My wife and I are planning a trip to Greece. Our interests are photography, hiking and dining - not beaches, swimming or shopping. We are scheduled to arrive in Athens on 26 April and plan to fly to Santorini the same day. After a 5 night stay in Oia, we'd like to move to Folegandros for 2-4 nights and - based on ferry schedules - return to Athens via a 3rd island.
My concerns are the following:

Weather for photography - how likely is overcast rainy weather? Web info seems to indicate cool but suuny days in late April.

What would be a 3rd island - on the way to Athens - recommended for its photogenic quality?

I have contacted the Musses Studios (Oia) and Anemomilos (Folegandros). Any other recommendations?

Would it be better to pre-plan for Santorini only. Can I find a room in Folegandros or a 3rd island when I arrive without reservations (early May)?

Thank you, in advance, for all your help.
Greg

The earliest we have been to Greece is May 1.
There were lovely sunny days but we also ran into three days of wind and rain which closed down the ferry service. You just have to take your chances.
Sometimes stormy pictures are pretty special.

Since you are heading in to Athens from Santorini you may want to consider Naxos.

It has lots to see, with lovely mountain villages, a Venetian era old town with a Kastro, some antiquities and a partially restored temple to Demeter. There are photographic opportunities around every corner.
Another consideration is you are early season and the tourist infrastructure is not fully operational on many of the islands. Naxos has a permanent population so hotels and tavernas are open and you will have some selection.

To give you an idea here are my Naxos pictures.
http://travel.webshots.com/album/552001505EYxVYT

Take a look at Naxos. Here's a slide show by a Fodorite, Stanbr (if you click on a foto, a menu drops & you can speed up slide change to 3 secs):

http://travel.webshots.com/slideshow/552001505EYxVYT

and one by donnyb

http://travel.webshots.com/slideshow/552001505EYxVYT
actually on both of these, you can just click next next next v. rapidly -- it's fastr tan using an "album."

Stanbr's particularly shows the WIDE variety of foto opportunities on Naxos...also most historic/ancient sites of all 3 islands.

Daily ferries from Folegandros I think; you'd have to wait until about March to get the exact ferry skeds. Naxos has Blue Star ferry (bst) returning to Athens 9:45am & 6:30pm.

Thank you for sharing the photos.
Naxos shall be the 3rd island on my itinerary.

Do you think I will need reservation for Folegandros and Naxos in early May? I would prefer the flexibility of an open schedule if I don't have to worry about finding a decent room.

I've been to Santorini in April twice, and have since adjusted my time there to begin in mid-late May so as to avoid the unpredictable weather I experienced in April. There is a lot of cloud cover and wind, damp mornings, fog, and even some rain, although I didn't see very much. I did experience gale-force winds so strong once that all ferry and plane traffic into the Aegean was shut down for 4 days.

As long as you're willing to do the legwork once you're there it's not necessary to book ahead in May. One thing you could do is identify some hotels that meet your needs and call ahead from Santorini to make sure they have a room available. Eventually you'll find one, and you can stay on Santorini as long as you like.

Paros is also a great island for hiking and photographs.

I can't speak for Folegandros, but as for Naxos, no you won't have to worry about getting a decent room. There are SCADS of good budget rooms. Do not just take a room from people holding up signs at the dock however--- they are usually out a ways, not handy to a bus. Have a list of hotels in mind, and where they are located. Right on the dock is a Rooms-Info kiosk. If it is open, they will make calls to the hotels you ask about. Then go to see them. If the kiosk is not open yet, you can park your luggage (for a fee) at a place just where the dock comes in (but don't ask THEM about rooms--they ARE hoteliers). Then go & do walk-ups til you find the one on your list that u llike best.


The farther beach towns are still closed down, but St. George Beach is directly adjacent to Naxos Town, and has DOZENS of good simple hotels w 12-20 rooms.On St. George Beach, try Galini, Argos, St. George, Villa Naxia, Glaros -- the list goes on & o

There are also 2 good budget hotels high up in the "kastro" to look at, with views of the sea -- one of them, Panorama, was my first hotel on Naxos... lovely balconies overlooking the causeway and Arch. Another is Anixis. Another, a bit more money, is on the bluff of Grotta (see Stanbr plx)... Grotta, or Iliada Studios-- self-catering. with sea views. Here's a Naxos Town/Ag.Giorgios map:
http://www.naxos-greece.net/villages/TOPOGRAFIKO.HTML

and here are 2 lists of hotels grouped by locale:
http://www.thegreektravel.com/naxos/hotels.html
http://www.naxos-island-greece.com/n...os-hotels.html
n.

Cloud cover, fog, rain, gale-force winds !!

Not the post card views of Santorini that I would like to photograph. I may have to do a little more home work about the weather pattern before finalizing this trip.

I suspect that the bad weather Brotherlee is describing is the same year that I was referring to. It was quite bad but only for 4 or 5 days.

I think that was unusual and I have heard from people who travel in April that it has been sunny and nice.
Having said that, just like Brotherlee, we will not arrive in Greece before the 15th of May. If you look at the historical weather patterns around the 15th, it is like the big guy flips switch and there is sun in Greece for the next 5 or 6 months.

If you can postpone your trip for two or three weeks you will get good weather. You will still be in shoulder season so prices will be low and there will be enough people around to make it interesting but not crowded.

I landed on Santorini one time at the end of April. The mornings and evenings were cold, but the days were gloriously beautiful -- warm with blue skies. Sounds like this time could be unpredictable. You might also want to check Greek holidays around that time and find out where the young people go to play. We went from Santorini to Mykonos and Mykonos was very crowded over the holiday weekend.

On our last trip to Greece we were in Paros during their Greek Orthodox Easter. Our timeshare asked if we would love to join in-baby lamb on a spit that my husband helped turn-lots of good food & Greek dancing. The pool wasn't open but we never encountered any rain. It was a lovely place-we took a ferry to Antiparos which was nice.Next to Santorini & Crete. When I want to runaway I picture myself in Greece-ahhhhhhh

Hi Greg,

I was on Folegandros at the end of May in 2007, and had no problem finding a room when I arrived on the island. Early May will be even quieter. Just hop on the bus at the port, and have a look around when you get to chora. It always helps to learn a bit about an island before you arrive. Here are a couple of websites on Folegandros:
http://www.folegandros.com/
http://www.travel-to-folegandros.com/