Sailing the dark-wine sea. An August 2008 Greece holiday
Sep 17th, 2008, 10:38 PM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,049
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Sailing the dark-wine sea. An August 2008 Greece holiday
<b>SAILING THE WINE-DARK SEA </b>
A year ago, we had been planning a holiday trip to Myanmar. Things changed in real life, and by the month of March we found a great fare for Athens in August. We booked our flights and began to think about places to visit.
<b><i>LOGISTICS</i></b>
We flew Iberia from Madrid to Athens. There are 3 flights a day, and hot food is served (although it isnīt announced when you do the booking, so we couldnīt order a vegetarian meal for my friend). On the way out we checked on-line and dropped our suitcase at the Iberia dedicated desks Barajas, and in Athens we found that there were check-in machines and there was a dedicate desk to drop luggage, so we skipped a long queue and were finished in less than 5 minutes. Our tickets costed a little less than 200 euros.
http://www.iberia.com
As it was the first time for my friend, I felt that Santorini was a must. We settled for two nights in Athens, one at the beginning and another at the end. The only thing we were needing was a second island. I thought about Paros, but it was complicated to find a place for only three, four nights at the price we wanted in the middle of August. We ended up deciding to go to Naxos, as I had done 7 years ago with my mum and my sister.
During the month of April we booked hotels, the Naxos apartment and the ferries between Athens, Santorini and Naxos. I used the following websites to organize our trip :
- Accomodation
http://www.booking.com
http://www.venere.com
http://www.greeka.com
- Ferries
http://www.openseas.gr
The ferry tickets were to be picked up at a travel agent in Athens. We decided to book reserved seats, and it was a great idea, specially in the long trip to Santorini.
We got the best cancellation policies for the hotel in Athens (in fact, we changed hotel at the beginning of May with no problem), Santorini had a 15 days policy and for Naxos we had to do a bank transfer. We managed to keep all the hotels at 70-75 euros, including breakfast.
We had booked initially the Attalos in Athens, but I felt that we were only staying a couple of nights and I found the Economy Hotel nearby (across the Fresh Hotel). It was 22 euros cheaper, and we ended up quite happy with it. Very nice management, explaining us all about the metro works and how to move in Athens. The rooms were small but clean, and they prepared us a packaged breakfast for our early morning departure towards Santorini.
http://www.economyhotel.gr
In Santorini we booked the Hotel Margarita in Firostefani. Small, modest, with swimming pool and less than 5 minutes from the caldera ( we walked all over). Breakfast was so-so, but we had a balcony and the transport to the harbour was included.
http://www.hotelmargarita.gr
The studio in Agios Giorgios was called Naxos Golden Beach. Our studio is the one in the pictures. Very simple, but they were right on the beach, we had a balcony (great for breakfast), they picked us up and dropped us at the harbour and we could also walk everywhere.
http://www.apartmentsgoldenbeach.gr
All of them had AC, and none of them was more expensive than 75 euros, what we found a decent price for August. We would probably had been able to find cheaper places if we hadnīt booked in advance, because there was a lot of offerings at the ferry arrival, but it was nice to have everything organized by the end of April and being able to focus in the important things : what to eat and what to visit.
A year ago, we had been planning a holiday trip to Myanmar. Things changed in real life, and by the month of March we found a great fare for Athens in August. We booked our flights and began to think about places to visit.
<b><i>LOGISTICS</i></b>
We flew Iberia from Madrid to Athens. There are 3 flights a day, and hot food is served (although it isnīt announced when you do the booking, so we couldnīt order a vegetarian meal for my friend). On the way out we checked on-line and dropped our suitcase at the Iberia dedicated desks Barajas, and in Athens we found that there were check-in machines and there was a dedicate desk to drop luggage, so we skipped a long queue and were finished in less than 5 minutes. Our tickets costed a little less than 200 euros.
http://www.iberia.com
As it was the first time for my friend, I felt that Santorini was a must. We settled for two nights in Athens, one at the beginning and another at the end. The only thing we were needing was a second island. I thought about Paros, but it was complicated to find a place for only three, four nights at the price we wanted in the middle of August. We ended up deciding to go to Naxos, as I had done 7 years ago with my mum and my sister.
During the month of April we booked hotels, the Naxos apartment and the ferries between Athens, Santorini and Naxos. I used the following websites to organize our trip :
- Accomodation
http://www.booking.com
http://www.venere.com
http://www.greeka.com
- Ferries
http://www.openseas.gr
The ferry tickets were to be picked up at a travel agent in Athens. We decided to book reserved seats, and it was a great idea, specially in the long trip to Santorini.
We got the best cancellation policies for the hotel in Athens (in fact, we changed hotel at the beginning of May with no problem), Santorini had a 15 days policy and for Naxos we had to do a bank transfer. We managed to keep all the hotels at 70-75 euros, including breakfast.
We had booked initially the Attalos in Athens, but I felt that we were only staying a couple of nights and I found the Economy Hotel nearby (across the Fresh Hotel). It was 22 euros cheaper, and we ended up quite happy with it. Very nice management, explaining us all about the metro works and how to move in Athens. The rooms were small but clean, and they prepared us a packaged breakfast for our early morning departure towards Santorini.
http://www.economyhotel.gr
In Santorini we booked the Hotel Margarita in Firostefani. Small, modest, with swimming pool and less than 5 minutes from the caldera ( we walked all over). Breakfast was so-so, but we had a balcony and the transport to the harbour was included.
http://www.hotelmargarita.gr
The studio in Agios Giorgios was called Naxos Golden Beach. Our studio is the one in the pictures. Very simple, but they were right on the beach, we had a balcony (great for breakfast), they picked us up and dropped us at the harbour and we could also walk everywhere.
http://www.apartmentsgoldenbeach.gr
All of them had AC, and none of them was more expensive than 75 euros, what we found a decent price for August. We would probably had been able to find cheaper places if we hadnīt booked in advance, because there was a lot of offerings at the ferry arrival, but it was nice to have everything organized by the end of April and being able to focus in the important things : what to eat and what to visit.
Sep 18th, 2008, 05:17 AM
#2
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 4,205
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Cova, how thoughtful of you to post not only a narrative, but links to your hotel choices and your reactions to same, PLUS costs. Fodor visitors can really benefit. These specifics are SO much more helpful than just vague words like "reasonable" or "good value." Thanks so much!!
A special help is mention of the hotel providing a "packaged breakfast" when one must leave at the crack o'dawn to get a ferry. Often a hotel price will include breakfast and then you must forego it -- this is a reminder: ask, & you may receive!
A special help is mention of the hotel providing a "packaged breakfast" when one must leave at the crack o'dawn to get a ferry. Often a hotel price will include breakfast and then you must forego it -- this is a reminder: ask, & you may receive!
Sep 18th, 2008, 11:33 PM
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,049
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hi guys,
I had planned on updating yesterday evening, but real life came in the way, and I had to leave it for this weekend. Just a short note :
- Isabel, Chicago ... I donīt know if it is the crisis or what, but crowds werenīt so bad as we were expecting. Many people in Fira at the time the cruise ships were arriving, but that was the only moment when it was really bad. We didnīt go to Oia for the sunset, and sat one of the days on the walk between Firostefani and Imerovigli with just 5 other people, so I cannot tell you if it was awful there. The Archeological Museum in Athens was almost empty when we visited, and there were many people in the Acropolis but I have seen worse. We didnīt have problems getting into the restaurants, and in fact there was one in Athens that I had to book 7 years ago and no need this time.
- Jan, I had read in tripadvisor that the Economy provided someone with a packed breakfast. We didnīt have to ask, they simply told us to remember to pick it up when leaving in the morning, because we told them that we wanted to pay the night before to leave early for the port. It was really helpful. We grabbed two coffees at the metro station, got into the ferry, left the suitcases and found a table outside to eat our breakfast while sailing out.
- Niki, we didnīt sail a lot, but we did swim in that sea.
Bye now,
Cova
I had planned on updating yesterday evening, but real life came in the way, and I had to leave it for this weekend. Just a short note :
- Isabel, Chicago ... I donīt know if it is the crisis or what, but crowds werenīt so bad as we were expecting. Many people in Fira at the time the cruise ships were arriving, but that was the only moment when it was really bad. We didnīt go to Oia for the sunset, and sat one of the days on the walk between Firostefani and Imerovigli with just 5 other people, so I cannot tell you if it was awful there. The Archeological Museum in Athens was almost empty when we visited, and there were many people in the Acropolis but I have seen worse. We didnīt have problems getting into the restaurants, and in fact there was one in Athens that I had to book 7 years ago and no need this time.
- Jan, I had read in tripadvisor that the Economy provided someone with a packed breakfast. We didnīt have to ask, they simply told us to remember to pick it up when leaving in the morning, because we told them that we wanted to pay the night before to leave early for the port. It was really helpful. We grabbed two coffees at the metro station, got into the ferry, left the suitcases and found a table outside to eat our breakfast while sailing out.
- Niki, we didnīt sail a lot, but we did swim in that sea.
Bye now,
Cova
Sep 21st, 2008, 01:37 AM
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,049
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I usually write a diary during my travels, but this time I didnīt do it. I simply wrote down places where we ate, visits, prices
This is a reconstruction work and sometimes it will be a bit vague.
<i><b> GUIDES WE USED, BOOKS WE READ </b></i>
I already had some guides :
- LP Greek Islands
- Eyewitness Greek Islands
- Dieter Grafīs Walking the Aegean Islands
At De Viaje, an specialized bookshop in Madrid (fully recommendable if you come to Madrid, very nice people), I got the 2008 Greek Island Hopping and Naxos and Small Cyclades : Walking the greek islands.
I scanned at home the pages we were interested in, and I downloaded info from the Frommers and the Rick Steves site. I also got the various information you had given me in the forums. I printed all of it in separate sections for Athens, Naxos and Santorini so that I could throw it away as we were leaving the places.
I did carry with me the Greek Island Hopping book and some of the maps my brother had bought two years ago when they went to Greece for three weeks.
The least favourite of all the information we brought with us was the RS notes.
And books we read some of the Durrell brothers books, Javier Reverteīs Corazon de Ulises, John Fowlesīs The Mage
<i><b> MUSIC AND RADIO </b></i>
My mobile phone has an FM receiver included. I bought the smallest loudspeakers I could find for it, and a couple of memory cards, so I brought with me around 4Gb of music.
It came handy, specially when sitting on the balcony or getting ready to go out. We mostly listen to greek radio, and among the selection I brought, our favourites were the latest Carla Bruni, Putumayoīs Café Italiano, Espen Lind, Damien Dempsey, Andreas Scholl, Franz Ferdinand, Arcade Fire
<i><b> SHOPPING </b></i>
Our first stop was a pharmacy to get sun protection. We bought Korres and Apivita products. Much cheaper than in Spain, and really good. The lowest protection we got was 25, and even then we got a lovely suntan that has kept for a few weeks afterwards.
I bought some necklaces and earrings in Santorini at Athenas Protasis, but I preferred the silver jewellery I found in Naxos. Really beautiful and unusual bracelets and necklaces, a mix of silver and leather and colourful beads.
In Apiranthos we bought some small lavender bags, place mats, cloth bags at the Womenīs Association of Traditional Arts. I remembered it from our visit 7 years ago, and the small tokens I have brought for my friends have been a great success. The good thing is that they are beautiful and not heavy at all to carry back home.
Another thing I carried back home was a selection of cheeses from a cheese shop near the harbour promenade (I am trying to remember the name of the street, it is the one that goes straight down, on the opposite side of the harbour, there are a couple of banks at the very end, silly me ). The graviera was a big success at home. I asked for a strong one, and I should have bought more.
My sister had a baby earlier this year, so I bought him some wooden toys in Naxos and I found a fair play T-Shirt from the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
Bookshops are a favourite of mine. Zoom in Naxos, Books and Life in Santorini and Compendium in Athens got our visit. I carried back with me a few books : The Colossus of Maroussi, Report to Greco, Prosperoīs Cell.
My final shopping spree was at the aiport. I use Korres products, and although they are good, they are a bit expensive. The difference with the greek prices was such that I ended up with lots of them at the airport shop. For example, the rose serum went down from 38 euros in Spain to 18 euros in Greece, and so on. The Masticha shop was also a good place to buy masticha liqueur ( a great success at home) and chewing gum.
<i><b> GUIDES WE USED, BOOKS WE READ </b></i>
I already had some guides :
- LP Greek Islands
- Eyewitness Greek Islands
- Dieter Grafīs Walking the Aegean Islands
At De Viaje, an specialized bookshop in Madrid (fully recommendable if you come to Madrid, very nice people), I got the 2008 Greek Island Hopping and Naxos and Small Cyclades : Walking the greek islands.
I scanned at home the pages we were interested in, and I downloaded info from the Frommers and the Rick Steves site. I also got the various information you had given me in the forums. I printed all of it in separate sections for Athens, Naxos and Santorini so that I could throw it away as we were leaving the places.
I did carry with me the Greek Island Hopping book and some of the maps my brother had bought two years ago when they went to Greece for three weeks.
The least favourite of all the information we brought with us was the RS notes.
And books we read some of the Durrell brothers books, Javier Reverteīs Corazon de Ulises, John Fowlesīs The Mage
<i><b> MUSIC AND RADIO </b></i>
My mobile phone has an FM receiver included. I bought the smallest loudspeakers I could find for it, and a couple of memory cards, so I brought with me around 4Gb of music.
It came handy, specially when sitting on the balcony or getting ready to go out. We mostly listen to greek radio, and among the selection I brought, our favourites were the latest Carla Bruni, Putumayoīs Café Italiano, Espen Lind, Damien Dempsey, Andreas Scholl, Franz Ferdinand, Arcade Fire
<i><b> SHOPPING </b></i>
Our first stop was a pharmacy to get sun protection. We bought Korres and Apivita products. Much cheaper than in Spain, and really good. The lowest protection we got was 25, and even then we got a lovely suntan that has kept for a few weeks afterwards.
I bought some necklaces and earrings in Santorini at Athenas Protasis, but I preferred the silver jewellery I found in Naxos. Really beautiful and unusual bracelets and necklaces, a mix of silver and leather and colourful beads.
In Apiranthos we bought some small lavender bags, place mats, cloth bags at the Womenīs Association of Traditional Arts. I remembered it from our visit 7 years ago, and the small tokens I have brought for my friends have been a great success. The good thing is that they are beautiful and not heavy at all to carry back home.
Another thing I carried back home was a selection of cheeses from a cheese shop near the harbour promenade (I am trying to remember the name of the street, it is the one that goes straight down, on the opposite side of the harbour, there are a couple of banks at the very end, silly me ). The graviera was a big success at home. I asked for a strong one, and I should have bought more.
My sister had a baby earlier this year, so I bought him some wooden toys in Naxos and I found a fair play T-Shirt from the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
Bookshops are a favourite of mine. Zoom in Naxos, Books and Life in Santorini and Compendium in Athens got our visit. I carried back with me a few books : The Colossus of Maroussi, Report to Greco, Prosperoīs Cell.
My final shopping spree was at the aiport. I use Korres products, and although they are good, they are a bit expensive. The difference with the greek prices was such that I ended up with lots of them at the airport shop. For example, the rose serum went down from 38 euros in Spain to 18 euros in Greece, and so on. The Masticha shop was also a good place to buy masticha liqueur ( a great success at home) and chewing gum.
Sep 21st, 2008, 03:54 AM
#9
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 7,067
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Great report cova, keep it coming
You mention prices seeming lower in Greece than Spain. Is that only for certain products or did you find prices in general to be less? I've thought Spain to be one of the least expensive countries in Europe (I'm from the states). In the past few years it seems everyone is saying that Greece is no longer as inexpensive as it used to be, but if it compares favorably with Spain that sounds pretty good. I'm sure you'll get to it, but I'll be interested in food prices.
You mention prices seeming lower in Greece than Spain. Is that only for certain products or did you find prices in general to be less? I've thought Spain to be one of the least expensive countries in Europe (I'm from the states). In the past few years it seems everyone is saying that Greece is no longer as inexpensive as it used to be, but if it compares favorably with Spain that sounds pretty good. I'm sure you'll get to it, but I'll be interested in food prices.
Sep 21st, 2008, 09:32 AM
#11
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 4,205
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
About that cheese/herbs/oil etc shop in Naxos Town -- isn't it wonderful? I am not sure it has a name tho I've been there MANY times. If you stand at the harborside facing inland, it is the street at the far right of the Crescent, going uphill; Piraeus bank is on the corner. In the 2nd or 3rd "block" it's on the left--the place with dozens of handmade baskets hanging outside. Fodorite "stanbr" & spouse have named it "The Emporium".
Inside u find yuuuumy cheese they cut & weigh for you (try manouri!!), local olive oil and raki in recycled Pepsi bottles, barrels of olives, a vast variety of local herbs and nuts, crafts, metalware, goat bells -- the list goes on! Irresistable.
Inside u find yuuuumy cheese they cut & weigh for you (try manouri!!), local olive oil and raki in recycled Pepsi bottles, barrels of olives, a vast variety of local herbs and nuts, crafts, metalware, goat bells -- the list goes on! Irresistable.
Sep 21st, 2008, 11:44 AM
#12
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,049
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Isabel, I will get to food prices later on. I should say that I am comparing prices to Madrid and Bilbao, probably some of the most expensive places in Spain, so itīs a bit like cheating.
Gaspard, books are a bit of a drug for me and very important when travelling. I promised myself only to buy one book per place, and it was hard. During the trip I was rereading Colin Thubronīs "Shadow of the Silk Road" and my friend was reading a Sandor Marai novel. She also bought "Colossus of Maroussi" and "Prosperoīs cell".
Jan, I had forgotten about the emporium. I brought back some herbs and capers. I thought about buying some small baskets, but I wasnīt sure about how to bring them back with me. The cheese shop I mention is in the same street but on the other side, a bit further down. The smell is absolutely wonderful. I simply stood there looking and not knowing where to start. My friend said that I have only looked like that, dazed, at Poncelet cheese shop in Madrid.
Bye, Cova
Gaspard, books are a bit of a drug for me and very important when travelling. I promised myself only to buy one book per place, and it was hard. During the trip I was rereading Colin Thubronīs "Shadow of the Silk Road" and my friend was reading a Sandor Marai novel. She also bought "Colossus of Maroussi" and "Prosperoīs cell".
Jan, I had forgotten about the emporium. I brought back some herbs and capers. I thought about buying some small baskets, but I wasnīt sure about how to bring them back with me. The cheese shop I mention is in the same street but on the other side, a bit further down. The smell is absolutely wonderful. I simply stood there looking and not knowing where to start. My friend said that I have only looked like that, dazed, at Poncelet cheese shop in Madrid.
Bye, Cova
Sep 21st, 2008, 12:01 PM
#13
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 4,205
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
COva, the cheese I actually love most is apparently sold in bulk mainly on Naxos & Crete... elsewhere it is packaged -- Manouri, a soft, almost spreadable white cheese. I found a Philadelphia shop that brings it in, and got so excited, I shouted "YES!!" and everyone turned and stared.
Alas, you can'tbring it back with you unless you have refrigerated luggage. Ask "stanbr" about the distressing effect on suitcase contents.
Alas, you can'tbring it back with you unless you have refrigerated luggage. Ask "stanbr" about the distressing effect on suitcase contents.
Sep 21st, 2008, 01:24 PM
#14
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,049
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Stan, I think thatīs one of the cheeses I brought back. It was very soft and a bit sour.
I bought it the day before leaving for Athens and put it in the fridge. The following day I put it the suitcase and by 16:00 was in the fridge at our room in Athens. The flight back home was the following day at 14:00, and I was at home in Madrid by 18:00. Again to the fridge. Train to Bilbao at 8 in the morning, home by 14:00 ... sister attacking the cheese by 14:05 and declaring it "extra-yummy !!!"
I am afraid that it is difficult to find a cheese we donīt like ...
Cova
I bought it the day before leaving for Athens and put it in the fridge. The following day I put it the suitcase and by 16:00 was in the fridge at our room in Athens. The flight back home was the following day at 14:00, and I was at home in Madrid by 18:00. Again to the fridge. Train to Bilbao at 8 in the morning, home by 14:00 ... sister attacking the cheese by 14:05 and declaring it "extra-yummy !!!"
I am afraid that it is difficult to find a cheese we donīt like ...
Cova
Sep 22nd, 2008, 02:53 AM
#17
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 274
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Cova,
I see that you like Greek food. Try to get this book from Theonie Diakidis-Mark: Greek Islands Cooking.ISBN 0316546232. I like this book very much as it well written and gives you background informations. Not just on food.
G.
I see that you like Greek food. Try to get this book from Theonie Diakidis-Mark: Greek Islands Cooking.ISBN 0316546232. I like this book very much as it well written and gives you background informations. Not just on food.
G.
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
travelerjan
Europe
11
Sep 6th, 2019 05:23 PM
murphy89
Europe
164
May 17th, 2009 11:52 AM
swfeken
Europe
30
Jul 31st, 2008 03:48 AM
