Chop

My wife and I are planning to travel to Greece for the first time in September 2007. The planned Itinerary is to fly from Frankfurt direct to Crete, spend 5 nights on Crete with a hire car. Then ferry to Santorini and spend 3 nights there, ferry to Athens for another 3 nights. The journey home is a flight to Milan then train via Strea and Basel to Frankfurt. Any comments or suggestions on this plan would be most welcome.

sheila

Sounds good to me

Heimdall

Ditto. Have a good trip.

bethsprack

I'd recommend flying from Santorini to Athens...seriously faster, less of a chance it will be delayed/canceled because of high winds etc. the flight is about 30 minutes and is very simple....when i was there last month there were two days that people couldn't get to or from santorini on ferries because of high winds....but the planes were flying....there's usually a sale that has cheap flights on aegean air

Weadles

I totally agree with the previous poster- fly between Santorini and Athens, if possible. We visited Greece in July, and had one ferry delayed, another cancelled. Also I'd recommend taking motion sickness meds with you if you're prone to that. Hopefully you'll have a smooth ride, but sometimes the ferries are quite rough.

yestravel

Sounds like a great plan. We were in Greece this past September and had the misfortune of having the 2 planes we took delayed 1.5+ hrs (1 from Athens to Chania and the other Santorini back to Athens, both Aegean Air), but the ferries arrived and left on time. Have a great trip!

Chop

Thanks for the info, will factor that into my planning.

pbherson

IMHO 5 nights in Crete maybe more than you may need. If you could work Mykonos into your schedule I think you would be happy with that change in your trip. I was in Greece last May and for part of my trip I spent 3 nights in Crete, 2 nights in Santorini and 2 nights in Mykonos. You can take a hover craft between Crete and Santorini, and one between Santorini and Mykonos. Also,from Mykonos, Delos is only a half hour tour boat away!
Paul

Heimdall

Paul, I think you mean catamaran rather than hovercraft.

If Chop really wants to see Crete, then five nights is probably barely enough time. Many people who visit Crete say that you need at least a week to do it justice.

Delos is certainly worth seeing, and you can do it from Naxos or Paros as well. But you can do only so much in such a short time. To do a third island (with a day trip to Delos), then it would be better to take a night from Santorini and a night from Athens, and use those two nights for a stay in either Naxos, Paros, or Mykonos.

Chop, personally I feel two islands in eight nights is enough. Probably you should stick with your original plan.

yestravel

Crete is fabulous with much to see and do. I would definitely not shorten your time in Crete.

travelerjan

I totally agree about Crete--- hey guys, it's HUGE, a country in itself, with unparalleled landscape. Don't cut it short. Mykonos is famous for being famous. An artist friend of mine who lives there says it all started in the 1950s because it was cheap to live there-- now it survives on cruises passengers & shopping.
Enjoy your stay in Crete -- I'm going back in May for my 4th visit there (5-7 days each time) and still have just scratched the surface.

mes2525

I would spend at least five days on Crete. It is a large island and there's plenty to do. Mykonos is a party, beach type island and I wouldn't recommend it unless you only want to do the beach and drink.

thanos_GR

traveljan

Your friend is correct that in the 1950's it would be cheap to live here. It is not so cheap now but there are still places here that are not expensive.

My father always say that the person responsible for bringing tourists to the island was Onassis in the late 60's. Two or three times a month in summer he brought his new wife Jackie to the island by yacht to shop at a small jewelers where very unique gold Cycladic peices were made. The shop is still here but now has outlet world over.

He says they visited many many times and people like film stars who maybe learned of the shop from Jackie also come next to buy the jewelry. With them, came a lot of their friends.

He says that's when it all began, more and more people came to know the island from those travellers but begin to visit not to buy expensive things just to relax and enjoy the sun.

Mykonos changed for ever from those times. I was not born then but sometimes I wonder what the island would be like now if it was not for Aristotle.

thanos

GBC

For a first trip I think your plan is a good one. I wouldn't add another island but I would look into the Santorini/Athens flight on Aegean Airlines. You can buy very reasonable tickets right on their website provided you purchase then very early.

You have planned a great trip. Enjoy.

Chop

Thanks for all the great feedback. I've booked the International flights now I think I have to wait until Aegean Air releases their 2007 Summer schedules to fill in some of the blanks. Also thinking of getting a local travel agent like Fantasy Travel to arrange all the ferries, hotels in Greece, any views on them ?

TOG_58

Sounds like we may be in Greece for the first time as well next September. At the moment we are starting our Greece portion by flying Aegean Air from Athens to Santorini (Sept. 19 just opened beginning of this week)(19 euro plus taxes). I will be interested to hear what islands you finally select. We know we are going to Santorini but not sure after that (Too many choices and too little time)

lhopp

TOG58- we are also looking at Aegean airlines flights from Athens to Santorini in September. Can I ask, are you flying into Athens and then connecting Santorini that same day? We were considering that--looks as if the flight leaves Athens at 11:20am. I'm thinking that would be enough time if we arrive in Athens at 9am?

Just wondered at your logistics were.

TOG_58

Our schedule is different. This is in the middle of our vacation, however, we are connecting on a flight from Rome to Santorini (trying to avoid any more visits to the airport than absolutely necessary), We have quite a bit of time between flights (arrive at 2:00PM and leave at 6:00PM). I would think that your plan to have just over two hours would be good. We only have an hour and twenty minute connection in Frankfurt on our way to Italy.
I believe I read a post somewhere suggesting that the Athens airport is not that big so I wouldn't think a person would need a lot of time - "if" the flights are on time.

Oisa

Chop ... as has been stated, there is so much to see in Crete. My favorite place and my recommendation is the Lassithi Valley.
Tog 58 ... I found that following days in Santorini, an interesting island is Rhodes. The two islands are so very different. We enjoyed a stay in the old town at S. Nicholas.

dixieland

Chop,

We're traveling to Greece for the first time in September as well! Although, different islands.

Oisa - we're going to Rhodes. Can I ask you where you stayed?

Thanks!