Greek Islands in May 2010 - Santorini, Naxos, & Mykonos!

Hi, Gina.

We stayed in the Chelidonia Villas in Oia. http://www.chelidonia.com/ The owner of the houses is a native of Oia and has a ton of great stories and a unique outlook on Greek village life.

We used the Lonely Planet book to plan our stay in Santorini. It was decent as a starting point. Good luck!

Chelidonia Villas is a good choice, centrally located below the village square. Others to consider for €350 or less: Aspaki Hotel, Aris Caves, Strogili Houses, Atrina, Nostos Apartments, Filotera Villas, Lauda Hotel, Caldera Villas, Dream Blue and Island Blue at www.myblue.gr, Ifestio Villas, Golden Sunset Villas, Marizan Villas and Esperas Houses.

You will find reviews of these and other hotels on www.tripadvisor.com.

Hi Gina,

My husband and I also took our honeymoon in Greece. We stayed at the Petasos Beach Resort in Platis Gialos. It was beautiful--I think the nicest and most beautiful place I've ever stayed! I'm not entirely sure what the rates are, as we booked everything with a travel agent in advance. but it's worth checking into: http://www.petasos.gr/. The location was great, too. Right next to the beach and near some bars and restaurants.

We also stayed in Santorini, but not in Oia. We stayed in a great place in Fira, a bit on the outskirts of town (but within walking distance to the town center). It was called Dana's Villas, in case you're interested in checking it out. Again, I'm not sure of the price. We had a cute little cottage of sorts with a "living room" and kitchen area and then a lofted bed--it all faced the caldera.

My recommendation for Santorini would be the Atmospherico suite at the Aspaki Hotel in Oia. artmaisons.gr
While it may not be the most "luxurious" spot, it has amazing privacy; a terrace that is part covered and part uncovered; an unbelievable location. You will see posters and post cards at every shop with pictures of the hotel. Check out the comments on Trip Advisor. tripadvisor.com/aspaki
We thought it was so great, we never even left Oia during our stay.

Hi Gina,

Santorini is wonderful. Consider flying there on Aegean and returning by ferry. We loved Oia. You can find a nice place for 350 euros, perhaps less.

Naxos is a nice contrast to Santorini. We stayed at Kavos and enjoyed it. We had a small car - very inexpensive. You host can arrange it.

Visit tripadvisor for more ideas.

Best wishes.

Hi everyone, thanks so much for your helpful responses! I had one more question...does the order of Santorini to Naxos to Mykonos make sense? We definitely want to start in Santorini and on the map I see that Naxos comes before Mykonos....are we going to have any issues with the ferries going in this order? Please let me know! Thanks!

That's the correct order as long as there's a ferry between Naxos and Mykonos when you're there in May. By late May it shouldn't be an issue but it's too soon to know what will be available then. If it turns out that nothing is available then your choices would be Naxos first then the highspeed ferry from Santorini to Mykonos, or to go from Naxos to Paros to catch the highspeed from Santorini when it stops there on the way to Mykonos.

Once they're published you'll be able to see the ferry schedules here. For May that will be sometime in late-March or early-April:

http://www.openseas.gr/OPENSEAS/index_en.vm

Gina,

First of all, congratulations! I was interested to see the dates you'll be in Greece, as I hope to be there at about the same time (travel plans for this year are slowly coming together). I plan on visiting Naxos and Santorini as well, but not until about the second week of June.

Regarding Guidebooks for Greece, the Lonely Planet books are usually quite good. Rick has a book that covers Athens & the Peloponnese (if you'll be travelling in that area). You could also have a look at the Rough Guides books or This book (which I currently have on order at Amazon).

For great ideas on good Hotels in various price ranges (and LOTS of great information on Greece!) you might have a look at This website.

Happy travels!

If you want to get from Naxos to Mykonos, and there is no daily ferry, you have an easier answer if you can go on Sunday, Tuesday or Thursdays. On those days, there are TWO companies running Day-Excursion boats from Naxos dock to Delos/Mykonos. Alexandros is the favored boat because it's larger. Leaves 8:45 arrives Delos 10:15 or so, is there until about 1, then takes you to Mykonos.

Here's the deal: you just buy a one-way ticket! This way, you get a convenient ride to Mykonos, with a visit to the Sacred Isle thrown in... TIP: take water & a snack as these are costly at the Delos kiosk.

Buy your ticket at any harborside agency the day before.

HI GINA
CONGRATULATIONS FROM OZ DOWNUNDER.
I VISITED SANTORINI IN 2007 AND STAYED AT KATERIS APARTMENTS RIGHT ON THE CALDERA ABSOLUTLY GORGEOUS, IN MAY YOU DONT NEED TO BOOK AS THE BUSY TIME IS JULY/AUGUST AND ACCOMODATION IS VERY NEGOTIABLE, PERHAPS BOOK THE FIRST 2 NIGHTS AND HAVE A LOOK AROUND THEY LOVE CASH.

RE MIKANOS,I STAYED IN PLATYS YIALLOS (PLEASE FORGIVE SPELLING)HEEPS OF 1ST CLASS HOTELS, MAKE SURE YOU HOP ON A CAIQE AND VISIT PARADISE BEACH AMAZING MUST GO

FORGOT AN AMAZING GREEK NIGHT AT THE HOTEL ON THE MAIN ROAD GOING TO AND OPPOSITE THE BEACH ,ASK ANONE

REGARDS

ALEX

Hi Gina & Everyone!

Congrats! I'll also be honeymooning in Oia, but later in July. Have you had any luck finding cheap airfare from LAX-Athens? I know you'll be going a litter earlier, so of course it will be cheaper, but I haven't found anything less than $1350-1400 range.

Everyone else, do you have any great tips on finding cheap airfare from Los Angeles to Athens in July? Even flights to London (I was thinking we could fly a budget airline the rest of the way to Greece) seem crazy high ($1200). Am I delusional in thinking that I should be able to get RT flights for less that $1400 in July?

Thanks!
Kristen

Kristen-

I've noticed that international airfare has gone up at least 10% this year so what you find for July sounds about right, as crazy as that seems, especially since you need to travel in Peak Season. You will also probably discover that if you do find a cheaper flight the layover times can be extremely long, turning your trip into an exhausting ordeal.

Finding a flight to London is a good idea as long as you can make a quick connection on EasyJet, the discount airline that flies directly to Santorini from London/Gatwick. Otherwise if you factor in all the costs of spending the night in London it isn't really worth it.