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Hi all,
I've been lurking this subreddit for a while in preparation for my trip that ended just yesterday so I wanted to share my experience in hope that its useful to some of you planning your own trips. Its going to be a long and detailed post.
These are my personal experiences\*
This will be a long read\*
I flew to Athens the 26th of April and arrived around midnight after a 1 hour delay. Sadly, this meant that we couldn't take the metro to arrive to our Airbnb, we went to the taxi queue, which was a mess of drivers waiting and having very heated discussions, we took a taxi and the driver was a bit crazy... she was speeding way over the limit. But we reached our destination.. it was 60 euros + tips.
We took a semi-private tour for the acropolis and it was really good. Definitely recommend it because there is a lot of information you can miss if going alone. The plaka neighbourhood was nice, a bit packed but fun to walk around nevertheless. The next day we took a guided tour to the temple of Poseidon at cape Sounion and it was worth it, we stopped first at an old theater before going to watch the sunset at the temple.
We flew from Athens to Mykonos, it was very windy but the town is beautiful with the painted stones, white houses, and colourful bougamvilleas. We took a bus to the Paradise beach early morning. Because it was not high season it was ok. The beach is beautiful but I can see it getting full in high season. The night life was great in Mykonos. We did not rent a car as the bus got us to where we wanted to go and we only stayed 2 nights there. I felt that in Mykonos you can easily get to the main places (airport, new port, beaches, etc...) by bus for cheap or taxi if you dont mind spending more and being more free.
From Mykonos we took a "fast ferries" ferry to Naxos, my personal favourite place. We rented a car for 3 days and it was great. We stayed at a beachfront hotel in the southern part of the town. A lot of nice places to eat or have a drink, not too full of tourists. We drove to most of the beaches from the main town towards the south and all of them were beautiful. Agia anna was easy to reach, plaka beach as well, both amazing for swimming in the ocean. The hawaii beach was really nice as well, felt more secluded, with very few people. We also drove to the temple of dyonisus which was empty, we were the only couple visiting so we got a really nice personal tour around for free where they explained the history behind the temple. Beware when driving because many roads are not paved and the speed limit is 30-50 km/h in most places.
The night before our ferry from Naxos to Heraklion we got a message from "seajets"that they cancelled the ferry for bad weather, which sucks but it is what it is. Sadly when we went to the agency they told us that the next available ferry was 4 days from that day. So after a couple of hours of stress we decided to take a 5.5 hour "blue star" ferry back to Athens that evening because to the north there was no bad weather and take a flight to Heraklion the next morning. Funnily, we didn't know that the 1st of may was a special day in Greece, and when we got to our hotel in Piraeus port and went to sleep to rest for the next day's early flight we were woken up by the ferry sirens and many many fireworks at midnight. the next day we took the flight to Heraklion and arrived there at noon, grabbed a rented car and drove to our hotel in Heraklion.
Heraklion itself is fun to walk around, sadly that week many stores were closed due to the holidays, but it gave us time to drive to nearby beaches, we went to Agia Pelagia peach, which was super nice. The next day we drove 3 hours and a half to Elafonisi pink beach and it was just amazing. By far the most beautiful beach I've ever been to in my life. Crystal clear water, pink sand, no waves, lots of free space to lay in the sand, and the asphalt road reaches here. Only a 10 minute walk down form the parking lot that charges 5 euros for the whole day. Definitely worth it to go there.
The next day we went to the temple of Knossos and in my personal opinion this was definitely not worth it. The place was discovered by the british sir Arthur Evans, what he did was reconstruct many areas of the temple, and paint it, which to me is not a good practice. I'd rather look at ruins and foundations over reconstructions made 100 years ago... Some people like this, but its definitely not for me. I was more angry about what he did to the place than amazed at the architecture. I'd encourage people to do some research before going there. If I had known this maybe I would have thought twice before booking it.
Next we took a "seajets" ferry to santorini which was a bit under 2 hours. I was one of the big ones so it didn't move as much as I thought it would. Once we arrived at Santorini port we took a taxi for 30 euros to our hotel just outside Fira. We decided to stay only 1 night in Santorini as we were warned by locals that its super touristy and we don't usually love this. And they were right, the place is beautiful, the houses on the side of the mountains are beautiful, white with the occasional blue roof church in between I'll give it that. But the amount of tourists and tourist catered restaurants and places is overwhelming, prices were higher everywhere. We went to Oia with a bus departing from Fira center for 2 euros to watch the famous sunset form the castle. We arrived 2 hours before and it was not very crowded but as time passed the place got full and it was a uncomfortable, too many people coming for the "instagram photo" and the people that have no sense of personal space, to people that tried to push us out of our first row spot anytime we slightly moved, it was definitely not the best experience. The sunset was beautiful, but the experience stained it a bit. The bus back to Fira was full and if you didn't get the bus you'd have to pay 40-50 euros for a taxi we were warned by the hotel staff. So we rushed to grab the bus as soon as the sunset ended.
Finally we took a flight the next day to Athens and then to our final destination to end the trip.
Overall, I return very happy. I can say that Greece became my N1 favourite place in the world so far. In regards to food it was amazing, mediterranean food with amazing flavours. Plenty of vegetarian and vegan options. The landscapes in both the mainland and the islands is amazing, the beaches were as taken out of dreams and the people super friendly and everyone basically spoke english so no problem communicating.
In regards to food what we loved the most were the greek salads, we had it at least once every day. The fava dip, vine leaves, fried feta saganaki, zucchini balls, tzatziki, and the pita bread is amazing. We had mushroom/falafel souvlaki as well as vegetarian Gyros and they were amazing. What surprised us was that everywhere we went the restaurant always gave us something as complimentary, sometimes we got some dips plus homemade bread, orange pie with ice cream, may times we got Ouzo, Raki, or my personal favourite, Mastiha as a digestif after the meal. this detail made our lunches/dinners way better. Tipping was not mandatory but we always rounded up the bill because every one was so nice to us.
As far as places to eat I'd recommend:
Athens: Kafeneion 111
Mykonos: Niko's taverna
Naxos: Taverna Naxos, Avli in agia anna
Heraklion: Olive trees in the center
Santorini: FalafeLand
Feel free to ask me if you have any questions, I'm happy to answer them. And sorry for the long read!
Corporate schmo here, based in US. I am looking for the best Greek island/town where I can just sit, chill and decompress for 10 days or so. My interests, in the following order based on interest are: good food, chill pubs, nice beach (doesn’t have to be epic), day hiking, and sight seeing. Basically I need a place where I can check out of society for a bit and have a good time doing it. Any suggestions?
Has anyone been to the Kamari open air cinema on Santorini this year? Are they open for the season? They haven’t updated the program on their website.
Visiting Naxos and Milos in June and looking ahead to rent atv or car. Should we be looking ahead to do this or wait until our arrival? Not opposed to taking public transit but some of the places we want to visit aren’t as easily accessible.
Hi there. I’ll be going to Corfu in a few weeks and I’m trying to decide where to stay. I’m not sure if I’m fully staying in a resort type area. I’m looking for a small town / village area with self catering accommodation. Ideally there’d be a beach within walking distance. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I’ve heard that Pelekas might suit my needs
Hi All,
My girlfriend has always wanted to visit Greece, and I am planning to take her there for her 25th birthday. I'm not sure which places to visit and would appreciate recommendations. I am a 25-year-old male, and we are from India, currently staying in the UK. Our budget is £600 each. I think we can have a good 4 day 3 night stay in this amount (can increase a bit if necessary)
She is not a big fan of museums or historical sites, and she can only tolerate the beach for one day. She loves visiting cities, exploring markets, and trying authentic local food.
I want to plan the holiday to include one day at the beach and the rest for city exploration. Also, I'm not sure whether it's better to book through package holidays or individually for flights and accommodation.
Any suggestions are welcome.
Thank you!
I’m wondering how are the roads and if it’s changing to drive there. It’s difficult to go from one part of the island on another or it’s like business as usual? If you have time and knowledge about things worth to go, see and spend some time there I would really appreciate!
Thank you for your time!
hello, can you recommend a small village or town, near Thessaloniki, with white houses, good food and the sea, something like Astypalea 🥹
hello, can you recommend a small village or town, near Thessaloniki, with white houses, good food and the sea, something like Astypalea maybe 🥹
Hello!
Next month we are going to Greek for honey moon and we would like to get some recomendations of places to visit.
We are thinking about spending first 2 days in Athens, then 2 days in Paros, after that 3 days in Santorini and finally another 4 days in Crete before a last day in Athens to get back home. How do you see our journey? Would you change any of them to visit another island like Milos, Rhodes or any other?
Also, if you can recommend us any hotel/village... to stay or give us any tip we would be more than happy.
Thank you very much
Hello!
I was wondering if anyone had any experience in Samos going for a boat excursion for the day.
As a child, I remember being in Croatia and going down to the harbour with my family, and picking from a few vendors of boat excursions. After booking, the next day we’d come down & get to go out on the water with a group, go swimming and visit beaches, and get lunch! Is this sort of thing available in Samos, and if so, do you have a tour you’d recommend?
I’d love to see more of the island this way! Thank you, let me know :)
Hi, going to greece in a few weeks, i’m very paranoid about being pickpocketed, i’ve been in Milan and Zurich before and no problems there following typical city visit protocols and am generally aware of my surroundings, but it was during winter so i kept everything in my inner coat pockets. my boyfriend and i are planning to go to the acropolis and want to bring water bottles and a portable fan if we get warm and were thinking of a backpack and wedging our wallet (only a few dollars in cash + 2 cards, possibly passports if id is needed) in the bottom inside zipped pockets and keeping everything else on top. but i am wondering if a backpack is going to make us a target for theft? I’m sure we will look like tourists no matter what unfortunately but i don’t wanna make it worse than i need to. Getting my phone stolen also a big worry as i got it snatched at a music festival last year and it was such a hassle to replace in my hometown, let alone replace in another country. any tips and advice are appreciated, athens is our first stop on our greece trip and i don’t wanna start on a bad note! thank you!
Edit: also we are planning on taking the metro from the airport to our hotel (near the Monastiraki stop) will we be fine with each having a backpack and 1 carry on sized luggage or would getting a taxi be safer?
hihi! I'm going to be spending a week in the Ionian island hopping with my boyfriend's family -- they're seasoned sailors, I'm not. They're planning to take things as they come and choose the next island the night before, which is very cool. I'd just like to know if there are any must-see things on the islands in terms of historical interest.
I studied Ancient Greek at university and would love to see any ancient sites that are on the islands (Antique to Byzantine would be my favourite, but anything is cool), and to know which ones are the must-sees so I can pitch an island the night before!
I'm also really into older churches, monasteries and archaeological museums. I think we're only spending one day on each island, though.
Thank you!
American traveling to Greece, staying at a resort. Is tipping an expected thing over in greece as it is in America especially at resorts? Thanks.
Hello all,
(If this is not the proper sub for this post I apologize and would appreciate someone pointing me in a more appropriate direction)
I arrived back from Greece this past weekend and unfortunately in the rush of security checks my partner and I left our two tablets and the security scanners. Luckily I have been able to confirm with the lost and found department that the items are in their possession, the only problem is I’ve been really struggling with the local courier services to get them back to Canada.
I have no issue with spending the courier fee regardless as these items are very important to us. I was posting here hoping someone perhaps had a similar (positive) experience and was able to give me some tips that could help me retrieve them.
Any help would be greatly, greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance.
I’m traveling from the US to Greece next month with an 18-month-old toddler. Once in Athens, we’ll be taking the blue star ferry to Naxos. I will have a stroller, car seat, and luggage. Do they allow strollers and car seats? Is there an extra fee? I couldn’t find any info about this on their website and I’m waiting to hear back from their customer service. TIA
As part of a 3-stop trip to Greece, we will have approximately 3 days in Crete, in between Athens and Santorini.
Because the ferry to Santorini leaves in the mornings, and only from Heraklion, we will need to spend at least Night 3 in Heraklion.
We will not have a car, and are interested in all 3 of the main towns on the northern end (Heraklion, Chania, Rethimno), but don't know if we can pull it all off.
What would your advice be for this itinerary? We want 1 "chill" day at the beach somewhere, and otherwise are happy to wander around towns, go to historic sites, etc. We can either fly to Crete, or take an overnight ferry from Athens (will save time because it's overnight, but we aren't sure how well we would sleep and don't want to be too tired).
Any insight is appreciated! We don't know if trying to see all 3 places is overextending ourselves.
Not a fan of steep drives with drop offs. I prefer driving on flat roads with moderate elevation.
Obviously paved roads are fine but I’m not an experienced off road driver
Hello all, I'll be going on a trip to Athens in the last two weeks of July with my mom for a friends wedding. The wedding will be in the middle of the trip, leaving me 6 days before the wedding and 4 days after the wedding to travel. We plan to spend at least 2-3 days in Athens visiting the Acropolis (and Museum), etc.
We're not into beaches or nightlife. We're looking for recommendations/suggestions/ideas if anyone has any!
We love food, and visiting historical sites and hiking/walking around.
Would anyone have any recommendations for places/islands that are fairly easy to go to/from Athens? We would prefer not spending too many hours traveling as our trip is short.
We would love to find somewhere with great food and history.
I've read Rhodes or Crete might have some nice historical sites, but I'm open to all suggestions!
As you can tell, I only have loosely formed thoughts, so any and all suggestions are welcome.
Thanks so much!
Hi All - we are planning a trip to Greece in October. This sub has been amazing while I'm planning. I'm wondering if anyone has any recommendations for day cruises to see Hydra, Poros & Aegina from Athens? Feel free to let me know why it was great too!
I feel like I’m the only one. Ofc many ask about Santorini and the surrounding islands, and I totally understand as many are going to Greece for the first time.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone talk about it. One of my favorite islands and I love the Skiathos / Skopelos duality. Very different islands, and beautiful fragrant pine forests which is a departure from the more touristed dry desert climates.
I’ve been to Andros, Lesvos, Chios (one of my favorites. Adore this place), Santorini, Milos, skiathos, Skopelos, Folegandros, Kefalonia, Lefkada, and visiting the Peloponnese for the first time and staying in Finikounda and going to Voidolokia beach this summer. Also dying to go to Hydra and Kalamata, maybe I’ll be able to sneak that in this year. We go every year from the US and stay with family in Kitsi. Hopefully one day will be able to get a small condo in Voula!
Hi everyone, Going to Chania in September for 7 nights and are renting a car from the airport with which we are planning to visit most of the popular beaches out west mentioned here. I am seeing a lot of attractive hotels in the city center but unfortunately I believe we’ll have a hard time with parking. Is it wise to lean more towards the outskirts (15-20 min walk away from city center)? Are their general areas that are preferable? Nea Chora side? South of old town? East of old town? We are not into clubbing. Just want to relax and eat good. Thank you.
We will be in Athens in mid-July & thinking of doing the museum right after the acropolis tour at 8AM. The website says that reduced ticket is available only at the ticket window. Anyone know if there is a separate line for this or do we need to stand in the regular ticket line? I’m assuming the wait time for regular line is long?
Hi, I am solo traveling this May 22–26. How do I maximize 5 days in Greece? My point of entry and exit is Athens. Should I stay in Athens or make a side trip to a nearby place or island? Any hacks, tips, suggestions, or recommendations? Thank you in advance.
31m from Berlin. I'm here the next 3 days and wondering if there's anyone here I can grab a beer or dinner with.