Itinerary help - 2 single girls, first time in Greece
 

Hi,
We are leaving for Greece from May 22nd to May 31st. I am thinking:
We will have 9 nights and 10 days.
2 nights in Athens
2 nights in Santorini (Oia)
2 nights in Mykanos

We are two - 26 yr. old girls. I know that I have all touristy destinations in place. Please suggest one more non-touristy, safe islands. We need to begin in Athens cause our arrival time is different.

Please suggest the order in which we should visit these islands. Also - do we need to book ferries from the US (before arrival) or can we book it on the spot. The ferry booking seems extremely confusing.
Thanks so much.

If you take the bus from Central Athens to Rafina Port you can begin on Mykonos and have a short ferry ride to get there, much shorter and more daily departures than if you were to leave from Piraeus. After Mykonos and before Santorini the easiest choices for a non-touristy island would be Paros and Naxos. Even less-touristy and quite charming is Antiparos, which you can easily reach by frequent local shuttle ferry from Paros.

FYI-there is a highspeed ferry between Mykonos and Santorini that stops at Paros and Ios. Also, buying tickets in advance in May isn't necessary. You can wait until you're in Greece. The ferries won't be full. And if you want you can buy your ferry tickets right at the Athens Airport from the travel desk of Amphitrion Holidays in the Main Hall between Exit/Entry doors 2&3. They're open 24/7.

My friend and I same age and stuff as you, are planning on going in early June. I started a thread last week that you may find helpful to read. We are planning on 3d in mykonos, 3d in santorini and 4 in athens.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-to-greece.cfm

Hi angel025,

What time are you arriving in Athens? There are ferries leaving Rafina for Mykonos throughout the day, one, SeaJet 2 even as late as 8:15pm, arriving on Mykonos 2hrs 10 min later. Rafina is only 20 minutes by bus from Athens Airport.

Given such a short time in Greece, it would be advantageous to get to the islands as soon as possible, then save Athens for last.

Paros and Ios have the best connections between Mykonos and Santorini, so those will be the most logical choices. Ios has a reputation as a party island, but will be quiet in May. Paros has a lot to offer, and if you can fit in a round-island (Antiparos) boat trip on Alexandros, that could well be the highlight of your trip: http://www.greeka.com/cyclades/paros...dros/index.htm

And do wait until you get to Greece to buy your ferry tickets. Booking over the internet is a pain in the @***, and totally unnecessary in May. When you get to Athens, buy them at the airport or from a ticket agent at the port - it will take about three minutes. :-)

One more thing: you don't need to book Alexandros in advance. If you go to Paros, and it fits in with your plans, you can book at a travel agent, or just show up at the boat in Antiparos harbour by 10am, and pay when you get there.

Thanks so much. Heimdall - so if we arrive in Athens by 5:00pm, can we take a bus ride to Rafina and buy the ferry tickets and bus tickets from the international airport on arrival? We might have to take the last ferry out at 8:15pm from Rafina - do you think these tickets will be available?

Ferries in May will not be full but if you're nervous about waiting to purchase your tickets you can order them online from Amphitrion Holidays and pick them up when you first arrive at Athens Airport from their travel desk in the Main Hall between Exit/Entry doors 2&3. They're open 24/7. Their fee for this service is 2 euro. They will advise you where to go to catch the bus to Rafina.

http://amphitrion.forth-crs.gr/english/npgres.exe?pm=BB

it looks like we might have to spend the night in Athens and then head to the islands. Where do you think we should begin from Mykanos or Santorini?

thanks brotherlee - so do you think we should then fly to Santorini from the international airport? My friends flight arrives from India only in the evening. I am trying to avoid a one night stay in Athens. please help.

It doesn't really matter very much. It's easier to get to Piraeus from Central Athens than it is to get to Rafina, but the tradeoff is the time it takes on the ferry to reach Mykonos. In May I don't think you'll be successful finding a highspeed to either island, which means from Piraeus it'll take about 8 hours to reach Santorini and 5 hours to reach Mykonos. From Rafina it will take about 2 hours to reach Mykonos. There is a frequent bus from Central Athens to Rafina. Your hotel can tell you where to catch the bus.

For me flying is always the best option.

ok. I prefer flying as well, to save us time. I am on the olympic airlines website and trying to look at flight options from Athens to Santorini but I can't find the airport option for Santorini. Is it listed under any other name? I am looking for evening/night flights out of Athens. Thanks!

I went to Aegean airlines. There are no late night flighs either to Santorini or to Mykanos. It looks like we'll have to spend the night in Athens.

Check Athens Airways. They have a flight to Mykonos at 9:30pm for only 60 euro per person, taxes included.

http://www.athensairways.com/cgi-bin...i?ZF=2&LANG=EN

Just another thought.
You really do not have a lot of time for this trip so I agree that flying will be preferable to the ferry.
However unless you are willing to fly back to Athens in order to fly to your second island you are going to end up on a ferry for an extended period at least once or perhaps twice if you still intend to try and hit Naxos/Paros

Even a short ferry ride can burn up an unbelievable amount of a day when you consider waiting for the ferry, the trip itself, then getting settled in on the new island. In effect you are losing at a minimum half a day for each island hop you make.

You have chosen two good islands to visit in Mykonos and Santorini so why don't you consider just limiting your trip to these two locations. Santorini in particular can be captivating and you may not want to leave.
Sometimes less is more, particularly on a short island hopping trip.

They don't have a flight available for May 16th - the day we arrive in Athens. They have 15th and 17th available...just my luck.

Hi angel,

If you can't get on a flight that evening, recommend you spend the night in Rafina and get the first ferry out to Mykonos the next morning. I did that last year (staying at Hotel Avra) and it was very pleasant. Right next door to the hotel is a rooftop restaurant overlooking the harbour. I had a couple of drinks and a late dinner - a great start to my trip.

The last bus from the airport to Rafina leaves at 2215, and takes only about 20 minutes. You should be able to find Hotel Avra on the booking websites. Another cheaper alternativr in Rafina is Hotel Corali.

Thanks Heimdall. That should work for us! And we can just get the ferry tickets from Rafina to Mykanos from the airport. Is there anything to do around Rafina? Is it safe? I will be arriving at an early flight to Athens..so my day is free, but my friend will be arriving late.