Opa! Help me finalize trip to Athens, Naxos & Santorini
 

Please comment on this tentative itinerary for my family of 2 adults plus 2 teenaged sons:

Athens, 7/29 - 8/01: Athens Ledra Marriott (2 double rooms @99 euros per room/per night)

Fly to Naxos

Naxos, 8/01-8/06: Either Kavos (2 bedroom villa @210 euros per night) or Villa Mirandi Naxos (Superior Quad Studio @ 290 euros per night)

Take ferry to Santorini

Santorini, 8/06 - 8/12: Astra Apts.(2 bedroom apt.@430 euros) or Esperas (2 bedroom @327 euros). I have eliminated Katikies and Perivolas because they are too expensive for our budget.

Athens, 8/12: Need recommendation for airport hotel...we leave very early on 8/13.

Please guide me on our island and hotel selections. Thanks!

Your trip sounds wonderful. We have stayed at the Esperas in Oia and loved it. I know you will have a great stay there. I do not know the Astra Apts. but the web site looks wonderful. Your trip will be spectacular. I am jealous. I think there is only 1 hotel at the Athens airport. It is a Stoffile hotel.

Yipper, one question regarding Esperas...do you think 2 well-traveled, generally well-behaved boys will be comfortable there? I want to avoid being the only non-honeymooners at a small hotel.

Thanks for the tip on the Sofittel Hotel...I have already booked rooms for 8/12.

We couldn't get into the Astra (booked) or Katikies (son under 13) last trip, but have had friends or relatives stay at both and love them. We ended up at Sunny Villas, which was a small but very bedautiful/clean/friendly spot, right down the path from Astra.

As nice as Oia is, there are some wonderful qualities to Imerovigli and the Astra, especially with kids. Many boys will love the hike to the Skaros, which just out right below you. A couple of great tavernas just a pleasant stroll down the path.

There's a convenient mini-market and some good fresh bakwd goods nearby.

Depending on the level of independence, they can take the 5-minute bus into Fira or to the beaches on their own and be perfectly safe.

I've seen the Kavos location, but just can't place it. Both of your Naxos locations are near an exc ellent beach, but get a car. There's no need to do it right away, you likely can get good rates through your hotel, there are some rentals at the nearby beach town of Agios Prokopios (although it might be just scooters and ATV's now -- not sure) or most places in town will run one out to the hotel.

As for airport hotels, there's only the Sofitel on property and very little close. I saw a Holiday Inn about 10-15 minutes out on the freeway from town, but don't know a thing about it.

The Sofitel is very pricey, although a friend who stayed there said it was quite nice as airport hotels go.

Santorini is a fairly small island. There is an excellent bus system. You can turn the boys loose with a few Euros in their pockets to make their way to the beaches where many other young travellers congregate, Perissa and Kamari, and rest assured that they'll find their way back to whichever village you choose for your stay.

In beautiful Oia, just below the Esperas, is a quaint little fishing "village" called Ammoudi where all of you can swim, eat and relax as long as you're fit enough to walk down and back up the steps from the Byzantine ruins above. There's also a small red rock beach at Ammoudi as well as a trail along the water's edge that leads to a small rock island only 30 yards across a shallow channel with a platform for swimming and diving (my personal favorite).

All of you will enjoy Oia's timeless charm, I'm sure, but if you feel like you need to be closer to the activities of the main village of Fira then either Imerovigli or Firostephani might be a better choice for you.

Thanks to repete and Brotherleelove2004 for their words of wisdom.

Does Oia have enough tavernas or other eating establishments to allow us to vary our evening meals? We are not interested in clubbing or other nocturnal entertainment, just a simple meal and good wine. How far away is Fira from Oia should we decide to wander there for shopping or dining? I just assumed that wherever we stayed on Santorini, we could get to another area fairly easily...is this incorrect?

Oia has lots of places to eat and there are spots in Ammoundi as well. However we found Oia overall to be more expensive than Fira and Imerovigli.
Fira, Firostephani and Imerovilgi are all within a 15-20 minute walk of one another. Oia is about 10 km away - easy enough to go between there and Fira on the bus.

There are plenty of restaurant choices in Oia, from the most upscale "1800," Ambrosia and the Oia Cafe-Restaurant, to small family-owned establishments all over the village, certainly way more than enough for a 6 night stay. Neptune is one for those who want authentic Greek cuisine. It's where Greeks eat a lot of their meals when they're visiting Oia.

Fira is about 7 miles/12km from Oia, and it's easily reached by bus and taxi. In the summer months there's a bus every half hour between 8am and 10pm. Buses to all villages from Fira (the bus hub) have about the same schedule.

Hi- We are going Greece with out two sons arriving 21 April and departing 2 May. We are also staying at the Ledra Marriott (4/22-4/25), then onto a 4 night cruise, then to Aegina to the Kavos Bay for 2 nights then to the Hilton in Athens for the day/night before our 7 am flight back to the states. How old are your sons? Pls. email me. Have you decided on an Athens bus tour? Pls. tell me how you are doing most of your research.
Thanks,
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