Delayed Trip Report - Athens, Santorini, Mykonos, Naxos, Antiparos
 

Hello to all my Fodorite friends, I am much delayed in posting a trip report. I am going to start now but can't promise it will be finished tonite. I will work on it over the next few days. Work is crazy (a good thing!) so I've been a bit busy. So, here goes

We made it to Athens without any major issues. Our route was DALLAS/JFK, JFK/ZURICH, ZURICH/ATHENS. We left our 18 year old daugher and her friend in JFK and prayed we'd see them in Athens. (they went via London and Milan). We used mile for out business class tickets and paid for their coach tickets, thus the reason for different routing. We flew Swiss Air for our international portions. What a great airline! The planes were so clean and all the flight attendants were so pleasant. One in particular was so incredibly sweet and accommodating. I think she had a crush on my handsome husband. :-)

Anyway, the girls made it through the airports and got to Athens on time. A great relief! We headed to our hotel via the metro (very easy - 10 euros for a ticket for two) and found the Hotel Cecil. I highly recommend this hotel for a budget hotel. Good location, convenient to the metro and very clean rooms and bathrooms. We paid 77 euros/night for a double. The bathrooms were very large for Athens budget standards and the rooms were quiet.

We headed out to wander around and have dinner. We ate at a place called something like Athina Attalos. It sat below the Acropolis and had a great view. Dinner was typical, nothing to rage about but, that first Greek salad after many years is always great!

Got up early the next day to catch the ferry to Mykonos. (metro to the port was .80 per person) We had business class seats so that was nice but, the boat ride was long. My memory of that trip (which I've done several times) is a bit different. I always had economy tickets and spent the time outside. Maybe I'm older now and the "fun" is no longer there? :-) Or, it could be that it's just more interesting outside. However, the wind was really blowing and it was pretty chilly outside so we didn't spend much time out there.

For anyone who is interested, they did check tickets before letting you in the business class section, but only out of Athens. They never did that again on any of the other boats we were on. We figured it was just too difficult with people getting on and off at all of the stops so much. We had economy tickets after that and often were able to sit in the business class seats.

Arrived in Mykonos and waited quite awhile for a taxi. We had reservations at a new hotel called Dellatollas just up from Plati Yialos beach. The hotel is up the road on a hill. Beautiful view across to the beach but a fairly steep walk for a little part of it. The hotel was beautiful but, the pool was out of commission as well as the pool bar. Apparently there was a leak and they had it empty and the entire deck was filled with equipment. Kind of like a construction zone.

Normally we could care less about a pool but, we thought the girls might want one so that's why we chose this hotel in particular. The management didn't seem to care, even though we had used a travel agent to book the room. He tried to help us out but could get no where with the manager. In fact, the manager lied to him later that day saying the he had talked with us and all was ok. (we never even met the manager.)

The hotel was nearly empty. I think only two other rooms had people in them. So, it was extremely quiet. The rooms were really nice, large bathrooms, very clean and even had an armoire type piece of furniture that was a mini kitchen. We paid 40 euros/night for each double so it was a very good price. This included breakfast. I wouldn't say the staff was super friendly but they did their job.

Enough about the hotel... we headed down to the beach for a late lunch and then just walked between Platy Yialos and Psarou beaches. That evening we took the bus into town and did some shopping. We let the girls go on their own and they very quickly discovered the great jewelry stores on Mykonos! I think they spent most of their trip spending money that first night! :-) Greece is definitely more expensive with the Euro but there are still some nice bargains to be had as far as jewelry.

The two of us ate at EVA'S GARDEN, a place we had eaten seven years before on our honeymoon. More expensive now with the Euro but, still wonderful and such a pleasant atmosphere! I had casio chicken and he had Moussaka. with wine, greek salads and tzaziki cost 42 Euros.

DELOS
Got up the next day and took the first boat to Delos. I've done this trip six times now, my husband twice. We came to Mykonos this trip just to let the girls visit Delos. It's that good! We wandered around for about four hours on our own. I just love that island. Where else can see look over an entire ancient island, see the way the city was laid out and just wander on your own? It's definitely worth a visit!

That night we ate at MARCO POLO TAVERN in Hora. It's a bit off the beaten path but really good for an inexpensive meal. We had seafood souvlaki for avou 8 euros each, including the salad and taramosalata. For those of you who remember the 80s, we actually saw Gedde Watanabe, the actor who played Long Duk Dong on Sixteen Candles. He seemed to visit there often as they knew him.

So sorry this is so long. I promised myself I wouldn't do that. I'll post more to this thread later and try to make it shorter.

Please continue. I am interested in how you found your daughter. We will likely have to take two flights also and hope to visit three of your destinations.

Thanks for posting! I'm looking forward to the rest...

Hi milliebz, we found our daughter and her friend pretty easily. (that is, after they finally came out of the secured area). The Athens airport has two terminals. We came in A and they came in B. We had to leave the secured area and walk over to other terminal. (not far). We waited right by the doors where they would walk out. There is only one door they can come out of so it makes it easy.

OK, more of the trip report.

SANTORINI
We caught the boat to Santorini. Ended up having to take the fast boat to Paros and then the slow car ferry to Santorini. Originally we had planned to take the fast boat straight to Santorini but apparently the Congress had taken over that boat and no one else could get on it. That was a bummer as it really made it a much longer trip.

Oh well, we're in Greece and there's always going to be some sort of snag with transportation. We always seem to be effected by a strike or something. Just go with the flow, as they say! :-)

LAVA OIAS - We had booked a two bedroom cave house with Pepitsa at Lava Oias. They are right by Canaves Oia and close to where the pedestrian only area starts. This place was incredible! When we arrived we were greeted by Pepitsa, she showed us around our house and then offered to take us to the beach with her in her car. She was planning on going for a swim down at the local beach, Bexedes. We took her up on it and immediately felt like we were staying with a friend rather than renting from an owner. What a wonderful host!!

She owns about seven cave houses, one of which she lives in during the season. She is an architect and has designed the interiors and terraces with great detail, all the way down to hauling stones from the beaches to create the beautiful designs on the terraces. These are not luxurious houses, more traditional and very self catering, however, I would highly recommend them. The view is incredible, right on the caldera and in a very quiet part of Oia. They have small kitchens and also have AC.

That night we went to a local place to eat. It's just up the car road from Lava Oias. Pepitsa recommended it and it was great. It's called ANEMEMILOS (windmill) The prices are very reasonable and we like it so much we ate there again our last night on the island. Our meal was Tzaziki, chicken souvlaki and wine for about 23 Euros.

We also found the bakery Pepitsa recommended and went there every morning to get our breakfast. It's on the car road at the road that leads to Bexedes, or on the pedestrian road turn at Petros Restaurant and head to the car road. Each morning we had breakfast on our terrace and just enjoyed!!

Santorini was having a cool spell and it was very windy. We rented a car and went to Red Beach. It was so windy we just looked, took pictures, etc. This is the first trip to Santorini for the girls so we wanted them to see it. Stopped at Boutari and bought a bottle of wine for dinner. Talked with Betty who works there and set up a tour for the next day once our friends got in. Tried Kamari Beach but it was also very windy and cool. Ended up at Monolithos and enjoyed a few hours on the beach. This part of the island was blocked from the wind.

Our friends arrived on the overnight boat the next morning. Apparently the wind picked up as they made the turn toward Santorini so the last part of the ride was pretty rocky. Then they got the taxi driver who was apparently training for Formula One racing and felt the narrow road to Oia with the steep dropoffs was the perfect place to practice. We were waiting for them up by the road and the look on their faces was pretty funny. We had breakfast waiting for them on our terrace. As one of them told me later, "Once we got to Oia, had breakfast and saw the view, it was all OK!"

That day we took the cars and went to Boutari for our tour and tasting. We went later in the day because Betty had warned us that there were multiple tour groups coming that morning. We ended up getting a private tour and tasting. Betty was wonderful! Very knowledgable and enjoyable.

That night we went up to the castle ruins to watch the sunset. Still windy and cool but we brought a bottle of wine and enjoyed!

The next day we did the hike from Oia to Fira. We missed the turn off the catch the beginning of the trail so ended up on the curvy car road for awhile. We had to finally climb up the side of the hill and search for the trail. I always seem to get lost on hikes in foreign countries! And, they make for great stories. This time we weren't exactly lost, we just weren't exacty where we were supposed to be for awhile! :-)

Finally made it to Fira. Gorgeous views but we were reminded why we don't stay in Fira. Three cruise ships were in that day and it was nuts! Oh... get me back to Oia.

Went to visit a few beaches and then stopped at Sigalas WInery near Oia. Nice tasting and setting. They are experimenting with growing the vines vertically. It'll be a few years before they see if it works or not. Santorini vineyards are grown low to the ground and are coiled in a circle. It helps the vine keep moisture and also protects it from the wind.

We also visited the Prehistoric Museum. Apparently the price of the ticket includes the Archaeological Museum, which is the one we really wanted, just didn't have the time. the Prehistoric Museum was great though, despite the cruise ship group we had to work around!

Next up.. Naxos. Coming soon....

Thank you so much for your excellent report. I am struggling with Crete and/or Naxos (Santorini is a must) so I am anxiously awaiting your Naxos report. Your heading says delayed report, when was your trip? Also, about how much was the cave house? We are a family of four and need more than the standard two twin bed hotel room.

Hi milliezb, we were in Greece 29 May - 10 June of this year. The house we had in Oia was 130 Euro/night. Our friends had a smaller house that was 85 Euro/night. The house we had was 1 1/2 bath as well. One of the rooms was a totally separate bedroom with a queen bed and a half bath. The other room sat in an alcove off the living area. No door but had a queen bed and a closet. The full bath was off the living room.

Naxos is coming, I promise. Hopefully later tonight.

OK, now for Naxos. This is the first time I'd been to Naxos. I wish we had longer and will definitely plan on going back again some day. We stayed at the BIRIKOS HOTEL ON AGIOS PROKOPIOS. Here is the report I posted on Trip Advisor:

I would highly recommend this hotel. When we arrived by taxi, Maria was waiting for us. She greeted us with a smile and an offer of something to drink. This is truly a family run hotel with the whole family involved, and they take pride in their work! We had a two bedroom superior apartment that had a fully furnished kitchen. The bathroom was very large and had a huge spa tub. It was all marble and very clean. We could tell this was a very new building as they were still working on the interior of the apartment below us. We paid 55 Euros a night.

Our friends had a studio apartment in the other building. It was very nice and had a small kitchen as well. They paid 28 euros a night.

The day we got there Maria mentioned that they were having a little party for the guests that night. "Some souvlaki and wine" is how she put it. We weren't sure what to expect but thought it sounded nice. Throughout the afternoon we realized that it was more than just a little party. They were cooking and setting up for hours. It ended up being a HUGE feast. Salad, potatoes, bread, meat and vegatable balls, souvlaki, wine and dessert. All of the vegetables came from their garden right there by the hotel. They just kept bringing out the food and wine. It was amazing... and all at no extra charge to the guests. When we mentioned the next day how nice it was and how much we appreciated it, she said that they like to do that during June. She said that July and August get so busy they can't do it then. I have no idea how often they throw these parties, we were just lucky to arrive at the right time though.

I highly recommend this hotel. The beach is a few minutes walk down the road, the views from the balconies are beautiful, there is a grocery store just next door as well as a car rental place. It's easy to get into town via bus and there are many restaurants close by.

Naxos is a very large island. We rented a car the second day we were there and drove the central part of the island. It's so incredibly beautiful! We took a route to Halkio/Filoti/Apirathos/down to Moutsouna/up and around to Kinidaros and back to Hora. We noticed that the north side of the mountain was much more lush than the south side. It was very interesting seeing the difference. On our drive we stopped in Halkio and visited the Citron Distillery. It's a very small distillery where they made Citron Liquer. You can see the 100 year old distiller and taste the three different strengths of the liquer. It's really very good and smooth. Everyone left having bought a bottle or two. Right by the distillery there are a few shops where the women are weaving on traditional looms. It's beautiful work and worth taking a look at.

One warning when driving around Naxos. There are many signs for the different ancient sites. We saw a sign for an ancient acropolis near Apirathos. We turned down the road and drove on one of the windiest and roads with steep dropoff I've ever been on. We drove for what seemed like forever, ended up at the eastern coast and still no sign of the acropolis. Later we found out that we would have taken a very small dirt road all the way down to the southern coast to finally get to it. Oh well, it was a beautiful drive.

During our drive we stopped many times for photo ops. They were everywhere! One of the coolest things we saw was the marble quarry up on the side of the mountain. We turned a corner and there it was. Very amazing since I'd never seen one before.

After the drive we came back and enjoyed the beach by our hotel. It's a beautiful beach with many taverns near by. I took a walk south along the coast to see a few of the other beaches. I especially like the incredibly long beach at Plaka beach and Mikri Vigla. Something also very interesting, just south of Agia Anna beach there is a grove of cypress trees right by the water.

We took the bus into town at night. I would like to see more of it as we wandered some and had dinner. It's a beautiful port town with the portera and the fort. Some day I hope to go back and see more of the island and get to do a lot of hiking.

Next up: Antiparos

Thank you so much. I found both Lava Oias and Birikos websites. I am very conflicted about doing Peloponese and Crete or Naxos so it is helpful. How long did you stay on Naxos and did you feel it was adequate? Have you been to Crete or Peloponese?

We were only on Naxos for three nights. We scratched the surface and were able to get a feel for the island. We now know we want to go back. I wished we had longer but because of our friends meeting us when they did, etc. it wasn't possible.

I've been to both the Peleponese and Crete. They are both wonderful. It's a tough choice! I went to the Peleponese 21 years ago on my first trip to Greece. I especially remember Mycanae and Epidaurus. We also visited Corinth and Delphi on that trip, as well as Delos off the island of Mykonos. I remember by the end of the trip the ancient ruins began to look the same. I truly enjoyed them but I think, at that age, it was just a bit much. My favorite was probably Epidaurus because of the incredible auditorium there.

Crete is so large and we only had three nights there so we didn't see much. It's a beautiful island with a lot to offer. I would like to go back some day and see more of it.

I guess really you're decision has to be based on what you want. More ancient sites, more beach time and possible hiking, visiting small inland villages, etc. I'll be happy to answer any more questions if you'd like.

Thanks for such a great report. We go in October and I will consult this often.

I agree that the whole trip will include lots of ancient sites and they will begin to look alike. Therefore I guess I would like to spend a few dates on the beach which I thought would be good on Naxos. Chania, the Samaria Gorge and Agious Nikoloas are the villages I am most interested in. If Naxos has a couple of charming villages we could combine with the beach that would be great but so far I have not read about them. I am just looking for a good balance.

milliebz - Naxos is a great island for beaches. You can definitely get in some hiking too. There are maps that show the hike and bike routes that you can get from hotels, car rental places, etc. The inland villages we saw were pretty charming, although not Chania or anything.

When on Crete, we hiked part of the Gorge. It was incredibly beautiful. We ended up hiking for a few hours down and then turning around and going back up. Very nutty thing to do but, two of the people we were with decided not to do the hike so we had to improvise. They stayed up at the hotel at the top of the mountain. You have to really plan it as far as hiking the entire gorge and transportation once you're done. You've probably read about that.

I really liked Naxos because it wasn't as touristy as say Mykonos, Santorini, etc. That's not to say it doesn't cater to tourists, you could just tell that they don't rely solely on tourists for their economy. The internal parts of the island are very local feeling. The beaches are really beautiful too, and so many to choose from! So much of the island we didn't even see.

A couple we met at the dinner at Birikos hired a driver to take them around to all of the ancient sites on Naxos. They are somewhat hard to find and they said it was a great way to do it. I think it cost them around 90 euros or so.

This is great information. We are planning a trip to Greece for late September-early October and I had chosen Naxos as the only island to visit (with a possible daytrip from there to Paros). So I am glad to hear that you really liked it. Mykonos and Santorini sound incredibly touristy.

Hi kristinelaine, I'm glad the info is helpful. You're right, Mykonos and Santorini are very touristy, although Santorini is one of my favorites! Or Oia, at least. It's like nothing else you'll ever see and it was pretty quiet the first week of June.

Naxos is wonderful. You're going to love it.

The tourist population on the Greek Islands will have thinned considerably by the end of September, so don't let your idea that Santorini will be "too touristy" keep you from experiencing the most unique and spectacular island in the Aegean. You are, after all, a tourist yourself, and for you to avoid Santorini would be a shame if you're so close and don't include it in your itinerary.

Could we day-trip from Naxos to Santorini or is it too far or are the ferry schedules not helpful for this? I guess I can look myself, but if someone is experienced in this, I would be happy for their answer.

I don't know how I missed this report! I'm enjoying your trip report wug - thank you for sharing!

Looking forward to your impressions of Antiparos :D

Cheers,

Murphy

Lava Oias sounds great. It's hard to find a 2BR cave house that is reasonably priced and open in late October. Is it located right in Oia or outside of the village itself?

Yes, there IS a day excursion from Naxos to Santorini and I recommend doing that especially this year, because the big archeological attraction, Akrotiri is closed down indefinitely (scaffolding collapsed), The day excursion costs 55E complete, it's an express boat to Santorini, met by a bus that takes you to all the key sights for camera-clicking plus their super museum, etc... at end of day, but takes you back to port & express boat. You get about 7 hours on Santorini, and if what you basically want to do is see the caldera, Oia, & a few other highlights, that's plenty of time... more than most cruise ships allot. Then you'll have more time to spend on Naxos beaches which are far nicer than the black (crushed lava?) sands of Kamari/Perrissa on Thira.