Leslie

My husband and I are looking to travel to Greece in Sept. We were planning on spending 2-3 days in Athens, 2 days in Crete, 2 days in Santorini and 2 days in Mykonos. Hotel recommendations for any of these cities/islands would be greatly appreciated. And, if there are islands I've left off that are must-sees, please let me know! <BR>Thanks!

Patrick

I always think of things in terms of nights at a place. Does 2 days mean you are there 3 nights, giving you two full days at each place after traveling between? If so, then this is not bad. But if you are talking 2 nights each, (one full day) then I'd suggest you forget Crete which requires a lot more time to see and add a day each to Santorini and Mykonos. Or maybe forget Mykonos all together and do Rhodes or just add more time to Crete instead. I am assuming you are not looking for a place to just hang out at a beach or resort, but experience the island and see sights? Although I greatly enjoyed our 3 full days in Athens (four nights), it was at the end of a full month of Greek island hopping. With your limited time in the islands, I'd plan on just spending two full days not three in Athens (assuming you are flying there and will need the first day to take it easy?) That also gives you another day for somewhere else.

Gina

I'd agree with Patrick; two nights in Athens should be enough. I'd also suggest skipping either Santorini or Mykonos and adding one day each to the other two islands. On the tour I took last fall, we had three days each on Santorini, Mykonos, and Paros; it was wonderful and relaxing and gave us time to both do nothing on the beach and see some interesting sights. If we'd been picking up and moving every two days, it would have been far more stressful, and that's not the point of the islands. Crete, also, being a larger island and packed with points of interest, requires more time than any of the individual Cyclades, I'd think. I haven't been there yet but I wouldn't think of going to Crete without a *minimum* of three full days to spend there. <BR> <BR>What I'd recommend: 2 days Athens, 3-4 days Crete, 3 days Santorini. (Sounds like you have 9 days?) There are definitely other wonderful islands out there--I really liked Paros--but if you don't have any more time than 10 days, save them for another trip. <BR> <BR>As far as hotels go, I can't help a lot since our trip was a Contiki tour and we stayed in primarily "group tour" hotels--not bad ones, necessarily, just not *the* most convenient ones. I loved our hotel in Santorini, actually, the Hotel Hermes near Kamari Beach; but many people who visit Santorini want to stay in Fira or Oia. Hermes is lovely, though, on a quieter side of the island yet still an easy trip to Oia or Fira by taxi. Its pool area is absolutely beautiful, and it's a two-minute walk to Kamari's black sand beaches, its restaurants and clubs. The rooms are nice and I think quite affordable (we paid a package rate), and there's internet access in the lobby. Still, it isn't in one of those "clinging to the cliff's edge" villages that seem to epitomize Santorini for many people...but I loved it. I'd be happy to provide contact info if you're interested. <BR> <BR>(Our hotel in Mykonos was nice as bargain hotels go in terms of its rooms and facilities, but its location was no fun--outside of Mykonos town, quite a walk, including an uphill climb that's a real pain at night. Wouldn't recommend it.)

Leslie

We were looking to spend 10-12 days on vacation. Factoring in two days of travel time there and back, we'll only have 8-10 days to spend in Greece. While we definitely want to do a lot of sightseeing, we'd like to pamper ourselves with good resorts to stay in at the end of the day. I've heard great things about Crete, Santorini and Mykonos, but received mixed reviews on Rhodes. Which were your favorites?

Diane

You're trying to pack a lot into a small amount of time. To save some time, consider arranging a flight from Athens to an island immediately rather than spending the first night in Athens. Also, I recommend picking two islands. Crete is huge, and you could easily spend two weeks there alone. The last two nights in AThens will give you a full day to see the major sites. Based on your schedule you will be spending a great deal of time just getting from one place to another. I like to spend a minimum of three nights in one place -- up to five nights if time permits.

Leslie

Patrick & Gina - <BR> <BR>Thanks so much for your help. Now, of course, I'm overwhelmed because you're mentioning more islands that I never considered, but sound wonderful! <BR>Gina - if you could provide me with the Santorini hotel info., that would be great. Thanks!

Grace

Leslie, you have to keep in mind that travel in Sept the ferries may not be running on heavy tourist schedules. One response I rec'd from an employee of the ferries when I asked when the ferry would arrive was, "it arrives when it arrives." Traveling in Greece can be a hassle if you don't have much time, but fabulous if you do. Athens, the best area to stay would in the Plaka (which if I remember means fun) and is also located in the old part of town. A must to see is the Acropolis, Temple of Athena and there are many ruins right in the Plaka. To save on time, inter island flights might be better for you. They all are in the range of $75 CDN. Short and inexpensive. The ferry from Santorini to Crete (that island is amazing)is about four hours. Plus Crete is so big with many places to see. I stayed at small pensions that I found when I got there. Most were clean and inexpensive, about $12CDN PP. Unfortunately I don't have any names or Numbers for you. One of my favorite places was Hania, an old fishing village, with beautiful architecture and very friendly people on the NW part of the island. Naxos, N of Santorini has amazing beaches as well. Have fun! Grace

Gina

Leslie, Grace makes a good point about ferry times. Crete isn't that far by ferry from Athens, but our ferry to Santorini from Piraeus, for example, took 9 hours! Granted, we were on a multi-stop trip and I think there are faster ferries, but not by too much. Ferry between Santorini and Paros was 6 hours; the fast ferry from Paros to Mykonos was 3 hours. 6 hours back from Mykonos to Athens. This trip was in September, and the ferries did seem to leave and arrive pretty much on schedule, but they do take some time. You might consider a ferry if the hop is short (Athens-Crete or Crete-Athens), and flights when they're longer, such as the journey to Santorini. <BR> <BR>The Hermes Hotel has a nice Web presence at http://www.hermeshotel-santorini.com/. All their contact info is there; I see they're not listing specific room rates. But to give you an idea of what you might expect to pay, the land portion of our Contiki "Greek Island Hopping" package cost $999 for 15 nights and 14 days, which included accommodations for 3 nights total in Athens and 3 nights each on 3 islands, plus ferry transportation, our guide, and a few of our meals. So doing the math, the hotel can't be too horribly expensive.

Diane

Leslie: I think Gina has Crete confused with another island. Crete is south of Santorini and is very far away from Athens. Traveling by ferry can give you insight into the Greek culture (even with all the tourists), but with a tight time schedule flights booked a few months in advance is worth thinking about.

Gina

Oops. No, Diane, I didn't have Crete confused with another island, just was misremembering its location.

KS

Leslie- <BR>I was in Greece fall 2000 and stayed at two fabulous hotels. You mentioned you like to be pampered so do I and therefore I highly reccommend Perivolas in Santorini and The Mykonos Blu. The Mykonos Blu is a new resort with a great beach, 10 minute bus ride from the city center. Perivolas is located in charming Oia on the edge of the caldera. Check out both websites grecotel.gr and perivolas.gr