Greek Odyssey Trip Report: Santorini, Mykonos, and Athens May 2024

Part 2: Santorini--Two Nearly Perfect Days

We arrived in Santorini at 9:30 p.m. (21 hours of flying). We stayed at Hotel Lilium, 10-minute drive south of the Fira main square. Our room was spectacular, a large private porch overlooking the Caldera. The room was spacious, well-appointed in classic blue/white décor. The hotel has a lovely bar/restaurant, pool, and lounge chairs. Our package came with full buffet breakfast.

On the first day in Santorini there were 3 cruise ships in town. After the long flight, I planned a slow day, starting in Pygros, 10-minute taxi ride from our hotel. Pygros is the largest preserved village in Santorini and the former capital. It is a pedestrian (and donkey) only area with steep steps to spectacular views and the ruins of a Venetian Castle. Pygros was a delight. Small homes, little shops, churches and outstanding ocean views. We saw several well-dressed donkeys (no owners in sight) roaming the streets. The highlight for us was the hike up to the Venetian Castle stopping on the way back at Franco's Café for some delicious Greek coffee while viewing the sea. There were so few customers, my husband got a lesson in how to brew the perfect cup of Greek coffee.

After Pygros, we walked 15 minutes to Santos Winery. It is a large, beautiful winery with a spectacular Caldera view (highly recommend for sunset). It was not crowded, easy to get a tasting without a reservation. Wine tasting in Santorini is very different than tastings in California. You get flight that comes with local meats, cheeses, and fruit. A flight of 6 wines is more than enough for two people and 48 Euros is a good value, especially since this was our lunch. The vineyards of Santorini are also different. Because of the high winds, the grapes are nestled underneath grape vines covered with the leaves.

After the wine tasting, we called a private transfer service serving our hotel (taxis are rare on the island). What’s App with eSim is a great and inexpensive way to connect with drivers on the island. We had them drive us to Firostefani to meet our guide for the Food Tour: Eat and Walk Santorini.

The food tour was amazing, we started with a stop at a Greek Coffee shop, then hiked to a lookout vista where our guide took pictures and served us this amazing honey cake (cheese & mastic). If you ever have the chance to eat one of these cakes, take it. From there we visited a local souvlaki place, tasted olive oil, ate at a local restaurant, sampling the tomato fritters (Domatokeftedes) and orzo pasta with baby octopus. Ending the tour with Greek donuts (Loukoumades) drizzled with honey and served with sour cherry ice cream.

Day 2: Visiting Oia, A private tour with Rick Steve’s Recommended Guide

We have heard about the crowds in Oia and opted for an early start, arriving at Oia at 8:30 a.m. The stores were closed and the streets were quiet. We had Oia almost to ourselves. We took the most spectacular pictures. From Oia, we rode the bus to Fira and took advantage of the early morning for shopping and exploring Fira. We had a lovely lunch in Fira at a restaurant we went to on our food tour (Ouzeri). It is not on the Caldera and is family owned. Went back to the hotel for a rest before our sunset tour.

The tour started at the ancient ruins of Akrotiri, a late Minoan civilization that was destroyed in a volcanic eruption, like the Roman ruins of Pompeii, it is remarkably preserved. Our guide, Kostas brought this ancient, vibrant civilization to life. There were maybe 12 other tourists, it was lovely to have the place to ourselves. After the visit to the ruins, we explored the countryside and had a sunset wine tasting with delicious Santorini food at Venetsanos winery. Built in 1947, it is a gravity-flow winery with a living museum. It is located on the edge of the Caldera. Unfortunately, it was foggy, windy, and drizzling, so we did not see the sunset. Despite that, we had a wonderful time.

Mykonos: Our Surprise Island

After reading so much about Mykonos as a party island, overly touristed, and lacking local charm, I was worried that we would be disappointed. However, Mykonos was quite a surprise. Yes, it is touristy with vibrant beach clubs and more than enough cruise ships. However, Mykonos is beautiful and there is so much more to Mykonos than parties.

We stayed at an amazing hotel, Myconian Korali, which was in a complex with two other hotels, giving us access to 3 pools, 3 restaurants, spa, boutique. When the crowds became too much during mid-day, it was a perfect place to relax and enjoy the stunning views. Our room had a private balcony overlooking Mykonos town with a large room, plenty of space to relax. The hotel staff was more than just helpful. Many of the staff were locals and recommended restaurants and beaches where we could get away from the crowds.

The highlights of our two and ½ day stay here were eating at sunset in Little Venice at Nice and Easy, exploring the back streets of Mykonos town, learning Greek from one of the shopkeepers who was learning English. We spent 30 minutes at this little store on language lessons. We loved to just wander in the early morning and late evening in Mykonos town.

Mykonos is also a very easy day trip to the island of Delos. The birthplace of Apollo, an archaeological site that was a major religious center and port. A tour of Delos takes you back in time to see Doric temples, ancient markets, an amphitheater, and beautiful houses (mosaics). We took the ½ day tour from Mykonos and were fortunate to have as our guide, a retired Director of Archeology from the Delos site. Amazing insights into Greek history, architecture, culture. It prepared us for what we would see in Athens.

Mykonos is not just a tourist site; it is a real community. We were fortunate to take tour with a local, Dori, who took us to parts of the islands most tourist don’t visit. We loved seeing the little town of Ano Mera, the Armenistis Lighthouse (his happy place), some of the “unorganized beaches”. We were one of handful of people at the beach. He showed us the reservoir and talked about opportunities and challenges of growth on the locals.

Our last evening, we splurge to go to 180 Sunset Bar. Overlooking Mykonos town, it was fabulous way to end our time in Mykonos. Great views, food, drinks, dancing.

Part 3: Athens: a modern town with Ancient history & Final Thoughts

We spent 3 days in Athens, staying at the Electra Palace Hotel. The hotel is ideally situated with all the amenities, including a restaurant/bar overlooking the Acropolis. The rooms were spacious but had an odd layout and our view was of the alley.

The highlight of our trip to Athens was enjoying the vibrant food scene. We went on an amazing food tour with Eating Europe. Our guide, Vasso, is a native of Athens. We went to amazing little gems across the heart of Athens. One of my favorites was a coffee shop where we had a demonstration of brewing Greek coffee in the traditional manner over sand and sampled Havla. This coffee shop employes the unhoused and there is a chandelier of homes, one for each family the shop helped get into a house. Our second culinary adventure was a cooking class from Athens Walks. Our chef, Spyros, was entertaining, provided great tips, and helped us cook a full Greek meal from the salad and tzatziki, spinach pie with fresh phyllo, moussaka, and a semolina cake. We ate our meal with a family from the states and a young couple from Norway overlooking the Acropolis.

Of course, you can’t go to Athens without exploring the history and ruins, especially the Acropolis. Our package came with a ½ day tour that included the Acropolis, Acropolis museum, and bus ride to see some of the other major sites. While our tour guide, Rose, was very knowledgeable, if I had to do it over again, would not take the bus tour. I would get a private guide, visit the museum first, and go early. We reached the Acropolis at 10 am with all the other tours. It was crowded, hot, and frankly a bit dangerous. The rest of the sites, we had already visited with the RS walking tour so sitting on the bus was a waste of time.

We also visited the Archeological Museum. It is a bit out of the tourist center, so taking a taxi using FreeNow app was easy and not very expensive. The museum itself has so many wonderful pieces of art. We loved seeing the frescos and artifacts from our earlier Cycladic island visits. The RS guide, was not very helpful, and we navigated on our own, often joining some of the school groups who had teachers that knew and loved the museum. The entry to the museum is chaotic. We had timed tickets for 9 but didn’t get into the museum until 10. Despite the hassle it was a museum that we both enjoyed.

Athens has so many surprises--RS Walk helped us uncover many hidden gems. My husband and I took the RS walk which took us through the Athens of today to the Athens of the past. We loved visiting the National Gardens, adjacent to the tomb of the unknown soldier. It is a natural oasis in the middle of the city and a nice place to rest and relax when it is hot. We were fortunate on the walk to be able to enter so many of the Greek Orthodox churches and see how much religion influences modern Athens. Along the walk, we saw modern buildings alongside ancient ruins--the current markets with the ancient Agora. Athens is such a vibrant city with one part in the future and the other in the past. It is a place, if you give it time to find so many hidden gems.

We felt we needed at least another day in Athens to truly immerse ourselves into all the city has to offer.

Final thoughts

We enjoyed Greece and want to come back to explore more of the islands and the mainland. The Greeks were warm and welcoming, English was widely spoken, and the combination of history, mythology, and the sea is magical.

Great trip report. Thank you for taking the time to write it!

Really enjoyed your trip report. Sounds like you did quite a bit of research to find interesting places and avoid the crowds.

Bookmarking this one for the islands information. Thank you for writing all this up!

I was impressed with how well you navigated these popular sites! Thanks for sharing.

It sounds like you had a wonderful trip, with all your research to complement the tour you won! You made this part of Greece come alive again for me!

Great report, and helpful as we plan Santorini and Athens (again) in 2026. Still making lodging decisions so will check out your recommendations.

What an amazingly smart traveler you are! You visited the two most touristy islands and cleverly took advantage of all that they had to offer while minimizing the negative impact of crowds/cruise ships etc. Here is hoping you have an opportunity to continue your exploration of Greece where, with your travel skills, you will surely be rewarded.

Thanks for sharing all these helpful details!

Wonderful report and so helpful for our trip soon approaching in September:)

Thank you, Sandy, for this wonderful trip report! I am just in the beginning stages of planning an extra week for Greece, following a tour I will be taking next year. This will be my first time in Greece.