I'm seeking advice on the best way to split my time between Mykonos & Santorini. I'll be there for my honeymoon and from the suggested itineraries I've received from travel agents, they split the days evenly between the two islands. I was wondering if I should give them equal time or stay more days on one depending on personal preferences.

My other question related to Santorini is how to choose between Fira & Oia. Does it make any sense to switch hotels during my stay on the island to experience both? Or is it better to stay at one and just rent a car or take public transportation to see the other?

I land in Athens on Sept 5 and will most likely leave the morning of Sept 7 to Mykonos. Then I have 6-7 days on the islands and leave Santorini on the 13th to Athens for my flight home the following day.

My future hubby and I are in our 30s and not into big crowds of party people. We'd like a good mix of lounging by the pool/beach, seeing the sights, romantic meals together, soaking in the local culture and getting out at night for a couple cocktails. We definitely like to socialize, but don't want too much of a raucous, party scene.

Please help!

This statement is based upon a cruise taken many years ago: Stay in Mykonos and take a ferry to Santorini.

Hopefully, other Fodorites can give more up to date reasons why that statement is good advice or is no longer applicable!

Congrats.

First of all, if you can proceed directly to the islands upon arrival in Athens, it will make more efficient use of time in your short holiday. Saving Athens for last will also give you a buffer to insure you are back on the mainland in time for the flight home. If you can fly out to an island straight away, you won't even have to leave the airport, and will be on Mykonos or Santorini in 45 minutes, about the same length of time it takes to get to central Athens from the airport.

Based on your stated interests, it's difficult to suggest how to split the time between islands. Both will still be busy, but easing down from the August high season. Mykonos has the edge on beaches, Santorini the edge on sightseeing. Oia and Fira are close together with good bus connections, so there is no need to split your hotel stay between the two.

Treat yourself and consider the Mykonos Grand. Great pool and you can also walk down to the sea and sit. But make sure you get a sea view room and not a garden view room. www.mykonosgrand.gr

Three or four days on each island sounds about right to me. We've stayed on both and loved them. First visit to Santorini we stayed in Fira, second time around we stayed in Oia. I think for your honeymoon I'd suggest Oia, it's a very picturesque place, a bit quieter and slightly more upmarket (in a casual way if you can picture that) than Fira. I wouldn't stay in both Fira and Oia on the one trip, you can easily catch the bus between the two places. We would recommend where we stayed last August - http://www.filoteravillas.gr/home.html

Heimdall's recommendation of flying straight out to an island on arrival in Athens is a good one. It makes better use of your time.

You might enjoy a day trip to Delos from Mykonos. We wandered down to the port, bought tickets on the ferry to Delos and spent a great morning there. It was very hot and dusty with little shade so be prepared.

Kay

Thanks everyone for your feedback. Per Heimdall's advice, I am looking into heading straight to Santorini from the airport, then going to Mykonos before finishing up the trip in Athens.

My flight lands around 10:30 in the morning. How much time should I allot myself to go through customs, pick up my baggage and then check in and board a flight to the islands?

Also following KayF's suggestion on staying in Oia. Looking for a hotel with an outdoor pool and great views for under 225 Euros.

This useful website shows all available Santorini-bound flights on your date:
http://www.airtickets.gr/flights.asp?lang=en

Unfortunately, your 10:30 arrival is not in time for the pre-noon flights. There are 2 flights leaving at 13:35 (1:35 pm), Olympic Air & Cyprus ... both about €143. PRetty steep, but you ARE flying in High Season, and any "promotional rate" Aegean Air tickets are long gone. And you don't want to hang around the airport for hours to get a few bucks off. YOu will have ample time to claim bags, get some Euros at an ATM, and check in by about 12:30.

Normally, assuming your inbound flight arrives on time, two hours layover is sufficient to make an ongoing flight to the islands — three hours would be safer. Athens Airport is fairly small, and it takes only a few minutes to walk from Arrivals to the Olympic or Aegean check-in counters. Immigration is usually fairly quick, and customs is just a walk-through. I've never seen anyone stopped by customs officials.

If you are stopping first at another Schengen country airport, e.g. Amsterdam or Frankfurt, you may go through immigration there. It is also usually possible to check in online within 24 hours of departure for the Santorini flight, and that eliminates the necessity to queue up at the check-in counter. All you have to do then is leave your luggage at the drop-off point and go to the departure gate with the boarding pass you printed out when checking in. Go to the Olympic or Aegean website for details on this procedure.

booking.com/oia This is a site you can view prices and comments. But you may have to increase what you can pay per night. We stayed at the Hotel Canaves, that has a great sea view from the side of a cliff. Plus a large pool. Richard

Just booked the 13:35 flight to Santorini. It cost a pretty penny but I'm hoping that it will be worth it in the time saved from skipping the trip to Athens and back at the start of our trip.

Also e-mailing back and forth with Delfini Villas & Strogili Houses in Oia. Hopefully one of them works out.

Really bummed to hear back from the Rochari that it is fully booked for the dates of my trip. After all the great reviews here, I had my heart on staying there. Now I'm back to square one on accommodations in Mykonos.

If you think you might like a hotel away from the crowds on in a beautiful bay check out the Mykonos Thea: http://www.mykonosthea.com