My husband and I are planning a summer trip to Greece. We have purchased tickets from Athens to Mykonos, were we expect to spend about a week. We intend to use Mykonos as our "camp". We want to visit Santorini and some of the nearby islands. Questions: <BR>1. Is it necessary to make hotel reservations prior to arrival? (Since we want to have some freedom in choosing what islands to visit once we are in Mykonos) <BR>2. Is Santorini a day trip from Mykonos or should we plan on staying overnight? <BR>3. Would greatly appreciate any suggestions on what islands to visit from Mykonos <BR>4. Any suggestions on a cheap, nice, clean hotel in Mykonos? <BR>Thanks!! <BR>Claudia

Sorry, to sound too negative but unless you're into wild partying with lots of Germans and Brits (and cruise tourists),I wouldn't use Mykonos as my base. It's very nice for a day trip (and Delos, which is nearby is okay, too, although I confess to some disappointemnt as I had expected more), but Santorini is so much nicer to stay on. Mykonos is full of tourists, and the locals are overwhelmed and not very friendly. <BR>I stayed on Paros and Syros, which were so much more pleasant.

Claudia, <BR>Definately IMHO you should plan to stay overnight on Santorini. The views are spectacular, plus there are wineries and some terrific archeological digs going on. We were just in Mykonos and Santorini this past October. And as mentioned above, Mykonos is known as a "party" island. The primary things to do are lay on the beach, drink in the clubs and lay on the beach some more. However that describes many peoples ideal week long vacation . <BR>Delos is interesting, be sure to hook up with a guided tour to get the most out of the ruins. I would suggest you do book in advance particularly if you are planning on visiting Mykonos in the summer. We opted to stay in Mykonos town since beaches are not our big thing, But plan on being out dancing and singing or at least hearing it all night! It's a wild town. We ended up liking Santorini the best of all the islands we visited.

In the Cyclades we visited only Santorini. We were there in mid July some years ago. At the time, though hotel choice was restricted (many booked out) it didn't appeared to be a problem finding a room. We had a reservation but when our ferry docked we were offered rooms by at least half a dozen people. So, chances are that you wouldn't get stranded without a room even though I wouldn't bet that you'd necessarily get a room within your specifications if you're kind of picky about it <BR> <BR>Visiting Santorini out of Mykonos on a daytrip is definitively out of question. Between June 17th and September 22nd there's a single daily flight out, except on Fridays (Mykonos-Santorini schedules below; return flights in parenthesis; flights take 1/2 hour): <BR>Mondays/Tuesdays and Thursdays: at 7:20pm (8:15pm) <BR>Wednesdays: at 2:55pm (3:50pm) <BR>Saturdays: 4:55pm (3:50pm) <BR>Sundays: 8:30pm (9:25pm) <BR> <BR>The ferry scene is somewhat caotic. It's very difficult to have reliable info ahead of time. From one day to the other an extra schedule may be included or and existing one discontinued. Anyway, chances are that you wouldn't have any problems in reaching Santorini from Mykonos by taking a catamaran/hydrofoil to Paros and from there another one to Santorini. Most probably you'd be able to depart Mykonos at 10am, and arrive in Santorini at 12:50pm. There's a ferry service between Mykonos and Santorini but schedules are not daily and trip takes 5+ hours. <BR> <BR>The return trip from Santorini to Mykonos is awkward. Unless you travel with a ferry (5+ hours) on one of the weekdays the service is provided (Mondays, Thursdays and Sundays) you'll have to spend a night in Paros. The catamarans from Paros to Mykonos depart prior to the arrival of the vessels from Santorini. <BR>Santorini-Paros: 1:15pm arrival 3:25pm <BR>Paros-Mykonos: 10:50am arrival 11:30am <BR> <BR>Info sources: <BR>http://www.gtp.gr/RoutesForm.asp <BR>http://www.olympic-airways.gr/flights/oaflttimseauk.htm <BR> <BR>Paulo <BR>

Well, I guess it all depends on what you expect when you go into something. I avoided going to Mykonos on our recent trip because I'd heard all those party town stories. I'm sure there were parties available, but we adored Mykonos the one night we were there and wished we could have stayed longer. <BR> <BR>No doubt part of the charm was the wonderful little hotel we stayed at, Hotel Petasos Town. This 18-room hotel is managed by a woman named Eugenia who makes it clear immediately that you having a wonderful stay in Mykonos is her Number One priority! <BR> <BR>As soon as we checked in, she left the front desk to show us the breakfast area, the rooftop patio (what incredible views!) and our room before then explaining there was a daily shuttle to the Hotel Petasos Beach "for those who want both beach and town," how to travel to Delos, etc., etc. <BR> <BR>Our room, $54 per night through Dolphin Hellas Travel in Athens, was lovely. King size bed, light wood furniture, lovely marble bathroom (even with washcloths!), and a patio as large as the room. And the breakfast was by far the most sumptuous we had in 16 days in Europe: Breads, cakes, croissants, bacon, cold cuts, sausage, hard-boiled eggs, over-medium eggs, cheeses, yogurt, fruit (wrapped individually so you could take it), olives, juice, coffee, tea. It was incredible! <BR> <BR>Although it's absolutely true that Mykonos is NOT a good base for trips to faraway Santorini, I urge you to stay there at least one night, experience the Petasos Town if possible, and by all means, visit Delos, birthplace of Apollo! It was without a doubt the most spiritual of all the places I visited in Europe!

By the way, the website for all of the Petasos hotels is: www.petasos.gr <BR>No, this is not an advertisement. This is a recommendation for the nicest hotel I've stayed at in a long time - especially at this price!

Claudia.... Greece was wonderful... my husband and I went about 2 years ago, but in September. Mykonos was wonderful (I understand that it is packed during July and August), but I would not use it as a camp. A nice, clean, very friendly hotel within walking distance to the town is Kouros. You can take a ferry to Santorini - you must see it and you must stay there a couple of nights). We stayed at the Santorini Palace which was again within walking distance to the town of Thira. Be sure to take a bus to Oia and climb down the steps to the area below where you will find some wonderful restaurants..... one in particular, Ammoya Taverna which had great food and a wonderful view. You absolutely will need lodging reservations, especially at the time of year you're planning on going. Have a great trip!