We will be booking part of our stay through Villas of Distinction (Marriott Timeshare) from Saturday to Saturday. It appears are choices are Mykonos, Santorini and Crete. We are leaning towards Santorini. Any thoughts? We will be flying into Athens with plans to stay there for three days either at the beginning or end of trip as we will be flying from the east coast of the US? Any recommendations about "Must See" places/sites in and around Athens, as well as, island hopping excursions from our home base during the week? Also, any airlines that fly non-stop from DC/Baltimore or Philadelphia? There will be three adults ( our son is 24 years-old) and two teenage girls age 15 years-old.
Posted by
11569 posts
That is a long time to stay on very tiny Santorini. Four nights was too long for us. The view is beautiful but how many days do you want to sit looking at it? You can visit ancient Akrotiri as it is a must see and also go to a winery. Santorini is not known for it's beaches which, I assume, your kids would like to visit. It is too far away from most other Cycladic islands to do day trips. And it is jam packed with tourists, especially from those huge cruise ships. It exists for tourism.
Crete would give you so many more options. Look at Chania and western Crete especially. For island hopping, Mykonos, Paros, and Naxos are much better.
You can fly non stop to Athens from EWR and JFK, not sure about DC/Baltimore, Philadelphia but doubt it..
Posted by
Washington DC
28062 posts
What is the location of your Crete option?
Posted by
OP
Mount Airy
64 posts
I really appreciate your input. If we can book a reservation on Crete these would be our two options:
1). Villa Nicole is cited in the olive grove-laden slopes of Western Crete, with views of the Mediterranean Sea, while at close proximity to the main town of Chania.
2). Villa Ambra is situated on a small hill enjoying panoramic views ranging from the blue strip of Souda Bay, the scattered Apokoronas villages to the magnificent White Mountains. Nearest Beach/Village: Almyrida, 8 min drive
We would still want to visit Santorini for 3-4 days, where would you recommend we stay?
Posted by
Washington DC
28062 posts
I haven't seen either of those two properties, but Villa Ambra seems to be in a less-urban location. It is certainly farther from Chania. I guess that could be good or bad, depending on your point of view. Although I couldn't find an address for either one, it appears that both villas would require a rental car. However, a car would be handy on Crete, anyway. Be sure you get into the mountains.
Posted by
Philadelphia, PA, USA
3397 posts
The longest-standing nonstop to Greece IS from Philadelphis, also shortest actual airtime. Dep 4:30, Arr 9:10 next AM (really 2am). If you take that nonstop, u can count arrival day as a half-day, but you cannot count your homebound day at all. We cannot really advise you until we know how many days you have TOTAL, in addition to the Saturday thru Saturday (and BTW, that usually means Sunday AM thru Sat night -- 7 nights not 8). If you have an additional Week, you can put together an itinerary, and I can give you v. helpful info. But I am not going to devote effort to it, until you supply that KEY information. (I base this on experience of 12 trips).
Standard advice is -- IF you can arrive AM -- to fly immediately to chosen island destination, and leave Athens for last, to avoid staying in Athens 2x, going in/out twice eats up precious hours.... but because of your timeshare requirement, we may need to discuss a work-around. And NO, I would not recommend santorini for a week, no way josè. It is SO overtouristed today -- even in June-- 7 days would make you nuts. If u do "short & sweet" (I can explain how to get a satisfying "sample" in 36-48 hours), then you'll be able to tell your friends who did a cruise that, yes, you saw Santorini, but you will largely avoid the most exasperating aspects.