Best choice for 3 nites from Athens
 

I'd love some assistance with my May itinerary as I'm very confused as to what to do (It's our Honeymoon also!):

Arrive Athens - 1 night RAFINA (AVRA HOTEL)
5 nights SANTORINI (ASTRA APTS)
1 nights HERAKLION (LATO)
4 nights CHANIA (Casa Leone)
3 unplanned nights
2 nights ATHENS (PLAKA)before flying home.

My question is: what to do with 3 extra nites after before flying back to the U.S. from Athens! Rent car and go to Delphi, Peloponnese, Meteora? What do you suggest for outdoor lovers, active, 50's & a bit upscale travelers?

Thanks so much!!

How 'bout rent a car and explore some of the scenic wonders of Western Crete? Not just Chania? You can drive West to just before Kissamos and go South down the rim of the TOpolian Gorge (get a good map), scale rock-steps to the cave/chapel of St. Sophia,at Elos toss a coin. Heads, you keep south to Paleochora -- great hiking around there. Tails you turn west to the COast and north to the BEautiful Beach of Falasarna(voted the Best Beach in Greece 2003), then back to Chania along the coast road -- you can stop & see the Cemetery of German paratroopers that the Crete peasants fought off in 1941.

Just one of MANY options in Western Crete. I assume you're flying back to Athens from Chania.

Or, if you can reverse the order and go to Chania first, Heraklion second, I'd suggest taking the hydrofoil from Heraklion to Santorini for the last 3 nights. You could then fly back to Athens from Santorini.

Sorry- I see that I didn't read your post well! Still, if you could consider reversing the order of your stay in Crete, you could fly from Heraklion to Rhodes, if that's of interest. Rhodes was the highlight of our 3-week trip to Greece last summer. It's afascinating island with gorgeous beaches and incredible ruins to explore. And it's a quick flight from Heraklion; and about an hour flight to Athens.

Hello, last summer we spent the night at the Avra Hotel in Rafina great choice. Rhodes was also the highlight of our trip! We took a day trip to Marmarmis Turkey, too!
In Athens we stayed in the Plaka district. I highly recommend the hotel. Great locatrion and service. Great boutique hotel!
Magna Grecia
Mitropoleos 54, 10563 - ATHENS - GREECE - Tel. +30 210 3240314-5 Fax +30 210 3240317
e-mail: [email protected] , [email protected]
http://www.magnagreciahotel.com/

Consider Nafplion (Peloponesse) for 3 nights, and be sure to stay in the old venetian(?) section of town.

Rent a car, and Nafplion is a leisurely 2-3 hr drive from Athens. A pretty seaside setting, with nice cafes, shops, and restaurants. Easy 30 minute drives to famous classical sites (Mycenae, Epidavros, Tiryns, etc).

Not my photos, but I have bookmarked these lovely photos of Naufplion & environs, taken by Fodors members and others:

http://travel.webshots.com/album/551991579dJbWvh

http://www.worldisround.com/articles/296138/index.html

http://www.greecetravel.com/nafplio/

Thank you ALL so much!

We are actually taking the high speed ferry from Santorini to Heraklion for one night, renting a car and driving to Chania. Love the Western Crete ideas and can't wait to do a lot of hiking around there and see your sights!

Should we forget Delphi and stay the entire 3 nights in Nafplion & surrounds? Or is Rhoades not to be missed? (Boy-o-boy, I want to see it all! :-)
THANKS AGAIN!!

Rhodes is for the first stop on another trip -- it is NOT for this trip. MY personal feeling about Delphi is -- are you a real student of archeology/art history? If so, rent the car, spend the day there.

If not ... I say when you get back from Crete, go straight to the bus station get on a lovely reserved-seat A/C bus and go to Nafplion (2hrs 15 mins).

Stay at Hotel Diaskouri right up by the top of the town ... explore the ramparts at the top of the town, the cute fort in the harbor, the AMAZING Palamidi fortress above the town (Don't Climb UP the 999 steps, get a taxi and walk DOWN)...

IF you want more thrills rent a car Cheap (try Boumas Rental; we got one for 25E in May) and zip to Mycenae in the early AM, then Epidaurus; take a picnic and swim at a nearby beach or at Tolo. See the Nafplio sunset from the most gorgeous Harborside promenade of cafes ever... browse the very chic shops, eat really good food, view the outstanding architecture (it's a World Heritage Site).

You won't see many Americans; Greeks NEVER promote Nafplio to us; they want to keep it for themselves. And oh yes, it's known among GReeks as 'the honeymoon town,' because so many of them choose it for that.

PS: Try to time it so you don't go TO Nafplio on Friday or BACK on Sunday afternoon, or you'll run into traffic jam of weekending Athenians.

I would stay in Crete longer and explore more, or if you want to see somewhere different, I agree that Nafplio is a good base. Both aqre great options.
Carolena

In Nafplion, just off the north-western (?) corner of the pedestrian-only, marble-paved Platia Syndagma, is a delightful Gelato store (Gelateria di Roma ?)... operated by an Italian family. Yum! The things we remember of our trips...

WOW - What excellent suggestions. And I intend to do just that - Nafplio here we come!

Thank you so much!

We've got a three-night jaunt planned that might interest you. Day one we're driving to Delphi and overnighting in Arahova with stops at Osious Loukos and Livadia on the way. Day two we're taking the Oedipus Road to the Peloponnese to see Mycenae, then overnighting in Nauplio. Day three we're taking the ferry for a day trip to Hydra, overnighting again in Nauplio. Day four we're headed back to Athens with stops at Epidauros and Ancient Corinth on the way. We hired a driver but I'm sure it can be easily done on your own.

I believe 5 nights on Santorini is a bit too much. 2-3 would be more than enough. I'd then take the extra days and do Nafplio-Delphi-Meteora and Athens. The driving is pretty easy on this route if you rent and return the car at the airport. Western and southern Crete is where you want to be.
Enjoy your trip.

Great feedback! Loved the websites and found them very helpful - thanks.
Does anyone know about the Agamemnon Hotel Nafplion and whether it's in the old section?

The reason for 5 nites in Santorini is our wedding which requires some time over two days in the Mayor's office for paperwork and recording, plus the wedding, so we want to have plenty of time for exploration and relaxing.

Meteora is amazing and Delphi is really beautiful. I also like Napflion which is a lovely town near the sights of Epidavros and Mycenea. You could easily spend a few days in Napflion without getting bored.

Hotel Byron in Naplio old town is a nice place to stay. Try to fit in Moumavassia which isn't too far away. Other options just to confuse you would be the island of Karpathos southeast of Crete. Seeing the village of Olympos is high on my list of the most interesting things to see in Greece. A short excursion to Hydra would be a good option as well.

Oh, there are jsut too many places to see. So another trip, right? Great suggestions, thank you so much.

Is Olympus near Napflion?