Hello. My husband and I are thinking of visiting Santorini for a week in the fall. Are there enough museums/sights/walks, etc to keep you occupied for 6-7 days? My husband is not much of a beach/pool person, so we'd need to have a good selection of interesting sites to keep busy. Also, would you recommend renting a car?
Posted by
Camarillo, California
3118 posts
There's plenty to do. A week will fly by. I go there for 4 weeks at a time and don't get bored. You can visit Ancient Thera, the black and red sand beaches, take a cruise/excursion into the caldera to hike on the volcano, visit Thirassia, go to the archaeological site of Akrotiri, visit the various villages, do some wine tasting, check out the Museum of Prehistoric Thera, shop to your heart's content and try all the great restaurants. You'll spend some of your time just sitting on your balcony enjoying the amazing view from the clifftops. Renting a car is the best way to explore. Be sure to go to your local CAA office to pick up an International Driving Permit, no test or membership required.
Posted by
OP
Prince George, BC, Canada
432 posts
Thank you for your quick replies. I love this website.. lots of knowledgeable people and great feedback. Have people stayed on any other Greek islands that they would recommend as well? We're in our mid-50's, physically fit, and not the party type...., but enjoy learning new things, history, cooking and eating good food, drinking wine....
Posted by
College Station
20 posts
We took a boat from Piraus (Athens) and stopped at Mykonos for 2 nights first before sailing on to Santorini. Mykonos is very laid back and has windmills, old bakeries(in a basement near our pension), great shopping, and delicious food.
We stayed in a family run pension and the owners picked us up at the boat landing and returned us when we left. We visited Ancient Delos (an island near Mykonos). It was fantastic! This is a spiritual site and the center of the Cycallades Islands. You will be amazed at all the ancient artifacts there, it was extremely impressive. I like it much more than Athens. We also took a boat from Santorini to Crete and loved seeing Ancient Knossos and shopping in the market,seeing the El Greco statue and exploring Heraklion. Then we flew back to Athens. However, of the three islands, Santorini was the best and most beautiful! We stayed in Oia. We took public transportation or walked wherever we went on our trip to the islands.
Posted by
Philadelphia
655 posts
Susan......I think that at least a couple of days at a second island gives you a much better idea of Greece. Naxos is an easy one with good connections. I would rent a car in either place - your hotel/B&B can arrange it for you.
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
Susan, Santorini is one of the Cycladic islands, making the other Cycladic islands easy to visit. Naxos is fabulous, but quite large, and sites may be further apart than you think, so make sure you either have a car or check bus schedules carefully (I missed a bus connection and the bus driver on the late bus turned it around to drive me back halfway to the port, and had a taxi waiting to take me the rest of the way). Delos is within reach if you go to Mykonos, but it's a half-day trip aside from Mykonos. Paros is also an interesting place to go for a day (huge marble quarries which were closed during the Roman period but reopened to get the marble to make Napoleon's tomb).