johnqd00

Hi all,

My fiancee and I are planning to go to Santorini and Athens for our honeymoon in September of 2007. We're thinking of mid-September (maybe the 9th-15th). Is one week in Sept better than another? We're trying to balance the weather and crowds. We actually are getting married in late August, but we pushed the honeymoon back to avoid the crowds.

We're thinking of going for roughly a week. How many days should we spend in Athens vs Santorini. We were thinking maybe one or two days at the beginning and one day at the end in Athens and four days in Santorini. Do a lot of Athenian hotels have minimum stays?

Also, we're thinking of staying in Oia, since we're honeymooning but we'd like to experience the Fira nightlife one night. We were thinking of spending maybe one night in Fira and the rest in Oia. Would you recommend against this? The minimum stay requirement may get us here. I suppose we could just take a cab out to Fira one night and head back before midnight. Alternatively, we could just experience the Athenian nightlife instead.

Thanks for your help.

Jackie

I was in Greece Sept 5-21 and weather was on the warm side, but almost perfect. One cool day on the mainland and about 30 minutes of light rain drops in Crete.

We spent 3 nights in Santorini and that was just about right, but 4 would have been okay, too. If it were me, I would just take a taxi to Fira for your night out--packing/unpacking is a hassle. I don't recall having any issues with minimum night stays.

brotherleelove2004

You are smart to avoid August in Greece. It doesn't really matter which week in September, it will still be fairly crowded during the whole month. Logic suggest that the closer you are to October the quieter it will become, but there will still be lots of people everywhere. Minimum stays won't be an issue. You can confirm this by sending emails to the hotels you're considering. The nightlife in Fira doesn't really get going until midnight, so if you really want to experience it you'll have to be within walking distance to your hotel. Check out the Sun Rocks hotel in Firostefani. It will be very romantic and it's just a short walk into Fira along a cliffside pathway. You won't even have to walk on the main road.

http://www.sunrocks.gr/

I hope you're planning to fly to and from Santorini to maximize your time. Aegean Airlines has cheap flights for 19 Euro plus taxes, about 40 Euro altogether.

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

If you decide to stay in Oia afterall, check out the Aspaki Suites and the Oia Castle. They are spectacular.

http://www.artmaisons.gr

yestravel

Spent this past September in Greece and agree with others, the later you go, the less crowds. Oia was crowded on the days there were cruise ships, but pleasantly uncrowded on the days the cruise ships didn't dock. We had rain one morning in Oia the 3rd week in September and then rain and cool weather back in Athens. In Oia they said it ws the first rain drops they had since April. This was not a problem and I welcomed the cooler weather esp in Athens. The beginning of the month was unbearably hot and polluted in Athens. Given my experience I'd vote for later in September. I would cab it to Fira for an evening of nightlife rather than switching hotels for 1 night. We did not have any issues with minimum stays on Santorni or in Athens.

johnqd00

Thanks everyone. Would you recommend visiting Athens at the beginning of the trip or the end? I've read that it's good to spend your last night in Athens in case there are flight delays, so it might be good to save Athens till the end. On other hand, I'd rather recover from jetlag in Athens than Santorini, I think.

brotherleelove2004

Save it until the end for the reason stated. Give yourself 2 nights. Santorini is perfect for getting over your jet lag. When you're feeling it you can sit outside on your balcony overlooking the caldera, relax, nap, read, do anything you like. In Athens you'll have to stay indoors in your hotel room if you're not feeling active.

Jackie

We stayed the last night in Santorini. Had the first flight out in morning (7:30 maybe). Had to catch cab at 5 in the morning. In hindsight, it would have been better to get full day in Santorini by taking last flight and then stayed the night near hotel in Athens

Jackie

sorry, meant to say...spend the night in hotel near Athens airport

skriker

I agree - spend the latter part of the trip in Athens, I did it the other way around this past September and was kicking myself when I had to leave my beautiful resort at 4:00 in the morning to get to the Athens airport in time.

johnqd00

Thanks everyone. One more timing question. How's the first week in October. We'd like to take advantage of the reduced hotel rates if it's not too cold, rainy, or windy. Thanks again.

brotherleelove2004

It won't be raining but the winds will be blowing and the evenings will be chilly. The sun will be shining.

wow

Hi, John! We did Santorini for our honeymoon then to Corfu. Have you considered Corfu? Good idea to end up in Athens. We started & ended there. We are going back in May/07 & I can't wait. Congratulations on your upcoming wedding! Make sure you take lots of pix of each other in Greece.

Heimdall

Santorini may be the exception, but after the first week of September most islands are decidedly uncrowded. I think you should stick with mid-September. The big crowds are gone, but nearly everything is still open. October is for out-of-season devotees, with many hotels and restaurants closed and ferry schedules curtailed.

jodeenyc

We were in Athens and Mykonos the last week of September/first week of October two years ago. I agree with your original schedule of one day of Athens at the beginning and then 2 at the end. Athens is a beautiful city but if you stay within Athens, you really only need around 3 days to take it all in. Although we weren't on Santorini, on Mykonos there were some restaurants that were closed but the majority were still open. Weather was beautiful and very relaxing. The pool on Mykonos was chilly but nice weather to sit out in the sun and read. Good Luck!

mvs1

we did an overnight in Athens which was good in retrspect as our flight was very delayed and we got into Athen only late at night instead of late afternoon. Spent 5 nights in Oia and 2 nights in Athens on the way out.
Depending on your budget - Perivolas in Oia was great! Cave like rooms, awesome service, nice infinity pool, very calm and mostly honeymooners..great helpful staff.

vanessagillian

I was in Athens and Santorini in the third week of September 2006. The crowds were unbelievable, even then. Thank God I had visited these places back in 1969. You don't need any more than two days on Santorini, if you ask me. And please temper your romantic ideal of Athens with the reality of huge traffic snarls and throngs of tourists.
Lesley

Bettina222

Mind if I jump in and ask what kind of weater I could expect on the islands in mid-April?

brotherleelove2004

Expect some wind and overcast skies from time to time, but in general it will be sunny and edging towards warm.

tom_h

A couple years ago I attempted booking a hotel in Athens during Sept, and it was surprisingly difficult.

I susbequently discovered that September is popular for trade shows, conventions, and the like.

For unrelated reasons I rescheduled my trip to the following May.

Be aware that booking a room in a desireable or convenient hotel in central touristic Athens during Sept, may require booking many months in advance.