We will arrive in Athens, Greece in the beginnng of April '06 for 4 days. What day trips are a must ? We then will stay 3 days on Mykonos and 3 on Santorini--what sights are a must on these islands? Also what is the weather like in early April? Thanks for any info you can give me.

nanato2,

In Santorini, make sure you visit the archeaological site of the City of Akrotiri --a village that was covered by the volcano. Here is a link.
http://www.travel-to-santorini.com/p...hp?place_id=40

Also, hike the volcano in Santorini. I think it will be too cold though to swim in April, but there are hot springs near the volcano was well. Also take a trip to the little island off of Santorini if you can, it is really cute.

In Mykonos, the city of Delos--a tiny island that you access by boat from the pier downtown. Take a tour to get the most out of it.

Athens...so much to see there. The obvious things will keep you busy for 4 days. Go to the PLAKA for a cafe and some good people watching.

I think Akrotiri is closed indefinitely due to the collapse of the overhanging protective roof structure.

The National Archaeological Museum in Athens is definitely worth the effort.

i second Delos off of mykonos, but i say get a guide book and be your own guide, so you can take your time. 2 hours was not enough for us, nor will it be for you if you like seeing mosaics and statues in their original places rather than in museums indoors.

santorini has amazing ruins in ancient thira (to take the place of the closed down akrotiri). ancient thira's a hike so depending on how brave you are, take a small car up the steep old road (we made it by quad ... barely .

now Athens, i always love the acropolis and plan to do more in athens but the rest of greece just steals me away. Some nearby day trips worth visiting: Epidarius, it's not just a theatre and mycenea has amazing fortress ruins and tombs from 1400+ BC! I also encourage you to go to Delphi (own car, not the cattle tours and there's a lovely mountian village you go through to get dinner on the way back.)

the hot springs by the volcanoes are not that hot ... chilly back in october if you ask me..., but the trip to walk on the volcano is definitely worth it.

santorini has some nice wineries. oia is a nice town to visit ... sunset time (but the fishing village at the bottom of oia is a bit pricey for what you get as seafood, stick with the lamb and prok at the top of the town .

Hi I have been to both islands. Once I was in Santorini mid April. It was very windy during the day and damp and cold at night. I was there for 4 days. It was not warm enough to swim. May and June are the best times to go to these islands. Although there will be tourists around it will be fairly quiet. It is a good time to meet the locals. In April I would go further south to Crete, Karpathos, Rhodos or Cyprus. I would suggest if you go to Santorini in April you would want to stay in Thira town or Oia. The rest of the island will be quiet.