The pictures on the web look fantastic, but the trip is going to be pricy....we want a romantic/dreamy vacation that we can walk through villages, drink wine and relax with the option to turn it up a notch in the evenings. We're in our late 20's and celebrating our anniversary. Greece seems to offer all we desire.

Did you go and find it's all you dreamt it would be or were you dissapointed at something.....anything too overrated? Overall how expensive is food & drinks? How's the local wine?

Thanks for the feedback!

anyone?

Yes, it was dreamy and romantic -- but I think the islands tend to get busier and more touristy as the summer goes on. Mykonos is more of a party island whereas Santorini is more romantic. There are many attractive villages to explore in Santorini, an archeological site, red and black beaches with volanic rock, the volcano, the caldera. There are def. clubs in Santorini too so there are plenty of party options. Plenty of top notch restaurants. Greek wine is not generally considered to be on par with the wines of say France or Italy, but the volcanic soil of Santorini is said to produce the best wines that Greece has to offer. Wow, this is really a ringing endorsement, but I thought it was great (I went in early June). Enjoy!

I'd give both Santorini and Mykonos a qualified endorsement. There were aspects of them that were pretty magical - looking into the Caldera as evening falls is amazing, and wandering the streets of old Mykonos town is great fun. (And Mykonos is definitely the place to turn it up a notch in the evenings). The food was generally very good, as long as you like seafood, feta, tomatoes, cucumbers and olives. The wine was passable - not necessarily the place to ship a few cases home from, but nice hot weather drinking wine. On the negative sides, the beaches on Santorini are pretty weak; Mykonos is much better on that front - particularly Elia beach, which is quite pretty, and somewhat less of a party scene than Paradise, Super Paradise, etc. The water is pretty damn cold though (even when it's scorching outside), it's generally more expensive than we expected, and there's a pretty serious tourist population on both islands. (When the cruise ships disgorge their contents, you don't want to be anyway nearby). All in all, we thought the coast of Turkey was more like the Greek Isles of our imagination than Greece. That said, it is still a wonderful, romantic spot. Spring for nice lodging with a pool and a view, and I'm sure you guys will find plenty of romance.

Hi Baemel, I would definitely put Santorini in my top 5 travel experiences of all time. It really has to be seen to be believed. It also has to be seen from the Aegean - it truly is awesome.

Have a read of this:

http://www.cntraveller.co.uk/Destina...i/default.html

Whereas I would put Santorini in my bottom 3 travel experiences. My husband and I found it touristy, tacky, smelly, over-priced, past its prime, and not as great as it looked in the pictures. Generally I found Greece disappointing although there were parts that I loved.

Thanks for the valuable imput. We'll be going at the end of May....I am hoping it won't be very busy then.

Thanks Kebanks....yes, the food sounds great to us. I'm hoping we can just walk around and pop in anywhere w/o hassle. I assume it's a pretty laid-back atmosphere correct?

Baemel,

Have a great time! I loved both Mykonos and Santorini. Santorini has a more romantic feel. I was there for 3 days and could have stayed much longer.

Also, I have to disagree with kebanks on food. I don't like seafood, tomatoes, or olives, and I still found the food great. I ate a lot of lamb, and also a lot of Italian food. Being so close to Italy, there are Italian restaurants everywhere!

May should be a great time, too. Have fun! (I don't remember costs too well, I went 8 years ago).

Karen

Thanks so much for the info Kaudrey!

I think I'll have to branch out and try lamb! I'm hoping there are some reasonably priced places to eat for our buget. I am very excited..thanks for the tips.

Greece has always been a dream of mine, I finally fulfilled that dream in Sept. of 2000. I went to Santorini, Myknonos and Athens and had the trip of a life time. The islands were romantic,in fact the trip was more romantic then my honeymoon to Fiji. I highly reccomend staying in Oia rather than Fira while visiting Santorini. Oia is smaller and more romantic. The sunsets from Oia are famous. In Santorini we stayed at Las Perviolas and while it was expensive it was worth every penny. In Mykonos I reccomend staying outside of the main city by one of it's beautiful beaches; we stayed at the Mykonos Blu and it was one of the best hotels we ever stayed at. It's on in own bay with a great beach and a sweeping view of the sea. Food and service was outstanding and it's a newer hotel so the rooms were clean and beautifully appointed. We would take the local bus into town for dinner, drinks and dancing which worked out great. Mykonos has great night life. The bus ride only cost about $1.00 and was a 10 minute ride. The food and drink are not expensive at all if you eat at local resturants vs. hotels. Can't say enough great things about Greece. Also spent 3 nights in Athens and stayed in the Plaka area, while a lot different from the islands we enjoyed the city, culture and people. Go you will not be dissapointed.

Santorini is truly one of the most beautiful and amazing islands in the world. True, it sometimes gets infuriatingly crowded (August is awful), but you can't beat it for the views, atmosphere and amazing architecture. I lived in the most beautiful village of Oia for 6 months, twice! I'd do it again in a minute if I could. The wine on Santorini is gaining ground. It used to be that you'd have to settle for the local barrel wine when you went out to dinner, or maybe a bottle of weak red, but in the last 10 years it's come along nicely. If you go to Oia, seek out Nikos Vavarigos, the eldest son of the priest of the main church in the center of the village. He's the premier winemaker on Santorini, is very knowledgeable and hospitable.

If you're going in late May, you've picked the perfect time. The weather is nice and warm, the nights pleasant, the water warm enough for a swim, and the tourists have not yet arrived en masse. Choose your accomodations wisely. A view of the Caldera is the most desirable location of all. Fira, Firostefani, Imerovigli and Oia all have hotels with this view. Thira is very busy and more commercial than anyplace else on the island. Firostefani is within walking distance to Fira. Imerovigli is quiet, but in my opinion lacks interest. Oia is isolated at the northern tip of the island, has the most distinctive atmosphere and plenty of good restaurants, some shops, decent places to swim if you have the energy to make your way down the steps to the water plus the advantage of being in line with the sunsets. Restaurant meals are not overly expensive there either. In May you will really enjoy it.

Go and have a great time!

Hi Baemel...

I am on the tail end of a 4 month backpacking trip through Europe, and my last stop is here in Greece.

Santorini is beautiful, certainly...but I personally don't think it is the catch all end all. I do like the atmosphere now...easter is in the air, but it is not crowded like Italy was over their easter.

I think if you are in your late 20's, you will enjoy it here. There are plenty of places to let loose, as well as plenty of places to be romantic. I like the food because I love feta, olives, etc. But that is not all there is here.

Overall, I am finding the food and drinks to be average priced for Europe...not as cheap as everyone thinks. Fira seems to get as much as it can from tourists. Cocktails are pricey, compared to "cheap europe" (Czech Rep, Croatia, etc.)

Rent a car if you can...you can get one cheaply. Or...if you want the wind blowing in your hair, rent a scooter.

One more note...Santorini doesn't have to be expensive. I came here without any bookings, and am staying at a nice pensione overlooking the water (east side) for 10 euro a night. Doesn't have a posh view of the Caldera, but I can walk over and enjoy the views as much as someone with more money has. Ah...the life of a poor backpacker....

Hi: I went to the Greek Isles in Oct 2002. I would also suggest the island of Naxos. I took ferries to each of the islands. To me Santorini is as beautiful as the photos but very crowded and commercial. I also enjoyed Crete(rented a car and visited many of the harbour towns.)Amorgos is as beautiful as Santorini but not populated and not a lot to do but visit monasteries and enjoy the spectacular views, relax. I found the food to be inexpensive. Have fun

It's hard for me to imagine anyone not having a good time in Greece/islands. Our first trip we went to Athens, then on to Mykonos and Santorini; we liked it so well that we went back the next year with two other couples and rented an apartment on Crete. We ate well and did not spend lots of money on food. On Crete, especially, we just had the house barrel wine with our meals, and whereas it was not like a vintage bottle from France, it was just fine!

I've been trying to get a large family group to go back! I think Greece appeals to people of all ages; we are well above twenty-something!

Excellent info! Thanks so much. I can't wait for our trip now!

It seems, when reading this forum, that the only islands in Greece are Mykonos and Santorini. Actually there are about 160 populated islands, each with its own character. Yes, Mykonos and Santorini are beautiful, as long as you don't mind sharing them with lots of other tourists (end of May won't be too bad, though). Recommend you stop in between the two at another island which is less touristy. Paros would be a good choice if you get away from Parikia, the main town. Try a few days in Naoussa or Antiparos.

Thanks for the suggestion. We have decided to book hotel at Santorini for the end of our trip and just wing the first half of the trip....just do what we feel like. So, we'll just get on a ferry and stop where it looks good. When you buy ferry tickets do you have to buy to one destination or is there a "pass" to get on and off?

You buy your ticket to whatever your destination is - no 'pass' to get on and off when you feel like it. The ferries run by a very tight schedule and on time. You don't want to be late. It seemed that if the ferry came from another island and was making a stop to pick up more passengers, people were rushed on and off as quickly as possible.

You just buy a ferry ticket to your next destination. There are several ticket agencies near the port on every island, and they post sailing times on boards outside the shops. You can buy your ticket the night before, or even a couple of hours before departure.

If the ferry is making stops before your final destination, you can't just pop off to have a quick look on the island and get back on again. Ferries only stop for about 15-20 minutes, during which foot passengers, cars and trucks are discharged, and new passengers, cars and trucks loaded. The whole process is very efficient, and fascinating to watch.

Island hopping in Greece is great fun, and easy to do in the shoulder seasons. Have a wondeful trip.

I took my first trip to Athens, Mykonos, and Santorini in Oct.2002.
The islands were better than I could have imagined. The scenery, the aegean sea,the white washed properties with the blue roofs. I found it breath takingly beautiful. The Greek people are warm and friendly and food is superb. I hope to ga again next year and would like to duplicate my last trip. I would love nothing more right now than to sitting watching the sunset savouring fried saganaki and a nice beverage. The only thing I did not like was the morning after 7 ouzo's..aaacckkk