Laurie

I am planning a trip to Athens and the Cyclades Islands for my husband and I in mid June 2009.

So far this is the plan:

Fly to Athens from Des Moines, Iowa
3 nights Athens
4 nights Mykonos
3 nights Antiparos or Naxos (can't decide)
4 nights Santorini (have booked Delphini in Oia)
5 nights Crete

Fly to Rome
4 nights Rome

Flight home

Please tell me what you think of this itinerary. The only place I have booked is Oia so I can still make changes.

Heimdall

"Antiparos or Naxos", my two favorite islands. What a difficult decision! After four days on Mykonos you just might appreciate the gentler pace of Antiparos, but it is more an island for chilling out than for sightseeing.

Antiparos has the stalactite cave, round-island boat trips, good snorkeling from sandy, rock-fringed beaches, and a great selection of cafes and tavernas on its pedestrian-only main street.

Naxos has a beautiful chora (main town), long sandy beaches, and interesting mountain villages. I can't help but think a first time visitor to Greece (if that's what you are) would be happier there.

Another option - skip Mykonos and do Naxos, Antiparos, and Santorini. You can still take a day trip to Delos/Mykonos from Naxos on the excursion boat Alexander.

Laurie

Heimdall,
Thank you for your suggestions! Yes, we are first time visitors to Greece.

I am afraid that we cannot skip Mykonos, because my husband is really looking forward to his visit there. (He looks at the Mykonos webcam every morning)

From what you are describing, I think we would be very happy visiting Antiparos. I really would like to see the stalactite cave. Maybe we could daytrip to Paros, too.

We will be going to Oia, Santorini after Antiparos. Is is fairly easy to get a ferry from Antiparos to Oia? Do the ferries run everyday and how long does it take?

I see on other websites that you recommend Mike's Place or Artemis Hotel in Antiparos. Which of these is your favorite?

Thank you again for your help!
Laurie

Heimdall

I look at that Mykonos webcam too.

Antiparos is a ten minute ferry ride to Paros, and another 20-30 minutes by bus to Parikia, where you can connect with buses to all parts of the island. From mid-Jun is also a small passenger boat going directly to Parikia docks. I often go to Parikia and take the bus to other parts of Paros.

I have been staying with Lilian at Mike's Place for many years now, and this year she has a completely renovated hotel - I was her first guest after reopening. Mike's Place is very small, with only about 7 or 8 rooms and apartments. It is in a very quiet location, just behind Kouros Village (the hotel). See http://tinyurl.com/3r6472

Artemis Hotel is larger, and has beautiful views of the harbor from some of its rooms. It is more of a traditional hotel than Mike's Place. I can also recommend Theologos Place, where I stayed last year while Mike's Place was closed: http://www.theologosplace.com/theo/

Getting to Santorini from Antiparos is very easy. Either take the boat directly to Parikia, or the ten minute car ferry to Pounta, where buses go to the port from there every hour. You can also arrange for a taxi to meet you at Pounta. The best ferry to Santorini is Blue Star Paros, which leaves daily from Paros just before noon, and arrives on Santorini at 3:00pm.

A good website with excellent photography is http://www.islandstrolling.com/. It is run by a Norwegian who goes to Antiparos every year.

brotherleelove2004

To get to Antiparos you have to go through Paros first to catch the local shuttle boat that will take you there. To get to Santorini you'll have to return to Paros to catch the Blue Star "Paros" or the Hellenic Seaways FlyingCat 4 when they pass by on their way to Santorini. The "Paros" arrives on Paros around Noon, and the FC4 arrives around 3:30 PM.

If you're coming from Mykonos as your first island destination you will be able to catch the morning ferry from there over to Paros, and then take the local shuttle ferry to Antiparos or the Noon ferry ("Paros", same one to Santorini) the rest of the way to Naxos. From Paros to Santorini the "Paros" takes about 3.5 hours. From the ferry port on Santorini you can take a taxi to Oia for about 30 euro or you can take the port bus into Fira for 2 euro and then catch the next bus going to Oia for 1.4 euro. Get on the bus and someone will come to you to collect your money. Try to have some small change.

Delfini is easy to find. Keep an eye out for the Laokasti Restaurant on the right as you enter the village, it's across from the big Church of St. George. The road curves to the right there just after passing through a narrow section with buildings close up to the road. At that curve you'll see the beginning of a pedestrian-only footpath on the left that starts at the church. Get out in that general area and walk along the footpath for about 150 yards and you'll come to the Delfini Hotel, not far past the Atrina Hotel and the "Minimarket". Adjacent to the Delfini, on the main road, is the Restaurant Alkiona, so if you can't get the driver to stop at Laokasti then just keep an eye out for the restaurant and get out there at the bus stop.

Look at this map: http://www.svali.ru/pic/pictures/27/...14f0ae959a.jpg

Laokasti and the Church of St. George are in Section 11, 2nd row up from the bottom. Delfini Hotel is in Section 9, 3rd row up from the bottom. There is a bus stop and a parking area near the hotel's location, and the Restaurant Alkiona is the little red square.

Heimdall

I was going to add that FlyingCat 4 is another option for Paros-Santorini, but brotherleelove beat me to it. ;-)

Nevertheless, I would still recommend Blue Star Paros as the best ferry to Santorini, whether you decide to stay on Antiparos or Naxos. The voyage is only an hour longer, and you get wondeful views of the caldera as you approach Santorini. With FlyingCat 4 you sit in an inside cabin.

Laurie

Heimdall,
Thank you so much for the information!

I am glad that it will be fairly easy to catch a ferry to Oia. I think I will send inquiries to both Mike's Place and Artemis and see what the prices look like for June 2009.

Brotherleelove, Wow! Thank you so much for the detailed answer to my questions. I appreciate the directions to the Delphini Hotel. Also, it is good to know there is a way to get to Oia from that port that will save us some money.

It sounds like the Blue Star ferry from Paros will be the way to go.

What do you think of our itinerary overall? Does it look too rushed or are we spending too much time in some places?
Thank you again for your replies. They have all been very helpful!
Laurie

Heimdall

Your overall itinerary looks good to me. You have chosen some interesting (and contrasting) islands, in a logical order, and they all have daily ferry connections. Some people may nitpick and say you should spend a day more here, or a day less there, but it looks well thought out to me. I assume you are flying direct or by connecting flights from Crete to Rome?

Laurie

Thanks for your input on my overall itinerary, Heimdall.

We would fly from Chania to Rome with Aegean Air. They have flights for 99 Euro each for the one way trip.

We have been to Rome before and enjoyed so we are returning for a few days and hope to make a daytrip to Ostia Antica.

It would be a very long trip for us to fly home to Des Moines, Iowa from Athens. It takes around 19 hours versus 13 hours from Rome.

Thanks again for your help!
Laurie

Laurie

Hi Heimdall,
I sent emails 3 days ago to all 3 places that you told me about on Antiparos.

I have only heard back form Mike's Place and I am considering booking with them. They have a room for 40 Euro per night for our dates.

Could you please tell me what you like about staying at Mike's Place?

Thank you,
Laurie

Heimdall

Hi Laurie,

Mike's Place is in a very quiet location behind Kouros Village Hotel. It is on the edge of the water, and has no roads going past it, so no noisy motorbikes waking you up in the middle of the night. Her guests tend to be families and older singles, rather than party-types. Now, with the renovations, it is a very modern, up-to-date establishment.

Lilian, the owner, is a very nice lady, in her 60s, who years ago worked at Hellenikon AB in Athens when it was used by the US Air Force. She is very kind, and speaks excellent English. Lilian has her own apartment at the hotel, so is always around to assist you if you need help.

Mike's Place is a 5-10 minute walk from the harbour and to the middle of town. Lilian will meet you when you arrive on Antiparos if she knows when you are coming, but only has a scooter, so can't help you much with your luggage. I usually travel light, and it is no problem getting a suitcase with wheels to the hotel.

I hope this has been of help. If you want to stay in a small hotel (the Greeks call them domatia), I can recommend Mike's Place.

Laurie

Thank you for the information about Mike's Place, Heimdall.

I emailed Lilian tonight to make a reservation for our stay.

Thank you so much for all the advice you have given me. I really do appreciate it.

Laurie