I am very excited as we have finally booked our long planned trip to Greece. We will be there from May 16th to June 7th. I do have a few questions at this point. We fly into Athens and plan to visit Crete, Santorini and Naxos...likely in that order. On Crete we plan to fly into Chania and rent a car to do some travelling around. We will have roughly a week there or just over that. Then we plan to fly or ferry to Santorini and then on to Naxos.
My questions at this point are:
Should we do Athens at the beginning or end of the trip?
Can we fly from Chania to Santorini and would that be better than ferrying? I have heard that it is incredible to see Santorini as you arrive by boat and want the whole experience!But not a long boat ride...I get enough of the ferry system living on the west coast of BC!
And finally, I will likely book some accomodation in advance but at this time of year is it safe to just find accomodation as you go?
Thank you all in advance for your advice. I an so excited to finally make this trip!

If you are returning from Athens then do Athens last as it gives you leeway in case you have problems getting back from the islands.

Most people would take the ferry from Heraklion to Santorini - you can even do it as a day trip

As for accomdation I've had no problem even in August finding somewhere - probably paid a bit more but the hotel Halepa just outside of Chania was interesting

Hi bobbit,

You are going to have a wonderful trip.

It is logical to leave Athens to the end of the trip unless you feel you need some recovery/adjustment time before moving on to Crete. Also, some would feel that a short stay in Athens sets the tone for the rest of your travel in Greece. In any case, two days in Anthens is enough.

You can ferry to Santorini. The schedules are available on the internet. Naxos is an excellent choice and an easy ferry journey.

I suggest that you continue your research and book your rooms. That way, you get your first choice. If you know that you are going to be there, why not? In addition to various printed guides, and this board, consider tripadvisor.com for lodging.

Air arrangements can also be booked directly from home or you can contact a travel agent. Dolphin-Hellas and Fantasy Travel are mentioned offen.

Save Athens until the end of your trip to give yourselves extra time to get back to the mainland from the islands in case of breakdowns or high winds.

The only way to get to Santorini from Chania is to fly back through Athens, there is no direct air route and no ferry route. If you want to go by ferry you have to go from Heraklion. I suggest you drop off your rental car in Heraklion (or take the bus from Chania to Heraklion) and take the highspeed ferry (about 2 hours) from there. Possible Exception: In late May you might have to go to Ag. Nickolaos or Sitia to catch a car ferry (about 4 hours) since this last season's schedule for the highspeed ferry from Heraklion shows it didn't start operating until May 31.

It might be difficult to book so far in advance. I've tried it and many hotels won't accept reservations for the following year until at least after the first of January. Of course you can try.

It's not a problem to find your rooms as you go. Just have a village in mind and gather some phone numbers to take with you and call ahead to see if they have room. Island code for Santorini is 22860. Island code for Chania is 28210 and Heraklion is 2810. Find a magazine kiosk or a small market, buy a cheap OTE phone card for a couple of Euro and use the public phones to make your calls.

I recommend the Aspaki Suites and the Oia Castle, both in Oia, for the most unique accomodations on the island of Santorini.

www.artmaisons.gr

As brotherleelove said, the internet version of Hellenic Seaways timetable (http://tinyurl.com/hs9hw) shows FlyingCat 4 running from Heraklion to Santorini from 31 May 2006. I have in front of me a paper copy of the timetable, which shows it starting on 2 May 2006, and I don't know which of the two was correct. At any rate, you will have to wait until next spring to learn the 2007 schedule.

Regarding booking accommodation in advance, I agree it is unnecessary, but if you want the security of a reservation, and don't mind what you pay, then go ahead and book. If, on the other hand, you want to see the room before you decide, and are looking for the best possible deal, then wait until you arrive.

One word of caution: Monday May 28, 2007 is Holy Spirit Day, a Greek public holiday, so travel and accommodation on that weekend may be more difficult. Apart from that one weekend there will be plenty of spare rooms and seats on the ferries.

Thanks for all your advice.
I think we will plan to fly to Crete the day after we arrive in Athens. Perhaps on Crete we will book a room in Chania but leave the other locations to chance as we will have a car and can move around more easily. However I will book on Santorini and Naxos as I want particular accomodation.
Brotherleelove
The two places you mentioned sound great however the 180 euros is a bit high for us. I had thought about the Volcano Villas in Oia as I had heard good reviews and they are only around 100 euros a night. I really do want a place with a sunset view...will these provide that? We could pay a bit more but I think 140 euros would be our maximum.
Thanks to you all. I may try working with an agent to see if I can get some good rates plus I understand they will book your actual travel between islands. If you have any Crete accomodation ideas (west end of the island to Heraklion) they would be most welcome. Oh yes and one other thing. I usually arrange car rentals in advance on line as we get the best rates. Does this apply to Greece as well?
Thanks again!

The view of the caldera from Volcano's Villas is fantastic, but unfortunately the sunset is blocked by the curvature of the island. Unfortunately the only places with a sunset view are in a higher price range, except for Oia Mare in early May. Personally, I'd rather have an all-day view of the caldera than a once-a-day view of the sunset. You can always take a walk to the west end of the village to watch the sunset. I know it's better if you can watch it from your private balcony, but that's probably not going to be possible in that price range.

An excellent option in Oia with caldera view at a very reasonable price would be the Delfini Hotel.