Hi Everyone,

I was wondering if I could ask a few (maybe more) questions about Greece. My husband and I are going June 2005 for 3 weeks and the more I try and figure out where we want to go the more confusing it gets!
First of all, I know we want to go to Crete and Santorini for around 5 days each. We were thinking about going to 2 other islands for 4 days each and then 2 days in Athens. I have looked into Mykonos, Ios, Tinos, Naxos, Paros, and Folegandros and can't decide. I am hoping we can find good islands to stay on and then day trip to some of the other islands. We are both 37 and want to spend the vacation hiking, relaxing, sunbathing, taking pictures/seeing beautiful scenery, sightseeing, and meeting people. We like to go out at night and have drinks and meet people but we don't really want to hang out with the 21 year old totally drunken crowd. I like to dance but the hubby does not. So I guess we are looking for nightlife but not anyplace which is only really young people and dance clubs. We like fun places but the music does not have to be blaring. Any recommendations would be great.

I was also wondering how long the Ferry takes to get from Athens to Crete. We arrive on Sunday morning and I wonder if we can get a ferry then or if there is a night ferry we can take and just sleep. Or is it cheaper or easier to fly to Crete and then take ferries on our way back to Athens?

Thanks in advance! After reading all your posts I just can't wait to go!

Heidi

I spent two days in Athens and wish I had spent more. The Plaka area is wonderful for dining, drinking, and listening to Greek music.

Although I thought I would dislike it, I really liked Mykonos, especially our day trip to Delos. Paros was nice but pretty boring, and I've heard Naxos is the same. Never made it to Santorini or Crete.

Thanks!

Any idea how long the ferry trip is to Crete from Athens? is it worth it to fly instead?

Whereas I think everyone should take a trip on a Greek ferry at least once, I wouldn't want to be on one for as long as it takes from Piraeus to Crete--around 9hrs., I believe. You could ferry down to the Cyclades, then ferry to Crete and fly back to Athens. Don't miss Santorini; it is breathtakingly beautiful. I don't know if I would want to spend 5 days there, however;it is not the best island for beaches, and you can see it all in 3-4 days. I would spend more time on Crete and more than 2 days in Athens. For what it's worth.
Greece is a fun place!

The Piraeus-Crete ferries take roughly 9 hours, you have a choice of Heraklion, Rethymnon, Chania there are regular ferries every day around 20:00-21:00 thus you arrive at 06:00. My peference would be Chania particularly if you wish to walk down some of the Cretan gorges. To get to Santorini you will have to go to Heraklion for a ferry.
Santorini is only worth a couple of days from here there is about 3 ferries a week to Folegandros, more usually from Ios.

Folegandros tends to have several days when there are no ferries to anywhere, so you may have to travel up to say Sifnos to get a ferry across to Paros or Naxos. Folegandros tourist office has a good map with walking routes on it, the old cobbled tracks still exist here.

From Paros there are ferries from Paros town or maybe Naoussa to Mykonos. The Mykono - Tinos - Piraeus/Rafina is a regular route.

Out of those islands Mykonos/Ios will have the most bars/nightlife, they should not be too rowdy in June.

Ferry schedules change almost daily during June so whatever route you take you will have to be very flexible.

You can fly to Chania or Heraklion which of course will be more expensive and you will miss out on the 'greek ambiance' thick fag smoke all night/ tv blaring out.

Dear hklukas,
Check out some of the feedback i got in the "Ferry vs. Ferry Island Hopping"..i found it very helpful as I too am planning a trip to athens, santorini and crete. and I believe there oneof the posts mentioned a website that has the ferry schedules to crete. Check it out!

I vote for Paros and Mykonos. I'm somewhat older than you but love a good time. We stayed at Naoussa in Paros and had a great time. They have some discos and traditional dancing sporadically. I love a chat and felt like a local after five days, being greeted by name. It had quite a lively atmosphere and lots to do. Good beaches, etc. and we went on a day trip sailing which was just magic. BBQ on the boat, snorkelling and music, ahh what memories. I had been to Mykonos twenty years ago and hated it. Last year, loved it. It is not necessarily for the very young. It is very sophisticated with good bars, stunning sunsets, good food and some nice beaches. We were there in June which is not overly busy. It is only a hop, step and Zorba from Paros. I haven't been to Naxos yet but have heard good things but it is not particularly lively.

Thanks everyone!

So Santorini is maybe not worth 5 full days? How about Crete? 5 days or maybe more?

If the ferries leave Pireaus at 6-7 at night, and arrive at 6 the next day in Chania, how about if we get a room so we can sleep? Or is it tough to sleep? What airlines fly from Athens to Crete?

We just returned from 2 weeks in Greece. One week on Crete, hiked the Samaria Gorge and visited Knossos. Flew into Hania and used that as base. Stayed at a great hotel, on the (sandy) beach, lots of swimming and sunning. Flew to Athens, stayed in Oropus, a good base for us to visit Meteora and Delphi. We found flying on Olympia was comparable to using the ferry price wise and gave us more time to explore.

Message: We just returned from 2 weeks in Greece. One week on Crete, hiked the Samaria Gorge and visited Knossos. Flew into Hania and used that as base. Stayed at a great hotel, on the (sandy) beach, lots of swimming and sunning. Flew to Athens, stayed in Oropus, a good base for us to visit Meteora and Delphi. We found flying on Olympia was comparable to using the ferry price wise and gave us more time to explore.



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I like your plan for 5 days in Santorini and 5 days in Crete (at least). Crete is absolutely huge and there is tons to do. You could even add days to Crete (perhaps splitting your time in two parts of the island) and not be bored at all. Santorini is so relaxing and gorgeous, it is nice to really settle in there and 5 days is perfect, in my opinion. We spent 5 days there on our honeymoon last summer and LOVED it. It was the only portion of our trip where we completely decompressed and felt truly relaxed. Most of the other places we visited were for 3 days each, and were wonderful but didn't allow that kind of relaxation to set in. See my trip report for more details.

I would also vote for Mykonos. we were there in July and were afraid it would be like Spring Break 2004, but in fact it was quite a low-key and sophisticated crowd. It was also great for meeting people and socializing if you wanted to. We tended to go for sunset at one of the Little Venice bars and each time we ended up chatting with the people seated near us. Often, this was a gay couple, just so you know. Of course, it didn't bother us. It was a very social island, but it was easy to avoid the cheesy loud clubs. There are plenty of nice cocktail bars with good (not too loud) music and nice restaurants. This is what we did. For hotels, we stayed at Mykonos Blu which was lovely, but for more of a buzz I'd probably stay at Belvedere. This might also be more convenient, since it is closer to town. If I returned, I would not stay someplace requiring a taxi from town. Taxis were rare and slow to arrive.

I haven't been to the other islands you mention, but I would recommend Hydra for something totally different. Again, there are more details in my trip report, if you're interested. It was a quieter, pedestrian island, but we still did meet people around our small hotel and in the cafes. There was also a cool bar (Hydronetta) with a great sunset view and new-agey music. Good luck planning!

The great thing about the islands is there is so much variety that there's something for everybody, but that makes it tough too. One person's lively scene can be another party-island hell. Another's boring island can be a place with great beaches, hikes and historic spots.

With that disclaimer, I'd say that Santorini for five days might be a couple of days too long. It's not that big of an island and the big draw is the view.

We did two in Santorini and five in Naxos on our last trip. I'm a bit partial about Naxos because while it embraces tourism but doesn't pander to them. There's plenty of other stuff going on there.

It does have great beaches, wonderful drives, but few high-end resorts. It's got unique features like Citron and the local cheeses. Can't speak to the club aspect, but there was a wonderful array of dining options -- downtown along the port, in the heart of the Hora, village restaurants and beach area dining.

But it also has the patina of an area that has perhaps the most working agriculture in the Cyclades.

It fit our needs and I hope this post helps you decide if it might fit yours. Good luck and the best thing is, it's hard to go very wrong.

There is an overnight, high speed ferry that goes to Crete & takes about 5 hours (they let you sleep in a bit as they arrive arouind 5 a.m.) There is no problem sleeping if you get a cabin. I agree with some of the other comments in that Crete is huge & 5 days minimum is needed as well as the fact that 2 days is not nearly enough in Athens. Enjoy!

Thank you all for your wonderful comments and advice. I will post another thread asking about hotel recommendations, thanks again!

Heidi

One of the advantages of taking the overnight ferries is that a room for the night is often cheaper than a hotel and you move from one place to another while asleep.

DougP,

That's whay I was thinking, maybe spending 2 days in Athens and then taking a night ferry to Crete so we could just sleep on the way and not have to pay for a hotel. Any idea what the cost of a room on the ferry is?

My last recollection is approx 140E for a room for 4. They have restaurants onboard and some bars with televisions and cards available.

Do they have rooms for just 2? Or can we just pay the 140E and have only 2 people?

They have just about any combination you want. We saw many people sleeping in the common rooms and I believe the cost for this was approx 20E each.

visit this website
www.harrys-greek-islands-guide.com
he has some great info and will respond to your questions very quick