Traveller4Life

Hello,

My fiance and I are going to Greece for our honeymoon and we wanted some advice on our preliminary itinerary. We are in our mid 30's and are visiting Greece in June. We'd like to focus on the islands and are planning to spend only 1 day in Athens, followed by 3 nights in Mykonos, 3 nights in Santorini, and 7 nights in Crete. We would love your thoughts on this itinerary... is this the right amount of time in each location? Are we missing out on any key sights/things to do in these locations? Thanks!


Day 1: Travel day to Athens
Day 2: Athens - Landing in the AM, check into hotel, Visit Acropolis & Parthenon
Day 3: Ferry from Athens to Mykonos - Relax at hotel then Paradise Beach
Day 4: Mykonos - Delos half day then relax at hotel
Day 5: Mykonos - TBD on what to do (any suggestions??)
Day 6: Ferry from Mykonos to Santorini - Check into hotel, then Oia to Fira hike; Sunset in Oia or Fira
Day 7: Santorini - Pygros and Kamari beach
Day 8: Santorini - Thirasia (volcano and hot springs)
Day 9: Ferry from Santorini to Crete (Heraklion) - Spend AM in Santorini; PM in Heraklion; Overnight in Heraklion
Day 10: Crete - Heraklion (Museum), Palace of Knossos, Palace of Phaistos, Drive to Matala; Overnight in Matala
Day 11: Crete - See Matala & Preveli; Drive to Rethymnon - Overnight in Rethymnon
Day 12: Crete - Rethymnon fortress, monastery, and beach; Overnight in Rethymnon
Day 13: Crete - Drive to Chania in AM, See Old Town and Akrotri Peninsula; Overnight in Chania
Day 14: Crete - Hike Samaria Gorge; Overnight in Chania
Day 15: Crete - Elafonisi and Kissamos Beaches; Overnight in Chania
Day 16: Fly from Chania to Athens early AM and catch flight home out of Athens (Travel day)

Thoughts?

neckervd

Days 10-16 are all but relaxing, but feasible.
There are also overnight ferries from Chania to Piraeus (port of Athens).
Visit Athens the last day in order to avoid to miss your transatlantic flight in the case of transportation problems between Chania and Athens.
There are daily catamarans leaving Rafina, a port close to Athens airport, around 3pm (timetable according to the season) and arriving at Mykonos about 2 hrs later. There are planes too.

Traveller4Life

@neckervd:

Thanks for your reply. Is there a different itinerary you would recommend for Days 10-16 in Crete?

I checked flights from Athens to Mykonos but they are too expensive. Where can I book these catamarans? Also, where can I book the overnight ferries? I didn't see any on fantasticgreece.com. Is there another website you can direct me to?

Are the transportation problems generally with ferries or with flights too?

Thanks so much!

travelerjan

In June you should not have to book any day ferries ahead, whether catamarans or regular ferries except maybe for Friday afternoons leaving Athens ... You can just buy tickets when you arrive in Greece -- if you are jumpy you can buy tickets right at Athens Airport there are 2 travel agencies there, Amphitrion and Pacific Travel, that have counters there that are open 24/7/ The overnight ferries you could book the day of sailing if you want a sit-up-all-night reserved seat ... BUT if u want an overnight cabin for 2 it might be well to book ahead. If you email those airport-based agencies, you could book thru 1 of them using credit card, & just pick up upon arrival.

Here is the most-used Ferry website: http://www.gtp.gr/RoutesForm.asp NOTE: if you want to see a specific date, you fill in BOTH the MONTh and DATE slots ... if you want to see all your options, you just indicate 6 (June) for Month, and leave DATE at "Any"... then u see all the sailings during June. NOTE #2: This early, all available sailings are not shown, some are pubished later. Also - from Mainland to Mykonos, you can go from either Piraeus or Rafina. The latter is a 30-mn taxi ride from Airport, so if u are going on arrival day, should look at saiiings from there. NOTE #3: if you state time of arrival, not just day, it is easier for us to give you the best advice about options (immediate departure for island or not).

neckervd

A catamaran ride to Mykonos costs about 50 EUR (plus the bus or taxi ride to Piraeus or Rafina) and a flight about 80 EUR. If you can safe half a day or more, the flight might be the better solution.