Greek Islands?
 

Mykonos or Santorini?

We're a husband and wife celebrating our ten year anniversary in May.
We're both 39 years old, live in NYC and travel at least annually to Italy and Spain.

We're looking for an easy and beachy vacation and have never been to Greece.

Could you please help us select an island and possibly a very nice hotel under €500/night?

Thank you very much.

Santorini is absolutely beautiful. But it comes with tourists for free... Also, if you both are more into relaxing on a beach, there are probably better beaches on Mykonos as Santorini tends to have rougher "sand"... The black and red sand beaches sure are pretty though...
The naturaly beauty of Santorini is hard to beat but if you're looking for a pure beach, Mykonos may be more for you!!

It almost seems like either island will do. Shall I just let my hotel choice be the deciding factor?

€500/night?
A week, right? You don't want to buy the entire island :D :D

Look at this hotel website.

Hotel Tagoo in Mykonos, I have it on my favorites, I haven't been to it yet, but will be someday. I have been to Mykonos( years and years ago) and loved it, I do understand it has really gotten busy, but it was busy even then( in the dark ages, LOL ) . The beaches are lovely , we walked to a section of town where all the buses stopped,and just took different buses to different beaches .. The beaches away from town were fairly quiet and all lovely.

Mykonos is more of a sunbathing/shopping/partying sort of island. Santorini is very good for those things as well but there is a lot more to see and do, plus the views from the cliffside villages are spectacular, and unique only to Santorini.

We're spending a week in Naxos in early June for the beachy part of our travels in Greece and if you meant 50 Euros per night that's what we are paying at the Hotel Galini on St George Beach in Naxos town.

With all due respect, why is there any question I mean €500 per night?

It's our ten-year anniversary and all the 4 and 5 star hotels we're looking at have rooms starting in the €500 range.

Ahm... Right, Yeah...
You'll have a beautiful stay :D

Sorry Ciaony, I didn't mean anything by my comment - just thought it may have been a typo.

Just a hint, as you ve stated that you've never been to Greece. You may not find that kind of exlcusive place in Greece that would justify 500€ per night. Should you want to be "hip", people won't notice it. Why not spend some more money on the Bahamas. I'm afraid, a Greek Island (fortunately) won't offer what you seem to be looking for. Spend 500 a night and you'll still be making holidays with the plebs (folks like me) :D :D as soon as you leave the hotel :D

Lily, no need to apologize.
We were just figuring to splurge on this one.

Thank you for your input.

"with all due respect why is there any question that I meant 500 euros a night"

... well, becaue most people don't spend money like that, you obviously can. .. most people don't so we just assumed you meant either 50 euros a night or 500 euros a week. You know regular folk money. Even for splurging that is quite a lot of money to many( most) people.

Have fun, but as another poster said don't expect too much for paying all that.. The islands are not loaded with 4 and 5 star places that charge that much,,but hope you find one you like.

Mykonos is a very nice island -
this website for mykonos grand - also its sister hotels very good.
I would suggest you view the film " Shirley Valentine " not new but an interesting look at Mykonos-

the Grand is on what is known as the Shirley Valentine beach where some scenes were filmed.

www.mykonosgrand.gr

Depending on how long you will be in Greece, you may not have to make a choice - do both. Allow yourself at least three days per island, though, so if you have less time than that, choose one.

Santorini and Mykonos are the only islands in the Cyclades with a selection of hotels in your price range. For "an easy and beachy vacation", Mykonos would be the logical choice. Weather in May is still iffy, so you won't be guaranteed good beach temperatures.

Would Crete better suit your needs? It's farther south and has wonderful hotels.

Does anyone know if Katikies Hotel
http://www.katikies.com/index.html
is near a beach?

Thanks again.

Ciaony-

No. Oia is one of the clifftop villages. The beaches are on the other side of the island. The best swimming, however is just below Oia at the end of the seawall that begins on the wharf at Amoudi. You can drive down there or take the steps.

Thank you. That's very helpful.

If you have time, why not visit both Mykonos and Santorini? I would suggest minimum of 3 nights on each. They are very different but we loved both. I'm pretty sure you can fly between them which would be quicker though approaching Santorini by boat is pretty spectacular. We flew to Mykonos from Athens, fastcat to Naxos, fastcat to Santorini, then flew back to Athens.

If you want something special on Santorini (which I would save for last if you visit more than one island) stay somewhere with a view of the caldera. You can watch the sunset from your terrace.
Kay