gustave7

Hi there,

I'm working on planning our honeymoon and have been pretty indecisive lately / having second thoughts about what I've got so far. Looking for advice and recommendations.
Here's a quick outline of the trip so far.

Oct 4th- Flight from Chicago to Santorini (with layover in Munich). Long travel day
Oct 5th- Arrive Santorini 6:20pm
Oct 6th- Santorini
Oct 7th- Santorini
Oct 8th- Santorini
Oct 9th- Ferry to Mykonos (I spent a long time debating between Mykonos and Naxos, and still am unsure)
Oct 10th- Mykonos
Oct 11th- Mykonos
Oct 12th- Flight from Mykonos to Dubrovnik
Oct 13th- Dubrovnik
Oct 14th- Dubrovnik
Oct 15th- Split
Oct 16th- Split (potential day trip to Plitvice Lakes)
Oct 17th- Hvar
Oct 18th- Hvar
Oct 19th- Ferry from Hvar to Dubrovnik
Oct 20th- Flight back home

A lot of my concern is about traveling in October and having places be closed / bad weather. I think we'll be fine in Greece, but not so sure about Croatia?
Are we spending too long or too little in each destination? Trying to balance a relaxing trip with not getting bored.
Mykonos vs Naxos is still a tough call for me. Only thing having me lean towards Mykonos is the time of year (shoulder season so less crowded?)
Dubrovnik, Split, Hvar, not quite sure of the order of these and how long to spend in each one?
Should I shorten the Croatia part and add an island like Naxos?

Any and all advice is welcome!

rialtogrl

I can’t help with Greece, but for Croatia, barring any crazy shutdown/closed border scenario things will be open in all those locations. Hvar will be winding down, but some places will be open for sure. It’s a nice time to visit.

my only worry would be flight from Mykonos to Dubrovnik. Is there a flight you are looking at?

gustave7

Yes surprisingly there is a flight from Mykonos to Dubrovnik on Olympic/Aegean for only $115 each. There is a 1 hour 10min layover in Athens, and total trip time from Mykonos to Dubrovnik is 3 hours and 20 min.
This flight seems to be an exception though, and other days look very pricey. So I'm thinking if this itinerary is solid, I should book this flight ASAP.

Would love to just fly straight there, rather than take a ferry to Athens, go to the airport, then fly to Dubrovnik

Now if I replaced Mykonos with Naxos, a direct flight would be even cheaper ($50), and would be nonstop

rialtogrl

That’s awesome Gustave. Again the worry for me would be, will that flight really go. I guess I get nervous because so many flights have been cancelled these past months.

I’ll be in Hvar those same days. The catamaran should run that late, but have a backup plan (go to Split and bus down if need be.) if there is weather or not enough customers the catamaran is finito.

gustave7

Good to know and thanks for the advice! Maybe I'll book the flights but have a backup plan like you said. Also a backup plan in Hvar to make sure we can get back to our flight in time if there are cancellations.
That's awesome you will be in Hvar at the same time! You have eased a bit of my concerns with things being closed in October. It sounds like it will be quiet but still plenty to do.

rialtogrl

Well last year was a bit strange but normally the season in Hvar goes to mid-October or early November. There is the wine harvest and people start to pick olives. You will enjoy it. Split and Dubrovnik are much bigger and you will have zero problem there…

Heimdall

Happy for you that you found a flight from Mykonos to Dubrovnik. Are you sure there are nonstop flights to Croatia from Naxos? The Naxos runway is only 900 meters long, barely long enough for flights to Athens on small turboprops. Skyscanner.net shows mostly two stop flights at at least three times the price you quoted from Mykonos.

gustave7

You are absolutely right...thanks for catching that. I was using google flights and was misreading the results. Naxos does not offer those flights. So it's either Mykonos or head to Athens and fly from there

The flight from Mykonos to Dubrovnik actually comes out to $182 per person when you include checked baggage and fees/taxes. I still think that's probably worth it versus the ferry to Athens and still having to catch a flight. Now when I go to pick my seats it looks like there are only 2 other people currently booked on the flight...so again will for sure have a backup plan if it doesn't go

Heimdall

I suppose one advantage of going through Athens is you would have more choice of carriers and dates. For that reason I have always gone through Athens on my trips to the Cyclades from London. October is just about the end of the season for direct flights to/from the islands.

BTW, October should be a good month to be on Mykonos, which has a longer season than Naxos. The summer crowds will be gone, but most everything still open. I’ve been on Mykonos in late May and early June, which are similar to October, both being outside high season. Sea water in October will be warmer than June, and air temperature still warm.

gustave7

Appreciate all the great advice. What is everyone's thoughts on my initial itinerary in Croatia?
Flying into Dubrovnik so figure stay there about 2 days, then thinking drive up to Split and enjoy the scenery / towns along the way.
Not sure how much time to dedicate to Split but would love to day trip to Plitvice lakes national park if possible.
From Split I wanted to go to Hvar, then finally take a ferry back to Dubrovnik to catch our flight home.

Heimdall

I’ll leave advice on Croatia to rialtogirl. Are you still in Croatia, rialtogirl?

rialtogrl

I don’t think you have time to go to Plitvice. It’s three hours each way from Split. You can do it, but will be a bit tiring.

There is plenty do do around Split. It’s your honeymoon, chill….

rialtogrl

in Montenegro now 😀

Heimdall

Sounds good, rialtogirl! My daughter and SIL stopped there during their London to Cape Town overland trip. They stopped to visit SIL’s cousin who was working on a super yacht at the time.

gustave7

Totally agree with the current plan being a bit too much. If I did do Plitvice, I think I would have to cut a day someone, maybe from Hvar.
A day trip to Montenegro was something I was considering as well, obviously cutting out a different part of the trip if so.

All things considered, my main concerns like being in Greece / Croatia in October and the overall outline of the plan seems OK! I will work on refining my Croatia trip so things won't be so rushed. Thanks a bunch rialtogrl and Heimdall!

rialtogrl

You have time. And you can come back.don’t cut Hvar! It’s so romantic.

dreamon

If flights are available, you may wish to fly home from Split. That would make Croatia: Dubrovnik - Hvar - Split.

gustave7

Unfortunately we are using frequent flier miles for the flight home, and that airline only flies out of Dubrovnik. Also the flight from Mykonos to Croatia only really works into Dubrovnik (flying into Split is really expensive).
Although now that I think about it, we could just ferry to Athens then fly into Split, then basically reverse the order finishing up in Dubrovnik. Will have to think that through a bit.

MoBro

My personal taste would be to stay longer at each location. We never do two-night stays, for instance. Three nights is my minimum, and even that feels rushed if I'm in a new place. I would stay in Greece for the 15 nights.
We were in Santorini and Athens one mid-September. It was still hot in Athens, and a little bit of rain one afternoon in Santorini, but in general it was great, with fewer tourists.
We stayed five nights on Santorini, at the Gold Suites near Imerovigli. https://www.goldsuites-santorini.com
Highly recommend, especially that location. There's a paved walking path that is magical, especially at night, all along the caldera, with restaurants and cafes.
Breakfast on our private terrace, made-to-order every morning at Gold Suites:



You have 15 nights? I'd visit three islands, with stays in Athens as needed. On our way home, we spent one night at a resort outside of Athens that was very nice: https://www.fourseasons.com/athens/?...le_local_apl1_.

We also spent two nights in central Athens, at the Hotel Grande Bretagne, also honeymoon-worthy:
https://www.marriott.com/hotels/trav...b3ZlcnJpZGU%3D

KayF

We stayed in Chania (Crete) and Hydra in the first two weeks of October and it was definitely winding down. There were still people about but waiters looked bored with few customers and by the end of that trip, some shops and restaurants had closed for the season. We had lovely sunny weather, not hot but nice and warm.

Out of Mykonos and Naxos, I'd choose Mykonos. We really enjoyed them both but I think Mykonos is really picturesque. You mention the ferry back to Athens, in order to catch a flight, but Mykonos has an airport so it would be quicker to fly back to Athens and connect to the next flight. I'd suggest staying in Oia on Santorini, it's beautiful and there is lots of accommodation and places to eat.

Is your honeymoon this year? If so, I'd be concerned about potential cancellations or lockdowns due to COVID. The fewer countries you visit (e.g. you could just visit Greece which is a wonderful place) and the fewer times you move on, probably the easier it would be to manage any problems.

Have a wonderful time, I'm envious!