Greece 2004
Thursday, June 10, 2004
I have tried to make a list of things I found helpful and impressions I had, so here it goes:
Normally we are the type of people that like to “wing it” when we travel, deciding where to go at the last minute. However, when we went to Greece I read a lot on-line and decided to use a travel agency located in Athens. This turned out to be a GREAT decision. (At least for us). We stayed in Greece for 2 weeks divided between Athens, Santorini, Mykonos and Crete.
When we arrived the travel agent (listed below) had a driver greet us at customs and take us to our hotel. You won’t need and don’t want to have a car in Athens! The roads are a mess. We spent a day in Athens sightseeing. (Go to the acropolis as soon as you wake up! It gets hot and crowded really early.) One of the cleanest public bathrooms was at the acropolis!!
Athens was a great place to start. It is a big, crowded, dirty city, but filled with so much history. We stayed at the Athens Cypria.They had a large breakfast and clean rooms. Walking distance to all the sights.
Our 2nd day in Athens we took an all day tour of the closest Islands. Hydra, Poros (I forgot the name of the last one.) The islands are beautiful, but the trip was exhausting. I don’t think I would recommend it. There are many other tours in and around main land greece to do before a trip to the islands. Look into “Georges Taxi Service” Info http://www.greecetravel.com/taxi/.
From Athens we flew to Santorini and then used the high-speed ferries to travel between the islands. The ferries were clean, punctual and had food! (I eat all the time, so this is important)
WOW This place is spectacular. We stayed 4 or 5 nights in Santorini. 3 would be enough, it all depends on if you want time
to have a day to do nothing but look at the beautiful views. We wanted to totally relax here, so we stayed a while. Since this is where we go married. :) Oia or Ia is beautiful as is Fira. Oia is quieter and Fira has more places to party and is cheaper. The bus (25 cents in 2004 probably 3 euro now) or a taxi 10 bucks gets you back and forth pretty easy. You can walk too. Stay in a hotel on the Caldera (volcano rim). But note, most of these hotels have restrictions on kids, because of the huge cliff they are perched on. We stayed in a fantastic place called The Chromata it is halfway between Fira and Oia in Imervergili (pardon my spelling). It was in “Great Small Hotels of the World”. But, seriously there are many beautiful places in Santorini. If you travel with more than a carry on, I suggest you arrange transportation to your hotel. There are TOO MANY stairs and steep areas to schlep a lot of bags.
Next we took the high speed ferry to Myconos. Myconos is a beautiful island. But, after a full day of shopping and partying you will be ready to leave. We had 3 nights and 3 full days. 2 nights and 2 days is enough. We had a great Chinese dinner here. Definitely, rent a small car and check out the beaches. There is also a great tour to Delphos.
Crete was next. It is a big Island with a lot of diverse terrain. We stayed in Chania for 3 nights. I loved it. It was my favorite island.Our hotel was fantastic. I could have stayed longer.
Greece Basic Notes:
Souvenirs are cheaper in Athens or Crete than anywhere else.
Greek food is good, but, you will get sick of it! We found great Italian and Spanish cafes also.
At a lot of restaurants they will serve you a shot of Raki. This is a nice gesture from the hosts. Maybe they think it helps with the tip? Just so you know, they don’t bring the bill until you finish it. So Bottoms up!
These are a few links I found very useful. We printed out the restaurant sections and have to admit they were fantastic help. Both links are sites put up by an American/ Greek guy named Matt Barret (sp). He keeps them up to date.
George’s Greek Taxi Service is described on the links above. We met a few people that used him and LOVED it.
Travel Agent: Fantasy Travel. Litsa helped us and is GREAT. We have kept in touch with her via email.
litsa’s Email: litsa@fantasy.gr
Our online Photos: www.stephanecouture.com
My parents went the year before us and traveled via a small sailboat to all the islands. We couldn’t fit this in to our dates since we already had a wedding date picked on the island of Santorini. If I went back this is what I would do.
the link: www.aegeotissa.gr
Andi
