AP6380

I hope to post a trip report soon, but just in case anyone had questions I wanted to give a brief overview of the trip:

I had a long layover in Paris, and I went in to the city for about 4 hours. I saw Notre Dame & the Eiffel Tower.

Nights 1 & 2: Athens at Hotel Divani Acropolis

3, 4, 5: Chania, Crete at Casa Delfino

We rented a car in Crete from economycarrentals.com

6, 7, 8, 9: Paleochora, Crete at On the Rocks Hotel

10, 11, 12: Makriyialos, Crete at White River Cottages

13, 14, 15: Santorini at Esperas

We again rented a car from ecomomycarrentals.com

16: Athens at Hotel Electra Palace

Ask away if anything comes up!

AP6380

Topping

yestravel

Looking forward to your trip report as we're travelling to the same destinations in September. I tried the link the car rentals and was unable to get it to open. Do they allow drop off in a location different from the pick up location? thanks!

AP6380

We picked up at the Chania airport and dropped off in Iraklio, I believe those may be the only 2 locations that they allow pick-ups and drop-offs (and perhaps the areas surrounding the 2 cities).

I tried this & it works:

http://www.economycarrentals.com/

butter924

I too am looking forward to your report. Can you give your quick thoughts on Esperas and Electra Palace? Both places we are thinking of booking...

AP6380

Esperas was wonderful. The rooms/apartments are very simply furnished. The views are amazing and the service outstanding. One thing to be aware of was that we had a small house, and the small bedroom on the 2nd level did not have a/c and it was HOT. They provided a fan & it helped my friend.

Electra Palace was much better than Hotel Divani. Appearance-wise and service-wise. I would definitely stay there again. I don't think there was much of a price difference, but the quality of accomodations were very different.

tripgirl

AP,

Thanks for bringing back memories.

We stayed at Electra Palace for 3 nights in Athens, wasn't the lobby lounge chairs just fun! And did also stay at Casa Delfino ( we had the honeymoon suite, although it was not our honeymoon!!). Didn't you just love Chania!

We stayed at Kirini in Santorini ( formerly Katikies Suites). Wasn't Santorini just a dream.

Anxious to read your report and relive the magic.

Welcome home and glad you had a good time.

yestravel

Thank you for the car rental link. They do in fact allow for other pick-up droppoff lcations for a slight fee. On Esperas, was the downstairs portion of the house air conditioned?

AP6380

Yes, the downstairs has the a/c, it just wasn't strong enough to reach the small area upstairs. They will give you a fan if it's a problem.

I found economy car rentals to have the best rates for an automatic car, which is what I needed.

sunny16

AP, we will be spending 4 nights in Athens and 3 nights in Santorini this fall, (though not in the same hotels,) so I'm looking forward to reading your trip report!

yestravel

AP6380--I see u spent 10 days in Crete. Was that enough time to see everything or was it to long, just right? What do you recomend for the number of days in Crete? Thanks!

AP6380

Crete is large, 10 days was good for a broad overview. Definitely not too long. I could have spent at least 2 weeks there.

It depends on your style of travel, do you move every 3-4 days like me, or like to rent an apartment for a week at a time?

yestravel

Thanks, AP -- we enjoy moving around too. Finding a nice area, staying for a few days and exploring that area on foot and thru driving, then moving on to another village. Sounds like we could end up spending most of our vacation on Crete. Would love to hear any special places u discovered. Did u hike the Samaria Gorge? Some on this board have been advising against it because it is so crowded.

milliebz

How were the White River Cottages?

AP6380

They were great. The houses are really unique. They are a great combination of an old charm feel with some modern amenities. The towns around White River Cottages are just ok. But there are great daytrips to be had from there-Sitia, Vai Beach, Toplou Monastery, Xerocambos Beach, etc.

The Cottages are set back on a dirt, rock road that is not paved. I cannot imagine staying here without a rental car.

Vera

Okay, the only one you haven't talked about specifically is the enticingly named On the Rocks. How was it? Did you have all these places internet-booked ahead of time? What were the price ranges?

My husband and I spent a fabulous week (plus) driving around Crete several years ago. Love, love, love that place!
Vera

AP6380

I had a really hard time finding a hotel in Paleochora that I could book over the internet. I should have waited until I arrived, but my mindset is such that I like everything pre-booked. So I booked it through cretetravel.com, I think it was overpriced. I know we definitely paid 90 Euros in commission to cretetravel. There was hardly anyone else at the hotel, so we could have just showed up and got a room.

The room was small, I would recommend people get the suite. I think we paid 110 Euros per night for a small double (which I think is overpriced for the size, and also this town seems more budget-friendly than that), and the suite would have been 150 Euros. They have nice views and are on the harbor. There was a nice balcony.

I would say it's average. If I were to go in June again I would just wait until I got there!

Vera

Thanks for the additional info. We always had good luck getting hotels as we traveled around Greece. The exception would be Athens the first few nights and last night before we left were always reserved in advance. But we haven't been there for ten years and I worry that it might not be as easy to do the casual thing any more.
Vera

Vera

Okay, I was trying to be cute with the emoticoms and got the wrong one. Was supposed to be