Greece - Athens and Santorini | May 2019

Conventional wisdom says fly to your first island the day you arrive in Athens. I know the idea of catching a connecting flight after a transatlantic is hard but believe me getting over jet lag on an island is preferable than in Athens. One needs time to adjust to the Greek way before you take on Athens. You will need 2 hours to make that connection.
It is also important to be back in Athens for the end of your trip so you are on the mainland to ensure you won't miss your return flight.

Its been a while but as I recall the daytime temperature was closer to 80 degrees in late May. It will be warmer in Athens as Santorini gets a cooling breeze particularly in the evening. Santorini is not known for its beaches or swimming. The beaches are pumice pebbles so are very hot in the sun. It will however be warm enough to sun yourselves on a lounger.

A taverna with a view and not expensive is going to be difficult to find particularly in Santorini. For a romantic time Santorini is the place but expect to be shocked by the prices. You can probably get a nice taverna in Athens with a Acropolis view. There is great competition between tavernas so prices will be better than Santorini.

You probably do not have sufficient time for a day trip. You will already have your island experience on Santorini so Hydra isn't going to add much to the trip. However Delphi is possible. Look for Dolphin Hellas or Fantasy travel. They do offer one day bus trips to Delphi. Meteora is a 5 hour trip both ways. Just not practical as a day trip.

When you say the multipass are you referring to the ticket that gets you into the Acropolis and several other of the major sites. If so yes its a bargain. You have 4 days in Athens so you have time to visit all the sites.
You say you are staying near the Plaka. Do you mean in the Plaka? If you are in the Plaka then you can walk everywhere in the central core. Just keep finding glimpses of the Acropolis and you will be fine.

Here is your trip.
Santorini http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/sets/72157632154800782/
Athens http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/sets/72157632121475515/

I view a dinner at any of the restaurants on Amoudi Bay to be special and not too expensive. It's a group of 5 or 6 little restaurants along the waterfront below Oia. You're right on the water being served the freshest seafood you can get.

You can do the long, long walk down the stairs from Oia, but it's worth a few bucks to get a taxi when you go back up afterwards.

The RS tour had its farewell dinner in Athens at Mani Mani, no view but terrific food. Had I only known, I'd have eaten there on at least one of my pre-tours days. The Acropolis Museum has a rooftop restaurant with an excellent view of the Acropolis. It's informal. I had lunch there once, the food was fine and reasonably priced.

70 degrees? I just looked at temps at the end of May in Athens for the last 4 years, highs in the mid 70s to mid 80s.

We did like Stan suggested and flew to Santorini the day we arrived in Athens (on a separate ticket).

We were in Santorini in late May and Athens early June of this past year. It was warm enough to swim--probably high 70s, to low 80s in Santorini. But Santorini does not have very nice beaches--volcanic not sand. We did walk down to Ammoudi Bay in Oia past the fish restaurants to a place where you can jump off a man made ledge like a cliff. My kids (20 somethings) all jumped off it. I went in the water but not off the cliff. It was great fun and I would recommend.

If you are into hiking, we did the hike from Oia to Fira (because we were staying in Oia) and it was the most beautiful hike we have ever taken with views of the caldera most of the way. It takes a full morning (we did it on day after we arrived and it was perfect. We took the bus back to Fira but you can take a bus from Oia to Fira too if you stay in Fira (which is cheaper than Oia). There are some good gyros places in Oia (names escape me) but generally restaurants are pricey there. We stayed there because we had a group and had a three bedroom air bnb in Oia.

For a reasonably priced restaurant with a view on Santorini I would recommend STANI in Fira. It was recommended to us from this board. We made a reservation the day before for the top floor overlooking the caldera. The food was great and the view was beautiful.

We ate also at the Mani Mani restaurant in Athens. The food is upscale Greek but very reasonable. We went there our last night in Greece. We made a reservation the same day we wanted to go in the evening but there were six of us so don't know if necessary with two. Also very good is Dio Dekares Oka which was recommended by owners of our air bnb. It was fantastic traditional food and it was very inexpensive. We did take out so maybe that affected the price. But it was some of the best food we had in Greece.

Our youngest son is a college student and there were discounts in many places on admission for him. Just ask.