Lee

My husband and I are planning a trip to Greece (Crete, Santorini, Mykonos/or Rhodes) in October of this year. I am booking the round-trip ticket through my local travel agent. However, I have been told in travel books I have purchased that it is wise to go through a local (Greek) agent for inter-island flights and/or hotels. Is this true? Can anyone recommend how to find this out and if it is a trustworthy way to book travel? <BR>Thank you!!!

Thyra

Hi Lee, <BR>My husband, myself and another couple were in Greece this past October. We booked our Olympic Airways inner-island flights though the same travel agent who booked us on our RT flight to Athens from Los Angeles. We paid around $300.00 TOTAL for two people for 3 separate trips. But it never hurts to shop around. Honestly the price was so reasonable that I decided it was worth it not to hassle mailing, faxing and sending airline tickets overseas... but that was our choice. The Hotels I booked myself based on Fodor's and Frommer's Guides and advice on this forum. I never EVER trust travel agents with hotels since so many of them get "kick-backs" from impersonal chain hotels or hotels that are out of the center of town... There are many resources for booking hotels available.. but that is my preference. have a great trip.

Monica

Returned from Greece the 14th of May. I'd like to say be careful about travel agents. Tony and I met a very nice couple in Naxos (from NC) who booked their hotels through their local travel agent. Well, all their hotels were way out of the way of the main towns and expensive. They had to either take a local bus or rent a car to get to the main areas. They were really disappointed. So, make sure you read up on the islands and know where you want to stay. <BR> <BR>We flew to Santorini from Athens and got our tickets from Olympic airlines. For the rest of our trip, we purchased boat tickets the day before sailing from local travel agencies on the islands. <BR> <BR>I booked my hotel for the first part and last part of our trip (Santorini and Athens) and picked a hotel when we got to Naxos and Paros. Recommendations were from this web site, Frommer's and from the internet.

Celeste

I booked all of my hotels and ferries through Dolphin Hellas Travel in Athens and was very pleased with the results. All of the hotels were cheaper than their internet prices and it was great to not have to pay at each hotel - we simply used the vouchers provided by Dolphin Hellas Travel.

Susan

Lee, we live in Toronto where there is a large Greek community. I used a Greek travel agency (based in Toronto) when I planned our trip last year. I think we got very good rates - airfare was $1100 CAD (which is just over $700 USD) in September. Olympic had quoted me between $1800 - $1900 CAD! We also had them book our interisland flights - Athens to Rhodes, Rhodes to Santorini and Naxos to Athens. I think each flight was between $50 - $75 CAD. We also had her book some of our hotels and I was really pleased with their selection in Rhodes and Naxos - the rates were as low or lower than what I could have got on my own over the internet. I did all my research so I think I was able to make good decisions. I didn't get her to book a hotel in Athens - I found that on my own. <BR> <BR>I guess it depends on the agent - I usually do all my own arrangements, but I felt it was worthwhile dealing with someone here in Toronto who had the Greek contacts. <BR> <BR>

Lee

Thank you all for your responses. This certainly helps. I will check with my local agent for Greek domestic flights as well as with Olympic to compare. <BR>I am reading 3 travel books at once, so I will begin to narrow down my hotel choices. <BR> <BR>Have any of you been to Rhodes? Would you recommend it over Mykonos? <BR> <BR>

Susan

I've been to Rhodes, but not Mykonos. I first went to Greece back in the 70's and always wished I had gone to Rhodes on that trip, so we did it this time around. I really liked Rhodes. It's quite a big island. The walled city is fascinating - we stayed in a small hotel just outside the wall, so it was a great location. Rhodes is geographically very different from the Cycladic islands so it was nice to see something different (the other islands I've visited are Naxos & Santorini last year and Naxos, Paros and Crete back in the 70's). Rhodes is also a short ferry ride from Turkey and we really wanted to see a little bit of Turkey. We ended up going there for a week, not nearly long enough. <BR> <BR>There are flights between Rhodes & Santorini - definitely a better idea than a ferry - it's a long trip by boat.

sue

I have been informed that you get lower prices on hotels from the travel agents in Greece, than if you deal direct with the hotels. I have dealt with www.dilos.com and have found them very reliable. I do not know if the airfares vary. Have fun!!!!!!!!!!

Joanna

We booked all flights before we left home, as we had heard that if left too close to the intended date of departure you may miss out, as they are quite fully booked in the high/shoulder seasons (we were there in mid-late May). <BR> <BR>Re hotel locations, I usually browse brochures and travel books and choose a hotel that is suitably located/priced from these sources. Most agencies/tour operators give you a choice of several anyway.