excited_confused

Just got an email from Marizan, they do not have availability for July 28th, bummer. Back to the drawing board. Should I stick with the Residence or are there any others you might recommend? looking for more of a luxury hotel than my choices so far since this will be our last night, should have amazing views. I guess it's OK if they are not of the sunset, we can go elsewhere (for dinner maybe?) to see the sunset.

brotherleelove2004

If you have time to pick up your extra bag from Pacific Travel you should just be able to go to the Aegean ticket counter and check it in by presenting your ticket/boarding pass. Also, there is some sort of dedicated baggage dropoff point there. I've never used it so I don't know how it works. If you find out about it ahead of time you might be able to avoid the lines at the ticket counter.

Investing in a phone call to explore your options would be a good idea.

Some other hotels in Oia with a sunset view: Oia Castle Hotel, Esperas Houses and Fanari Villas.

brotherleelove2004

Dinner at sunset: Kastro Restaurant and Pelekanos Restaurant

Heimdall

If you book from Santorini to London, there will be two separate flights, and as long as you have at least two hours layover between them it should be enough time to stop at Pacific Travel, retrieve your bags, and put them on the flight from London to Athens. There is a baggage drop-off point for passengers who have checked in online and already have their boarding passes.

I can't imagine there will be a problem as long as the additional bags don't take you over the baggage allowance. Athens Airport is small and very efficient. Getting from domestic arrivals to international departures won't take very long, even if you have to go to the Aegean Airlines checkin desk.

Since your daughter is already in Thessaloniki, she should be able to call Aegean for clarification. Or you could email Aegean Airlines, print out their reply, and bring it with you just in case.

excited_confused

Thanks all, I have emailed Aegean already, will call tomorrow if I do not hear back. DD is not in Thessoloniki yet, does not leave until June. Glad I should be able to check in the bag in Athens but the flight I was looking at only has a 50 minute layover, the next one has about 5 hours & then 7. Ideally I would book the one with the 50 minute connection if we didn't make it, Aegean would put us on their next flight which is the one with the 5 hour layover. However, if there is going to be a charge, I might be better off booking the flights with the 5 hour layover or even the next one with the 7 hour layover & maybe we can go to the town & back in that much time!
As far as hotels, I have booked Hotel Glaros for Naxos, Dana Villas in Firostefani (other choices were Hotel Sofia or Mylos but Mylos had no pool) & debating between Residence, Delfini or Lauda since Marixan is unavailable. Any opinions on my choices??
Should I book the 16.50 ferry from Athens in advance & risk losing 100 euros if the flight is delayed or should I wait until we get there?
Thanks again, can't believe all the help I have been getting!

Heimdall

If you are travelling out to the islands on July 24th (a Sunday), you shouldn't have a problem getting a seat on the ferry, as you will be going against the flow with most people returning from the islands that day. Still, it is high season, so pre-booking may be a good idea. If you book with Pacific Travel you can pick up the ferry tickets at the airport, or exchange them for a later ferry if that becomes necessary.

For your flights from Santorini to London, 50 minutes isn't a long enough layover even without stopping to pick up bags. Definitely book a later flight to London, and if you want to take the metro into central Athens the 7 hour layover would be better. If you haven't been to Athens before, a long layover may be a blessing in disguise. ;-)

excited_confused

Thanks, good point about it being Sunday. Maybe I will risk buying the tickets from Pacific Travel when I drop off the bag rather than buying ahead of time. Since the next ferry is run by a different company, the tickets cannot be exchanged for the next one, which is the last ferry for the day.
Any comments on the hotels? Still have to decide on the one in Oia, - Residence, Delfini or Lauda, Marixan being unavailable. Any cons I should know about before i decide?
Thanks!

excited_confused

Hey, anyone have any preference /input on the Oil hotels - Residence, Delfini or Lauda???
Thanks.

brotherleelove2004

Lauda has a great view and a large pool. Delfini has a great view and a small pool. Residence has a great view but no pool. Lauda is more centrally located in Oia than the other two. You have to call Lauda for bookings. They don't book over the internet.

excited_confused

Thank you for stating that so simply! I called Delfini & the person I talked to asked me to email my dates etc which I did but have not heard back. I did call Lauda as well & she did not even take my name, I gave her my dates & she told me that was fine & to call a week ahead of time to confirm! I am a little nervous about that, maybe I will send a fax to confirm anyway! I guess I will take Residence off the list once I am confirmed with one of the others.

brotherleelove2004

Definitely follow up at Lauda. Sometime this month the owner, Nikos, will return to Oia from his home in Athens-he may be there now-and he should be willing to take your name and confirm your room reservation.

excited_confused

Hi, if we take the flight with the 6-7 hour stopover in Athens, (from about 1 pm to 7pm) how can we effectively use that time? My daughter will have been to Athens but I have not, could we see the Acropolis in that much time? It will be in the afternoon, from what I have read, it is too hot to visit in the afternoon, is that right? It is a Friday so traffic might be a factor, I presume we will have to be back at the airport by 5 or 5.30 to collect our bags from storage & check them in for the next flight.

Heimdall

The metro takes about 45 minutes from the airport to Monastiraki in central Athens, and traffic won't be a factor. You should have enough time for a quick visit before heading back to the airport. Yes, it will be hot!

excited_confused

The other option would be to stay the night in Athens & take the 1.30 flight to London, If we do decide to do that, what time do you think we will have to leave the city? (Would stay at the Athens Gate hotel or similar) Trying to see if we would get enough time to visit the Acropolis in the morning before heding to the airport. Thinking of taking the evening flight from Santorini which gets in at 8.25, is it worth the stopover for that amount of time? Thanks.

Heimdall

You will have to check in for the London flight an hour before departure, and allow another hour to get from central Athens to the airport, so that means leaving the city by around 11:30 am at the latest. If you check out of the hotel early and leave your bags there, you will have time for a little sightseeing that morning, then go back for your bags and head to the airport. Summer hours at the Acropolis are 8 am to 8 pm, according to http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/3/eh355.jsp?obj_id=2384.

Personally I would take an earlier flight from Santorini, but that's your choice. Arrive early afternoon and you could take in the Acropolis Museum, walk around Plaka, and enjoy a meal that evening.

excited_confused

Thanks, or take the later flight to London from Athens! Trying to get as much time everywhere as possible I guess! Since we arrive in Santorini late in the evening, that gives us two days there if we leave in the morning. Decisions, decisions!! In the meanwhile all the lower priced tickets on Aegean are getting sold out!

excited_confused

So to figure out how much time we need in Santorini, I need to somewhat plan what we are doing. We arrive there by the afternoon ferry (arrive 16.40)on July 26th after 2 nights in Naxos. (Which is the best place to buy those ferry tickets, should I do it through Pacific Travels as well or wait until we reach Naxos & buy them at the ferry terminal there?)
We check in at the Dana Villas, relax, maybe have a dip in the pool & then head out to Fira. Explore the town & have dinner there. The next morning we take a multitude of buses to explore the southern part of the island. Go to both the Black & Red Beach, maybe visit one of the museums. We are not early birds so I figure we would leave around 11 & be back by 5pm? Have a swim & leave the hotel after sunset, heading to town for dinner or leave earlier & have dinner at a restaurant with a view.
The next day, we check out & move to Oia. Before we get there, is it worth doing a boat tour to the Caldera & the hot springs? I saw one on one of the hotel websites, it was about 27 euros for 2 hours, forget where I saw it. Check in the Oia hotel, (TBD between Lauda or Delfini), explore the town & go somewhere for the sunset view, maybe for dinner.
Take the 11.55 flight to Athens the following day? Stay at the Athens Gate or are any of the other hotels preferable? Want to make sure there is a direct metro from the airport to whatever hotel we pick so let me know if any other hotel (budget 125 euros)works better.
The other choice would be to take the 7.40 flight from Santorini & the evening flight from Athens to Lon the next day.
How does the above plan sound??

excited_confused

Cannot seem to get my credit card through on the Aegean Air website & the fares keep going up. Has anyone else had any problems with a US credit card with them? Will have to call them in the morning since their offices are closed now, meanwhile the fare increases every time I check!

brotherleelove2004

You might contact your credit card company to see if they're blocking the charge because it's coming from another country.

excited_confused

Thanks, apparently Capital One froze the a/c after I bought the Lon-Thess ticket on RyanAir. And I kept thinking that it's a problem with Aegean since the Ryanair purchase went through fine! Noe its 50 euros more per ticket. Oh well! I just cut out the night in Athens & will have the 7 hour stopover instead so we see what we can!