Greek Honeymoon trip report!
Apr 9th, 2008 | 03:41 PM
#1
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Joined: Feb 2006
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Greek Honeymoon trip report!
Well, this trip report is long overdue. My now husband and I went on our honeymoon to Greece in 9/07. Here it goes…
DAY 1:
We flew into Santorini around 8pm (we had found a very inexpensive flight on Aegean). We took a cab to our hotel in Firostefani, Hotel Villa Ilias. What an amazing first impression! The rooms were located around a small pool lined with tables and chairs. Then over the edge was an amazing view of the caldera. Even in the dark, the view of the twinkling town of Fira was pretty magical. Our room was small but perfect and clean. We were exhausted from all of our traveling, but were really excited to finally be there, so we decided to head out for a meal before calling it a night. We took a 5 minute cobble-stoned walk to the center of Firostefani. For an authentic Santorini meal, our hotel owners had recommended Aktaion. It was a tiny teverna with simple but tasty food.
DAY 2:
We enjoyed the complimentary breakfast on our hotel’s patio. We now could truly appreciate the beautiful sea and the traditional Cycladic style buildings spilling down the cliffs around us. We then walked into the city of Fira (took about 15 mins). Once in town, we took the winding stairway down to the water. We passed many donkeys on the way and were VERY glad that we had decided to walk down rather than ride down. The donkey’s were smelly and didn’t always go where the riders told them to. We saw one woman almost fall off! On the other hand, the pitfall of being a pedestrian is making your way through the poop obstacle course left in the donkeys’ wake! The waterfront is the port from which many of the sailboat tours and trips to the volcano crater depart (not where the major ferries dock). There were some cute shops and restaurants. We opted for Captain Nicolas for lunch. Very touristy, but it was great being right on the water. We then took the cable car back to the top. On the way home, we got enjoyably lost in the maze of alley’s leading back to our villa. If I recall correctly we spent the rest of the afternoon lounging by the pool. That evening, we enjoyed our first Santorini sunset! We got a bottle of wine, olives and cheese and sat and enjoyed the sunset right on our own patio. I think we must have taken 50 pictures. It just kept getting prettier and prettier! We then had dinner in Firostefani again, this time at Vanilia. It was much more expensive than most of the taverna’s in the area and we didn’t find the food that much better.
DAY 1:
We flew into Santorini around 8pm (we had found a very inexpensive flight on Aegean). We took a cab to our hotel in Firostefani, Hotel Villa Ilias. What an amazing first impression! The rooms were located around a small pool lined with tables and chairs. Then over the edge was an amazing view of the caldera. Even in the dark, the view of the twinkling town of Fira was pretty magical. Our room was small but perfect and clean. We were exhausted from all of our traveling, but were really excited to finally be there, so we decided to head out for a meal before calling it a night. We took a 5 minute cobble-stoned walk to the center of Firostefani. For an authentic Santorini meal, our hotel owners had recommended Aktaion. It was a tiny teverna with simple but tasty food.
DAY 2:
We enjoyed the complimentary breakfast on our hotel’s patio. We now could truly appreciate the beautiful sea and the traditional Cycladic style buildings spilling down the cliffs around us. We then walked into the city of Fira (took about 15 mins). Once in town, we took the winding stairway down to the water. We passed many donkeys on the way and were VERY glad that we had decided to walk down rather than ride down. The donkey’s were smelly and didn’t always go where the riders told them to. We saw one woman almost fall off! On the other hand, the pitfall of being a pedestrian is making your way through the poop obstacle course left in the donkeys’ wake! The waterfront is the port from which many of the sailboat tours and trips to the volcano crater depart (not where the major ferries dock). There were some cute shops and restaurants. We opted for Captain Nicolas for lunch. Very touristy, but it was great being right on the water. We then took the cable car back to the top. On the way home, we got enjoyably lost in the maze of alley’s leading back to our villa. If I recall correctly we spent the rest of the afternoon lounging by the pool. That evening, we enjoyed our first Santorini sunset! We got a bottle of wine, olives and cheese and sat and enjoyed the sunset right on our own patio. I think we must have taken 50 pictures. It just kept getting prettier and prettier! We then had dinner in Firostefani again, this time at Vanilia. It was much more expensive than most of the taverna’s in the area and we didn’t find the food that much better.
Apr 9th, 2008 | 03:41 PM
#2
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Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 29
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DAY 3:
Today we decided to take advantage of our lovely hotel owners’ offer for a free car rental for a day (one of the many perks they offered us as honeymooners! ) Driving the windy, guardrail-free roads was a little scary and I was happy to leave that to my hubby. We drove to Ia, which is certainly every bit as gorgeous as it is built up to be! We spent the morning exploring the cute shops. Unfortunately, our camera battery died early on in the day. I was so disappointed! We then stopped in Imerovigli for a late lunch. More beautiful views… more isolated and quiet than the other towns. When we got close to Firostefani, we decided to keep driving and explore the other end of the island. We got lost down many very narrow streets. We then inadvertently ended up driving to the highest point of the island, the monastery of Profitus Ilias. This drive was a blast (by which I mean terrifying) but we were really glad we had stumbled upon this. We then wanted to check out what the island had to offer in the way of beaches. We ended up at Perissa beach. It was VERY developed with loud music and rows of lawn chairs. We then drove back to Ia (with a fresh camera battery) to watch their famous sunset. It was stunning. However, we preferred the sunsets from our own quiet deck to fighting the crowds at Ia to find a place to stand. We had a nice dinner at one of the many taverna’s in Fira. We had vowed that this, our last night in Santorini, we would take advantage of the nightlife in Fira. We had Ouzo for the first time in our trip. We had a few drinks, but weren’t able to stay out late enough for things to really pick up (the party in Fira doesn’t start until after midnight!).
DAY 4:
We spent our last morning in Santorini doing some souvenir shopping. We then took a Blue Star Ferry to Paros. It was a smooth, 4 hour trip. I preemptively took some Dramamine (wasn’t necessary) and slept the whole trip. Upon arrival to Paros town, we went to our hotel, Pandrossos. I had been very excited about this Hotel. From the website, it appeared to have a nice pool, outdoor bar, and beautiful adjacent beach. I was soooo disappointed. It may have been quite nice 15 years ago, but is now fairly run down. The pool was dilapidated and we never saw any one use it. The Beach was also dirty and not appealing for swimming. The bar had been taken down. But the room was clean and had a nice balcony with a view of the town and the “beach.”
DAY 5:
We spent the morning wandering the streets of paros town. We enjoyed this more than Fira, much less crowded and touristy. We then took a bus to Piso Livadia beach (the buses are very cheap and easy to use, highly recommend them!). We had a GREAT time at this beach! There were a handful of locals on the beach, but it was relatively quiet. The sand was soft and the water was clear and warm. It was here that we had one of our most treasured moments of the trip…. a 70 year old gentleman in a speedo catching octopus with his bare hands then hanging them up on a clothes-line at Fisilanis, the small taverna on the beach. We also had the best fava bean dip at this restauarant! After a mid-afternoon bottle of wine, we were exhausted and made our way back to the Hotel. My hubby went out and brought some food to bring back to our room (which we ate while watching Titanic on TV!).
Today we decided to take advantage of our lovely hotel owners’ offer for a free car rental for a day (one of the many perks they offered us as honeymooners! ) Driving the windy, guardrail-free roads was a little scary and I was happy to leave that to my hubby. We drove to Ia, which is certainly every bit as gorgeous as it is built up to be! We spent the morning exploring the cute shops. Unfortunately, our camera battery died early on in the day. I was so disappointed! We then stopped in Imerovigli for a late lunch. More beautiful views… more isolated and quiet than the other towns. When we got close to Firostefani, we decided to keep driving and explore the other end of the island. We got lost down many very narrow streets. We then inadvertently ended up driving to the highest point of the island, the monastery of Profitus Ilias. This drive was a blast (by which I mean terrifying) but we were really glad we had stumbled upon this. We then wanted to check out what the island had to offer in the way of beaches. We ended up at Perissa beach. It was VERY developed with loud music and rows of lawn chairs. We then drove back to Ia (with a fresh camera battery) to watch their famous sunset. It was stunning. However, we preferred the sunsets from our own quiet deck to fighting the crowds at Ia to find a place to stand. We had a nice dinner at one of the many taverna’s in Fira. We had vowed that this, our last night in Santorini, we would take advantage of the nightlife in Fira. We had Ouzo for the first time in our trip. We had a few drinks, but weren’t able to stay out late enough for things to really pick up (the party in Fira doesn’t start until after midnight!).
DAY 4:
We spent our last morning in Santorini doing some souvenir shopping. We then took a Blue Star Ferry to Paros. It was a smooth, 4 hour trip. I preemptively took some Dramamine (wasn’t necessary) and slept the whole trip. Upon arrival to Paros town, we went to our hotel, Pandrossos. I had been very excited about this Hotel. From the website, it appeared to have a nice pool, outdoor bar, and beautiful adjacent beach. I was soooo disappointed. It may have been quite nice 15 years ago, but is now fairly run down. The pool was dilapidated and we never saw any one use it. The Beach was also dirty and not appealing for swimming. The bar had been taken down. But the room was clean and had a nice balcony with a view of the town and the “beach.”
DAY 5:
We spent the morning wandering the streets of paros town. We enjoyed this more than Fira, much less crowded and touristy. We then took a bus to Piso Livadia beach (the buses are very cheap and easy to use, highly recommend them!). We had a GREAT time at this beach! There were a handful of locals on the beach, but it was relatively quiet. The sand was soft and the water was clear and warm. It was here that we had one of our most treasured moments of the trip…. a 70 year old gentleman in a speedo catching octopus with his bare hands then hanging them up on a clothes-line at Fisilanis, the small taverna on the beach. We also had the best fava bean dip at this restauarant! After a mid-afternoon bottle of wine, we were exhausted and made our way back to the Hotel. My hubby went out and brought some food to bring back to our room (which we ate while watching Titanic on TV!).
Apr 9th, 2008 | 03:42 PM
#3
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Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 29
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DAY 6:
We took a different bus today to Naousa, another cute town with tons of great shops and restaurants. We took a boat from the town to nearby Kolimbithres Beach. This was much more crowded than Piso Livadia, but still very enjoyable. Surrounded by large boulders and an almost desert-like environment. We then took the ferry and bus back to Paros town.
DAY 7:
Today we took the Blue star Ferry from Paros to Pireaus. Again, an uneventful, smooth trip. From the port of Pireaus, we took the subway to our hotel, The City Plaza. For our price range and interests, this hotel fit the bill. It is located in Victoria Square and was close to the subway. The rooms were again clean and comfortable. They all have balconies, some with views of the Acropolis (not ours…). Our favorite part of the hotel was the rooftop deck and bar with a view of the Acropolis. We spent that night exploring the endless alleys of the Plaka area. Very touristy/crowded, but fun for a night.
DAY 8:
Got a relatively early start so that we could get to the Acropolis before it got too crowded. There is currently a lot of construction going on, but it was still an awe-inspiring experience. We just wondered around the city the rest of the day. We knew we should take advantage of the many museums in Athens, but at this point in the trip we were tired. And heck, we’re honeymooners! We did head back towards the Acropolis where we watched the sunset from a stone look-out with a great view of the city and Parthanon (really beautifully illuminated at night!) We had our final dinner at white-light lined taverna near Psirri (where we had to promise our waiter we would send his daughter sponge bob toys from the states).
DAY 9:
Took a very early train to the airport. Felt safe on subway at all hours. Then just a long flight home looming ahead. We were sad that our trip had come to an end, but excited to be able to flush our toilet paper down our good old American toilets.
FINAL NOTES:
We found this to be a great mix of destinations for us. Santorini is quite possibly the most romantic place on earth! But it was nice to spend time on the quieter island of Paros. We were told not to go to Athens at all, but I can’t see going to Greece and not seeing the Acropolis. We had a pleasant 2 days in the city. Finally, the weather in the end of September was perfect. It was warm (sometimes hot) during the day, but cool at night. It was definitely still warm enough to be swimming in the sea. We also lucked out in that not one drop of rain fell during our entire trip!
THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP/ADVICE. HAPPY TRAVELS!
We took a different bus today to Naousa, another cute town with tons of great shops and restaurants. We took a boat from the town to nearby Kolimbithres Beach. This was much more crowded than Piso Livadia, but still very enjoyable. Surrounded by large boulders and an almost desert-like environment. We then took the ferry and bus back to Paros town.
DAY 7:
Today we took the Blue star Ferry from Paros to Pireaus. Again, an uneventful, smooth trip. From the port of Pireaus, we took the subway to our hotel, The City Plaza. For our price range and interests, this hotel fit the bill. It is located in Victoria Square and was close to the subway. The rooms were again clean and comfortable. They all have balconies, some with views of the Acropolis (not ours…). Our favorite part of the hotel was the rooftop deck and bar with a view of the Acropolis. We spent that night exploring the endless alleys of the Plaka area. Very touristy/crowded, but fun for a night.
DAY 8:
Got a relatively early start so that we could get to the Acropolis before it got too crowded. There is currently a lot of construction going on, but it was still an awe-inspiring experience. We just wondered around the city the rest of the day. We knew we should take advantage of the many museums in Athens, but at this point in the trip we were tired. And heck, we’re honeymooners! We did head back towards the Acropolis where we watched the sunset from a stone look-out with a great view of the city and Parthanon (really beautifully illuminated at night!) We had our final dinner at white-light lined taverna near Psirri (where we had to promise our waiter we would send his daughter sponge bob toys from the states).
DAY 9:
Took a very early train to the airport. Felt safe on subway at all hours. Then just a long flight home looming ahead. We were sad that our trip had come to an end, but excited to be able to flush our toilet paper down our good old American toilets.
FINAL NOTES:
We found this to be a great mix of destinations for us. Santorini is quite possibly the most romantic place on earth! But it was nice to spend time on the quieter island of Paros. We were told not to go to Athens at all, but I can’t see going to Greece and not seeing the Acropolis. We had a pleasant 2 days in the city. Finally, the weather in the end of September was perfect. It was warm (sometimes hot) during the day, but cool at night. It was definitely still warm enough to be swimming in the sea. We also lucked out in that not one drop of rain fell during our entire trip!
THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP/ADVICE. HAPPY TRAVELS!
Apr 17th, 2008 | 06:30 AM
#5
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Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 29
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I am so sorry, I don't remember the name! I guess that is the problem with waiting 6 months to write a trip report! There are so many restaurants with outdoor seating and similar menus and prices, that to be honest many of the places we ate in Athens blur together. Wish I could be more help.
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