I will be spending nearly 10 days in Greece in late May and have the following questions:<BR><BR>1) How should I divide my time between Athens, Crete and Santorini? Are there islands along the way I should see for day trips?<BR><BR>2) Where should I stay in Crete to be near beaches and nightlife? Do I need a car? Which hotels are best offering double rooms for $70-90/night?<BR><BR>2) What are the best hotels in Athens offering double rooms for $70-90/nt offering a view of the Acropolis from your balcony?<BR><BR>3) What are the best hotels for a double room for $70-90/nt in Fira, Santorini offering caldera/sea view?<BR><BR><BR><BR>

For Crete I'd suggest Heronnissos or Malia for what you're after. Remember it's a large island and you could easily spend the whole time there alone.

re: Crete, best beaches are on the south coast generally and the best cities are on the north coast. Check out http://www.interkriti.org/. You could consider Hania or Rethymno as a base and take a bus to the beach at Elafonissos or Matala. Another option would be to rent a vehicle. (In May the roads in the mountains can be wet, with loose gravel and stray boulders in the road so only experienced motorbikers should consider a bike). The day trips to the beach will be a full day. Another option is Paleohora on the southwest coast, nice beach and decent size town (perhaps a little quiet in May, I did not stay there overnight. Not as big but still a good balance. <BR>Re: Athens - a good mid range hotel in an excellent location is Hotel Athos at 3 Patrou St. between the Square and the Cathedral in the plaka. It is a small hotel with a roof top view of the Acropolis plus some rooms at the back have their own balcony with a view of the Acropolis. They charge a little more for those rooms. The rooms are modern, with T.V. and small fridge. You can walk to the metro easily from it.<BR>re: dividing your time - 2 nights in Athens, 2 to 3 nights in Santorini and the balance in Crete.<BR>RE: hotels with view in Thira...not in my budget! Bon voyage

Not to disagree with Hania about the beaches, but the south coasts of Crete is not known for its nightlife.

Hi bessinsf, <BR><BR>Responding to your questions regarding your trip to Greece. From personal experience. I would not try to see Athens, Santorini &amp; Crete in 10 days.<BR><BR>If you've never been to Greece before, I would spend 2 - 2 1/2 days in Athens, so much to see &amp; do. We've stayed at Hotel Attalos, pronounced At-talos in the Plaka, in fact we have reservations there for the end of May. The view from the roof garden will be in your memory for a lifetime. Try &amp; get a room in the back on the 6th floor, balcony of course, hopefully with a view of the Acropolis. Our double cost 62E without breakfast. Then i'd probably take an overnight boat (book first class for sleeping)to Santorini for 3 nights, try the hotel Loucas in Fira, everyone raves about it, then I spend a couple of nights on Hydra, then back to <BR>Athens &amp; home. The only problem with your questions, is that normally these hotels would be booked so close to May, but give it a try and Happy Travels,

I agree with Sandarini, you might be attempting too much with only ten days. There is so much to see in Athens and five days would be easily filled. Hydra is a nice island to get the feel of greek island life but you only need two nights there. Perhaps you could go by sea to Santorini and fly back to Athens to save time. I have done Crete as a separate holiday, it is a big island and feels like a separate country on it's own. There are many interesting and diverse areas and ten days there would not be long enough for me.