Hi everyone,
We are heading to Greece in April. We understand the beaches are going to be too cold. Also learned that Samaria Gorge may be closed.
We fly in and out of Athens. If Santorini is worth it, we would enjoy that but with the beaches being too cold, we figured it wouldn't be worth the trip.
We are both huge into hiking and out door activities. Love gorgeous sites and culture.
Any opinions would be greatly appreciated!
We have friends who went to Santorini in April and loved it. It was too cold for swimming and I noticed they had light weight jackets on in many pictures. But they had a great time and the sky was blue. We walked from Oia to Fira when we were there in May and it was a highlight of our trip (most people walk the other way but we were staying in Oia). Parts of it really are a hike rather than a walk but easy if you love hiking.
Chad, everyone thinks that Samaria Gorge is the only gorge (In fact people often say "we want to hike the Gorge" assuming we'll know its Samaria. Crete has MANY gorges -- and Imbros, tho shorter, can be just as scenic ... I walked down it in early May, pure heaven, cliffs were hung with thyme bushes in spring bloom ... I felt like a leg 'o lamb halfway down! Also there's a north-shore short gorge near Rethymnon call Myli... look it up... full of little waterfalls & mill runs. Western crete can be heaven for you... there are organized small walks that go through tiny villages in hill country back of Chania. On arrival, u should fly immediately to Chania for a week in Crete.. it's the ideal place for spring outdoor stuff, plus ruins & experiencing local Crete living.
We could give better opinions, if you'd give the exact dates of your trip -- GReek Easter is April 28 this year, and this may affect travel, openings/closings. Also with a short trip it helps to know time of day of arrival/departure because we can tell you what options you have on day 1 & final day.
If you are into hiking and outdoor activities and can possibly do without ocean swimming, you'll love it. You may be lucky and have the wildflowers in full bloom. The weather might be a bit unpredictable, so just be prepared. We got a sunburn during a March vacation in Greece, so you never know.
Love gorgeous sites and culture.
You'll love Santorini then. It's as gorgeous as it gets. And you'll have one great advantage: It's not going to be quite as overcrowded as later in the year.
The black beaches may be nice on Santorini, but honestly, if beaches were your main objective, I'd go somewhere else in April. Pick a hotel not on the beach but along the rim of the crater, and the spectacular views and sunsets will make you forget about beaches.
.
Edit: I just realized you already started several threads on this topic:
Now I'm a bit confused. Are you starting all over with your planning?
If not, it would have helped to keep those questions together so it would have been easier to see what advice has already been given.
Sorry Anne,
My original suggested plans are being questioned by my fiance.
Which consisted of Crete, Santorini, Naxos, and Athens by other members. We aren't set on these locations, and looking for other suggestions or confirmation that these would be ok. We are still a good bit away from our planned trip, so we are just trying to see any other options we can consider.
Mainly, its becoming time to start booking our flights/airbnbs/etc so we want to make sure it will be enjoyable.
Thanks again!
That makes sense Chad, but people take a lot of time to respond here--all for the love of travel, but when you do not acknowledge previous threads, it comes across as a bit sketchy and makes people understandably reluctant to devote additional time.
What about the previous plans is your fiance questioning? If you spell out what the issues are, we can better advise.
Are you both researching and planning together?
In April, I would focus on the mainland and made some suggestions in your hiking thread.
If you have another thread headed 13 days (honeymoon) -- why not give that information on this thread? And it would be thoughtful to give the exact dates AND time of day for arrival/departure -- because that will enable people to see what options you have for first/last day. When your visit is so short, hours matter -- it can determine whether you can connect onward on day #1 via flight/ferry ... and what can be done if anything on final day (and where u will have to be on prvious night). If you want more, share more! Also, when you say your fiance is questioning those plans, you need to say why. Is it she wants fewer stops? More? Other deistinations? We can't help if we must guess at all the above.
Frankly I think 13 days is short -- especially if you are counting your flight days in that total! So I think it's too much to do 3 islands.... Crete is a COUNTRY. It's 160 miles long vs 12 miles for Santorini. I've visited Crete 5 times for 5-6 days per time & still have only explored half of it. Unless you want to spend 50% of your tme in transit, I'd save it for a future trip.... or else do crete for 6 days, one other isle for ?3, and 3-4 days at end in Athens -- that is, IF you have 13 full days on the ground, not coming/leaving.
@Chad:
O.k., thanks for clarifying.
Though I must admit I still don't quite get it. What exactly is your question now? What is she questioning?
Your original plans with Crete and Santorini? But then why are you asking about those two again?
Or are the two of you uncertain if Greece is the right choice for you at all? It's probably not going to get much warmer than Crete anywhere in Greece in April, so if that's too cold for your taste, you might want to consider a different destination altogether. Have a look at Cyprus maybe.
Another thing that sometimes has to be specifically suggested for people to consider it: postpone the honeymoon. I found this provided marvelous breathing room! We settled in, wrote our thank you cards, and then took our trip several weeks later. If the timing would work for you, then you would be going when the weather was more suited to your interests. Late May is warm enough for any outdoor activity, less chance of rain, and with sea temps that are bracing but perfectly tolerable if you'd like to take a dip.
Itinerary :
Arrive @ Athens April 17th 2:40 PM
Depart @ Athens April 30th 1:10 PM
I guess the issue is, deciding what we want to do. I think she wanted more options.
Nothing has jumped out at us except for the Samaria Gorge and Santorini.
The main concern is if people think that Santorini/Island hoping would be worth the trip in April over another destination. Janet mentioned it was rushed.
Also if we can't do Samaria Gorge, should we wait for another trip to do this hike? Would we be equally satisfied with the other opened hikes near Samaria? Are there other hikes that would potentially be closed or risky?
@Janet : we have found a connecting flight after our arrival from Athens to Crete which would give us 2 hours of 'safety.' and put us in Crete at 6 PM or so.
@valadelphia : We are kind-of booking together. I tend to do the planning and run it by her for approval. We are getting married in February. We are postponing our honeymoon 2 months for better weather and got great deals on the tickets.
O.k., so apparently you have booked your flights and are stuck with Greece and the dates and whatever weather and water temperatures you are going to get. Well then, why not make the best of it?
I guess the issue is, deciding what we want to do. I think she wanted
more options.
More options than what? Greece has about a million islands... What is she looking for?
Nothing has jumped out at us except for the Samaria Gorge and
Santorini.
Excuse me for being a bit blunt about this, but have you looked at any guide books at all? Crete is an island I have not been to (too big for my personal taste), but the very first information I find even on basic platforms like Wikivoyage is that the Samaria Gorge isn't open before May. I must admit that I am a bit surprised that this apparently came as such a surprise.
Again, make the best of it! If you are into hiking, have you looked at the European Long Distance Path E4 which passes through Crete?
And if Santorini jumped out at you, what is making you hesitate now? Santorini is gorgeous, especially for first-time Greece visitors and honeymooners and during off-season, so I really see no reason to overthrow that decision.
The main concern is if people think that Santorini/Island hoping would
be worth the trip in April over another destination. Janet mentioned
it was rushed.
That depends on how many islands you are planning to do. I think you could easily do Santorini and Crete (a small part of Crete only, obviously), but I'd hesitate to add another island to your itinerary. That would take two travel days from your twelve days of vacation and leave you with hardly more than three days per island.
You say that y ou have "found a flight" --- does that mean you actually have BOOKED it?? Or just looking at it. This vagueness drives me nuts. And no I didn't say that Santorini was rushed... I said that CRETE would be rushed on a short trip if you tried to do 2 other islands. Re-read please. BTW you do not have 13 days, you have 12, because u will not reach an island on day 1 till 6 pm, probably 7-7:30 by time you get from Chania airport to hotel & check in. And you cannot count departure day at all.
I agree that you could do 2 islands: Crete (starting at CHANIA) April 18-19-20-21-22-23 then AM 24 ferry to Santorini for 24-25-26 then ATHENS 27-28-29. If you decided to postpone crete as long as you cant do "THE" gorge, you might look at the Cyclades island that the Leading expert on hikes considers "A hiker's Paradise" -- NAXOS. Look at this website http://www.cycladen.be/NaxosEng.htm. Again in April, Naxos will be blooming all over with flowers, just like Crete... excellent bus network to take you to hillside villages to start/end your hikes. Again, like Crete, large permanent population... and NO cruise ships/no jet flights to bring packge tourism in.
If you wanted to be Ambitious and maximize your beautiful landscapes & sunsets you could do this: On day of arrival (4/17) fly to SANTORINI for nights of Ap 17-18. At 3:30pm Ap 19, take BLUE STAR 2-hr ferry 3:15pm to NAXOS - stay there at edge of town (St. George beach) Ap 19-20-21-22-23. Apr 24 AM Fly to ATH (NOTE: Greek easter is AP 26 so will definitely affect transport, hotels etc).... I advise save ATH to last; by noon 4/24 drive/or KTEL bus to NAFPLIO,2.5 hrs away on modern seaside highway -- this is considered the Moste BEautiful Old Town in all of Greece, and also the Most Romantic -- it's called "Proposal Capital of Greece." It's on a peninsula entirely surrounded by water... gorgeous Venetian architecture protect as national heritage ... SO popular that would do well to book rooms 8 mo. in advance. Stay Apr 24-25 -26... can enjoy Easter Celebrations there. Return to ATH Ap 27 (NOTE: everything official will be closed Easter sunday and most, on easter monday as well. Ap 28-29 Athens sightseeing.
NAXOS pix: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/sets/72157634605629689/
NAFPLIO px: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/sets/72157632094108982/
