I will check with the credit card complany now.

Once again, I have to thank you for the helpful information.