Also, anamarie's earlier great report brought back fond memories of Santorini, especially the hikes out to the Skaros, which was fabulous. I did them with my son as well and we had a great time. We stayed in Sunny Villas, a small, well kept place near the Astra. This is a great break from the usual activities on Santorini.

On the caldera side walk from Imerovigli in the direction of Fira we found two taverna that were small, quiet and wonderful: The Skaros Taverna and the Imerovigli.

Can't recall which was which, but we liked the one on the uphill side of the trail a little better (they were right next to each other and not that far from the Blue Note, which we did not try.)

Santorini - yes, Mykanos - no.
We stayed 4 days in Santorini and could have used one more. 1 day in Oia - lunch and walk around. 1 day in Fira lunch and shop. 1 day by pool along the caldera (beautiful views). 1 day at beach (forget the name (the red sand beach) - there's some ok ruins nearby. Each evening dinner out and walking thru town, drinking wine at cafes and people watching - perfect place for sun and fun in a friendly laid back place. Food's excellant as well.
Enjoy!

Just got back from Santorini and you will love it. We stayed at Hotel Astra and people say it is one of the best places there. I definitely thought so. We had a suite right on the water with our own hot tub and huge balcony. It was totally relaxing. I loved the location because it was a 5 minute walk to get food and a 20 minute walk to Fira.

<i>We stayed at Hotel Astra and people say it is one of the best places there. I definitely thought so. We had a suite <b>right on the water</b> ... </i>

Yup, just one (long, mis-)step from the water ... about 900 feet below. :)

We liked Mykonos better than Santorini, but preferred Naxos, Paros,Skiathos,Spetses and Crete to both of them because they had more vegetation. While the planning trip, two Greek friends asked if we wanted to go to &quot;dry&quot; or &quot;green&quot; islands. I guess I prefer green over arid.

Hi Happy Trvlr,

What is it about Mykonos that you liked better than Santorini? Also, does anyone know if Mykonos is as busy on weekdays as weekends mid to end of May? We would like to experience Mykonos in its full nightlife mode and don't quite know if we should make an effort to make it on a weekend or weekday would be as fun from May 18th to May 28th, 2007? Please advise...

Thanks.