Greece Honeymoon May-June 2010
 

After looking at all of the wonderful advice on this site I would appreciate some advice on a trip my fiance and I are in the process of finalizing for our Honeymoon. Nothing is booked yet, but we have it narrowed down pretty good to finalize everything over the next few weeks. I would appreciate any recommendations or advice on the trip we have planned thus far. Our budget is between $400 and $600 per night. We are both in our late 20's and want probably want a mixture of 60% relaxing and 40% sightseeing on our trip.

Arive into Athens May 25th, 2 nights at the Athens Gate Hotel
What would you recommend we do for our 2 days in Athens? Do you have any restaurant recommendations?

May 27th, flight to Crete, 4 nights at the Porto Elunda Hotel.
Would you recommend renting a car in Crete? Where can I go to find an automatic? What suggestions do you have for short trips or sights to see in Crete? Restaurants? Beaches?

May 31st, ferry to Santorini, 3 nights in Katikies Junior Suite.
Any ideas on what to see or where to go in Santorini? Restaurants? Beaches?

June 3rd, ferry to Mykonos, 4 nights in Myknonos Grand.
What to see? Where to eat? Beaches?

June 7th. Flight back to Athens, Flight back to U.S.

I realize some of these questions may be vague, but anything you can help us with including your thoughts on the time we are staying in each island and the hotels we have chosen would be much appreciated. If there are better hotels out there that fit within our pricerange please let us know.

Thank you!

Mykonos, eat at Katrin's. Go to the beaches up on the northern shore.

When in Athens, try http://www.stavlos.gr/en/enhome.htm. It's located in Thissio, a fashionable district near Plaka. I had a wonderful evening there last June. :-)

Katikies is in Oia. Oia has many excellent restaurants. Try Feredini, Ambrosia, Kastro, Laokasti, Skala, Roka, Candouni and Katina's below Oia on the wharf at Amoudi Bay. For the best pastries go to Melenio.

Thank you for your responses. How big is the Island of Crete? Since we will be there for 4 full days with a car should I book two different hotels on different parts of the island? We currently are planning on booking all 4 nights at the Porto Elunda Hotel. Where on the Island is that hotel located, and how far is it from the airport?

Crete is huge, about 3,200 square miles. You can't possibly cover the whole island in 4 days so stick to the general area of your hotel. The Port Elounda Hotel is on the north shore of the island about 40 miles east of the capital town of Heraklion and about 35 miles east of the airport. If you haven't booked your hotel yet I recommend that you change your location so as to be more centrally situated on the north shore. Rethymnon would work best for some exploration by car.

We ate at the restaurant 1800 in Oia, Santorini. That was our special dinner for our anniversary. We ate upstairs. We also ate lunch at the wharf at Amoudi Beach. Even though my husband speaks Greek thoroughly, they were going to charge us more than what they initially said for the fish so be sure you get that price clear. The view there is beautiful.

Will I be ok on the 7th flying from Mykonos to Athens in the morning, and then catching an 1145 AM flight back to the U.S? How often are the flights between the islands delayed?

You'll probably be OK but no one can know for sure, obviously. You can easily avoid the stress of trying to make that last-minute connection by doing what most of us recommend, which is to save Athens for the end of your trip. This automatically provides you with a couple of extra days to get back to the mainland in case of something going wrong out on an island.

No different from any other flight connection. With adequate time between flights, usually you are okay. If you book your international and domestic flights separately, as most people do, you are taking a greater risk. If the domestic flight comes in late, the international airline has no obligation to get you on the next available flight. Staying that last night in Athens takes away the worry. :-)

Can you give me some hotel recomendations for Rethymnon? Our budget is somewhere below $500/night for our Honeymoon. Thank you again!

In Athens, we really enjoyed eating at Spondi. Definitely a splurge but one of my top 5 lifetime meals.

Climb to the top of Filippapos Hill, great views to rival a postcard.

In Santorini, when we returned from the volcano cruise, we walked around Amoudi wharf along the rocky coast and found a swimming spot. definitely an unexpected treat but watch for the sea urchin.

Thanks for all the helpful information. Two more questions:

1)Can you give me some hotel recommendations in Rethymnon?
2)In Santorini which hotel would you recommend and why : Mystique, Katikies, Perivolas?

Again we will be on our Honeymoon, and will probably be spending the majority of our time on these islands by the pool or on the beach relaxing.

Chania is a lovely city in Western Crete. We spent two weeks nearby Chania and were able to see much of the western part of Crete which is beautiful.

YOu specify Rethymnon, but in case you decide to go to the Chania area instead, here is a hotel that honeymooners delight in! Hotel Ammos -- A boutique place -- I think only 30 rooms -- but gets unanimous raving Trip-Advisor reviews, not only for view & amenities but for its authentic and gourmet on-premises restaurant. Here are 2 llinks: one is its own website which has a bit too much music and gauzy photo-dissolves IMHO, takes a while to get all the info, plus a more succinct link for instant overview:
http://www.ammoshotel.com/
http://www.hotelsofgreece.com/crete/ammos/

It is one of the few hotels in CHania area that has a pool and is also RIGHT on a lovely small beach. Furthermore, it is only about 3 KM outside Chania, which can be reached by a local bus that goes right by the inland side of the hotel... so a car is not needed the whole time. This would be very different from a hotel on the Rethymnon beach... a nice beach, but has a long "strip" of high-rise hotels, some are convention-style, not Greek in feeling. Your call.

-- do check the TA Reviews also 185, all favorable ... the first review is by a young greek, "Gas," whom I know, and who loves authentic Greek cuisine, and has VERY high standards! http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...own_Crete.html

If it's between Perivolas, Katikies and Mystique I'd choose Perivolas. I was impressed with the artistic sense of the designer. Mystique decor seemed too 'cookie-cutter' and bland to me. Katikies was just a bit too traditional for my taste. These are totally subjective opinions. All 3 hotels are excellent in terms of quality and service. If you can do without the pool check Endless Blue at Aspaki Hotel, Sunset Suite at Oia Castle Hotel and Dream Blue at MyBlue.

Does anyone have any recommendations for resort style luxury hotels in Rethymnon? I had decided to stay in Elounda until I got the good advice to look at hotels in Rethymnon instead. I am looking for something similar to the Blue Palace (Elounda) in Rethymnon. THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP AGAIN!

travelerjan, for your stay in Chania what city in Crete did you arive into, depart from?

What city Which time in Crete, Gray?? I have been 4 x and going for my 5th in May. First time, there was no choice because I came in by ferry, and could only go to Heraklion (ugly concrete city, notable only for its history, which I've since learned, and its museum treasures). Then we drove to Chania. Since then, I've always flown to Chania, and made my way to the Heraklion area to catch the ferry. I stay outside Heraklion now, because I cannot find a decent hotel at a decent price in many tries. It's good if you can turn in your car at the airport or, if you are leaving by ferry, get the car rental guy to "chauffeur" you to the ferry port, because the one-way streets and bad signage are a nightmare(I'm in the navigator seat & am good at it, but it's a snarl).

I cannot be helpful about resort-stle luxury hotels, because that is not how I like to travel in Greece -- in my experience that sort of accommodation cocoons a person, in a luxe international ambience that does not give one an experience of Greece. But of course everyone has his or her own preferences. There are many large convention-style international hotels on the Rethymnon beach strip that have a host of amenities.

I really appreciate all your help. We arivie into Athens on May 25th. If we were headed to Chania where would we fly into? We also need to take a ferry out to Santorini after our 4 day stay. So my problem is how do I work this logistically with renting a car? I guess I would need to know what cities have airports in Crete, and also what cities Ferries to Santorini leave from to best plan this.