Greece for 6 days in August
Jun 7th, 2012, 03:11 PM
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Greece for 6 days in August
We are traveling to Greece in August for 6 days and wondering how to plan the trip. We would like to explore history and beautiful island experience. We will fly to Athens as starting point.
Any suggestions????
Any suggestions????
Jun 7th, 2012, 11:18 PM
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6 days is not a large amount of time. If by "6 days" you count in arrival and departure, then in reality you only have 4 full days and 2 part days.
If you have 4 full days, you may want to stick with Athens taking a day trip to one of the Argosaronic islands such as Aegina or Hydra.
If you have 6 full days you may want to check if there are still available any flights to the islands you can time in with our arrival in Athens airport. Or maybe a ferry from Rafina or Piraeus. Spend 3 nights on the island, then return in Athens for rest of your trip.
To be honest your post is far too spartan and I am mostly guessing here on your specifics.
Is your trip by any chance involving 15th August? If so, it is important to know this is a very huge religious and bank holiday, so you need to plan accordingly.
I am not sure what "beautiful island experience" means to you in order to make some recommendation on specific island...
If you have 4 full days, you may want to stick with Athens taking a day trip to one of the Argosaronic islands such as Aegina or Hydra.
If you have 6 full days you may want to check if there are still available any flights to the islands you can time in with our arrival in Athens airport. Or maybe a ferry from Rafina or Piraeus. Spend 3 nights on the island, then return in Athens for rest of your trip.
To be honest your post is far too spartan and I am mostly guessing here on your specifics.
Is your trip by any chance involving 15th August? If so, it is important to know this is a very huge religious and bank holiday, so you need to plan accordingly.
I am not sure what "beautiful island experience" means to you in order to make some recommendation on specific island...
Jun 8th, 2012, 08:18 AM
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We're just back from Greece and really enjoyed our time on Santorini in Oia; this island is mind-blowingly beautiful. But if you don't have enough time, Hydra is very nice too.
Ideally you'd fly into Athens airport, then catch a flight to an island. Save your time in Athens for the end of the trip. With the way things are going in Greece now and who knows how after the June election, you need to build ease into your Greek itinerary.
Ideally you'd fly into Athens airport, then catch a flight to an island. Save your time in Athens for the end of the trip. With the way things are going in Greece now and who knows how after the June election, you need to build ease into your Greek itinerary.
Jun 8th, 2012, 08:32 AM
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A nice place to stay is in Vouglimena(sp?) outside Athens. Divani Appollon (sp?) has a shuttle to downtown and worth the comfort of being out of the chaos of Athens. Side trip to Temple of Diane cost 50E if I remember correctly. Picked up and dropped off at the hotel. Nice pools, beach, and quiet in the hotel. Avoid the annex..Member of LHW group and therefore has some nice deals.
Jun 9th, 2012, 11:44 AM
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Thank you for suggestions. It will be 4 full days and 2 patial days trip including 8/15 as departure day.
It seems to me the choice is either staying whole time in Athens or one of the island without Athens.
What would you suggest?
It seems to me the choice is either staying whole time in Athens or one of the island without Athens.
What would you suggest?
Jun 9th, 2012, 12:24 PM
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It is your call according to your interests.
Athens for history, museums, nice walks and a very quiet city on August, islands mostly for beach, sea side and outdoors activities and relaxing! Not sure where you come from and how used you are on high temperatures, but most people find Athens city center too hot on August. Islands are very hot too of course, but often there is some pleasant sea breeze and lets face it, heat feels more bearable in crystal blue sea rather than climbing a hill spread of ruins.
Personally I am a person that likes to explore a country's culture and I love visiting historical sites and museums, take my time to walk around, use public transport to reach less touristy areas and if I was in Greece for first time, I would stick with Athens.A good strategy is to start your day early for sight-seen, then on hottest part of the day enjoy a lunch or be in an air conditioned museum. Or even follow local customs and have a siesta before continuing your explorations. You can always throw in a half day on the beach by connecting to a sea side suburb such as Glyfada or Voula, about 1-1 and a half hour from city center on tram. Or get metro to Piraeus and connect to Hydra or Aegina islands for a side day trip.
That said, Athens would be just MY choice. You might prefer the island approach, and nothing wrong with that. I urge you to go for it if you can limit your waiting time before connecting there, and the actual transit time though. It is important to have a decent on-the-spot vs commuting-among-places ratio...
Athens for history, museums, nice walks and a very quiet city on August, islands mostly for beach, sea side and outdoors activities and relaxing! Not sure where you come from and how used you are on high temperatures, but most people find Athens city center too hot on August. Islands are very hot too of course, but often there is some pleasant sea breeze and lets face it, heat feels more bearable in crystal blue sea rather than climbing a hill spread of ruins.
Personally I am a person that likes to explore a country's culture and I love visiting historical sites and museums, take my time to walk around, use public transport to reach less touristy areas and if I was in Greece for first time, I would stick with Athens.A good strategy is to start your day early for sight-seen, then on hottest part of the day enjoy a lunch or be in an air conditioned museum. Or even follow local customs and have a siesta before continuing your explorations. You can always throw in a half day on the beach by connecting to a sea side suburb such as Glyfada or Voula, about 1-1 and a half hour from city center on tram. Or get metro to Piraeus and connect to Hydra or Aegina islands for a side day trip.
That said, Athens would be just MY choice. You might prefer the island approach, and nothing wrong with that. I urge you to go for it if you can limit your waiting time before connecting there, and the actual transit time though. It is important to have a decent on-the-spot vs commuting-among-places ratio...
Jun 9th, 2012, 10:20 PM
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Mimar, on my opinion, you do not do Crete any justice on only 4 full days. It is a huge island!
Most islands offer some history, but I believe that you can not bit Athens on that aspect if you are a first time visitor. Just my opinion of course.
Some more island options with history might be among others Rhodes, Kos, Santorini, Mykonos (Delos), Naxos, Lemnos .....
Most islands offer some history, but I believe that you can not bit Athens on that aspect if you are a first time visitor. Just my opinion of course.
Some more island options with history might be among others Rhodes, Kos, Santorini, Mykonos (Delos), Naxos, Lemnos .....
Jun 9th, 2012, 11:42 PM
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Hi Hitoshi,
With only four full days, and an interest in history, I would stay in Athens, possibly taking a day trip to a nearby Saronic Gulf island or an overnight trip to the Nafplio area in the Peloponnese. Athens will be hot in August, but not busy, as most Greeks take their holidays during that period.
In contrast, the islands will be heaving with people. You really can't imagine just how busy the islands are in August unless you have been there at that time. Another point is that most islands have few archaeological sites, while Athens has many.
With only four full days, and an interest in history, I would stay in Athens, possibly taking a day trip to a nearby Saronic Gulf island or an overnight trip to the Nafplio area in the Peloponnese. Athens will be hot in August, but not busy, as most Greeks take their holidays during that period.
In contrast, the islands will be heaving with people. You really can't imagine just how busy the islands are in August unless you have been there at that time. Another point is that most islands have few archaeological sites, while Athens has many.
