athens, santorini, peloponnese itinerary - help with santorini hotel~!
 

hello all!

my boyfriend and i are planning a trip to greece at the end of may (18th - 28th). we have booked our flight (lucky enough to get it for $404 RT per person from JFK) and now we are in the beginning stages of planning our itinerary and booking hotels. we are a young couple in our late 20s, very active / athletic / energetic, enjoy history, architecture, photography, some nightlife, and food & wine tasting. i have come up with a rough itinerary that includes athens, cyclades, and peloponnese. at this point, i am having a hard time choosing a hotel in santorini (we prefer oia or imerovigli) that has a beautiful pool, private balcony, and view of the sunset and caldera and that is NOT fully booked already. our #1 choice was anastasis apartments, but there is no availability. can anyone recommend a boutique somewhat modern, clean hotel in oia and imerovigili? we plan on staying 5 nights and the last two days, we will take day trips from santorini to mykonos/delos and folegandros.

may 18 - fly out of jfk (4 PM)
may 19 - arrive athens (9 AM) / athens - 3/4 day
may 20 - fly to santorini (6 AM) / santorini - full day
may 21 - santorini - full day
may 22 - santorini - full day
may 23 - stay in santorini - day trip to folegrandros
may 24 - stay in santorini - day trip to mykonos/delos
may 25 - santorini - 1/2 day / fly back to athens (evening)
may 26 - drive to nafplio (early AM) / nafplio - 3/4 day
may 27 - epidaurus / mycenae
may 28 - drive to athens (early AM) / catch 10:45 AM flight

please feel free to critique our itinerary and provide any recommendations.

thanks in advance!

oh i forgot to mention, our max budget per night on hotel would be $250-$300 USD.

also, for athens and nafplio, i would appreciate any recommendations for nice, clean budget hotels or b&bs.

Imerovigli: Gizis Apartments and Remezzo Villas.

Oia: Strogili Houses, Nostos Apartments, Atrina, Filotera Villas, Caldera Villas and Golden Sunset Villas.

Recommend flying straight to Santorini upon arrival, and save Athens for the end of your trip. There is a 10:50 AM Aegean flight (tight squeeze) and a 12:30 AM Olympic flight to the island. With your current itinerary you will have only half a day for sighseeing, and need to get up around 3 AM to get back to the airport for your 6 AM flight to Santorini. Otherwise, check in at the airport Sofitel (expensive) and take the X95 bus into the city for a day's sightseeing. Then you have only to walk from the hotel lobby to airline check-in the next morning for your 6AM flight.

Forget about day trips to Mykonos/Delos and Folegandros. They simply aren't possible from Santorini.

The morning FlyingCat 4 catamaran from Santorini to Mykonos turns around there and returns to Santorini 20 minutes later. A day trip to Folegandros would theoretically be possible in July or August, when more ferries are running, but even then not worth the effort, IMO.

If you want to see Santorini <i>and</i> another island, the only practical way is to split your time between Santorini and, say, Mykonos. Were it me, I fly straight to Santorini, stay on the island, but cut one day and add it to Athens at the end of the trip. :-)

You definitely need another full day in Athens, especially as you've mentioned that you like history and architecture. We spent an entire day in the National Archaeological Museum. the Acropolis is a 1/2 day in itself and then there's the Ancient Agora nearby.

In Athens we stayed in the 'Fresh' Hotel. It's a very funky hotel with a fabulous rooftop bar and pool with views of the Acropolis. Lots of beautiful people gather there for cocktails. Couldn't tell you the rate now, but it's worth checking out. Ask for a room at the back as it will be quieter.

The Peloponnese is wonderful, if you are into sports, try to fit in a trip to Olympia where you can see the original running track and the area where the modern day Olympics have the torch lighting ceremony.

Brotherleelove who posts regularly is a Greece expert, he may be able to help with other accommodation recommendations.

Hope you love Greece, it's fascinating.