Travel to Greece Advice

[howardlander]

Hi all

I've been inspired by the recent London/Paris thread to see if anyone here has helpful tips about travel to Greece. It looks like we will have 13 nights in Greece. We are probably going to be there May 5 - 19. I'm hoping the weather will be good and we will avoid the worst of the tourist season, but given my daughter's schedule, that's when the trip has to be. I was thinking of maybe 4 or 5 nights in Athens and the rest on one or two of the islands, maybe Santorini and Crete. We'd like to see some beautiful blue water, but if it's too cold for much swimming or snorkeling that's probably OK. I love to see museums/ruins/antiquities and thought maybe Crete would be good for all that. One other thing is that we really like to walk. We'll spend hours just happily wandering through Paris or London and we'd love to find some great places to walk/hike in Greece. All suggestions about places to stay, things to do, food to eat etc. happily accepted.

Thanks in advance
Howard

[luburch]

Four or five nights is a little too much in Athens for me, others may disagree. I would make the day trip to Delphi.

Be prepared, Santorini will be busy no matter when you visit.

[snowdenscold]

You should check these two previous threads:

https://forums.dukebasketballreport...oneymoon-ideas

https://forums.dukebasketballreport...reece-vacation

Here are some of my comments from there (I went in May 2010), but you should probably just read the threads to see everyone else's posts and to get more context/background.

Also, two nights was plenty for Athens. And five nights is probably the max I'd want to spend on any particular island.

I have similar comments to those above - we did a 12 night honeymoon there - 5 nights in Santorini (Oia), 5 nights in Crete (Rethymno) and 2 nights in Athens.

High-speed ferry from Santorini to Crete, flight back to Athens. We had a rental car for Crete, but again, it was 5 days so we drove all over the island.

I recommend Oia for Santorini - it's on the north end of the island, but was absolutely gorgeous. We rented an ATV for a full day and drove all the island; also did the boat ride out to the volcano.

Rethymno was a nice middle point in Crete - easy day trips over to Knossos, Chania, etc., plus it had a really cool 'old town' area with lots of cute alleys with restaurants and shops.

We loved this place - ended up eating there 3 out of 5 nights (really good steaks for cheap prices) - https://www.facebook.com/Taverna-Sta...7467209070881/ and https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ta...9!4d24.4735989
Of course this was 8 years ago, so can't vouch for it recently.
(that's not us in the pictures, btw, haha)

In Athens, in addition to the Acropolis (definitely a must go), they also had a cool museum down at the bottom, which allowed you to look through some glass floors to actual excavations underneath.

-----

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.

...

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.

[VA_BDevil]

I will try to post more later, but for now ---

Wife and I went in late April for 10 nights and had a similar itinerary - 4 nights in Crete, 4 in Santorini, 2 in Athens. Overall, we were very pleased with our itinerary, and can send you names/locations of our hotels later. My wife's favorite was Santorini, mine was Crete. She enjoyed our patio overlooking the caldera/Aegean Sea, and I liked Crete since it at times felt like we had the island to ourselves. I also enjoyed our accidental drive above the unspoiled southern coast of Crete. Except for the days when cruise ship escapees invaded (once in Santorini, and when we visited the Acropolis) we avoided the crowds. Your experience in May could be a little different, but you should miss the most of the masses then.

Lots of opportunities for walking and hiking. Besides the historic sites, we enjoyed walking around the coastal towns of Chania and Heraklion in Crete. Based on recommendations in the tour books, we had planned to hike a place called the Samarian Gorge, but it was not yet open for the season. Instead we went with a recommendation from our hotel in Crete and hiked Imbros Gorge, which was great. We hiked down (toward the coast) and took a taxi back to our starting point. In Santorini, we hiked the ridge trail that goes from Ioa to Fira and then caught a ride back.

I've never been to any of the other Greek Islands, so I can't speak for them or compare them to Crete and Santorini. But you certainly can't go wrong with those two. Regarding Athens, we were there 2 nights but only 1 full day. We could have spent another day easily to take in places we missed due to early closing times, suboptimal planning on our part, and aching feet (30,000+ steps that day). If I ever make it back to the Greek mainland, I'll carve out time for Delphi and Meteora. You may want to consider those if you do stay in Athens 4-5 days (those would be long day trips).

Can provide hotel info and some other details later.

Based on your board name -- class of '81? Trent Drive Hall freshman year?

[OldPhiKap]

Re-upping this because I’ve got a bug to visit Crete. At least, that’s the first Greek Island bug that bit me tonight.

Great stuff here, I note that nothing has been posted since before the pandemic. Anyone travel to Crete or Greece since things reopened?

[Stray Gator]

Re-upping this because I’ve got a bug to visit Crete. At least, that’s the first Greek Island bug that bit me tonight.

Great stuff here, I note that nothing has been posted since before the pandemic. Anyone travel to Crete or Greece since things reopened?

My wife and I spent a few days in Athens in mid-May of this year. We were fortunate to arrive before the summer season, and consequently enjoyed a delightful visit without the hassles of wading through crowds and waiting in lines. If you plan to visit Athens, let me know and I'll be happy to offer some recommendations for lodging, dining, and sightseeing.

[tommy]

Agree w others who have said one day and a max of 2 is plenty in Athens. It’s a huge crowded city. You have to go to see the big ticket items but you really can do that in one day. Have a nice dinner and head for the islands after that.

If you want to discuss islands, PM me. I have some thoughts on the 3 we went to which were great but quite different from each other.

[Stray Gator]

Agree w others who have said one day and a max of 2 is plenty in Athens. It’s a huge crowded city. You have to go to see the big ticket items but you really can do that in one day. Have a nice dinner and head for the islands after that. . . .

I suppose it can depend on the number of attractions you want to visit and your preferred pace, but based on our experience in Athens during mid-May, two-and-a-half days was barely enough to cover the main sites of interest. The Acropolis and Acropolis Museum -- which I highly recommend be done in an early morning small group tour with a knowledgeable guide -- can easily fill half a day. The rest of that day can be well spent taking the Hop-On, Hop-Off bus tour (for a broad survey of and introduction to the city, with the ability to jump off at interesting stops) and one of the free walking tours that includes the Plaka. Another day can easily be consumed visiting the two Agoras, Hadrian's Library, the National Archeological Museum, and the Panathenaic Stadium -- site of the first modern Olympics, and the only stadium in the world constructed completely of marble.

A tip: One of the highlights we enjoyed most was a half-day small-group tour (booked through Viator) down to the Sounion Peninsula for a spectacular sunset at Poseidon's Temple, which included stops en route at a popular lake and a spectacular beach. Another tip: Make a reservation one evening --preferably at dusk -- for a table at the Roof Garden Restaurant atop the Grand Bretagne Hotel, where you'll be treated to a memorable view of the Acropolis across the Plaka (as well as a fabulous dinner). (Alternatively, the Roof Garden serves a terrific breakfast with the same scenic view.)

[OldPhiKap]

Great info, thanks to all!

[howardlander]

I will try to post more later, but for now ---

Based on your board name -- class of '81? Trent Drive Hall freshman year?

Some how missed this until now, but yes class of 81 Trent Drive Hall! You too I'm guessing.

Howard

[-jk]

It’s been a few years, but I loved our stay in Chania on Crete. Not touristy, very nice vibe. We stayed at an inn that had been the German embassy between the world wars when Crete was an independent nation. Had breakfast on a balcony watching the fishing boats come in every morning.

-jk

[howardlander]

Re-upping this because I’ve got a bug to visit Crete. At least, that’s the first Greek Island bug that bit me tonight.

Great stuff here, I note that nothing has been posted since before the pandemic. Anyone travel to Crete or Greece since things reopened?

I started this thread, so I guess it's only fair for me to comment!

We just returned from Spain and France about a month ago and, if it matters to you and Greece is like Spain and France, no one at all is masking anywhere. We masked religiously in the airports and on the planes and did not get sick. YMMV

We did go to Crete and stayed in Heraklion for a few nights. We really loved it there. We went to the Palace of Knossos and it was worth a visit but not incredible. When we bought the tickets, for another euro or 2 (I think) it included a ticket to the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion, so I thought "why not" and added it on. Wife, daughter and myself just loved that museum: it's a must see if you are in Heraklion.

We stayed at this hotel:

https://veneziano.gr/

IIRC, the hotel was pretty nice, the area immediately surrounding it was just OK, but it was a short walk to the nice part of town (which is very cool). The people at the hotel (and everywhere in Greece) were incredibly nice. We got the hotel to arrange a taxi for us and we spent a day at one of the local beaches. That was awesome.

One thing about Athens: we used ToursByLocals.com and booked a tour of Aegina Island. That was a lot of fun. We took the ferry over and a British woman named Sandra picked us up in an old car and took us all over the Island. I just checked and she's still doing it: here's the link

https://www.toursbylocals.com/TBL/We...1.1.5.3.0.5.0

I actually have a discount code they gave me in 2020 to pass on to friends. If you decide to book feel free to try to use it. It's J253JL

We loved Greece. The only downside and it's worth mentioning is that my wife somehow got H. Pylori there (we think). Neither my daughter or I did and it's possible that's not where she got it.

Howard

[Deslok]

Just to chime in as a minor aside... if it's Greek ruins you want to see, probably the best place to go is Turkey. The Turkish coast of the AegeanSea is littered with ruins, to such an extent that there are fairly unprotected ones there(or there were 20 years ago, which is when I was there)

[tommy]

The Blue Palace hotel on Crete is one of the very nicest hotels we've ever stayed at. Simply glorious.

[OldPhiKap]

Thanks, all, again!

My initial thought was to go hang out in Crete for about five days and chillax, while also having a few days in Athens for the sights. Crete seems to have a good balance of history and scenery. Not sure about basing in Heraklion or Chania, both seem to have their benefits.

I have found DBR to be a great source of vacation info; we are everywhere!

[Stray Gator]

I suppose it can depend on the number of attractions you want to visit and your preferred pace, but based on our experience in Athens during mid-May, two-and-a-half days was barely enough to cover the main sites of interest. The Acropolis and Acropolis Museum -- which I highly recommend be done in an early morning small group tour with a knowledgeable guide -- can easily fill half a day. The rest of that day can be well spent taking the Hop-On, Hop-Off bus tour (for a broad survey of and introduction to the city, with the ability to jump off at interesting stops) and one of the free walking tours that includes the Plaka. Another day can easily be consumed visiting the two Agoras, Hadrian's Library, the National Archeological Museum, and the Panathenaic Stadium -- site of the first modern Olympics, and the only stadium in the world constructed completely of marble.

A tip: One of the highlights we enjoyed most was a half-day small-group tour (booked through Viator) down to the Sounion Peninsula for a spectacular sunset at Poseidon's Temple, which included stops en route at a popular lake and a spectacular beach. Another tip: Make a reservation one evening --preferably at dusk -- for a table at the Roof Garden Restaurant atop the Grand Bretagne Hotel, where you'll be treated to a memorable view of the Acropolis across the Plaka (as well as a fabulous dinner). (Alternatively, the Roof Garden serves a terrific breakfast with the same scenic view.)

I neglected to include a couple of photos I wanted to share -- a view of the Acropolis during dinner from the Roof Garden Restaurant, and a sunset over the Soronic Gulf viewed from the Temple of Poseidon on the Sounion Peninsula.

PXL_20230411_172305767 -- The Parthenon at dusk, viewed looking southwest from the balcony of th.jpg

PXL_20230412_165134493 -- Sunset over the Soronic Gulf, viewed looking west towards the island o.jpg

[OldPhiKap]

I neglected to include a couple of photos I wanted to share -- a view of the Acropolis during dinner from the Roof Garden Restaurant, and a sunset over the Soronic Gulf viewed from the Temple of Poseidon on the Sounion Peninsula.

PXL_20230411_172305767 -- The Parthenon at dusk, viewed looking southwest from the balcony of th.jpg

PXL_20230412_165134493 -- Sunset over the Soronic Gulf, viewed looking west towards the island o.jpg

Wonderful pictures!

I’ve said before and will again — Stray travels in style and has always given me great ideas/advice on these threads. His hotel recommendation in Bruges was especially spot-on.

[OldPhiKap]

The Blue Palace hotel on Crete is one of the very nicest hotels we've ever stayed at. Simply glorious.

The website looks great! Did you spend most of your time on the eastern Lasithi part of Crete?

[VA_BDevil]

OPK - for what it's worth, we stayed at this place in Crete - https://www.kapsalianavillage.gr, which is part of an old olive grove village. It's not comparable to the Blue Palace referenced above, and it's not on the coast, but was still a good choice for us.

[OldPhiKap]

OPK - for what it's worth, we stayed at this place in Crete - https://www.kapsalianavillage.gr, which is part of an old olive grove village. It's not comparable to the Blue Palace referenced above, and it's not on the coast, but was still a good choice for us.

Thanks! Looks stunning. And looks like a great half-way point between Heraklion and Chania.