lawgirl

Hi everyone! My boyfriend and I are going to Greece in July and need some help with our itinerary. We will be flying in to Athens on July 2 and taking a flight straight to Crete. We are booked at the Blue Palace Resort in Elounda for 5 days through my Starwood points. After Crete, we plan on visiting Santorini, then Mykonos and finally Athens. My question is how should we split the remainder of the trip?

We leave Crete on July 7 for Santorini and our flight back to the U.S. is scheduled for July 16. That leaves 9 nights to split up between Santorini, Mykonos and Athens.

We are in our late 20's, early 30's and are looking for beaches, nightlife and history as well. I was thinking 3 nights in each place, but is that too much for Athens?

Please provide any suggestions on the itinerary as well as any on hotels. Thanks a bunch!

brotherleelove2004

Since the Blue Star ferry doesn't leave Mykonos for Athens until 1:25 pm and doesn't arrive until 6:25 pm, I'd say the first day will just about be shot by the time you get to your hotel and then find someplace to have dinner. In this case 3 nights in Athens isn't much at all. It's just about right to see the main sights and do some shopping.

The same fast boat that will take you from Crete to Santorini will continue on to Ios, which has one of the most intense party scenes in Europe from July through August. You might want to consider a stop there as well in your quest for summer fun. Santorini and Mykonos both have excellent nightlife. Santorini has the archaeological sites Ancient Thira and Akrotiri. Mykonos has Delos, a nearby island reputed to be the birthplace of Apollo. 3 nights at each stop is a good allotment of your time.

On Santorini, since you want nightlife, concentrate your search on the villages of Fira and Firostephani. But make sure you at least take the bus to Oia for a look around.

brotherleelove2004

Small correction: The Blue Star Ferry leaves Mykonos for Rafina, not Athens. From Rafina it's a short bus ride into the center of Athens.

travelbunny

..loved Santorini and would stay there 4 days and would base myself in Oia...we had motorscooters and found it really easy to get around..Mykonos- be sure to plan 1 day in Delios (sp) and there is one day a week that this is closed (so check carefully)..the rest in Athens..I know lots of people are disappointed in Athens but we really enjoyed the Acropolos and many museums.

travelbunny

..whoops that was 3 days in mykonos (inc the day in Delos)..with 2 in athens

brotherleelove2004

Delos is closed on Mondays.