My husband and I are traveling to Greece for 2 weeks starting August 31. I would like to see beautiful scenery, some importnat historical points of interest and get beyond the mass tourist industry, but I also know that sometimes the biggest tourist destinations are that because they are quite awesome. We have tickets to and from Athens but need to figure out a plan for the two weeks. My questions: 1) after a couple of days in Athens, will likely fly to two location in the Greek islands to explore. Am thinking about a well-located island in the Cyclades, like Ios or Paros, then perhaps Rhodes. We would have a hotel in one of those cities and then perhaps take day trips via ferry. Are Ios or Paros good bases. I keep hearing about Santorini but it is so far sourth? 2) I am a bit nervous about puddle-jumper planes, which airlines are considered safe (any links to safety records?). 3) are day trips from an island like Ios and Paros to see Naxos and Santorini reasonable or are getting ferry tickets too difficult/random to work out? 4) I don't quite get how much time you spend in a Greek island if you are not a beach bum. Are islands like Naxos, Folegandros, Siknos, good one day destinations? What about Santorini? My point of reference is the white hill towns in Spain, like Rhonda, Casares. You could do them in one day and fee like it was good. Thank you all!! Any input on anyone of these questions would be great.
Jeanne
Posted by
Centennial, CO, US
2191 posts
Hi Jeanne
Figuring out the logistics of Greek travel is admittedly a little confusing at first. Two good books are Thomas Cook's Greek Island Hopping guide (with great little maps in the back showing which islands are connected with which others) and the Lonely Planet Greece book. You also should familiarize yourself with Greek ferry sites (I like http://www.gtp.gr/ or http://www.openseas.gr/openseas/index.html). You won't need to purchase ferry tickets in advance, but these will help you plan your itineraries and will have more d schedules than the Thomas Cook book. I'll take a shot at your questions; hopefully others will chime in. 1) I recommend that you save your Athens days for the end of your trip, as you will want to be back in Athens at least a day ahead of your return flight home. So I suggest that you fly or ferry to your first destination, directly upon arrival in Athens. You could structure the trip in numerous ways: ferry to Paros, ferry to Santorini, ferry to Rhodes, fly to Athens. Or fly to Rhodes, ferry to Santorini, ferry to Paros, ferry to Athens. From Paros you could day-trip to Delos and Antiparos (or even stay on Antiparos). From Rhodes you could visit (and possibly stay overnight) on Tilos and/or Nisyros or Symi.
Posted by
Centennial, CO, US
2191 posts
Had to split this into two posts: 2) I don't have links to the "puddle jumper" plane safety records but I think they're all safe. 3) I know that Delos (from Paros or Naxos) and Symi and Kastellorizo (from Rhodes) are possible day trips, although not all available every day. Other inter-island day trips would probably have to be worked out when you are there. We always find plenty to do on an island aside from the beach (rent car or bikes, visit ruins, etc.). And we love just hanging out, watching the people, wandering through towns. 4) I haven't seen the white hill towns so don't know if you could equate them to an island. I personally prefer 3-4 nights in one place, although we've spent up to 14!
Posted by
Eastern Iowa, USA
8188 posts
Regarding a "Home Base" in the Cyclades: Just based on my experience, this may not be practical. The ferries that operate are a bit more infrequent than what you may think. Generally they run long routes (Piraeus to Santorini for example) hitting a number of Islands on the way down, then doing the reverse route or a different route on the way back. There are several companies and modes, so a busy port may see half a dozen arrivals and departures in a day, a small on a single arrival every couple days. There does not seem to be many routes just back and forth between islands, in fact there may be no direct connection between some close islands. The result is that it just may not be possible to get to another island and back for daytripping efficiently. Most take the option of spending a couple nights, move on to another close island, stay, etc. As for time on an island, generally I plan on a minimum of two nights. Basically travel day between islands giving you some time in the afternoon, one uninterrupted day, then a travel day again. We did do Santorini in one night, having a very early arrival one day and a very late departure the next. While we could have spent more time on Santorini, we do not regret just doing the one night. After seeing a few things, we felt the time was better spent in Crete. As for planes, if operated by Aegean or Olympia, generally the routes are not between islands, but between islands and Athens, requiring a change in Athens to get to another island. These are in larger regional and 737s or the Airbus equivalent. There are some smaller companies flying inter-island, they are usually smaller planes (sub regional or regional size) but I would not have concern flying either. If Lee chimes in, he may have a different opinion on the ferries.
Posted by
OP
Seattle, WA, USA
11 posts
Thanks Paul. That is helpful. Have you taken catamaran's? What is the name of the company? I would like to find the ferry routes you are talking about from Athens, which web site has that? What I may do is fly to Santorini and then figure out the ferry route back to Athens and take that, stopping at places like Paros (maybe Naxos), Mykonos, Tinos, Andros...but I don't know if that is one of the routes. Any input on Folegandros and Sifnos? thanks
Jeanne