Greece honeymoon ideas?

[e5111]

Hey! So, I'm in the infancy stages of planning a 10-day honeymoon to Greece in September and was wondering if the good people of DBR had some ideas and suggestions. Since it seems like people on here have opinions on everything! We're flying into Athens, but only plan on spending 1-2 days there. And island hopping the rest of the time via ferries. We don't want a planned cruise; would rather do stuff on our own on our own timeframe. I'm thinking Santorini for sure, possibly Crete, and then maybe one more island. Don't know if that'd be too much in 10 days though. I think 4 places (including Athens) is the sweet spot. We've pretty much eliminated Mykonos. Any ideas on what to do at those locations (including the short stay in Athens)/where to stay/anywhere else we should be sure not to miss? We're in our mid-20s if that affects anything, so are cool with a nice mix of relaxation and nightlife. Oh, and we're also having a day long layover in Zurich, Switzerland on the way there, so suggestions of what to do for 8 hours there would be appreciated too. Thanks so much!

[johnb]

i'd suggest not trying to do too much and to enjoy the boat rides.

congratulations!

[A-Tex Devil]

You are on the right track. Mykonos is for partying it up. Santorini is perfect - one of the best sunsets in the world. Also Crete would work. If you are up for some exploring, my friends have said the west coast of Turkey and the islands around there, which is on a lot of those cruises, is a lot of fun, relaxing and beautiful too.

[-jk]

I enjoyed my stay at Villa Andromeda on Crete.

Ate breakfast on the balcony, watching the fishing boats come in.

-jk

[Reisen]

Great plan! Greece would be just about my number one suggestion for a honeymoon, and I'm pretty well travelled for 30 (hint, my user name).

I would say 2 days in Athens is plenty, I might even limit it to one full day. You're seeing the Acropolis / Temple of Athena Nike with all the other tourists, and maybe enjoying the city. The islands are where it's really at.

I've never been to Santorini, but I'll throw in plugs for both Rhodes and Crete. Rhodes will have a ton of history, but Crete is just fun to explore via moped. Food / beach / water will be fantastic, and I'd definitely suggest renting the moped and taking half day trips around the island(s). Even go inland a little to get a feel for the various villages.

I've also done Mykonos, which is great, but much more like Mallorca or something. For a honeymoon, I think Crete would be my first choice, and I'm sure Santorini would be great too, as would Rhodes.

[sue71, esq]

I enjoyed my stay at Villa Andromeda on Crete.

Ate breakfast on the balcony, watching the fishing boats come in.

-jk

Yeah, that looks like it must've been a positively awful experience.

No, I'm not jealous much.

[snowdenscold]

I went to Greece for my honeymoon last month. I'll post more details in a little bit - gotta run for now.

[snowdenscold]

I went to Greece for my honeymoon last month. I'll post more details in a little bit - gotta run for now.

We mostly split our team between Santorini and Crete (5 nights each).

In Santorini we stayed in the north town of Oia - which I actually liked better than Fira (the main port town w/ the zig-zag donkey path you'll see). Beautiful sunsets, felt a little cleaner. We did the volcano + hot springs boat tour, but be warned the hot springs is just mildly warm. We also rented an ATV one day and drove over the whole island - that was pretty worthwhile - got to see some other towns and the red beach down south.

Hotel was http://www.andronis-suites.com/ - absolutely amazing.

On Crete, we figured we weren't going to top the beautiful scenery of Santorini, so we stayed in Old Town Rethymno. Old Venetian town, lots of pretty crisscrossing alleyways. No view of the water, but again, that was OK. We rented a car for 3-days and saw many parts of the island. There was a famous gorge we didn't make it to, but we hung out in Chania for a day which was nice. Also saw ruins of Knossos of the Minoans (pretty cool when you think how old it is), and drove around Lasithi plateau and down to Prevli beach.

Hotel was Avli - http://www.avli.gr/avli55_frame.html - go to Lounge Apartments, they only have 7 of them. Owner is a great guy.


If you stop through Athens, the new Parthenon museum is pretty cool (and cheap), if for nothing else than to see through the floor into the excavation work.

Oh, and Rhodes is pretty cool - though I only stopped in there for a day several years ago so I don't know much about it.

[e5111]

^Thanks for the insight! It is greatly appreciated. Sounds like Santorini and Crete are the places to go, so those will definitely be on the trip. Rhodes sound great too, but I'm thinking it might be a bit too far as a third (or fourth if counting Athens) destination. Although I guess taking a cruise over there isn't too painful. Anybody know anything about the islands of Naxos or Milos? Those seem quite interesting and are located a bit more conveniently if adding another destination. Thanks again!

[snowdenscold]

We only went to those two because we didn't feel like island hopping much. If you don't mind moving around several times, just stay fewer nights there and check out some of those other islands. All depends on what you're looking to do.

[CrazieDUMB]

If you have time and are in to partying, definitely check out Ios. It wasn't originally on my itinerary when I traveled there, but I ended up there and it was awesome. They have all these clubs and bars built into the mountain with tiny roads snaking though. Check it out if you have a chance.