travelerjan

Seeksocean --- you don't give the vital piece of information.... WHEN exactly wil you arrive? Next week? Next Month? Next Spring?

Aegean AIr has "bargain" flights (final cost = 35E to 50E) if youbook far enough ahead. But when these limited number of bargain seat on each flight are sold, then the "regular" price is usually a bit higher than the "regular" price charged by Olympic Air.

If it's next week or even early September u may be late for the 'bargains. I would advise you to check both websites. The other factor of course is, the departure time. You could make a 6pm (1800 hrs) flilght, not earlier.

Even if the 'bargains' are gone, consider that flying out, you avoid the transport into/out of Athens. Plus, Crete lodging may be less costly than Ahens, unless you are planning a deluxe resort stay.

Final note: If booking Aegean online, try it one at a time or 2 at a time. I tried booking 4 nd was told there was no bargain ticket left .... yet several peple booking singly later on got the bargain tickets.

seeksocean

Oops! We will be in Greece for 13 nights in late April, early May. We'll be their for the Greek Easter festivities. The big question is how to divide up the time and how to place the order of travel. Thanks for all and any advice!!

seeksocean

Janet...one more thing..we fly back to the USA on the 5th of May. I want to be able to be at a nice place for the 25th (best friends B-day) and the 27th Easter. Maybe Athens for the last 4 or 5 days tops. Can I E-mail you directly since your E-mail is posted? Thanks!

irecommend

in Mykonos we stayed at the Pelican Bay Art Hotel and it was our favorite place in Greece. The room was lovely and the breakfast was exceptional.
They have a pool, bar, short walk to the beach but not on the main street so it is a little quieter (in a good way). Nice view from your balcony too.

seeksocean

Okay, I am getting an idea of what we want to do. Maybe 4 or 5 days in Crete, 2 or 3 in Santorini and the rest at the end in Athens. I checked Aegean Air for late April and have decided that the way to do it is to stay at the airport and get a flight out to an island.

So, my question is this; What island should we fly to first and how do we get to the other island from there? We will be on one of the islands for Greek Easter. Thanks!

Hana

hi there - your island choices mirror our own pretty closely. We leave Thursday for two weeks in Greece. We are doing the following:

Arrive Athens
Fly to Thessaloniki the same day
3 nts Thessaloniki
Fly to Chania
3 nts Chania
1 nt Heraklion
Ferry to Santorini
3 nts Santorini
Ferry to Paros
2 nts Paros
Ferry to Athens
3 nts Athens
Depart early am for home.

Have fun - we chose to fly for the longer legs and have booked fast ferries/catamarans between Crete/Santorini and Santorini/Paros to cut down on travel time.

seeksocean

Thanks Hana! Have a great time! Let me know when you get back how it was!

soozeeqzee

Hi! I wanted to continue this with a specific question!! Help! We are going to Greece Sept 15 and were told our hotel in Crete was overbooked. This was at Casa Delfino. I tried Palazzo di Pietro but they are booked (I am so disappointed!) Can anyone recommend another place to stay in Chania?
I would love a family-run, small hotel with decent amenities. We are staying in a lovely resort in Oia (Santorini) and want a more low-key experience/base from which to explore in Crete. Thank you for any help!!

seeksocean

We arrive in Santorini at 6pm April 22nd. Are 2 nights too short a time to stay?That would give us only 1 full day and night. Also Easter traveling, would it be better to fly from there to Crete or take the ferries.

brotherleelove2004

In April flying from Santorini to Crete will most likely mean flying back to Athens for your connecting flight unless Sky Express offers flights that early in the year.

www.skyexpress.gr/

Write and ask: [email protected]

If you catch them just right Aegean Airlines offers deeply discounted tickets to and from Athens and the islands.

http://www.aegean-air.gr/aegeanen/home/

Regardless of your method of travel, BE SURE you have confirmed reservations and tickets and confirmation numbers in hand before arriving because that's an extremely busy time of year for Greeks going home for the holidays.

seeksocean

Thanks! How about the time there on Santorini? If we get there in the evening would one full day and two nights be enough before going on?

So, are you saying that's it's better to take the ferry than to fly to Crete...in your opinion? Thanks so much!

stanbr

seeksocean, there are many good small pensions in Chania. Many are located on Theotokopoulou street. Last May we stayed for 4 nights at Pension Nora. It was a delightful pension in an old house at the end of a dead end alley. It had a kitchenette which was important to us. It is on a very quiet street but is only a block away from the action of the harbour area. That is important because it is quiet at night. I think it is about a two minute walk to the hotels you mentioned so it is in the same area. It is not in the same class as your hotel, but it is clean comfortable and has location. Best of all it was only 30 euros on a walk up basis.

I would even suggest unless you have an absolute need to have a pre booked hotel that you consider getting to Chania and walking Theotopoulou St and have some fun finding a place.
I believe Travellerjan has posted a comment to you in this thread. If you click on her name you will see past posts. I am pretty sure she has recommendations of good inexpensive pensions in this same area.

If you want to contact Pension Nora you can call 28210 72265 or fax 28210 99605 and ask for Natalie, she is English. I have recommended Nora to another traveler earlier in the summer and she reported back that she loved Nora.

brotherleelove2004

With such a short time on Santorini you'll only be skimming the surface of what there is to see and do there. I think you need 4 full days to do it justice.

I always prefer flying if possible, but I have taken the ferry between Crete and Santorini and enjoyed the experience. Is it better? I don't know.

seeksocean

Thanks everyone! Stanbr, we are there during the Easter hoildays. I hear it's really hard to do a walk up and get good rates, if even a room around that time. I am overwhelmed with possibilities. I don't want to spend a fortune, but at the same time this is a special vacation. I guess we'll just keep researching!!

stanbr

Your timing probably explains why your hotels are overbooked. You are correct it may not be wise to try a walk up. Any way I still recommend Pension Nora.

seeksocean

Okay, here's the plan. Any feedback is appreciated!!! Arrive at Athens airport 4:20pm, fly to Santorini at 6:00pm same day. Stay in Firastephani 3 nights. Fly or take ferry to Chania. Stay 5 nights (which included Easter). Fly to Athens, stay 5 nights. Does that sound good?

I thought that when we were in Crete we could maybe explore more.Maybe even go to another island for a day?

Stanbr, our rooms weren't overbooked yet, but they will be!

Thanks for all the help!!

brotherleelove2004

Much Better!

Just so you know, there's no flight or ferry from Santorini to Chania. You either have to fly back to Athens to pick up a connecting flight or take the ferry to Heraklion and get to Chania by bus or rental car.

seeksocean

Thanks! Can we get to Santorini from Crete by ferry or direct flight? Another Fodors poster mentioned taking the 'fast cat' from Crete to Santorini. We want to be as efficient as we can with our limited time. Thanks again!!

Also, if you were to chose between the Casa Leone or Casa DelFino, which would you choose?

brotherleelove2004

You can get from Crete to Santorini by the Hellenic Seaways Flying Cat #4 or a slower car ferry, but it depends on when you are planning to go which is available to you. The Flying Cat operates between March 30 and October 28. The car ferry is once or twice a week all year long. Check with www.openseas.gr to see what's available when you need it.

Sky Express is a small Cretan airlines that does offer direct flights between these two islands. I didn't mention it earlier because their schedule is limited and so is the baggage allowance. Check it out:

www.skyexpress.gr

seeksocean

Thanks brotherlee love. You rule!