Need help convincing spouse...
 

to go to Santorini and Mykonos instead of Hawaii. She wants white beaches and green water (and a resort on the beach). I've tried to show her the specatcular resorts on the different Cyclades islands, but she still isn't sold. Can anyone share some stories or particular islands that might be a compromise? I love the cliffs and the views that the islands all seem to provide and don't need the white beaches, but I understand where she is coming from. Thaks for any help.

Ben

Hey Ben,

Take her to Hawaii this time, but only if she agrees to go to Greece next time.

Hi,
Have you been to Hawaii? The Greek islands are wonderful and I would rather go there than Hawaii, but if it is a resort where you are pampered and all you do is sit in the sun while a cute guy brings you a drink(which isn't bad), then I think Hawaii should be first. Greece is different, unless you go to Elounda Resort in Crete. Greek islands have a more informal atmosphere. Some of the islands have wonderful ruins to explore duirng the mornings. The beaches are nice, but there are not Hawaii. I love the travenas where you get a beer with the best tomatoe salad, Greek yohurt with honey for breakfast, and wonderful fresh fish simply cooked for dinner. The best calamari I ever had was at a sea side restaurant on Santorini. We walked way down to this traverna where the owner's son had just caught our dinner. After dinner the music played and we danced Greek dances. There were about 7 of us there that night. The down side was the walk back up to the hotel. Try searching Corfu. I have never been there, but it is more lush, like Hawaii. The Cyclades have very little greenery. Have a great vacation.

That sounds like "Katrina's" at Amoudi below Oia.

There is such a world of difference between Hawaii and the Greek Islands, it's hard to answer this.

I spent a week in Hawaii once, and while it was interesting and the beaches were indeed beautiful and the inland scenery amazing, I don't have much of a hankering to go back.

I spent three weeks in the Greek Isles and would go back again and again. In addition to the amazing scenery and beautiful beaches, there is so much history and all that a foreign culture offers (I know, I know, Hawaii is a "foreign culture," but not one with the depth of Greece IMO).

Besides, the food is better in Greece. You haven't lived until you've taken a boat ride across the isthmus to Kushadasi in Turkey and had fresh grilled octopus that the captain just caught along with a thimbleful or two of raki under a full moon.

Hi
Give some thought to another Greek Island, such as Corfu. It's lushly tropical, it has some fancy resorts.
It has a varied history; at one time or another it was English, Turkish, and Venetian, in addition to being Greek. The water isn't green, but it's purple.
Think of Homer's "wine-dark sea".

Hi Ben,
I was about to share with you some of the techniques I employ when trying to convince my wife of something when it occurred to me that none has ever worked. My best advice would be to emphatically agree with her, which (if she's anything like my wife) would immediately cause her to doubt the wisdom of her decision and reconsider.

I've never been to Hawaii but I haven't been anywhere that I want to return to more than the Greek Isles, especially Santorini...Mykonos is nice too...but you have to want to experience the Greek culture to really enjoy it. If you just want a nice beach vacation then lots of places will do.

Aja,

Break up with your fiancee, she doesn't understand you like I do. I'll go to Greece with you. When can we leave?

LOL, Nina, I was thinking the same thing.
I hope you go to Greece Aja1.
Find a site on line with beautiful photos.

Such great responses! If I had known you could meet women on this sight I would have come years ago!

I think I have convinced her, but need to close the deal, I'll look at Corfu too. She's just having a little trouble giving up the "Carona commercial" picture in her mind...she and I both know she'll have a good time...I cannot wait!

Thanks Again!

At least she has some opinion. And Hawaii is very nice.
My husband, on the other hand, has actually taken off in an airplane for a 10 day vacation with me and not known where we were going.

I try to get him to be interested enough to at least pack the right clothes, and to his credit, he is very agreeable.

I think the answer depends in part of the time of year you plan on travelling...let us know!

If she wants white beaches and green water, then forget Hawaii and Greece and go to Anguilla in the Caribbean! The whole island has spectacular talcum powder white beaches. It has some of the fanciest resorts in the Caribbean, but our favorite is Rendezvous Bay Hotel--cheaper and with the best beach on the island. The other reason I love Anguilla is that there's absolutely nothing to do but enjoy the sand and surf and great food--and the people are the loveliest folks you could hope to meet.
Seriously, when are you planning to go? Don't forget, Greece has the Olympics this year, so it'll be a madhouse. I prefer Greece to Hawaii, as lovely as it is, probably because I'm Australian, and Hawaii is more similar in vegetation and ambiance to what I had growing up, whereas Greece seems a lot more exotic and different, with its lovely whitewashed villages, great food, marvelous antiquities--and I like going somwhere where the language is different--it's more of a break from everyday life. What's not to like about Greece?
However, I think a previous poster had the right idea--go to Hawaii this year and Greece next year.

We are going in September...thus Anguilla is out (that is where she wanted to go, but all the nice places are closed). Hawaii it seems is the only tropical type island that is "open" in Sept.

If you're looking for a tropical island with good September weather, consider Rarotonga in the Cook Islands.

I have been to both Hawaii and Santorini/Mykonos. I definitely prefer Greece. It is a beautiful country.

I was just in Greece this past September for my honeymoon. Santorini was my favorite place. It is beautiful and the weather was perfect. (85 and not a cloud in the sky) Mykonos is very different, but nice too. It was VERY windy and a bit colder in Mykonos.

Good Luck closing the deal!!

Oooh, tell me more about Greece in September...crowded? Easy to navigate ferries? Were you happy with your decision to go to only 2 islands? How long did you go for?

Aja1 - We were in Greece for 2 weeks. Our Itinerary:
- 2 nights in Athens - JV Athens Hotel
- Flew to Mykonos
- Mykonos - 5 nights - Royal Mykonian Hotel
- Took Ferry from Mykonos to Santorini
- Santorini 5 nights - Katikies Hotel
- Flew from Santorini to Athens
- 1 night - Athens Airport Sofitel

We did not want an active vacation, so we only went to 2 islands. I am happy with the islands we chose. I would have rather spent more time in Santorini. 5 nights in Mykonos was a bit too much in my opinion. 3 nights would have been perfect. Santorini is an amazing place and our hotel was fantastic (www.katikies.com). You MUST go there.

Santorini and Mykonos were not too crowded when we were there. We were told that they had just gotten past there peak season (June - August). I am not sure how crowded it will be this year, due to the Olympics.

The ferry service from Mykonos to Santorini was good. It was nice and a cheap way to see the part of the Greek Isles. They leave from a pier right near the town of Mykonos...very easy process.

I ended up booking my entire trip with a greek travel agency - Fantasy Travel (http://www.fantasytravelofgreece.com/). They arranged everything and did a fantastic job. They also saved me about $2K from what it would have cost me to book it on my own. They told me that they get "greek" discounts.

Let me know if you have any additional questions.

We'll be using Fantasy Travel too, I've been emailing with Dina. I've seen the Katikies Hotel and it does look good, I'm also interested in the Astra Apartments...surely you had or have seen their website www.astra.gr
Thakns again for the info!

Ben

I would think about doing Naxos in addition to or instead of Mykonos not only will it be less money but it has some very lovely beaches. In Santorini the two nicer hotels I've stayed at are Esperas in Oia and Veggera in Perissia one of the black sand beaches. If you want to see some of my pictures of Naxos and Santorini you can go to http://www.virtualtourist.com/m/4a4b1/669be/

Here's two thoughts Ben. First, I don't infer that you want to sit at a resort and have cute guys bring YOU drinks.

Second, you can fly and flop anywhere but Santorini has a charm and overall pleasantness that seems to be lacking in Hawaii -- probably because Santorini has no mega-Marriotts and uber-Hiltons. Plus, the Greek Islands are not overpriced, Hawaii is.

Additional thoughts: avoid Mykonos during the high season. Mykonos is the gay vacation capital of Europe and no matter how tolerant you are the whole "scene" can be like Spring Break of a different sort. If you're not hanging out in Daytona or South Padre Island (US) in April, you won't want to be in Mykonos in high season.

I liked Mykonos (we were there in late Sept.) and especially our hotel Princess of Mykonos. Great breakfast and right up the road from the beach and a bunch of tavernas on the beach.

Note that the water quality in Santorini is very poor (in Mykonos it's decent). Go with the bottled stuff, even for brushing teeth.

We spend part of every year in Greece, and are generally there every September. I like it then because it is not as hot, and not as crowded. But, by September, the water is starting to cool down a bit and many of the islands tend to be windier than earlier in the summer -- something about land and sea temperature differentials. Since it is the southernmost island in Greece, Crete is also the warmest in September. It also has many resorts, with very good service and well-maintained beaches, and with staff who speak good English. Although Santorini is beautiful, it is not where I would go if my goal were white beaches and green water. We really dislike Mykonos -- although I suppose it would be fine if what you want to do is drink and party with a lot of young or gay people. As for whether Greece is easy to get around in September, the answer is yes it is, particularly because everything is generally less crowded. But it is hard to predict how this year will be, since the Olympics end Aug 29 and then there are the Paralympics in Athens through mid-September. I suspect that things will be more crowded than usual this year.
This is why I think that if you opt for Greece, Crete is the place to go: as mentioned it has the kind of resorts and beaches your spouse seems to like, it is a large island so there is a lot of variety in scenery and places to go, it has large cities and small villages where you can see the "real Greece", there is good shopping if you or your spouse likes that sort of thing, there is excellent food. Assuming you are planning a 2-3 week trip, and what you want to do is relax, I would not go to a bunch of different islands, but would restrict myself to Crete, which has enough things to do to keep you busy. I don't care for Iraklion, as it seems to lack charm. On the north coast, I prefer the areas around Chania and Reythymnon. The southern coast is less populated and has many charming communities. Let me know if you have any other questions.

One more thing: I suggest you go to http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g1...te-Hotels.html and read about some of the resort hotels and people's comments on them. I really wouldn't bother with a Greek travel agency. You can make the hotel reservations easily yourself on the internet, either fly or ferry to Crete, and rent a car through www.autoeurope.com with ease.

You might try reading this article about Crete -- the author is certainly more articulate than I am! This is from the Guardian travel section: http://travel.guardian.co.uk/saturda...890973,00.html

Here's another good Crete article from the London times: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article...271698,00.html

I have to jump on Eleni's bandwagon and recommend Crete. Here are a few more reasons. The palm trees on the beaches at the far eastern end of the island, the beautiful resorts on the north and the south, the southern beaches are VERY warm in September--remember this is the closest part of Europe to Africa. AND because everyone should see Santorini, preferably from a ferry sailing into the caldera, you can take a ferry from Crete and spend a couple of nights in Santorini.
P.S. Anyone who really wants white sand beaches needs to go to Florida or Hawaii--Greece's beaches just don't measure up. But there are so many more reasons to go there.

Vera

Hi Ben-
We are getting married on Oct 2 and are having the same discussion between Hawaii and Greece.

Does anyone know what type of weather can we expect from Oct 3-17?? Seems like the season is winding down by then and I am concerned we won't get any good beach/swimming in.

We are thinking of doing Crete(5nights)/Santorini(3 nights)/Mykonos(3night)/Athens(2nights) - how does that sound - we were thinking of maybe eliminating Myk, and adding a day or two to Santorini and Crete - thoughts??

..I went in october..is winding down but most resorts were open (we went first 2 weeks)..delightful as not overly crowded..it was NOT beach weather..but great for walking on a beach and great for sight seeing..i think i did get into a swim suit once but stayed in a protected area..i would NOT eliminate mykonos..and i would be sure to plan a day in delos (and i think there is one day a week when delos is not "open")..i really think that end sept beginning of october is great as not too warm and the crowds are not an issue..

Thanks T-Bunny-
Where you in Crete? I understand that Creete is a warmer than Mykonos, so I am thinking we might still be able to hit the beach in Create the first week in Oct (we will be on the east side - Blue Spa)

..whoops jgk..i obviously answered under the crete honeymoon thread..but i think you picked up the message..ive had a bad day!