jenniferrosen20

Hello everyone!

My best friends and I are going to Greece at the end of May to the middle of June for our 30th birthdays. We're kind of all over the place with an itinerary. Our dates are May 26th-June 13th, 14th or 15th, but flying into Barcelona (we got a GREAT deal on a ticket there). I don't know which day well fly to Greece but well fly into Athens. Were not into museums or tours, but if theres a museum or tour that is absolutely fabulous we would consider it. We like to go off the beaten path and mingle with the locals to get a real feel of the culture. We love to eat, drink, relax but party as well. Does anyone have any ideas on where we should go? We would like to in mainland and islands.

PLEASE HELP US!

-3 wondering Floridians

brotherleelove2004

Your stated lack of interest in museums and tours implies your lack of interest in Greece's incredibly rich history, so you'll probably have a better time if you skip Athens altogether and head for the party islands, Mykonos, Santorini and Ios. These islands are all close together in the same general part of the Aegean Sea, so you can reach them easily by doing some island hopping by ferry. As for getting a real feel for the culture, these islands will give you the opportunity to mingle with young Greeks as well as other fun seekers from all around the world. That's about as close to "culture" as you'll get without wasting your time in museums and historical sites.

jenniferrosen20

Thank you for the feedback. When I say museums and tours I should have specified. Im not a fan of art type museums. I am interested in the historical sites but would rather do them on my own rather than with a group. When I go to another country im not looking to only party.

kja

I can't imagine how you would meet your stated goals, and not just for the reasons brotherleelove mentioned, but also because you are unlikely to have meaningful encounters with locals anywhere on a quick trip. I could be wrong!

And I doubt that you would find it particularly helpful, but here's the link to my trip report on a month in Greece.
With Gratitude for a Glorious Solo Month in Greece

Please consult see decent guidebooks!

For how to get to and from Barcelona, consult rome2rio.com -- just be sure to click through all the links, as the main site is not sensitive to seasonal variation in schedules.

OR just stay in Catalunya or visit other parts of Spain. Getting from Barcelona to Greece will cost time and money.

Good luck, and happy birthdays!

janisj

A 'Great deal' in/out of Barcelona means you are essentially losing 3 full days of your trip without spending any time IN Barcelona and then you have the extra cost of flying Barcelona to Athens and back. If you do want to explore Barcelona you'll need around three nights there to just get a teensy overview. Then you'll have to return to Barcelona the evening before your flight home.

Heimdall

Did you check out whether you will still have a great deal after paying round-trip air fare to Athens? I would be inclined to stay in Spain for this trip and think about Greece another time.

If you still plan to go to Greece, it's a big country with many worthwhile destinations on the mainland as well as islands. Pick up a guidebook and do some research, then come back to Fodor's for answers to more detailed questions.

ToujoursVoyager

Happy future birthday!

Based on what you wrote, I would advise you to skip Athens and go directly to the wonderful Greek Islands. There are 4 direct flights from Barcelona to Greece: Athens, Santorini, Mykonos and Crete but not every day. Check skyscanner.com and select "whole month" so see which days you have a flight available. Select one way. You can for example:

Barcelona
Fly to Santorini
Ferry to Naxos
Ferry to Mykonos
Fly to Barcelona

isabel

You can fly from Barcelona to Greece but it might not be as convenient or economical as you hope. If times/flights work I would fly BCN to Santorini, ferry to Mykonos (and possibly Naxos and/or Paros, depending on how long you want on each island) and then to Athens and fly back to BCN from there. After adding up all the flight and ferry prices you might find it cheaper to just fly to Greece from Florida (probably not non-stop as that would be the most expensive).

If you have already purchased your flights to BCN and you find it will be much more expensive/complicated to fly to Greece, you could consider staying in Spain and doing Barcelona and the islands just off the coast - Mallorica and Ibiza. I haven't been to those islands (am actually planning a trip there in March) but after researching them they look pretty good - maybe not as wonderful as the Greek islands (been there 3 times) but would probably be much cheaper and easier. It's only a 45 minute flight and at least in March prices are under 50 euro each way.

If you do decide to fly to Greece I would add at least one night at each end of the trip in Barcelona so if one flight is delayed you don't miss the next - which can happen and then have a domino effect screwing up all the rest of your flights/hotels/ferries. Especially when flying back from Greece to BCN if you miss your flight to Florida you'll end up spending thousands to get a one way last minute flight.

neckervd

Don't worry, you can fly from Barcelona to Athens or Santorini and back for not more than 200 USD/pax, plus the fare you will have to pay for checked in luggage.

Huitres

I flew from Barcelona to Italy last August on Vueling Airlines and it was very convenient and easy. The price was reasonable too (better than I expected). They had many flights into major European cities, so I am sure you could easily find a flight into Athens. I am going to Greece with one of my brothers at the end of this month and into first week of November (about 11 days). It's my 2nd trip back and I love it there! I would DEFINITELY see the Greek islands, they are fabulous. We are taking the 4 Day Iconic Aegean cruise through Greek Cruises. I went on this same cruise the last time and enjoyed it so much that we are doing it again! https://www.greek-cruises.com/greek-...uises-2019.asp the cruise leaves from Piraeus in Athens for Mykonos, Ephesus, Patmos, Rhodes, Crete, Santorini and back to Athens. It's a weekday M-F cruise; however, if you'd prefer a shorter option they have a 3 Day cruise that visits all the above, except for Rhodes. It's a very reasonable travel experience compared to taking individual ferry boats to each of these locations; and it's a fun experience meeting lots of other international travelers on board. We've done an Athens walking tour before and are doing it again since my brother has never seen Athens. https://www.athenswalkingtours.gr/?g...SAAEgLslvD_BwE It's 56 euros/pp and you start in Syntagma Square in Athens and walk through all the important/major Athens landmarks and up to the Acropolis/Parthenon. It's a comprehensive, non-confined way to see the city sites, then you can go back later and further explore areas that interested you. They also offer food and wine tours that might be fun for your birthday celebration too. Have a great time and enjoy yourselves!