Greece Honeymoon early May 2020 Suggestions Needed

Congrats!
Stay in Athens, as you'd waste a ton of time in transit if you did not. It is a huge city (even being educated to that fact did not keep me from being surprised as I surveyed it from the Acropolis), but in the historic area, it does not feel like it. With the amount of time you have, you can certainly stop on another island in between Santorini and Athens. Or you could fly. Compare the two options and just pick something that sounds interesting to you. I think you will love Greece--the people are amazingly warm, and there is so much to see that you are bound to like something..

Either fly to Santorini and ferry to Naxos or Paros or ferry to Naxos or Paros and fly back from Santorini. Spend more time on Paros or Naxos than on Santorini which is very over touristed, filled with non-Greeks. The other islands will give you a much better Greek experience.
We have been to Athens twice , most recently two years ago. You need a minimum of three nights there. We didn't see changes from our earlier trip, more graffiti perhaps, but great restaurants, walking. Your fears are totally unfounded. It is a city and it’s charm is found in it’s neighborhoods. Go up into Kolonaki for example. The tourist central area is Plaka and we avoid it.
For a day trip from Athens, Napflio would be a good choice. But you don’t really have any time for a day trip as three nights only equals two days, to experience Athens. In Athens you should visit: Parthenon which is up on the Acropolis, the Acropolis Museum, the Agora below the Acropolis, the National Archeological Museum, Parliament on Syntagma Square with the Changing of the Guard, Olympic Stadiums, old and new , if you have time. Go up to Lycabettus Hill by lift from the upper area of Kolonaki, you’ll see views of this large city all the way out to the sea.
Contact Athens-Walks if you want any tours including a wonderful local food tour, led by locals.
The place that has lost “some of it’s Greek charm” is not Athens, rather Santorini. Mykonos is not as crowded as Santorini. Cruise ships are the big culprits causing over crowding.

You have only NINE days, so you can't waste time doing ATH first, because you'll have to be in the area anyway thenight before departure. It seems you haven't researched greece much because you are dealin the the "cliche twin" of Santorini - Mykonos. Maybe the first but NOT the 2nd - it's famous for being famous. Santorini is OK for view then scram because TOO crowded too costly, & overrun. I'm going to recommend a time-tested strategy for short-visit newcomers that want history, beauty, food & no car need:

May 11 - ARR 4:30 - out of bldg by 5:30. Book 1 night (& free shuttle to/from) at HOTEL AVRA, - http://www.hotelavra.gr/ 25 mins away, newly renovated, beach, cafe on premises. Relax! Early shuttle back can enable Bargain flight (7- 8 am 6/12) to Santorini. Aegean -- Air https://en.aegeanair.com/plan/book-a-flight/ -- doesn't list May flights yet; try in December; an early flight can be €50-70, takes 50 minutes (vs 8-9 Hrs by ferry). You could also try Sky Express, with fare level that allows checked bag.

May 12-13 - SANTORINI - 48 hours is enough to enjoy Famous Caldera view -- book hotel not in Oia or Fira (both too jammed) but overlooked gem FIROSTEPHANI, north of Fira town... walkable to museum,cafes, shops nightlife, but tour-busses & cruise crowds by-pass it so it's serene day & night (Hotel tips if wanted). To see OIA less crowded get 8 AM local bus to wander & take px, then scram when Cruise mobs invade. Restaurants & bars in FIrostephani & Fira town best places for peaceful sunset dining.

MAY 14 - 10:30am - to NAXOS! Championjet Ferry has open back deck for departure views, arrives Noon at an UNcrowded isle, lots of visitors, no groups, yay! Stay at St. George Beach adjacent to Port town ... you'll get seaview balcony right on the beach for a fraction of Santorini. An easy 15-minute stroll to cafes, mseums, fascinating windy maze lanes. Excellent bus network to visit other beaches, hillside villages; ruins, wonderful hikes, authentic food, cheap, at family-run tavernas. Hotel/dining tips on request. Here's a photo-album (by the wondrous "stanbr") of highlights http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/sets/72157634605629689/ -- everything you said you wanted and that you won't alas find on Santorini. MAY 14afternoon - May 15 - 16 - 17

MAY 18- 19- 20 Fly back to ATH on early (9 or 10 am) Aegean Air (ferry takes 6 hours)... you can see Acropolis Museum, then go Up on Acropolis 5 pm when crowds have gone. 2 more days to explore great landmarks. Hre's another gloious Stanbr photo-album of the historic area - https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/sets/72157632121475515/ I recommend stay close by Acropolis, on South Side, pedestrianized promenade, no thru traffic, serene and woodsy. Look at Hotel Phillipos or its upscale Sister Hotel Herodion, ask for high floor balcony rooms (say you're honeymooners, it works wonders!). Herodion has roof-terrace restaurant w. Acropolis view for gala final dinner. You'll have to leave hotel 3 am to be at Airport for 4 am check-in... so you may decide to just stay up all night! What's the old saying, you can sleep when you're dead, (or when y ou're married 50 years!)

Janet is right, you really only have nine full days in Greece, so better think of it that way. And I can only agree: Put Athens at the end. It's going to give you a lot more security about catching your return flight. Don't think of visiting Athens for the "Greek charm" but for the sightseeing.

It's a good idea to move right on to Santorini as soon as possible after arrival. Spending only two nights there would be too rushed for my taste, but opinions differ on that. Check some of the other threads on Greek islands for opinions.

If you want time to do some sightseeing in Athens, I personally wouldn't want to do more than one island in such a short vacation because basically every time you relocate you lose one day of vacation. That way, of your total of twelve days of vacation, you'd be spending SIX just with getting from one spot to another. That's not a ratio I'd want. But to each his/her own of course.

If you are going to add a second island, it's going to have to be within the same island chain (Cyclades) to be feasible within such a short time. That in itself reduces the overwhelming number of Greek islands enormously. :-)

Now you'll only have to check out the characteristics of those islands that are along the ferry route between Santorini and Piraeus and decide on one. Mykonos is charming and has Delos for an archaeological day trip nearby, but it is certainly as least as crowded as Santorini, and it does have the reputation of being a bit of a party island. So does Ios. Naxos and Paros have a more "Greek" feel to them. Tinos has a rich religious history and a pilgrimage church, though all the islands have innumerable beautiful churches and chapels.

In October, a few restaurants may be starting to close down for the season, but you'll have enough options left. All islands that I have visited have good public transportation. Donkeys are used only in Santorini for getting up on the caldera rim from ocean level, but honestly, it's more of a fun tourist activity than a serious means of transportation.

Hi Everyone,

Thank you so much for your feedback, it has been invaluable! So based on your recommendations and after speaking with my fiance, I have a bit of a changed perspective and wanted to run a couple questions by you.

1) I didn't realize how badly my fiance wants to visit the museums and see a lot of the ruins and do day trip via car from Athens, so he would like to stay there longer to get some of the history in. Two places he wanted to see which would be two separate day trips are to Sparta and to Thermopylae. Are the roads pretty easy to navigate/good scenery along the way? I noticed each of those areas are about 2.5 hours from Athens either NE or SW. Are there any other historical sites aside from what is locally in Athens that are "must sees?" He also mentioned a castle in peloponnese (which we'd incorporate into Sparta trip). My new thought is to spend our first 5 or 6 nights in Athens. We have found some lovely AirBNB places with beautiful views of the Acropolis for reasonable prices.

2) From Athens we could go explore an island or two. Here is my confusion. I think Naxos or Paros are right up our alley, maybe Naxos more because there are some ruins there and beautiful beaches. Would you guys recommend just staying on Naxos for 3 nights then going back to Athens for the last night or two before our flight or would you recommend Naxos then ferry over to Mykonos and break it up into 2 nights at each? The ferry looks close enough, but if you think its too much travel in a short time span, we might just do Naxos. I think he and I both decided a no for Santorini this trip.

We will still finish the trip in Athens, most likely for the last night but if you think with an early flight the next day it'd be best to get into town the last two nights, let me know!

Proposed 1st Itinerary:
May 11-16th: Athens
May 16-19th: Naxos
May 19th-21st: Athens (or stay one more night in Naxos and only in Athens last night)

Proposed 2nd Itinerary:
May 11-16th: Athens
May 16-18th: Mykonos
May 18th-20th: Naxos
May 20th-21st: Athens

What do you guys recommend? And THANK YOU!

if you think with an early flight the next day it'd be best to get
into town the last two nights, let me know!

The Aegean is a bit of an unpredictable sea any time of year, and it can get very windy any time of year. I have seen boat connections canceled, and I have seen flights to Athens canceled. If that kind of thing happens to you on the day before your return flight, you're out of luck.

I personally would find it somewhat awkward to be splitting your Athens stay so I'd put it all at the end, but that's for you to decide of course. :-)

I just don't like two-night stays--even less than one-night stays. A one-nighter can sometimes be a requirement for logistics, such as your last night in Athens (I understand not wanting to rush off upon arrival after a long flight), so I would not be able to recommend the 2-2 island stopovers. Stay four nights and settle in and relax, it's a fitting way to cap off a honeymoon.

Now that you mention your interest in seeing historical sites in addition to scenery, allow me to suggest what I did on my first Greek trip: explore the mainland! There is absolutely no shortage of beautiful coastal scenery on the Greek mainland I assure you, and the Peloponnese is crammed with amazing sites (probably more than anywhere else). Your husband to be seems intent on driving, and we found the driving to be quite easy--excellent highway conditions. I think the only way to include both Sparta and Thermopylae would be to save the islands for an anniversary trip and do a mainland loop. I might suggest saving Thermopylae if the plan gets too loaded since it is out of the way, as there are just so may places to include in the Peloponnese. Sparta is a modern city despite its storied past, but there are some extraordinary sites near there. (We visited from Kardamyli, which is a cute seaside town that feels very much like being on an island).
I am thinking of both returning to the Peloponnese and also heading north when I return to Greece. You could include a stop at Delphi en route north. I promise you will not be doing boring sightseeing the whole time (in case the fiance is more of a history buff than you are)--you can easily balance the nature and sightseeing. Pick some cute coastal villages to stay on for the best of both worlds.
Take a look at the Bradt Guide to the Peloponnese to see if it clicks for you.
No matter how it works out, you are on the right track by discussing how you both want the trip to go.

I gather you fiance loves history -- but he also needs to love him some research... because alas the 2 sites he has picked are much more vivid to read about their ancient past than it is to eyeball their boring & puzzling present:

• THERMOPYLAE -- I just saw a TV show on the famous battle. It had to use graphics to the Spartan 300's heroic resistance because the 400 BC landscape (narrow pass pinched between water & cliffside) has changed SO radically over the last 2000 years, you cannot recognize it.... water is now waaay off, no "pass" at all. A placque on the site but why not just google it? Close enough to be a day-trip, but then on the drive back y ou'll be asking him, why why why did we waste time for nothig?

• SPARTA - Even worse. Spartans were not big builders in 1st place, and today its a totally boring, concrete-block construction modern town with only a couple of modern bronze statues built for the tourists. The locals don't care at all. Any guidebook says the same: here's Matt Barrett's candor, from popular online website GreeceTravels
"To be honest the ancient Spartans did not leave impressive temples like the Parthenon, or walled fortresses like the Acropolis of Athens or Corinth. Yes there are a few scattered ruins of buildings scattered around but nothing you would go out of your way for,.... In a way Sparta is like Thermopylae. You can go there in search of Greek history but there is not much to see. Sort of like going to the historic Gettysburg battlefield and realizing you are just looking at a field and some hills, or going to Marathon and seeing a mound of dirt, some olive trees, and a beach. There is very little evidence left of ancient Sparta. Certainly not enough to send hundreds of fully loaded tour buses, like Myceneae, Epidavros and Olympia. Chances are if you are a tourist in Sparta you came in your rental car and are on your way somewhere"

What is fiance really needs to do is some homework -- Sparta as a day trip could take a whole day on a totally boring modern highway. This FAB map - http://euro-map.com/karty-grecii/peloponnes/podrobnaya-turisticheskaya-karta-peloponnesa.jpg - Shows road all the way from Athens or Airport to the whole Peloponnese (CLICK & it gets Huge). You can see that Sparta's smack in the middle, a long drive nothing to see enroute. Really a bad idea.

By wonderful contrast, For history PLUS the feeling of an island, and some great sunsets etc, really your best bet is: Athens Plus NAFPLIO. Greeks call Nafplio THE most beautiful Old Town of all, full of history, & amid more ancient sites than anyplace but Athens... AND, it's at the tip of a peninsula, surrounded by sea, feels like an island. I've been there AND Santorini both 5+ times & can tell you sunsets from seafront cafes at Nafplio are waay better than anything in Santorini. Get the balcony front-room at Hotel Agamemmnon, right on the water, -- and you'll never forget it (AND it's a moderate rate GEM). To consider Nafplio, look at this wonderful NON-commercial website: http://www.visitnafplio.com/ -- its created by someone who lives there & knows everything; click on ALL links! And here's a superb photo album - https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/sets/72157632094108982/ by ace forum contributor Stanbr. Taken in May, shows town, sea, beaches, ruins - AND, at the end, just a few of the amazing ancient sites just a few miles away Nemea, Mycenae, Tiryns, Epidaurus, Asine, Corinth Canal. And of course beaches all around. ... YOU can get your swim time, plus Nafplio has great night-life, music, some trendy bars, because it's a favr getaway for savvy Athenians (if u go nonstop on modern seaside highway it's only 2.5 hrs).

This strategy enables you to have cake/eat it too. FIrst 3 nights in Athens... drive to Peloponnese, stopping Nemea enroute. 4-5 days w. Naplio as base, (check that map!). You may even have a night to spare for Monemvasia. Then back to Athens for last day or 2.

PS: Please do not get lured into the wrong booking by fancy photos or a good price... it's more important to have the right sequence. Better to have some time at beginning, and a day at the end, for Athens -- and a little bit of flexibility. And drawback of Airbnb is if by owners, they may not be flexible on when you can check in/check out. I would suggest you also look on bookng.com, because they now do more than hotels -- they also list apartments, and you can see EXACTLY where the location is... some other websites are more coy about location. They say "near historic sights" and turn out to be in a grungy neighborhood like Omonia, unsafe and graffiti'ed. FOr availabiities close to landmarks I suggest getting overview on booking.com by using its "landmarks/Acropolis" filter -- here's the link condensed to a "tiny URL" -- http://tinyurl.com/heq6edp When it opens up, put in your tentative dates (say, May 11-12-13-14), and click on "Map View" in upper RH corner. You'll see all currently available accoms as blue balloons, with price on side. This shows you what actually is close and what's fudging it.

Final accommodations-booking plea -- ONLY book on basis of refundable/changeable ... it's not worth the few $$ of savings to be stuck if circumstances change. And if a lodging does not have that policy -- walk away. It is so frustrating when people come to forums like this for advice, we steer them away from pitfalls & blind alleys, and then they say, oh dear I have a nonrefundable hotel.

I have to say that Janet's itinerary made a lot of sense to me. We are also planning our first real trip to Greece at the same time and have found her advice very helpful and sensible. (We are fairly seasoned travellers but have not been to Greece except for a cruise ship stop). By the way, we booked the Philippos in Athens - strangely, I actually ferreted it out myself but am glad to see it is one of Janet's picks. That hotel will arrange a pick-up from the airport for you and back, which may be helpful at the ungodly hour you'll have to be leaving for your departure. ;-)
I can understand that you want to see and do as much as possible, especially since it is your future husband's first overseas trip but try to take Rick's approach: Assume you'll go back.
Have fun!

And Janet's OTHER suggestion sounds great, too - get your history fix, "island" feel, Greek vibe and not spread yourselves too thin. Lots for you to think about!

Thanks, Sharon ... if my advice works, it's because of 13 trips since '99 (I'm not Richy Rich; I just don't go anywhere else do anything else). On these forums, I mainly try to help people avoid pitfalls... then they can make their own wonderful discoveries.

Thank you for the advice to everyone! Janet I loved looking at your pictures! The pictures from Naxos made me change my mind about trying to cram in any other islands and just focus on that one! Do you have hotel or place to stay recommendation with view and balcony?
Also loved the idea of Napflio, definitely looks like a cute town indeed. I will let my fiancé down gracefully with what you said about Sparta and Thermopylae. I’m going to also check out booking.com. The few places I really liked on AirBNB had over 200 5 star reviews with verified host so I felt pretty good about that, but I hadn’t thought about the non refundable part. For me the cool thing about staying in an apartment is that it’s unique and more spacious. We both work for Hyatt and often only stay in Hyatt hotels when we travel and sometimes it’s nice to just stay somewhere else besides a hotel. Anyways, you guys have all given me so much to think about and talk it over with my fiancé. I’ve decided to let myself have fun planning and stop stressing and just not book any hotels right away until we figure out the route we want to go. Perhaps a cool winery or a little cooking class and of course history for him.

Thanks again!

This shows Sparta in the background: https://www.kostas66.com/440813258
So you see the city is pretty underwhelming, but it was cool to note it from the far more compelling site of Mystras! It could still be a neat pass-through if you make it to the area for the other far more impressive sites.

enjoy your planning!

Cristen, on the beach where you should stay in Naxos (St George,directly adjacent to Port Town), most of the places right on the sand are relatively small (12 - 20 units)family-run places ,as far from a Hilton as one could imagine. And many of these are 1 BR "Studio" units ... that is, they have a bedroom, and a large main room with kitchenette niche, table/chairs, 2 daybeds and a balcony, also with table... so in effect, a 1 BR apt... but with a sea view, and some are very attractive. With your long-range planning, you can probably get one of the best ones -- names to come. But FIRST, figure out how to allocate time.... and Don't be Greedy. You only have 10 days. To try to have a good island experience (at LEAST 3 full days, 4 is better), and 4 days for ATHENS landmarks, doesnt leave much wiggle room. It would require realistic logistics, and no trying to squeeze in "just one more destination". My opinion, a do-able itinerarr:

• Arrival night -- Hotel AVRA, as before, booking free shuttle, book EARLY shuttle back to Airport
• MAY 12 - take 7 AM flight to NAXOS May 12-13-14-15 NAXOS
• MAY 16 - EARLY flight to ATH (7 am?) arrive by 8; car rental by 9 -- drive to Nemea, ?Mycenae, NAFPLIO by 2 pm
• MAY 17 - Enjoy Nafplio Old Town, environs (Tiryns? Palamidi?), afternoon Swim, evening sunset
• MAY 18 - early start, drive E to Epidaurus, up coast to Corinth Canal, back to ATH airport by 1pm? Taxi to Hotel
• MAY 19 & 20 - solid sightseeing; Acropolis & Acrop. Museum, Agora, Nat. Arch Museum
• MAY 21 - at airport by 4 am for 6 am take-off

If you're good with a schedule Like this, I can help with hotels & sights ... otherwise, good luck, I'll bow out.

@ janet thanks so much for your suggestions. This is almost ideally what we are looking for. A couple modifications we were discussing is looking at flights the morning of the 12th from Athens to Naxos aren't available that early (at least in looking for them now), the earliest is at 10am and we were kind of looking forward to some time on the water so we thought we might take the ferry to get there. The earliest ferry to Naxos is around 7am it seems and would get us there at 10:40 which is the same time the flight would. Would you still recommend the flight for convenience (it's also more expensive)? We would most likely need to fly back to Athens since the ferries take us back in the late afternoon and the earliest flight will at least get us back in Athens by 11:45am.

Second modification is that my fiancé would prefer only 3 nights on the island, which is good because it gives us more time to explore/drive in Athens and surrounding cities. Still giving us 3.5 days between travel time to explore Naxos.
As far as the monuments you listed, they all look great! And I think it'd be smart to stay overnight in Napflio since it is more central to where we'll be driving around than Athens. See below for what I am thinking to see if it seems realistic (with the extra day I squeezed in Delphi)

Arrival Night: Hotel in Athens (possibly the Grand Hyatt for familiarity and we get employee rate) will look into Hotel Avra.
May 12th-Early flight/ferry get us to Naxos at 10:45am Naxos May 12-13-14 check out 15th
May 15th-Flight back to Athens, arrive back at 11:45am and pickup rental car by 12:45-Drive to Nemea (1 hr 25 min), tour Nemea/winery(?) 2-3:30, Drive 25 min to Mycenae (4-5pm?), 25 min to Napflio....is that doable or should we save Mycenae for next day?
May 16th-Tiryns/Palamidi/ possibly Mycenae? Walk around town, stay one more night in Napflio
May 17th-Early drive to Epidaurus and Corinth Canal, drive to Athens apartment/hotel check in, relax, explore
May 18th-Day trip to Delphi, back to Athens
May 19th & 20th Sightseeing Acropolis, acrop museum, agora, Parthenon, national arch museum
May 21st-Early flight....Would keeping rental car to get around Athens to sightsee be best or should I return rental car after Delphi? Can you walk to those above listed places?

How does that sound? Would love to get in Olympia and Mystras but those are just too far and would have to sacrifice Naxos which is something I wanted to do...so we'll just have to come back!! Is the above a doable itinerary? Even if it doesn't get us 4 nights on Naxos, it gets us to be able to see Delphi which I think he wanted to see.
Thanks for your help!

Not Janet but I'll reply anyway: I would not drive in Athens, nuh-uh, no way--huge city, huge traffic. It would be very stressful to me, and a car is not needed in the city.

You can do Nemea and Mycenae on the same day, maybe do Epidaurus the second day and then do a one-nighter near Delphi. That might work better than a very long round trip from Athens. There was recently a great article about Delphi in the NYT times travel section, maybe it will offer some ideas.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/09/travel/delphi-ancient-greece-oracle.html

lovely to hear it is all coming together.

No need to return to Athens only to leave again for a day trip. Drive from Nafplio to Delphi via Patras - a pretty scenic drive. Stay overnight and visit the site and museum as early in the morning as you can, then head back to Athens airport to drop the car then taxi into the city. If you want an interesting stop on the way back, go to Hosios Loukas Monastery.

THe patras drive is scenic but MUCH longer That takes a half-day they can't spare ... better to leave Nafplio, drive EAST across the "thumb" of peloponnese to see EPidaurus, (this avoids them doing a backtrack - driving to Epidaurus & then back to Nafplio). then go up the coast road to Isthmus (that's the name of the town of the Corinth Canal); stop to take pix of canal, and t hen get on that Big highway y ou drove out on ... At Elefsina then y ou Drive NORTH & WEST up into mountains for DElphi. If they want to fit in Delphi, that's the only way they can wedge it in.

We listened to janet re Nafplio, and it was a great place to go. It's a small, somewhat touristy town. No matter. Very charming, wonderful sea views, beautiful flowers.

If you hubby is into history, a side trip from Nafplio to Mycanae is a winner. This is a palace/fortress complex from the time of the Trojan war. It's quite worth an afternoon, and is an easy/cheap bus ride from Nafplio.

As to Athens:

1) Watch the metro - it's a happenin' place, and is not free of bad people
2) My ranking of attractions: a) Acropolis b) National Archeology Museum c) Old forum d) Temple of Jupiter. The Acropolis museum has some good stuff, but if you have to choose, go with National Archeology Museum

We stayed near Victory Metro stop. There was a small square, with a small restaurant (Dionysis), which was inexpensive, and had an authentic feeling.