Going to ATHENS!!!! Suggestions/Help appreciated!!

[j33pguy]

Hello all,
My family and i are going to Athens in May (17-26th i think). it'll be my parents, my sister (21), me (28), grandmother....so we'd be more interested in seeing the historic sites more than anything else.


we've found a ticket on air france for 550 a person which sounds like a good deal...
1. i wanted to ask for suggestions as far as good places to stay, good places to see, etc.

2. also, we might want to explore to other nearby cities outside athens. thoughts?

[madamtrashheap]

j33pguy, great deal on the tickets! Just a tip, if you have a connecting flight at Charles De Gaulle airport (which I suspect you will being on Air France) make sure you pack a change of shirt/underwear in your carry-on...it's a notorious airport for luggage not making it on your flight from the connection. It will find you, so don't panic, just be aware that it's a common thing with CDG.

Now, on to Athens and Greece. I used to describe Athens as the armpit of the earth - hot, sweaty, grimey- but since the Olympics I've found it to have put on a little deodorant. I've always enjoyed the history and feel of the city, so encourage people to take the time to explore Athens. You have 10 days to play with (do you arrive on 17th or fly on 17th?) so you have time to see Athens and even take a few trips on the mainland or fit in an island.

For Athens, 3-4 full days would allow you time to really explore the city: visit the Acropolis and surrounds (Parthanon, Propylaia, the museum, and the Erechtheion), the Plaka area, Syntagma Square, the Panathenic stadium (Panathinaiko - home to the Panathenaic Games in honour of Athena and to the revived Olympic Games in 1870 - the 1859 games were held in the city centre), the changing of the guard around the corner at the Parliament in the National Gardens, the Agora and even Lycabettus Hill if you're up to it. For more on history and archaeology, try Benaki Museum and the National Archaeology Museum

The Athens Metro system is really good now - it's airconditioned! Plus some of the stations are mini-museums showing the artefacts uncovered during digging of the stations and lines. There is also a hop-on hop-off sightseeing bus put on by the public bus company that woudl be good as an overview of the city. At night, try the Psiri area for great tavernas/cafes and bars as an alternative to Plaka.

For other places on the mainland, look at Corinth, Sparta, Kalamata, Githeon, Diros Caves, Argos and Nafplion in the Peleponnese as all have interesting sights and histories. You could get there by train - there is a train from Corinth to Kalamata via Tripoli and most main towns have a train station. Although the Greek train system isn't as reliable as others in Europe, it's getting better and sure beats driving - a two lane highway will become three lanes by the very nature of Greek drivers...the horn is connected to the brake and it's exhilarating if you know what you're doing! Time-wise, it will depend on how many places you want to see/are interested in, but I'd suggest 4 full days in the Peleponnese.

If you do choose time on an island (2 full days would be good, not including travel time), go for Santorini (good for scenery, geology and sunsets from the edge of the caldera) or Naxos (great beaches and history). Delos (birthplace of Apollo and Artemis) is great for a day trip from Mykonos, but staying there is not really an option as there are only around 15 inhabitants and no hotels.

Happy planning!

[j33pguy]

thank you so much for all the thought you put into your response. I appreciate it :-)

Any suggestions on hotels/apartments to stay while in athens and Santorini?
There is 5 of us so we would prefer to have 2 separate rooms/apartments. Cost is obviously a concern but we don't want to stay at hostels/etc. since my grandmother will also be with us.

thoughts?

[madamtrashheap]

Pleasure, glad it helped.

Not sure if these are in your budget, but have a look at:

Athens
Athens Gate Hotel - www.athensgate.gr It's been renovated since I was last there, so the rooms should be fairly nice now, is in a good location and the rooftop bar and restaraunt will be even better (they have a great view of the Acropolis, turn left out of the elevator)
HTL Hermes - www.hermeshotel.gr nice hotel, refurbed a few years ago and is in a great central location
Hotel Arion - www.arionhotel.gr located in the Psiri area, so still central, and often have good deals
Oceanis Hotel - (pronounced Oke-arnos) www.holiday-in-athens.com/athens/hotel-oceanis-glyfada-athens.html If you feel like staying out of the city centre and near the beach in the Glyfada area, then this hotel should suit you. It's not a swank hotel, but it's comfortable. There are lots of other hotels in the Glyfada region, but this is the one I know.

Santorini
Hotel Nikolas - www.nikolas.gr Lovely hotel just near Fira (the island capital), up the hill and close to transport, bars, etc and overlooking the ocean
Almyra Apartments and Studios - www.almyra-studios.gr Located in Oia which is home to the best place to watch Santorini sunsets, they offer different sized rooms and apartments so yu cn self cater too.
Aris Caves Hotel - www.ariscaves.gr/?lang=english&pageID=0 Also located in Oia, great views and a unique style of accommodation, also offer apartments and studios.
Santorini Star Hotel - www.gr-indexer.gr/greece/SANTORINI-STAR-Hotel-_Santorini.html Located in Megalochori so easy to access the beaches and rest of island (is halfway up hill from Port to Akrotiri) Is a little more quaint as I don't have an email or web address, just a telephone and fax #.

If these hotels don't suit, at least you know what areas of each town/island to look it on other search engines.

Did you decide on Santorini and another island or just Santorini? And did you look at what Naxos offers too?

[j33pguy]

thank you again.
we decided to stay in Athens for 3 nights, then go to Santorini for a couple of nights, then to Naxos.
we were thinking the ferry for getting to santorini from Athens. i understand it's 9 hours and costs 28 eu. each way. is that accurate?

also, what's the best way to get from santorini to Naxos (or does it make more sense to go to naxos first, then to santorini?)
we need to return to Athens for our flight back home.

thoughts?

[madamtrashheap]

The best way between Naxos and Santorini is by ferry (Blue Star I think) as it's only a 2hr ride. As for the order of visiting, it's much of a muchness, except you should check flights from Naxos to Athens and Santorini to Athens respectively (think only Olympic flies the Naxos route, whereas Aegean flies the Santorini route) to sort the best order as there may be days on which tickets are cheaper. I'd be inclined to go Athens-Naxos-Santorini-Athens as you'll go past Naxos on your way to Santorini on the ferry, so rather get off there first, then in a few days continue to Santorini on a shorter ride.

You can take ferry to either island first, then fly back as this will maximise your time and depending on the airline timetable even give you one more night in Athens (I wouldn't schedule the filght form the island to Athens on the same day as your flight home). The airport on Naxos isn't far from the main part of town, and the airport in Santorini is only around Euro10 in a taxi to major hotel sites.

The Athens-Santorini ferry you've noted is the slow ferry from Pireaus port, but there is also a fast ferry (from Rafina port on the other side of Athens) as well as other fast ferries from Pireaus you can access. This also applies for Athens-Naxos (from Pireaus port around 3hrs but double the price), so just check what times they each go and what suits your purposes. Try Blue Star, Anek Lines, Aegean Speed Lines and Hellenic Seaways for options.

I can't help with Naxos hotels, but maybe another GFE Member can - Pointofnoreturn hasn't been around in a while, but she might know if she scans the Boards in the next few days.

[j33pguy]

you just know TOOOOOO MUCH! lol
thank you for that post! each time you reply to me, you make me that much more prepared and excited for my trip!
thanks!

i'll standby......maybe someone can comment on Naxos hotels....

[Eagle]

j33pguy,

As usual MTH has provided an incredible and detailed reply!

I don't have much information to add, but for Naxos Hotels you might have a look at www.tripadvisor.com/HACSearch?geo=189431&inDay=17&inMonth=04%2F2009&checkIn=4%2F17%2F2009&outDay=19&outMonth=04%2F2009&checkOut=4%2F19%2F2009&minmaxrate=0%2C9999999¤cy=USD&adults=2#02,1239366374372,l1price:S0|400,nameContains:S (note that there's five pages of listings). You should be able to find something that fits your travel style and budget.

Cheers!

[j33pguy]

Wonderful.
thanks.

[j33pguy]

SO.....WE ARE VEEEEEERY CONFUSED ONCE AGAIN! lol


we now have 4 places we want to see but don't know if it's feasible or not.

Athens 3 nights
Santorini X nights
Naxos? X nights
Mykonos X nights

what do you think? should we skip any of these?
since we have my grandmother with us, we'll have to go by plane....wherever we go......any suggestions on cheap air?

[madamtrashheap]

As you have 10 days to play with, and things are only just warming up in May, I'd suggest sticking with just Athens, Santorini and Naxos. Particularly as you'll be flying everywhere now, you want to keep the changes to a minimum to maximise your time there.

Based on the start date of 17th May (ie you arrive in Athens on 17th) I'd suggest:
Athens - 3 nights (ie 2 full days)
Santorini - 3 nights
Naxos - 3 nights (or 2 if you are flying from Athens back home on 26th)
back to Athens for 1 night.

For flights, check my Post above in the first paragraph.

[j33pguy]

We found a hotel in Ia santorini.
we would like to know if we should get the hotel in Thira instead?! we don't want to be isolated...but Ia is beautiful too and we found a room at musses studius for 80 us dollar a night for 5 nights.

please let me know your thoughts asap if possible :-) thank you.

[j33pguy]

bump. :-)

madamtrashheap, i forgot to thank you in my last post. sorry. and THANK YOU for all the usefull informaton! :-)

[madamtrashheap]

Apr 18, 2009 8:55:19 GMT -5 j33pguy said:

madamtrashheap, i forgot to thank you in my last post. sorry. and THANK YOU for all the usefull informaton!

You're so polite! Glad it's of help. How did you go with the hotels Eagle recommended?

The great thing about a hotel in Oia is that it's a beautiful part of the island and you won't be isolated as there are busses to other parts of the island. It just depends what you want to do on the island while you're there. But I suspect most of the time you'll just enjoy sitting and staring at the sea! Musses looks great, very relaxing, so if you're happy with it then go for it.

[j33pguy]

Leaving for Athens in 4 days.
Any final hints/pointers for our trip? :-)