ok - this might sound like an absolutely ridiculous question to some - but it has been mind boggling to me.

As I have posted earlier - my husband and i (in our late 20's) will be travelling to the greek islands in the beginning of june. We will be seeing Athens for 1 day, Mykonos for 3 days, and santorini for 3 days as well. Hoping to squeeze in a day trip if we feel like it (to Naxos or Paros).

So the question is - we have 4 days left of the trip. Here are our options:

OPtion 1: Add on Crete
OPtion 2: Fly to Milan/Budapest
Option 3: Fly to Milan and somehow get to Cinque Terra

#2 and #3 might seem like weird options but this is what we came up with based on the fact that we wanted a cheap budget flight out of Santorini and this is all that was available on our dates.

So my question is - do you think Crete is something that is a must see. I have seen pictures and it doesn't seem as beautiful and relaxing (main reason we are going to the greek islands) as Santorini and Mykonos. It didn't appeal to us - but we could be wrong.

But then again Milan and Budapest??? I am not too sure about either. Very confused and we need to book these fast since we are afraid the $$ will go up.

Any opinions will be appreciated. Thanks

That is a hard choice. Let me tell you a bit about my impressions of each, and perhaps that will help you in your choice. Keep in mind, these are personal opinions

Crete really is in two parts: Heraklion is sizable city that has fascinating ruins and history (if you want to get a sense of the history, in novel form , read some of Mary Renault's books) Then, clear across the island, on its south side, are beautiful beaches, topless and otherwise. With a car, we drove there for the day. I'm sure there are also busses.

Overtall, Crete is more like Mykonos than Santorini You can easily fill 2 or 3 days there.

Milan is a big city. It is quite elegant, a commercial hub. The castle and the duomo are well worth a visit, plus some museums. You van take day bus trips from Milan to the Lago Maggiore. I did that and enjoyed it.

To some extent, the Budapest experience is similar to that of Milan, although it is more relaxed. There are quite a few places to visit, both in Buda and Pest. It is a better place to "people watch", than Milan. There is more "romance" in Budapest than Milan.

Cinque Terre: I tried to go there a couple of years ago, but Northwest/KLM lost my baggage for 5 days. Judging by my research, the area is a great place for hiking from one village to the next, especially for someone in their late 20's. It would be a more relaxed life than either Milan or Budapest. Check Rick Stevens, he seems to like it very much. To get to Cinque Terre you probably would havew to take the train from Milan, unless you find a flight to Genua. So, combined coming and going you may lose a day.

One Note: I try to avoid flying into Milan Malpensa airport if I can. It is notorious for delayed flights and canellations. Some of it is simply Alitalia, some of it is its location in a swamp that generates lots of fog.

Hi - My wife and I spent 10 days in Crete in June of 2003. We travel extensively and this was and is one of the best trips we ever made. You will not regret having visited. As treplow suggests, the western part of Crete is where you want to stay. We stayed most of the time in Chania, a beautiful, delightful Venetian style city (it was occupied by the Venicians for 400+ years and then by the Turks). If you like to hike, Crete has the deepest gorge in Europe, a fantatsic journey through the Samaria Gorge. Crete also has some of the most impressive and important Minoan ruins anywhere at Knosos and Phaetos. The second best town is Rethymno - castels, mosques, Venetian townhouses, etc.

Milan and Cinque Terra should be saved for another, longer trip to Italy. But, while you are in the neighborhood, you shouldn't miss Crete!

Good luck with your decision.
Roger

Been to all the places you mention except Crete. My choice would be Budapest without any hesitation. No offense intended but for the life of me I can't see the similarity to Milan.

Larry J

I think what this really comes down to is whether you want more Greek islands, or something entirely different.

Like one4choice, we spent about 10 days on Crete and loved it. It's one of our favorite places. But relative to your other choices, it's the most like the Cycladic islands you will already be spending a week on. So if you want to continue the beach, hiking, exploring little villages vacation, stay on Crete.

If you want a change, I'd choose Budapest over Milan any day. I guess my gut feeling is that with only 4 days, you will spend too much time getting from Santorini to Milan to CT and then back to Milan. Where are you flying home from? (Sounds like Milan?)

topping

Thank you all so much for the responses. As luck would have it - we just realized that Swtizerland is not too far from Milan and so we decided on Lugano and Lucerne instead. We got mixed responses for Milan - seems like it wouldn't have much for our interests. Budapest sounds awesome - but seems to be too far and in the opposite direction we need to be in to get home (flying back from berlin). And Cinque terre sounds amazing - but we felt we might need more days to fully appreciate it - plus we just visited other part of Italy last september. Switzerland seemed like a taste of something new and different even though it will also be a rush rush visit - but hopefully a relaxing scenic way to end our trip.

Lovely choice. Have a great trip!