Dellabutter

Hello ~ I was wondering if anyone has any thoughts on the following itinerary for my honeymoon that is coming up. We are almost done planning but thought I'd see if someone who has traveled to Greece before would give their thoughts.

We are late 30's/early 40's - looking for some relaxing and some "nightlife".

We would like to spend a couple of days at the tail end of our trip driving outside of Athens and exploring.
We only have a couple of days allotted to doing this and I wonder if you would advise taking one night from Santorini or Mykonos or even both and have an extra day or two to drive around?

I appreciate any opinions!

August 22nd - Arrive Athens, approx 3 PM
August 23rd - Athens (Accropolis, Plaka - seeing some sights)
August 24th - leave for Sifnos
August 25th - Sifnos
August 26th - Sifnos
August 27th - leave for Santorini
August 28th - Santorini
August 29th - Santorini
August 30th - Santorini
August 31st - leave for Mykonos
September 1st - Mykonos
September 2nd - Mykonos
September 3rd - Mykonos
September 4th - head back to Athens, stay overnight
September 5th - rent car, head out to tour around
September 6th - spend morning out and about -head back to Athens late afternoon and get hotel for evening
September 7th - 5:00 AM flight out of Athens back to the states.

Thank you!

Heimdall

Congratulations on your forthcoming wedding!

I see nothing wrong with your itinerary, but if you wish to cut a day or two from Santorini/Mykonos to allow more time around Athens, that would be fine too. It all depends upon your interests, really.

You have picked a good mix of islands, and although August is still high season, by the last week of that month things have calmed down considerably. If you haven't already booked accommodation, do so as soon as possible. Although I normally don't book ferries in advance, I would recommend doing so for that time of year, especially if you intend to take the FlyingCat 3 from Sifnos to Santorini and the FlyingCat 4 from Santorini to Mykonos.

Dellabutter

Thank you! We are in the midst of getting everything booked. I am just trying to decide if we want more time to drive up north of Athens and explore or just stick with what I have outlined. I guess it will all be wonderful so I should over analyze

Eleni

It looks like a really wonderful trip. It's so hard to advise others, as we all like different things. It's really hard to go wrong in Greece, you'll have a great time, no matter what you do.

One good thing about your plan is that you are not trying to go to too many islands -- two is just about right. One thing to keep in mind, however, is that both Santorini and Mykonos are both big cruise ship destinations, and so cater heavily to mass tourism. This year, because of the weak dollar and the ability to pay with dollars on the ships, the cruise ships are booked solid.

Santorini and Mykonos are big cruise ship destinations for a reason - both are wonderful, but you may want to pick one or the other and then go to one of the islands that isn't quite as heavily visited. You could go, for example, to Santorini followed by Naxos, or any other of a zillion combinations of islands. On the other hand, you could stick with Santorini and Mykonos and have a great time.

Also, for me, this wouldn't be enough time in Athens, but I am a city person, and I love wondering around cities, and sitting in city cafes people watching, and eating in city restaurants, and of course, there are the amazing antiquities of Athens. But for some people, they are happiest on the islands, and would prefer to spend as little time in Athens as possible. No one is right and no one is wrong -- it's just the joys of democracy!

As for driving, if you do take a day or two from Santorini and/or Mykonos, you may want to consider taking a drive to Meteora. It is a very spectacular place. Here's some pictures I guy I know took last year to give you some idea of how impressive it is:
http://anatomyofmelancholy.wordpress...10/05/meteora/

Dellabutter

Thank you. The pic's your friend too are beautiful~ We decided to take a couple extra days and drive around a bit. We took a day off Mykonos and will get back to Athens on the 3rd and leave the 4th to drive until the evening of the 6th. Early flight out the morning of the 7th.
I appreciate the response and tip.

Melancholicus

Eleni, I'm the person who took those pictures, and I've been wracking my brains trying to guess who you might be, since you say you know me. Send me an email and tell me who you are.