Hello travel friends,
My husband and I are heading to Greece September 2024 for our 30th anniversary! We will have up to 16 days on the ground in Greece. I've posted in the past regarding Greece when we were going to take our daughter for her College Graduation and decided to save this trip for the two of us and instead we brought her to Italy which was amazing, our highlight was Tuscany. When travelling to Europe I prefer to fly Non Stop from Toronto to Greece and I find the better airline is Air Transat which allows a comfort class (like business class) for a fraction of the cost on Air Canada. . From the responses I received on my last post here is what the itinerary could look like.
Sept 20 fly to Athens.
Sept 21: Arrive Athens, fly to Santorini (2) Naxos (6) Paros (6) Athen (2)
Oct 7: Fly home
Here is where it gets hard. Some have suggested going to Santorini first, but from all of my research on this forum there are certain accomnodations I would love to stay and they have limited availabilty. For example Hotel Grotto on Naxos is only available for 5 nights Sept 22-27. So that would mean we could go to Naxos first, stay one night somewhere and switch to Hotel Grotto. Also, In Athens Acropolis View Hotel is not available Oct 4th. When we went to Portugal a wonderful B&B was recommended here "InPatio" in Porto and the reviews were so amazing that we chose to go to Porto to stay at In Patio and it was one. of the highlites of our trips, the hosts were delightful. Perhaps you have other accommodation ideas for us on Santorini, Naxo's and Paros or suggest something different than this itinerary? We love to walk, drink coffee, eat and shop markets, villages and love to be near the water to sleep. Thanks for you help.
Posted by
France Southwest
2322 posts
Why do you want to go to the Grotta when last September you said in another post "We prefer to stay in accommodations with a balcony and kitchenette over a hotel"
Don't get stuck in your schedule because a hotel that has been recommended here or in other forums is not available on your dates.
Since a few tourists recommended the Grotta, everyone wants to go there as if it were the only accommodation in Naxos.
And because of that it's no longer available for you.
But that doesn't matter, there are dozens of others! You too can find great places with a little searching.
It's the same for restaurants, I'm stunned to always see the same recommendations for the same restaurants. I wonder how they manage to feed all these people. :))
Posted by
Centennial, CO, US
2185 posts
I would never let a hotel determine an itinerary. I've stayed at Hotel Grotta, and it's nice, but not my favorite Greek hotel ever. Lots of stairs (some without handrails) and lavender-scented pillows (which we had to have removed, as I'm sensitive to strong scents). If you twist up your itinerary in order to stay at a certain hotel, you could regret it. There are lots of hotels on Naxos. Go to Booking.com and read reviews carefully.
Posted by
Nanaimo, BC, Canada
1441 posts
Grotto always gets good reviews but it is up a hill from Naxos town so I prefer to find a hotel at St George beach. It is a good sand beach and is lined with many hotels with a range of prices. Many are right beside the beach so you get your beach view from your balcony.
As mentioned go to booking dot com plug in your dates and search for availability.
Back to Naxos 2022 https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72177720299940917
St George Beach https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72177720299943096
St George beach hotels. https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72157632162394787
Posted by
98 posts
Hi,
A view of the Acropolis from your hotel, especially in the evening is very special! These hotels offer a view and I can definitely recommend them: Hermes Hotel and Plaka Hotel. The rooftop at the Hermes is small, but still really nice views.
On Naxos we stayed at Hotel Galini. Right next to the beach, very convenient to everything.
The one time that I was on Santorini, we took the ferry to Naxos first, then Santorini, then Crete, then flew from there. If you think that you might enjoy Crete, then I recommend the Astali Hotel in Rethymnon. Again, right next to the ocean. Rethymnon is great.
Another visit, we took the night ferry back to Athens from Chania. Then we did a 4 day, 3 night tour of the Peloponnese. That was a great trip too.
Hope this helps. We love Greece.
Posted by
Philadelphia, PA, USA
3397 posts
My new favorite recommend at St. George Beach is Hotel Palatia, IF you can get one of the 2nd or 3rd floor rooms with front balcony view of the sea. Lovely owners, nice breakfasts, just a few yards to the sands... have now sent 4-5 couples there & had happy reports ... In Sept they may still be bookable. They're usually on booking dot com but if you don't see availability, you might write direct and ask for one of those seaview rooms. Same thing for Villa Naxia... no longer boook thru agencies, but inquire direct ... very lovely boutique hotel just 50 yards in from beach.