daliaabaza

Hii

so i was planning a family trip to greece in late august/early september in Athens and then one of the islands
I was wondering can I get tour guides there easily in order to understand the monuments? Where from and how much will they cost us?

Also, which is better Mykonos or Santorini?

if you know any good ideas for hotels and things to do there more than the historic part I will be more than grateful

ToujoursVoyager

If the choice is between Mykonos and Santorini, Santorini wins IMO. The views from the caldera in Santorini are like no where else in the world. Very unique.

kja

A good guidebook should prove extremely useful to you. Perhaps Fodor's or the Rough Guide? there are quite a few from which you can choose....

artsnletters

If the choice is between Mykonos and Santorini, in my view it's a choice between Myikonos with access to the major archaeological site of Delos and the stunning views of Santorini. Both will be stuffed with tourists, with Santorini being more suffocatingly touristed than Mykonos.

I would line up tour guides before you head to Greece, as you are going in high season and they get booked up. I used Context and Athens Walks and both were fine.

Heimdall

I hope you don't mean "late august/early september" this summer, or you are running late in finding a good hotel room. If you mean 2019 you have plenty of time to plan. To me the highlight of both Santorini and Mykonos has been their historic sights, but apart from that Santorini probably has more to do and see.

Mykonos has good beaches and the most beautiful chora (main town) in the Cyclades. Wandering around and getting lost in the narrow passageways is a delight. Santorini has spectacular views over the caldera, visits to the vineyards, volcano tours, black sand beaches, and more.

It's quite possible to see the sights of Athens without a guide, but you also have a choice ranging from free walking tours (the guides depend upon tips), group tours, and private tours. One of the best companies for both group and private tours is Athens Walks, with prices shown on the website: Athens Walks - Book your Athens tours - Athens Walks

crazyh

Actually the most beautiful Chora in the Cyclades I've seen (I've been to Mykonos) is the Chora on the lovely island of Astypalea. Even more lovelier than Mykonos are the Choras on Amorgos (spectacular), Sifnos (Kastro and wow!), Naxos (Old Town, even wowier!).

While I haven't been to Kythira, from all reports the Chora there could be one of the best in all of Greece.

Then there's the Choras on Skyros, Lemnos, Folengandros, and so many others. Even though I haven't been to those Choras, from all reviews, reports and forum members you can find some of the most beautiful and less touristy Choras on the smaller and lesser known Greek Islands.


Don't overlook the smaller, out of the way and less touristy islands/Choras that don't get the hype of Mykonos and Santorini.

There's more to a Greek Island than the Big Name Islands!

daliaabaza

Thank you dears a lot, I didn’t know about the athens walks site I will defintely check it out, I didn’t know about these other islands also as Mykonos and Santorini are the most famous with most people travelling to them
thanks for the help

Retsina

"Mykonos and Santorini are the most famous with most people travelling to them "

That is actually far from true. There are many Greek islands far more popular with tourists.
Crete, Rhodes, Kos, Corfu, Kefalonia, Zakinthos. It is direct flights from European countries that account for that.

Assuming a flight to Athens a couple of good mid-range choices in the Cyclades are Paros and Naxos.

I would do more research on the islands and transport in general that will pay you.

neckervd

" Actually the most beautiful Chora in the Cyclades I've seen (I've been to Mykonos) is the Chora on the lovely island of Astypalea".

That's true, indeed. I like Kastro af Sifnos too, but also the somewhat smaller and more intimate choras of Iraklia and Symi

Mimar

If you're interested in ruins, Santorini has the Akrotiri, the remains of a city destroyed by the volcanic eruption. And there's a good archeological museum in Thira with the highlights of the Akrotiri dig.

travelerjan

Mimar, I don't think they are interested in ruins: she specifically ask for " any good ideas for hotels and things to do there more than the historic part" -- don't bother.

clausar

Astypalea although looking very cycladic, it belongs to the Dodecanese islands

girlonthego

Mykonos has better beaches and more nightlife. A nice area to stay is Platis Gialos Beach area. The town is busy with cruise ships in my opinion. Not sure what your budget is for hotels, but we stayed at Nissaki Boutique hotel and it was very nice.
Santorini has stunning views, lousy beaches and lots of tourists. We stayed in a cave suite in Oia (Filotera Suites) and we loved our hotel and location was great. I have never seen an island like Santorini, but it was clogged with so many tourists and we were there in very early June. It was also very expensive where we stayed.

I think it is all in what you want in an island visit. If you want to sit in a pool and watch the boats go by down below and enjoy some drinks and good food, then Santorini is a beautiful place.
If you want to sit on a beach, that will have lots of people on it with you, and enjoy a nice view with some nightlife, the Mykonos is more for you.
You can go to beaches and have nightlife on both islands. One is just more known for that than the other.

If you want a quieter place, islands like Paros and Naxos are quieter and more low key.
We are considering heading to Crete next year as it is large, has lots of beaches and towns to explore.

mels

We are planning a trip to Greece as well, September 2019.

Fly into Athens - stay 2 nights
Ferry to Mykonos - stay 3 nights
Ferry to Naxos - stay 3 nights
Ferry to Paros -stay 3 nights
Ferry to Santorini - stay 3 nights
Fly back to Athens - 1 night back to JFK

Mykonos and Santorini hotel prices are all over the place - I don't want to spend much more than 300 US. And there are so many to choice from! Stay by the Beach in Mykonos or closer to town. And I know I want that gorgeous view in Santorini. I went to Santorini Dave website for help as well....

Sorry if I have intruded on your post - just thought maybe they could help both of us at the same time.....since we are both interested in Mykonos and Santorini...Thank you for any advise with Hotels!

girlonthego

Hi Mels,
I just looked at a few of the beach area hotels in Mykonos that were nice looking. Petinos BEACH Hotel, they have an off beach hotel as well, is about 300 per night this mid September.
We stayed at Nissaki which was more than that, but very nice. Also liked Petasos Beach hotel, but I just checked and they are higher than 300 as well. Since you are booking far in advance, all of these may be less than this September.
I highly recommend the beach area. The town is shops, restaurants and late night night clubs. You can visit that and go back to your nice relaxing beach area which has beaches and restaurants. They are not too far from each other, but I personally liked the beach areas and wasn't a big fan of the town.
Paros is very quiet. We stayed at Santorini Dave's hotel, Kanale's Hotel and it is very nice, less fancy than the Mykonos hotels and cheaper, easy walk into Naossoa town. Up the hill and across the street was a great restaurant Katarina's, one of our best. We drove around Paros in one day.
In Oia, the hotels are very expensive. I never paid so much for a hotel room per night in my life. I believe the Filotera ran about 900 USD per night!!! Insane! It was our 30th anniversary and we wanted to sleep in a cave on the cliffs and so we did. Was it worth it? It was a wonderful little hotel with jaw dropping views and a fabulous breakfast. I believe if you book it at the right the time, it ismuch cheaper than what we paid per night. I must have booked when everyone else was, supply and demand. I can guarantee with this much time before your trip, that you will find a deal on one of the hotels on the cliffs. Imergolavi and Firostefani are other areas to check out, but I did like Oia the best.
We never went to Naxos, but I hear it's very nice!
Oh and I thought flying into Mykonos and then flying back to Athens from Santorini was faster than the boats. We did the boats from island to island and the high speed ones are much faster.

girlonthego

Oh and the Sofitel at the airport is right in the airport and a pretty decent hotel. We stayed there the night before our flight home to JFK as well.

mels

Thanks....it is hard with the prices so expensive and then so cheap. I was hoping to be somewhere in the middle.The resorts are not even open for booking yet, I have a few in mind so I will do another post on its own about hotels. Too many choices! The first hotel I looks at was Grace Santorini and it was 18,000 for 2 nights...Thanks again!

kja

@ mels: I encourage you to start your own thread!

daliaabaza

Yes the prices are either too expensive or too cheap that you are not sure if it is a good place or not
I decided to go to Mykonos for the nicer beaches as you have suggested

I found a place that seems nice called Super Paradise Suites and Rooms.

mels

Yes...I have never been so unsure. Thank you...I think I may have to spend a little more to et what I want.