Greece/October/Island decisons
 

We will be honeymooning in Greece for 9 days in October, and are having difficulty deciding which islands to visit.

If you had to pick two, which would they be?

Crete and......

Yes, definitely Crete in October. Do you really need to pick another?

Not necessarily...it just seems that everyone we've talked with has suggested experiencing more than one place for our length of stay.

Would you recommend Crete over Mykonos or Santorini? Or any others?

The most beautiful village of Oia on Santorini is the ultimate honeymoon destination, and it will be cheaper in October. The crowds will have already gone so the village will be peaceful and quiet.

Never been to Crete, heard it was AMAZING though! Mycanos is so charming, so romantic and has the most AMAZING sunsets I've ever seen. We went in the end of October, not particularly warm enough to enjoy the beaches, but I recall them having hot sulfer springs that people often bathe in.

Santorini, also gorgeous...picturesque, not as much to do as Mycanos but well worth the trip.

We personally hated Santorini last October. We were going to spend our last 4 days of our honeymoon there. After taking the 5 hour ferry there, we found everyone to be extremely unfriendly and jaded (maybe it was after tourist season). The island was gorgeous but only when viewed looking seawards. Else, we found it to be dirty and very unmaintained. Also Oia where we stayed was absolutely dead - shops closed very early and there was very little to do. And our traditional cave house did not end up as advertised - it was dirty, there was no air conditioning, holes in the windows so mosquitoes swarmed all night long, etc.

Anyways, Santorini was very disappointing after all the fabulous things we had heard about it. It was beautiful yes, but the drawbacks totally outweighed the beauty. Rather than chancing another island, we ended up leaving the next day on the 8 hour ferry and heading back up to the mountains instead. Hopefully you'll have a better island experience than we did :)

Hailbuzzy, I'm sorry your experience of Santorini was so negative. I've been there 3 times, 2 of which were for 6 months, living in Oia, and I can say that I enjoyed every minute of my time there. It sounds like you had some bad luck with your accomodations. And if you had expectations of a more picturesque island, it's too bad that you picked the Greek Islands, because almost all of them lack the significant development and greenery to justify that description. The dirt and poor maintenance were doubtless a result of a long season of overuse by tourists, and it's true that Oia and just about every other village is very quiet after September. Most tourist businesses are closed for the winter and their owners have retreated to their homes to recuperate. I guess timing is everything, as the saying goes. I hope your next holiday brings you more pleasure.