My future husband and I will be spending our honeymoon in Italy and Greece this September. We play on flying out of milan and into Santorini, arriving around 7pm, then having 2 additional days and nights on the island before taking the ferry to mykonos for 4 days and 4 nights, then flying into athens for a day and departing early the next morning. With our current layout, we really only have 2 full days in Santorini and 4 in Mykonos. Should we add a day Santorini or leave as is. Our hotels are Atrinia Houses in Santorini and The Mykonos Grand Hotel.

We also have the option of leaving out of Milan a day earlier, cutting our time in Bellagio on Lake como to a day and a half if we wanted to add an additional day to Santorini, but are afraid we would feel rushed in Como with only a couple of days.

Thank you in advanced for any advice!

I would suggest, instead, taking a day off from Mykonos and adding it to Athens at the end ... September is a glorious sunny blue-sky time in a world-class city that has been waiting 4,000 years to impress you ... show your sophistication by giving it 48 hours to wow you.

You can stay close to the Acropolis, on a no-cars pedestrian lane, (I can give you 3-4 good and modest-price hotels if you wish) ,. see the stunning New Acropolis Museum, climb up on "the Rock" for Sunset, wander through the Ancient Agora, gape at the Huuge Columns of the Temple of Zeus ... you might even stop in at the National Archeological Museum to see stunning treasures (If you go to Wikipedia, you can see "thumbnail" pix of the 15 or so most famous artifacts, so you can 'skim the cream' in 2 hours or less). OR... if you just like jewelry, there's an amazing Ilias LaLounis Jewelry Museum, showcasng the works of Greece's most famed jewelry designer (a combo of Tiffany/Cartier). And here's a plus -- right in the charming Plaka district, in an hour or so you can pick up all the souvenirs you promised to bring home, more selection than on Santorini or Mykonos, at better prices.

By the end of your trip you will have had a bountiful helping of sun, sand and sea. Why not give yourself "dessert" by spending just 48 hours to the city that was the cradle of Western Civilization in Government, Philosophy, architecture and art?

i spent 5 full days in santorini and loved absolutely every minute of it. if i were you, i would actually flip it around - 2 days mykonos, 4 days in santorini. if not, at least take one more day from mykonos and add it to santorini.

Hi Aabroad, what a great honeymoon you're going to have! My husband and I did Greece and Paris for ours. Can you give us an idea of your interests and age? That might help us give you the best advice. I, personally would not take time away from Como. We spent four days on Lake Como this past summer and absolutely loved it. You would regret it if you took a day away. As far as Santorini and Mykonos, I would probably do three days on each. I absolutely love Santorini. It's a magical place just to sit and enjoy the view of the caldera! Mykonos is also magical and, luckily, it won't be the madhouse during September that it can be in July and August. That being said, I've been to Mykonos a number of times, love it but probably won't go back again. Santorini however, I'll always want to go back to. OK, I think I'm rambling so I'll list the things I especially like about each island:

Mykonos - so close to Delos, a must do on the list. I love the main town with it's winding pedestrian streets, you can be in a bustling commercial area, turn the corner and suddenly be lost among quiet residential streets. The beaches are beautiful and there are many to visit. People watching is quite a treat. The bus system is so easy and convenient.

Santorini - Oia! Love Oia! The incredible light and silence of the caldera. The hike between Oia and Fira, what incredible views! The wineries are fun to visit and learn about the unique way of twisting the grape vines in a circle on the ground rather than them growing vertically. The red beach, so very unique.

Mykonos is definitely more of a party island without a doubt! Lost of discos, clubs, etc.

Thank you all so much for your help! We are in our late twenties, and are active travelers, but with this being our honeymoon we were hoping for a nice balance between sightseeing and relaxation. We really appreciate your responses and have decided to add a day to Santorini. Would you recommend renting a car in both santorini and mykonos? We were thinking of perhaps just renting a car one day in each location to check out some of the more obscure beaches (any recommendations for these?) on each island and visiting some of the other cities and vineyards on santorini. As for Athens, we both love history and architecture, but I think we will plan on seeing Athens more in depth when we can return and devote more time to exploring the city. Thank you so much again for helping us with our honeymoon plans!

Rent a car so you have maximum accessibility to the far corners of the islands on your own timetable.

AAbriad - the best way to see the beaches of Mykonos is to rent a car. We rented from a very nice girl that had a small agency on the edge of town - I wish I could remember her name. She was so helpful and gave us a mapped-out day route around the island with stops at 4 remote beaches. She also gave us a wonderful lunch suggestion. We had a memorable day visiting beaches we would not have seen on our own.

Hi; You selected a great hotel in Mynokos. Be sure that you have an 'ocean' view and not a 'garden' view. Besides a very nice pool, you can walk down to the ocean, directly below the hotel and relax on the beach. Richard

Parosblue-thank you so much for the information. If you remember the agency or the beaches you stopped at I would love to look them up. I have heard it is less expensive to rent a car upon arrival than pre arranging, is this true?

iris it is so wonderful to hear good reviews about the hotel we will be staying at! We have booked a sea view, thank you so much for the recommendation. Did you find it easy to get into town and back to the hotel after a late dinner? I have heard cabs are hard to come by and we would prefer not to drive after having a couple of drinks at dinner.

We currently are booked at the Atrina Houses? Has anyone stayed here and would know if this is a good hotel to spend a honeymoon? We are also looking at Mystique and Katikies, but for the price we were kind of thinking it seemed as if Atrina had just as nice of a view, pool and location.

Thank you so very much again for all of your valuable input for our honeymoon!

Hi AAbroad; It's a bit of a walk into town or back. The hotel has a shuttle going into town, but not sure about a return. We did walk to a restaurant one night, but not into town.

I hope you realized that iris1745 was not referring to Atrina when referring to the distance to town. Oia is small and Atrina is in the heart of the village, just a short walk from the main square.

Atrina is a very good choice for the money. The views are excellent. My favorite little bakery/mini-market is very close.

Thanks for the clarification 'brotherleelove2004. AAbroad--you will love Atrina. Oia is a great place to stay. Richard

I spent my honeymoon in Athens(3 days), Santorini(5 days), Mykonos (4 days), then back to Athens(2 days) before coming home. My husband and I both wished we had spent less time in Athens, and more time in Santorini-Oia in particular...I guess it's a matter of personal preference, but Santorini for us was magical- I go back this year(staying in Oia), although on our next trip I want to see Naxos and/or Paros as well. You'll love Santorini!!
Have a wonderful time!

what hotel in athens?

AAbroad

The Mykonos Grand is located at Agios Ioannis (Saint John). It's a kind of special place with lots of folklore about it. Tales of pirates and mermaids and if you are very lucky you may see what is know locally as the Apollonia Effect. On occasions, a little after lunchtime, you may see a distinct shimmer of light, long and narrow, almost floating on the surface of the sea between the small harbour at Agios Ioannis and Delos, across the bay. A hotel close to the same little harbour is called the Apollonia, named after this natural phenomenon.

Not too much about it on the web but I found this link:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bostank...gu/4034596714/

I should also say and perhaps folks who have stayed at the Grand can confirm, the light in that area can be dazzling as are the sea colours. Take good sunglasses!

Do not worry too much about getting back to your hotel from town. There are about 30 taxis on the island now and in June, out of peak season, there's a good chance you'll get one. Failing that there’s a local bus which runs hourly up to 1am with a journey time of about 10 minutes. From the Agios Ioannis bus stop closet to the Grand it’s only a gentle 10 minute stroll.

Bill

Thank you all so much again for the information! We are staying at Athen's Gate in Athens. It received good reviews on tripadvisor and seemed like it would be a good, central location for sight-seeing. Any suggestions for must see sights in Athens with only one day?

Bill thank you so much for the detailed info regarding the location of the Mykonos Grand. My only intial concern was that it would be a hassle getting into town for dinner, but it sounds like it will not be much trouble at all. Also, very cool info about the Apollonia Effect. We will have to make sure to make it to the church in Saint John. With only three full days on Mykonos, would you think Delos would be a must see?

We will be traveling from Santorini to Mykonos by ferry. We plan on leaving Santorini on September 17th, should we plan on buying our ferry tickets in advanced? What is the best site to do this at?

It sounds like the vote is definitely in for more time in Santorini, thank you all so much for your input, and it is so exciting to hear that Atrina will be a good hotel for our honeymoon!

brandonmd-
I can't remember the name of the hotel where we stayed for our honeymoon- but this year we will be staying at the Attalos- very reasonable, within walking distance of all of the sights, with a rooftop terrace/view of the Acropolis. I'm not sure if this would be ideal for a honeymoon- not very fancy, but it's location is ideal for a quick few days in the city.

I would NOT stay at the Attalos for a honeymoon. As described, it is very basic. The first room we had, we had to put our feet in the bathrub while on the toilet! U can do much better in Athens.

We are planning on going to Italy and Greece for our honeymoon as well. How was your honeymoon and can you post which hotels, restaurants, sites you recommend.

AAbroad - We are getting ready to head on our honeymoon to Mykonos, Santorini and Athens. We've already booked accommodations, but are there any places to go/things to see that you would recommend? What stood out for you?

Thanks!