Now that I have (finally) booked airfare to Greece for mid to late May, I'm starting to look at hotels, and might want to change my itinerary. And I'd appreciate the thoughts of those of who who've done this trip before.

We have two weeks - that is 12 nights in hotels after allowing for travel. My original intent was 3 nights in Athens, fly to Santorini, 3 nights in Santorini, ferry to Naxos, 3 nights in Naxos, ferry or fly to Athens and pick up a car, and then 3 nights in Nafplio.

I'm wondering if this is too much for 2 weeks and if we should consider skipping Naxos. We could do 4 nights in each of the 3 places instead, not deal with any ferries (boats are not my best thing).

What do you think? Less places, more time each place? Should I vary the amount of time in the places we'll be? I could see staying 3 nights in Santorini, and spending more time in Nafplio and environs, for example.

Your thoughts are welcome.

Thanks,
Alice

I vote for fewer places. Take more time at each destination. 4 nights will go by quickly.

It's not <i>that</i> rushed, when you think about it - two islands plus the mainland in 12 nights. Why not save time by flying directly to Santorini upon arrival in Greece? You won't even have to leave Athens Airport, and the flight takes only about 45 minutes. Spend three nights there, ferry to Naxos for another three nights, then you have the last six nights for Athens and Nafplio.

I actually WAS considering Santorini first, but the timing doesn't work out well with the flights. We get into Athens at 1:25, and the flight to Santorini isn't until 5 something so that whole day is a waste. But still possible, I guess.

I started thinking about leaving out Naxos when I saw that the ferry from Naxos to Athens is pretty long - 7 hours, I think. Queasiness aside, that's a LOT of time, pretty much a whole day. I don't know about high speed ferries, maybe there's a better way. Or we could fly, I suppose... (this trip just gets more expensive by the minute!).

Alice

Are you flying home from Athens? If so, you should probably account for spending your last night in Athens before you fly home.

On my trip to Greece (2005?), we flew into Athens and then connected to Santorini. We also had a long layover at the airport, but it was actually not that bad. We didn't realize that we had to pick up our luggage and recheck it in for our continuing flight, so that took some time. And there was also a really great restaurant in the airport where we enjoyed some drinks and a very leisurely meal. We had at least 4 hours to kill, and it was not nearly as painful as I thought it would be.

Also...we ended up arriving on Santorini at night and couldn't really see the geography of the island. When I woke up the next morning and opened the windows to peek out, it was like opening the best Christmas present in the world...it really was a breathless sight.

The Aegean Airlines flight to Santorini leaves at 4:15pm, which is just about perfect for a 1:25pm arrival in Athens. You will be on Santorini by 5pm. You wouldn't want much less than a three hour layover, anyway.

From Naxos there will be a highspeed ferry to Piraeus, taking about four hours, if you think the 5½ hr Blue Star takes too long. Olympic Airlines has one flight per day from Naxos to Athens (40 min) which would allow you to pick up a rental car at the airport for your drive to Nafplio.

I understand the objection to 5 hr ride from Naxos to Piraeus if you take the 9:45-3 ferry, which cuts up an entire day.

A good answer is what I call the Blue Star "dinner ferry". Get to dock by 6pm, sail 6:30 with a Reserve-economy seat. Sit on deck to enjoy sunset (gorgeous in late may!), go in to cafe for snack or light meal, then go to inside reserved seat & read/snooze until your 11:30 or midnight arrival.

If it's a weekend night, Metro runs til 1:30 am so u can take quick €1 ride to Plaka-area hotel. If not, pair up w. 2 other travelers before getting off: agree to get off at same place. Then u can share cost of a taxi (40-50€ after midnight).

This gives u a full 3rd day to enjoy Naxos -- strike a deal with your hotelier for late checkout, or at least use of a bath in late afternoon... then u can nap on the beach, shower & change before going to the dock.

Heimdall's suggestion of the plane + car to Nafplio is also excellent -- it puts all your Athens time at the end, which is the most efficient plan, avoids extra Athens in-out trip.

His bottom-line and mine -- DON'T MISS NAXOS ...once u are in Naxos in May, you will chuckle at all that Santorini-mania.

Hello there, we did part of your trip as our post-graduation trip last summer.

We did 3 nights in Athens (I had been there before), but my boyfriend thought he got a good feel of the city in 3 days (we didn't get to go to the Archaelogy Museum though, which is quite cool). We then got up super early (we were on a budget!) and took the Blue Star ferry at around 7am to Naxos and got in at noon. As long as you sit near the water (so not in the middle of the boat), the queasiness shouldn't be too bad...I have tummy issues, so was worried about that.

We were in Naxos for 3 nights and thought that was the perfect amount of time to stay there. Could have done another day, but oh well. We stayed at the Windmill Naxos, which had a kitchenette in it. Decent, clean room, private bathroom for EUR 25 / night. It was a 12 minute walk from the town / sunset spot and quite convenient.

We then took a ferry to Santorini (and didn't take the main bus to Oia, but a smaller "private" one, which was a little more convenient and EUR 5/pp instead of ~EUR 2/pp. We stayed in a cute room at the Casa Francesca in Oia, for EUR 41 / night. There was a little kitchenette and balcony with a table on it, so that was great to sit on and eat baklava. The view from there is of the non-crater side, but still decent. We were a 15 minute walk from the main sunset point (where there are throngs of people) in Oia. We thought 3 days in Santorini were enough (went to a few museums, beachs, archaeological sites, a sunset sail trip, etc). The crowds were a little too much for our liking.

Hope this helps!

Okay, travelerjan and Heimdall, you've convinced me to keep Naxos on the itinerary. And flying from Naxos to Athens and picking up a car makes good sense too.

So I just need to decide whether to do Athens-Santorini-Naxos-Nafplio or Santorini-Naxos-Athens-Nafplio. It's just a question of whether something happens with the flight to Athens and I miss the connection to Santorini, and whether I want to take that risk.

I'm assuming we can drive straight from Nafplio to the airport on our departure day home. Even if we have to get up really early. I'm not planning on staying one night in Athens before leaving.

And thanks beanweb24 and MYP, very helpful.

Alice

Alice we cannot advise you on the latter question of drving from Nafplio if you keep secret the departure time of your flight. If your plane leaves at 9 or 10, it's cutting it close .... there can be rush-hour traffic even on this beltway. but if so, I have a small B & B 10 minutes from the airport to recommend. But I'm waiting until you give us facts about departure. More facts better advice.

And what is this about "whether something happens with the flight to Athens" -- is your flight a nonstop from US east coast? Those are ALWAYS on time. Or do you change in London? Paris? Frankfurt? You will have about 4 hours -- so it should be fine unless there is a terrorist attack, or a massive wildcat strike. Is there a cause for anxiety that I have overlooked?

My recommendation --- when someone wants specific reassurances on a trip that packs a great deal into a short schedule, it is always wise to give ALL the details up front instead of doling them out piece by piece. Then we don't have to guess.

You're right, I left out the data. We leave from Dulles on SAS, connecting in Copenhagen (2 hour layover), arriving in Athens at 1:35 p.m. I guess I HAD heard that the flights that originate in the US are always on time, but since I couldn't get one of those at a reasonable price, I'm worried about arriving on time from Copenhagen. Hence the worry about catching a flight to Santorini the same day.

We depart from Athens on Lufthansa at 11:30 a.m., connecting in Frankfurt, with a 3 hour layover before heading back to Dulles.

So I figured with an 11:30 departure, I should be able to make it to the airport from Nafplio, give back the car and make our flight. If you think I'd have to leave at 5 a.m. to do so, I might want to hear about your small B&B!

Alice

ABOUT ARRIVAL -- you are asking a half-Swede whether SAS is reliable!?!?!? Fuggedaboudit! Stop twitching! You'll be fine! Lordy.


ABOUT RETURN TO AIRPORT - Yes, it will be too hard in the Morning... because you must be in line at 9:30, which means you'll be driving that (very good modern) highway in the midst of the morning RUSH HOUR (think beltway). To beat it you would have to leave Nafplio by 6 or to be safe 5:30. Would you not rather leave Nafplio late aft the day before, stress-free, & arrive at airport at 7, 8 or 9 pm? (Sun sets 8:40 late may).

The only "airport hotel" is Sofitel at 300€ per night, forget it. there are 2 other options: both are 10 minutes from airport -- neither has a restaurant.

(1)PERI'S HOTEL )http://www.perishotelapt.gr/ -- this is a small new budget hotel (12 rooms). Probably 50-60€ per double. Continental breakfast. Offers FREE transfer to/from airport from 7 am to Midnight. So if u wished you could drop car at airport then have them pick u up, and bring u back the next AM. You'd have to ask them where u could have dinner.

(2)ST THOMAS -http://www.stay-in-athens.com/services.htm
This is €100 per night; VERY nice & has a pool. ONLY 3 ROOMS. Plus a posh buffet breakfast. Website says w. advance notice, they can have an evening meal for you by the pool. THeir website USED to say free tranfer to/from airport but now just says "taxis booked." So if u stayed here, u probably would return car in AM. But if u could get one of these rooms it would be very relaxing... leave Nafplio whenever, arrive by dinner time, evening dip in pool, morning buffet. aaah.

Sorry! I didn't realize travelerjan was a SWEDISH name! We will definitely re-consider going straight to Santorini. And thanks for the close to the airport options in Athens. I like the idea of spending the day out and about and then arriving in Athens for dinner and being able to relax in the morning. My husband was worried about dealing with morning rush hour in Athens anyway.

Alice

Didn't mean to be obscure! What I meant was OF COURSE your SAS flight will be on time!... go right ahead and plan to take that flight straight to Santorini... you have a 4 hour interval & that should be ample.

PS: the half is my Mor (born in US of swedish parents, she spoke only Swedish until kindergarten).

travelerjan - I DID book one night at the St Thomas B&B right before our departure. It looks lovely. That was a great idea, and a good tip.

Thanks,
Alice