My wife and I ,mid sixties, and another couple, early seventies, will be fling to Athems mid May,2007. Plans now are to fly to Crete, stay 3 days: ferry to Santorini,stay 3 days; ferry to Mykonos,stay 3days and ferry back to Athens. Friends tell us not to worry about selecting hotels and ferries ahead of time at that time of year, that we could do all of that thru local people when we arrive. I feel because of convenience and less worry we should book transfers, ferries, and hotels in advance. Can anyone share opinion re: itinery ,booking ahead of time, and if possible hotels to stay at ?

William - I'm about your age and at this time of life leave nothing to chance so I definitely book my hotel beforehand (especially so that I can get a good deal and probably see the place on the internet).
When I was a young mum in my 30's we flew from Athens to Skiathos without booking a thing. There were dozens of locals at the airstrip waiting to pounce on us and offer all sorts of accommodation! We were quite overwhelmed and eventually made a choice. Luckily it turned out great ending up in a large house out of the main town.
I am into more pampered quarters these days!
May I suggest you buy yourself The EyeWitness Travel Guide called "The Grekk Islands". Besides a listing of hotels etc., it is a mine of information. Places to stay/eat/what to look out for.
I wish I was going with you.........!

Sorry, make that Greek Islands. Although Grekk sounds more like they way the Greeks say it!

If you want the adventure of taking it one day at a time, May is the time for it. The hotels and ferries are not full, and there will actually be local people meeting the ferries with offers of rooms if you want to take "potluck." However, there's something to be said for the book-in-advance method. You can just arrive and make your way to your hotel and have that chore out of the way. I will say that either way you do it you can save your ferry ticket purchase until you're there. Again, they won't be full in May.

If you decide to book in advance, I suggest you use a travel agency in Greece to help you with your plans and to be there for you should any unforseen problems arise. Fantasy Travel and Dolphin-Hellas are the two that get the most positive reviews here and elsewhere for reliability, follow-up and excellent communication.

http://fantasytravelofgreece.com/english/index.html

http://www.dolphin-hellas.gr/

They also have the advantage of sometimes being able to get better prices for rooms than are available to the general public. Why not at least contact them for the sake of curiosity?

Suggestions for hotels need more information from you: budget, village of choice, amenities required, and in the case of Santorini, caldera view or not. Keep in mind that on Santorini most of the hotels with a caldera view are usually down the cliff, so many steps will have to be negotiated. If you have any medical/physical problems this might be something to take into consideration.

If you act soon you can get very cheap flights from Athens to Mykonos and Santorini, as cheap as 19 Euro (plus taxes) per person by booking online with Aegean Airlines. http://www.aegean-air.gr/aegeanen/home/

It's interesting because I actually traveled to Greece this past may, but for the last week. I rode only one ferry (from Mykonos to Santorini), and it was packed to the gills, and all the hotels I stayed in were fully booked. I guess it depends on what kinds of places you want to stay at (the beach resorts in Mykonos, for example, seemed very quiet). If you know your itinerary and all the dates, then it's simply to your advantage to book things in advance. It's not as if you're going to show up in Santorini and suddenly find a great last-minute deal. All the good and cheap places (as well as the expensive and good) places do book up in advance. Many hotels in Imerovigli that I toured were full in late May. I'd go with a travel agency based in Greece. I used Dolphin-Hellas, and I thought the service was good. And I did take advantage of those 19 euro airfares on Aegean by booking far ahead.

hello william

On Mykonos it is rare for hotel owners to be at the port looking for persons to buy their rooms at any time of the year. Pension owners yes, hotel owners, very few.

On Mykonos in May we have one weekend when thousands of students arrive to celebrate the end of their term at universirty. It is a tradition. Their time on the island is from the Friday to the Monday. Ferries will be full and I think no accommodation to find easily.

I think you reserve in advance your hotel at least for this island.

This year the students arrive middle of May weekend but I also know them to arrive last weekend in May. I do not yet know when they will be here in 2007 but will post a message when I do.

thanos

About Crete, you will have no difficulty getting nice or budget places to stay when you pitch up, so don't worry. If you want to know where to tell the taxi to take your bags, plan and book.

Where will you be in Crete?

How nice to see a range of opinions. William, I too am about your age, and prefer to find my accommodation upon arrival rather than booking in advance. That way I can see the room before deciding, and leave myself enough flexibility to change my plans (eg Crete 4 days and Santorini 2 days, or deciding at the last minute to opt for Naxos instead of Mykonos). You do need a sense of adventure if you travel that way, though.

Other people feel more at ease with everything arranged in advance, and you may feel that way too. Ask your early seventies friends which they would prefer.

Local knowledge (see thanos' post) is invaluable. I would tend to avoid Mykonos entirely on the student weekend (like Ft Lauderdale during spring break?). One thing in your favour, though - in mid-May you will avoid all the Greek public holidays: Easter weekend, Apr 6-9; Labour Day, May 1; and Holy Spirit Day, May 28. The islands tend to be busy over weekends around those holidays.

So what do you do if, having arrived at a port, you look at all the pictures, pick one, accompany the owner to the place, and find that it's not acceptible. Now you have to get yourself back to the port and hope the other offerers are still around? Do these places have tourist information offices that help find accommodation?

'like Ft Lauderdale during spring break?'

Hi Heimdall. I have no idea what Ft Lauderdale's spring break is like but I have been on Mykonos when the students arrive and it is four days of complete chaos.

Sure, they are polite and friendly but it's the number of them and, to be honest, little Mykonos town appeared to not cope with them at all well.

Of course, over those four days it can be difficult to find hotels/restaurants etc that have any availability unless you go for the very 'high end' places. Hotels are jam-packed as ours was and a little bit (!) noisier than our previous trips.

William, I'd heed everything thanos has said and perhaps think of not making any arrangements for the island until he can give you the definate date for 2007. That said, if you plan your visit for a mid-week stay then you won't have the problem. May can be a very nice month to visit Mykonos.

bill

Mimar, what do you do if you book a room in advance, and when you arrive find that it's not acceptable? You are stuck with it.

When you accompany the owner to the room and find it is not to your liking, you have several options, and you have already mentioned two. Another option would be to stay for one night and look for something better the next day.

Hello Mimar

Mykonos has two tourist accommodation places operated by the island's hoteliers association.

One is located at the airport and the other at the old port in Mykonos town. It is here that most ferries come to.

thanos.