leems

Looking to travel to Greece for the first time next June 2024, and I am looking for advice. Want to travel to Athens and then Islands, either Mykonos, Naxos and Santorini.
We are a very tall family so would need accommodations for 3 beds at each location, don't see a lot of rooms with twin beds. Any advice appreciated with planning on our own or with help in US or Greece.

brotherleelove2004

It's too early to book anything for next June, but try using the filter system on the booking.com website to help in your search. After the first of the year you'll see that you'll have a lot more to choose from.

OverIt

Hi, how old are your kids? We are a family of four and have gone to Greece several times. We've flown into Mykonos and Santorini and then headed over to other islands (Naxos, Paros, Antiparos) after a day or two, but you can also just fly or ferry to the smaller islands from Athens and skip Mykonos and Santorini. Santorini and Mykonos are extremely beautiful but maybe not worth the expense for kids.

Apartments - what is your budget? We try to stay under 200 euro per night, and generally manage to do that (Mykonos is the exception). At that price range, you may have to be okay with one big room with three beds. I don't know if everyone is OK with that but it's worked fine for us. Sometimes we've gotten separate rooms for adults and kids.

Athens - we have stayed at InnAthens in Athens four times. The location is great. You all have to sleep in one room, though. I think there is one double bed and one sofa bed. Can your kids sleep in the same bed? There are tons of options in Athens though so I wouldn't book Inn Athens if you need a queen + two twins.

We always go to Naxos, because there's lots for kids to do there. Ask around to find a place. We stay at Villa Naxia, which has family apartments with twin beds; there are surely others. Villa Naxia has a lot of returning guests so you need to book very early (I book as soon as I find flight tickets - we travel in August and I book in November). I think the people on this website may have many suggestions but you would probably be fine looking at booking.com.

Antiparos - we stayed here: https://thalasea.gr/
I am not sure it is for everyone but we LOVED it. We had a room for parents and bunk beds for kids in the living/dining room. It is simple accommodation and the beach nearby is a bit rocky but we loved the atmosphere and proximity to Paros. It was not crowded when we went, and it was August!!!

Mykonos: we stayed here for one night (we flew into Mykonos and ferried to Naxos the next day).
https://www.hotelpetinaros.com/
We booked it because t provides free transfers. We did have one big room with one queen bed and two twins (I think). Great breakfast, very friendly staff. Fantastic pool. A little honeymoon-y though. We kind of apologized to the front desk for bringing our chaotic kids to this romantic place and they told us that Mykonos is for everyone, not just newlyweds. The price was the best you can get for Mykonos (300 euro per night). Probably a fine base to explore the island.

Santorini: We have been there twice (and are going again this year because of flights).
The first time we stayed at Laokasti Villas, in Oia. https://www.laokasti-santorini.com/
We definitely had separate rooms for the four of us, and the location was wonderful. The bus stop is out side the hotel and you can walk down to Oia and all of the fish restaurants.

The second time, we stayed at Costa Marina Villas in Fira. Ihttps://www.costamarina.gr/en/
It is close to the bus for the ferries. We had a room with a loft sleeping area for the kids and a bed for us downstairs. We were able to walk to places we wanted to go from here or to the bus stops. It was nice for two nights.

This time, we are going to stay in a Messaria. https://nefelicavehouses.gr/rooms-3-columns-2/
We chose that because we are arriving very late at night and it's close to the airport. The town itself seems super charming but I am not sure I would recommend it for a first timer if your time in Santorini is short. It's very affordable (you have to pay two months in advance, so we just got charged for our August visit - $416 US for two nights). The website will show you what the rooms look like.

Try and book directly with the hotel! And be careful of websites. There are some out there that make it look like you are booking with the hotel but then end up being a third party site with shady practices.

leems

Thank you

leems

Our kids are teens and will be 16 and 17 when we travel, they're also very tall so they'll each need their own bed, which is making finding a place to stay more difficult. Will probably need to book 2 rooms or suites. I will take a look at some of the options you've sent, thank you.

travelerjan

Your "kids" are considered adults for the purpose of room rates, so stacking all 4 in one room does not save appreciably if this is a consideration. They are also adults, able to stay in a room down the hall, not in a connecting room.

OverIt

I don't think the places that we stay will be great for you. Villa Naxia does have twin beds, but they are not very long. The double bed may not be comfortable for you if you are both tall).

MFNYC

We did a trip to Athens/Santorini/Naxos/Paros last September. We also stayed in InnAthens and loved it. In Santorini was stayed in Dreamland Houses in Oia. It was great value for Oia, and there's a pool that no one was using but us, so it felt like a private pool. They have "houses" that accommodate 4, but may be sofabeds so not sure how comfortable that would be for tall teens. In Naxos we stayed at Hotel Grotta and adored it. You would need 2 rooms for 4.

bradshawgirl1

I traveled to Athens and Santorini with three adult friends in May. For a group of that size, you might find that AirBnbs are cheaper than hotel rooms (particularly in Athens). We booked this amazing rental (4 bedrooms, two baths, full kitchen, etc.), and it was supremely comfortable and very economical: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/2771469...8-f73424b9ad85. We LOVED Athens and could have spent more days there. Amazing culture/museums, food was fantastic and affordable, and this rental gave us a great home base from which to explore.

In Santorinii, we splurged on one of the last big houses in Oia: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1633483...6-ea5a78f709a3.

My write-up of our trip is here: Woman About Town

geetika

We were an extended family group of seven and stayed at this Airbnb n Athens. Three bedrooms and bathrooms, huge apartment, with a terrace with stunning Acropolis views, we sat out every evening. The owner has two other smaller Airbnbs in the building, the terrace is common to all three apartments. https://abnb.me/duNsUvg75nb

In Santorini we stayed at Olympic Villas in Oia, a little outside the town and very quiet. We had three units, one two bedrooms and two one bedroom. There’s a small kitchenette which we didn’t really use, the hotel supplies breakfast. All units have an outside seating area, there’s also a pool in the common area. Prices were quite reasonable for Santorini, around €225/night/unit if I remember.

The Athens apartment was less than €300/night, which was a steal IMO, for an apartment of that size and standing. In the Koukaki neighborhood, with lots of food options nearby, also walking distance to the metro, though we mostly walked everywhere.