Trip Review! Athens, Naxos, Santorini & Folegandros
Aug 18th, 2005, 10:40 AM
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Trip Review! Athens, Naxos, Santorini & Folegandros
Hello there--Just returned from 3 weeks in Greece and had an amazing time! We had a great mix of luxury and low-key accomodations, simple taverna food to fine dining and culture and doing nothing at all! It was perfect!
We arrived from a very long flight from San Francisco into Athens at 5pm, hopped on the very convenient metro to Monastiraki and a quick walk to Hotel Adrian. We checked into our room, which was clean and simple with a view of the Acropolis. We then freshed up walked around and grabbed dinner and walked some more. It was great to see so many locals sitting, eating and drinking to the late hours of the night in outdoor cafes. The next morning we woke up early to get a start on sightseeing. After a great buffet breakfast on the rooftop of our hotel, we hit the Acropolis bright and early before the crowds and heat arrived. WOW! It was amazing! We walked and walked and saw most of the nearby areas, took a siesta and made it out for dinner.
The next morning we took the ferry to Naxos. That would be my only regret on our trip. It was sooooooo long, and soooooo windy, people were getting sick all around us.
We arrived from a very long flight from San Francisco into Athens at 5pm, hopped on the very convenient metro to Monastiraki and a quick walk to Hotel Adrian. We checked into our room, which was clean and simple with a view of the Acropolis. We then freshed up walked around and grabbed dinner and walked some more. It was great to see so many locals sitting, eating and drinking to the late hours of the night in outdoor cafes. The next morning we woke up early to get a start on sightseeing. After a great buffet breakfast on the rooftop of our hotel, we hit the Acropolis bright and early before the crowds and heat arrived. WOW! It was amazing! We walked and walked and saw most of the nearby areas, took a siesta and made it out for dinner.
The next morning we took the ferry to Naxos. That would be my only regret on our trip. It was sooooooo long, and soooooo windy, people were getting sick all around us.
Aug 18th, 2005, 11:18 AM
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Here is C-C's trip review part II:
Author: C_C
Date: 08/18/2005
We arrived in Naxos after 7.5 hours on the ferry (if you have it in the budget, please fly!) and checked into Kavos Studios in Ayios Prokopios for 7 nights. This place is great! We had our own cottage/studio with a patio, great AC, a kitchenette, refridgerator, etc. The hotel setting and view was so pretty with a very nice pool and views of Paros, delicious al fresco dining all day and night with fresh meals and daily specials. The staff couldn't be nicer and after a week, we felt sad to leave not only the island and hotel but the staff as well! The hotel itself is a short 10 minute walk to one of the best beaches on the island and a quick 5 minute taxi into town (Hora), which was beautiful and quaint. Every turn you would make looked like it could be photo out of a magazine!
We rented a car for 2 days and explored the island. We checked out the interior villages which are just beautiful, ancient ruins and many of the island's amazing beaches.
We loved Naxos. It was very laid-back and beautiful with lovely scenery, beaches, a very pretty Hora and great simple and fairly inexpensive food & wine. It had everything we wanted and was exactly what we pictured a Greek island to be like.
Author: C_C
Date: 08/18/2005
We arrived in Naxos after 7.5 hours on the ferry (if you have it in the budget, please fly!) and checked into Kavos Studios in Ayios Prokopios for 7 nights. This place is great! We had our own cottage/studio with a patio, great AC, a kitchenette, refridgerator, etc. The hotel setting and view was so pretty with a very nice pool and views of Paros, delicious al fresco dining all day and night with fresh meals and daily specials. The staff couldn't be nicer and after a week, we felt sad to leave not only the island and hotel but the staff as well! The hotel itself is a short 10 minute walk to one of the best beaches on the island and a quick 5 minute taxi into town (Hora), which was beautiful and quaint. Every turn you would make looked like it could be photo out of a magazine!
We rented a car for 2 days and explored the island. We checked out the interior villages which are just beautiful, ancient ruins and many of the island's amazing beaches.
We loved Naxos. It was very laid-back and beautiful with lovely scenery, beaches, a very pretty Hora and great simple and fairly inexpensive food & wine. It had everything we wanted and was exactly what we pictured a Greek island to be like.
Aug 18th, 2005, 02:00 PM
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Because we read so much about how difficult it was to get to and from Folegandros and learned that in the summer there are daily ferry connections with Santorini, we decided to split up our time in Santorini--half the time near Fira and the other in Oia with Folegandros in the middle.
We took the ferry from Naxos to Santorini and arrived at Astra Apartments for our 3 night stay. The hotel was lovely and the view was spectacular! George the owner gave us maps with suggestions of restaurants and things to do and couldn't have been nicer. The hotel is in Immerovigli which is a decent walk from Fira--about 25 minutes. We didn't mind it but I could imagine it could bother some. Firostefani, which is between Fira and Imerovigli might be a better location since it much more quiet than Fira and only a 10 minute walk, although I wouldn't have minded staying in Fira either. It seemed OK to me! I quickly learned that wearing "cute shoes" was not smart as the pathway is rocky and slippery in parts. We spent a lot of time on our hotel balcony and at the pool just staring at the view. We explored Fira, which was nice with great views but nothing as charming as other towns we saw in Greece. I can say that we LOVED having drinks at sunset at Franco's. It was worth every penny! And dinner at Vanilia was our favorite on that part of the island. Also, it was pretty windy and I needed a sweater at night.
We took the ferry from Naxos to Santorini and arrived at Astra Apartments for our 3 night stay. The hotel was lovely and the view was spectacular! George the owner gave us maps with suggestions of restaurants and things to do and couldn't have been nicer. The hotel is in Immerovigli which is a decent walk from Fira--about 25 minutes. We didn't mind it but I could imagine it could bother some. Firostefani, which is between Fira and Imerovigli might be a better location since it much more quiet than Fira and only a 10 minute walk, although I wouldn't have minded staying in Fira either. It seemed OK to me! I quickly learned that wearing "cute shoes" was not smart as the pathway is rocky and slippery in parts. We spent a lot of time on our hotel balcony and at the pool just staring at the view. We explored Fira, which was nice with great views but nothing as charming as other towns we saw in Greece. I can say that we LOVED having drinks at sunset at Franco's. It was worth every penny! And dinner at Vanilia was our favorite on that part of the island. Also, it was pretty windy and I needed a sweater at night.
Aug 18th, 2005, 04:29 PM
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Hi,
i love reading reports on Greece. I have never been to NAxos and it is on my list. I have such wonderful memories of hot lazy Greek days with wonderful fresh salads etc. Keep the report coming.
i love reading reports on Greece. I have never been to NAxos and it is on my list. I have such wonderful memories of hot lazy Greek days with wonderful fresh salads etc. Keep the report coming.
Aug 18th, 2005, 05:10 PM
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I've had a room facing the Acropolis in the back of the hotel that was very quiet. I've heard that the rooms facing the street are noisy, which makes sense since the hotel is located on a busy street in Plaka.
Aug 19th, 2005, 07:39 AM
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From Santorini we took the 90 minute ferry to Folegandros. We arrived, hopped on the bus to Hora and walked a couple blocked to the Castro Hotel. This was a recommendations from Frommer's that was very low-key, clean and on the cliff with views of the ocean. It looked like there were some higher-end accomodations with swimming pools but we were really happy with where we were at. It made us get out and explore the beaches and take in what the island had to offer.
The town was darling, made up of 5 squares with shops, markets and outdoor restaurants and cafes everywhere. The bus system is great and you can pretty much get everywhere by bus, foot or small boats that take you to a handful of fantastic beaches. There is only one taxi on the island. Because we only had 3 nights in Folegandros, we decided to rent a scooter for the day to do a bit more exploring. One thing I can say is that if you do want to do the walks to the beaches instead of the boats is to make sure you wear good walking or tennis shoes, not flip flops. We did do some hiking to get down to the beaches and we were very happy that we had proper shoes on.
We absolutely loved Folegandros and wished that we had planned to stay longer than 3 nights. It seemed as though the island is how the Greek islands would have been 50 years ago. The beaches were pristine and we thought the food was the best we had in Greece. I'm not talking fine dining like you find in Santorini, it was simple, fresh and flavorful and we loved it. We were sad to leave Folegandros but excited about our last stop in Greece...
The town was darling, made up of 5 squares with shops, markets and outdoor restaurants and cafes everywhere. The bus system is great and you can pretty much get everywhere by bus, foot or small boats that take you to a handful of fantastic beaches. There is only one taxi on the island. Because we only had 3 nights in Folegandros, we decided to rent a scooter for the day to do a bit more exploring. One thing I can say is that if you do want to do the walks to the beaches instead of the boats is to make sure you wear good walking or tennis shoes, not flip flops. We did do some hiking to get down to the beaches and we were very happy that we had proper shoes on.
We absolutely loved Folegandros and wished that we had planned to stay longer than 3 nights. It seemed as though the island is how the Greek islands would have been 50 years ago. The beaches were pristine and we thought the food was the best we had in Greece. I'm not talking fine dining like you find in Santorini, it was simple, fresh and flavorful and we loved it. We were sad to leave Folegandros but excited about our last stop in Greece...
We're springing for the Acropolis view room at the Adrian.
Aug 20th, 2005, 04:43 AM
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The fish tavernas near Akrotri are the best. Being from New Mexico we were leery about trying the Mexican restaurant. We are so glad we did.
The food was great! The view un-real!
My fiance puposed to me on their terrace. I will never forget the moment or the restaurant.
The food was great! The view un-real!
My fiance puposed to me on their terrace. I will never forget the moment or the restaurant.
Aug 20th, 2005, 09:04 AM
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Katina's Fish Taverna in Amoudi below Oia is one of the best, and the setting is fantastic. For authentic Greek cuisine, try Neptune in Oia. Many Greeks go their for meals when visiting the island.
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