Patty

My friend and I are planning a trip to Greece the end of May/ beginning of June. We are two single girls travelling and planned on spending about 10 days total. We are looking at Athens, Mykono to Delos, Kos, and Santorini. Do you think we'll have enough time? Does anyone has any other suggestion? This will be the first time for both of us.

chrissy

you only need a day in athens or none really but if you never been there before you should check it out. i was in santorini for 3 nights and it wasn't enough. you at least need 3 nights in mykonos it is one of the smaller islands. good luck

beejay

with having 10 days, plan on 1 or 1/2 day taken to travel to ea. place. 1st thing in athens & everyother place is to check the travel agencies for the time the boats go. you could find that you may have to stay an extra day or leave earlier to get where you want to go..check out the web site "go network.com, select europe, then select greece, its a great site with pictures & descriptions that may help you decide what islands you want...you will have a great time, every island i have been to is exceptional.

Rex

Though my up-to-date personal experience with Greece is nil (haven't been there since I was a teenager, 30 years ago), I am pretty sure about one thing - - the website by Matt Barrett - - www.greektravel.com - - is "don't leave home without (surfing) it" in unmatched quality and completeness.

April

No fooling, Rex. As more recent visitors, I wish we'd seen that site before we went to Greece. Excellent information and lots of pictures too. Thanks.

Carlos

I will be in Greece the entire month of May. While I never been to Greece, I have done extensive research to plan my trip and I can tell you that you should not stay overnight in Athens. However you should make time to visit the Parthenon. You can visit it the day you arrive or depart from/to USA. <BR> <BR>You should consider flying to Mykonos (via Olympic Airways; see olympic-airways.gr website). The flight is less than an hour and it is cheap ($70). <BR> <BR>Given that your time is limited, I suggest that you concentrate your visit to the Cycladic islands. You could stay 2-3 days in Mykonos, 2 days in Naxos and 3-4 days in Santorini. Ferry connections are frequent between these islands and the trips are short. <BR> <BR>If you really want to go to Kos (it is more of a party island although I hear it is very pretty) you should scratch Naxos but I recommend that you arrive by plane. Fly from Santorini to Athens and then Athens to Kos. <BR> <BR>Good luck! <BR>

April

I'm curious, Carlos. Why should you not stay overnight in Athens?

Bill Barr

Patty <BR> <BR>I'm with Rex re the Greek Travel Guide. <BR> <BR>Also, make sure you use the link to Matt's Athens Survival Guide which is at:- <BR> <BR>http://www.athensguide.com/ <BR> <BR>Bill <BR>

Hyalker Amaral

Hello Patty: It all depends on what you want to do. I've spent 7 weeks in Greece for work/play and I'm single, but I love historical things as well as beauty and Greece has both of them often together. I personally would stay in/near Athens for a few nights (touring right off the plane is not that great). AThens seems to get a bad wrap but I found great eats/clubs/people. I always stayed at the Astir Palace in Voulagmenis just south of Athens. It allowed easy access into the city to visit the Parthenon/Plaka area (sites/shopping) and an easy drive to Sounion (Temple of Poseidon) for a great sunset spot. The hotel has three hotels with pools/beautiful grounds/views, etc. even though service/room quality is low (government run). I also did day drives to sites in the Pelp. islands (Mycenae, Epidauros, etc.) <BR>I have always enjoyed Santorini for its spectacular views/sunsets plus you can see the ruins of Akrotiri (Minoan) and explore the island using mopeds/scooters. I stayed in Fira which gave easy access to the small bars, etc. I always say vacations are to enjoy and not to be spent traveling so I'd limit to 3 spots to get maximum enjoyment. Behind NZ, Greece was the most beautiful country I've been to so bring lots of film. Happy travels.

Carlos

In reply to one of the postings, the reason I suggested not staying overnight in Athens was because Patty can only stay 10 days and there are so many beatiful places in Greece that I would visit before Athens. I am myself making a 25 day trip to Greece and I am not staying in Athens for a single night. I am however visiting the Parthenon the day that I leave Greece to go back to the US (my plane leaves at 7:00 PM). <BR> <BR>Again, I have never been in Greece and I maybe wrong about Athens. <BR> <BR>Here are a couple of places in mainland Greece (all of which I am visiting and staying overnight) that I chose over staying in Athens overnight: <BR> <BR>a) Dephi <BR>b) Meteora <BR>c) Zagoria Villages <BR>d) Monemvassia <BR>e) Nafplio <BR> <BR>

Diane

Fly into Athens and immediately take a flight to either Mykonos or Santorini. I recommend starting in Santorini -- that way if you have any difficulty getting back to Athens at the end of the trip, you'll already by in Mykonos and closer to Athens. Stay four nights in each Santorini and Mykonos. Fly back to Athens and spend the last night there -- this way you won't have any concerns about catching your flight home. Also, you will then have a little time to see something in Athens. If you stay in the Plaka you'll be able to walk to the Acropolis. This, of course, depends on the flight schedules. The last time I was in Athens I stayed two nights, giving me one full day for sight-seeing. Regarding Delos, you can stay in Mykonos and take a boat over to Delos -- it's a short trip and you can make a day of it.

Paulo

Carlos, I think you're doing a mistake by not staying a single night in Athens. First, unless your flight comes in early and your return flight takes off late, you won't be able to visit both, the Acropolis and the Archaeological Museum. IMO, the museum is the most important site in Athens. It's where all the goodies are, including stuff from the Acropolis and other sites in Athens, from Micaene, the frescos from Akrotiri in Santorini ... you name it. It took us about 2 1/2 hours to visit the Acropolis (the museum was closed) and about 4 hours to visit the Archaeological museum. Considering the time to transfer between the 2 sites you would have about 7-8 hours available to visit both. 2nd, an evening/night in Plaka is not bad at all. As a matter of fact, spending a night there is more fun than in all of the places you mention (well, maybe at par with Nauplion). <BR>Paulo <BR> <BR>