Greece 7 nights only-Santorini plus ?
 

Hi--we have only 7 night in greece for our honeymoon, and need a little guidance with the decisions of where to spend it. We are definitely going to be in Santorini, but I dont know what we should do with the remaining time. My fiance and I both like to be active, go biking/sail/hike/see sights, not the sit-around-the-pool type, but i dont want to spend tons of time packing/repacking and in airports or on a 16-hour ferry! (we're flying in and out of Athens, and will be late April)

So, 2 things that i was considering:
-Santorini 5 nights
-Mykonos 2 nights, the go to athens and fly out

OR
-Santorini 5 nights
-Athens 2 nights (possibly either staying in Athens or at the hotel, i think the Westin, which is about 30minutes out, on the beach, and supposedly beautiful), and maybe taking 1 or 2 daytrips to the nearby islands there?

thank you for your help!

If you are going to stay "out" of Athens you might try the Divani Appollan, a "leading hotel of the world". You can join "lh" and get upgrades.Membership, which is free, has paid off for hus. and self in several different cities and countries.. It is a lovely hotel /w beach and a shuttle into Athens.. If you do get this request a room in the main building not the newer building. I requested a down grade as the older part was more convenient. Another nice place on Mykonos is Princess of Mykonos...not on a beach but very nice. A short walk to Stefanos beach and then another short bus ride into town, missing noise and congestion. We rented a car on Santorini and did the whole island in 3 days..and then 2 on Mykonos.. Check it out...Have a wonderful time and best wishes!!! Also beaches are not as lovely as one might hope...Amer_can

Athens is definitely worth 2 nights. The best advice is to head directly to Santorini on a connecting flight when you first arrive, saving Athens for the end of your trip. This is because sometimes there are unforseen delays or cancellations due to mechanical breakdowns or strong winds, making it a stressful, last-minute scramble for the mainland if you don't give yourselves a couple of days to make your flight home. Nothing will ruin your honeymoon faster than missing that homeward flight and having to pay for another. With only 5 nights for the islands I strongly suggest you stay on Santorini. Time will fly by and there's plenty to see and do there for such a short visit. If you want to be within easy walking distance to youth-oriented nightlife focus your search on Fira, which is where most of it is, and Firostefani, which is only 15 minutes walking from the center of Fira along a pleasant pedestrian-only footpath.

Stay in Central Athens so you can walk between your hotel and the Plaka, Parthenon, Museums and Metro stations.

My choice would be Santorini 4 nights, Athens three. April is still pre-season, so many of the shops and restaurants on the islands will just be opening. Stay in central Athens - no point in being near a beach in April.

Hi; If you consider Athens, are you a Starwood member? You mentioned the Westin, a Starwood hotel. There is also another Starwood Hotel in Athens proper. www.grandebretagne.gr/ Richard

As others have said, there will be lots to see in Athens. With only 4 nights, I'd stay on one island. With 5 nights, you could do 3/2. Santorini is amazing - you might like staying on the cliffs in Imerovigli which is quieter, but walking distance to more activity in Fira, while Oia is further out. You could also stay at another island on the ferry route. In Paros, there is a lovely quiet hotel called Yria just outside of the main town.
If you have interest in a smaller "boutique" hotel, try Magna Grecia - right in the heart of things and get a room with a view of the Acropolis. Best wishes!

Parosblue, regarding Santorini, Imervogli is quite a hike to Fira, and you definitely would not want to attempt it at night, since you must go along the roadway... perhaps you are thinking of Firostephani, which is at the northern edge of Fira Town... you can walk down to FIra in 20 minutes or so, depending on which hotel... and you can walk along the "rim path" not the road ...to locate FIrostephani, it starts right above the Nokimos Conference Center on the rim ...

"since you must go along the roadway..."

The footpath between Fira and Imerovigli is safe-and illuminated-at night. There's no need to walk along the road. It's a mile uphill from Fira to the center of Imerovigli, further if you're staying at one of the hotels between Imerovigli and Oia, and no fun on a full stomach or after a night of partying.

Hi again, I just looked back in my travel file - we did stay in Imervogli at Artemis Villas. As brotherleelove pointed out there is a lighted pathway between there and Fira so you can stay off the road. It took us a day to figure that out, but we walked back and forth -you definitely want to stay off the road. After too much partying you can take the bus (quite easy) or a cab. We are in our mid-50/60s so the walk is fairly reasonable, although it was uphill going back. However, there are also some nice tavernas right nearby so you don't have to go to Fira. Not as familiar with lodgings in Firostephani - I'm sure it's a good choice as recommended by travelerjan.

There is a lot to do in Athens and even though I have heard many people say they don't like it, we loved it. There is a lot of history to see. I would suggest 4 nights in Santorini and 3 in Athens. We did that combination. We did Athens first then 5 days in mainland Greece with a car which was just beyond our expectations and then 4 nights in Santorini. Returning to Canada right after a trip to Santorini made us a bit nervous as we took the direct flight from Santorini to the airport and then had to catch a flight to Canada 2.5 hrs later. The airport baggage people were on strike that September and it was very touch a go for us...........So maybe ending with Athens would be a good idea.

Thank you so much for all of your help! I am so surprised to hear of the unanimous vote for Athens, but this all makes sense. I am disappointed that it sounds like we wont have enough time for mykonos, but with what sounds like a such a wonderful trip, i'll get over that little disappointment easily!