jrchapma

The tickets are booked and we leave for two weeks in Greece on June 6 (arrive on the 7th). The plan is to visit two islands and wrap up the trip with a few days in Athens.

We’d really like to see Santorini for a few days and are also considering Naxos but would appreciate your opinions so we can finalize and start to book accommodations.

I went to the bookstore yesterday and was really disappointed in the information (or lack thereof) found in the three books I perused (apologies to Fodors). They didn’t help me decide where to go (didn’t even get me excited to visit Greece). How did people travel prior to these message boards?

About us:
We’re both in our late 30’s and are athletic.

We live at the beach, so spending all day lying around isn’t a priority, although we do like to visit other beaches.

This vacation will be a mixture of relaxation and seeing interesting sights.

A lot of nightlife isn’t important – eating late, enjoying wine, maybe a little local music is enough.

We both really enjoy guided tours – like to know what we’re seeing.

I’d love to visit a local home and get a cooking lesson on traditional Greek food.


Prior travel:
I thought talking about a couple recent trips might give you some idea as to what we like to do.

Tuscany – rented an apartment in Montepulciano and drove all around Tuscany and Umbria. Loved seeing all the little towns and villages. Stayed last three nights in Florence. After seeing the major sights we were a little bored. (It was November so not a lot out outdoor activities taking place.) I love looking in churches; neither of us likes to spend much time in museums.

Hawaii – visited Oahu and Kauai. We really loved the beauty of the north shore of Kauai. Honolulu was not for us (glad we didn’t stay there) – the beach was small and crowded; too many tourists, glitzy shopping, and nightlife. We had a car on both islands and loved driving around seeing the islands and sights. Did some hiking to beautiful views. A helicopter tour of Kauai was a highlight.

Thank you for reading all of this. I look forward to your feedback.

PalenQ

Crete is a larger island but one with a fascinating history and culture of its own and, for active folk, the chance to trek thru the awesome Samaria Gorge (sp?)

Beware the many Cretans running around however.

travelerjan

Suggest you post this query on TRp Advisor Greece forum. There are not too many people on Fodor's who are interested in Greece; TA not only has avid Greece travelers like me and Stanbr (another fodorite), but also people who have moved permanentlly to Greece, and Greek residents as well.

Fodorite stanbr's Naxos slideshow --
http://travel.webshots.com/slideshow/552001505EYxVYT
if that doesn't convince you, I really can't think what to add.

Have u thought about western Crete?? Chania & area -- staying on west side of Old Town, or at a nearby beachside small hotel like Ammos. Rent car and see glorious landscapes and ancient sites.

I don't know what bookstores you have around (B & N?) THe best guides that I recommend are:

o FOR VISUAL: The DK "Eyewitness Guide to Greek Isles" -- Graphically VERY good; illustrations help u understand the best ancient sites & landscapes of each island -- borrow this one from the library even if it's a a 5-year-old edition, since u aren't using it for the latest tips on hotels, just for sight-seeing.


o FOR PLANNING/HOPPING -- Thos Cooks "Greek Island-Hopping" -- This really shows how to plan & manage the "hop" system via ferries...which islands work best together This book is good on fun stuff for the under-40 set, and is candid about likes/dislikes.

o FOR MOST DETAIL with CANDOR -- Lonely Planet USED to be the choice, but I'm sorry to say their guides have gone down-hill when trying to go "up market; added a bunch of color fotos, and axed content to make room, To save money, they bought CHEAP maps (grey on grey so they don't photocopy well, to carry in your pocket).
— Instead, I recommend ROUGH GUIDE to GREECE (not just to Islands). Few illustrations but LOTS of good text. A fat book to take, instead just rip out sections u want & make duct-tape bindings for each.

BEST NEW WEBSITE DISCOVERY -- by a GREEk (teacher) and noncommercial:
http://www.greek-islands.us/
-- I learned so much (and I've been to Greece 7 times for 3-4 wks each).

Go...learn... come back w questions.

Mimar

tt -- for my next Europe trip

jrchapma

Thank all for your answers so far.

travlerjan - I also posted this same message on TA right after posting here. I've done a lot of reading on both sites. There's so much to get to!

I had seen the slideshow you posted. Great pictures! Much better that what they have in the Eyewitness guide. I used the Lonely Planet Guide when we went to Tuscany and thought it had a wealth of great information. Too bad their newer guides of Greece are not as good. I love to keep my old travel books, so I keep them together and just make my husband lug them around

Keep the info coming!

Thank you!

telechick

I just wanted to add that I've used the Cadogan guides in Italy and found them to be very good. They're a British series that I don't think a lot of Americans know about. They have several for Greece that you might want to check out. I haven't used the Greek ones, but was impressed with the Italian ones.

Western Crete is very nice and there's lots to do.

Lily

Like you, we rented an apartment in Montepulciano and really enjoyed driving around to see the small towns and villages.

Last June we went to Athens, Nafplio (on the mainland), Santorini and Naxos and loved every minute of our trip(we used many of travelerjan's recommendations).

We spent a week in Naxos and drove around on an ATV (common on the island)to see the villages which we really enjoyed. Santorini is very beautiful but not a lot to do so we stayed only three nights. Nafplio is beautiful and the archeological sights are fascinating - we stayed three nights there. And we loved Athens but only had two nights there - probably would recommend staying three as there is much to see and do but then not everyone likes Athens.

stanbr

In two weeks theh combination of Santorini Naxos Naphlion and Athens at the end, will give you lots of highlights and will provide just enough time for you to choose where you want to spend more time on your return visit.

Santorini is a must see for its spectacular scenery, Naxos is much more of an authentic Greek experience. Greeks you meet there will be full time residents. It has great beaches mountain village and a really interesting main town and some antiquities.

Naphlion is popular with Athenians for a weekend getaway and that's all the recommendation it needs.

Crete is so big it really is a country on its own and deserves two weeks. It is a good option and could be paired with Santorini, but it is so big you will have a hard time doing justice to all that is there if you also want to see Santorini as well.