^Ive heard the same. We are flying to Athens late in the evening from Santorini and we leave from Athens to the US in the morning so really only two full days there. One day to see some sites and the other day we will probably do a day trip to Delphi or Meteora.

2/5/2018 11:13:10 AM

Ah, makes sense. Should've read more carefully.

2/5/2018 9:38:30 PM

Go to the Parthenon early as you can. It's cooler and way less crowds. Rent an ATV in Santorini and go visit some of the less public beaches. There's a pretty decent winery called Domaine Sigalas on the way to a crummy rocky beach: https://goo.gl/maps/tAfngKq5oqn

I couldn't see Ancient Thira because they were renovating when I was there, but looked cool. Avoid the donkey shit on the trail in Oia. The more populated beaches further from Oia are probably cool if you are looking to meet people. Oia is a lot more chill.

Also, not sure if you have a hotel, but this place is amazing: https://goo.gl/maps/VaM98jHHvS62

[Edited on February 5, 2018 at 10:32 PM. Reason : a]

2/5/2018 10:30:40 PM

bumping this since we leave in about a month. We're staying on Crete for 4 nights in Chania, 2 on Santorini in Oia, and 1 in Athens right by the Parthenon. How quickly can one blitz through the Parthenon? We get in pretty late, and then have to be at the airport for an 11am flight. Anyone done the wine tours on Santorini? We're debating between doing a half day tour, vs a boat tour with wine, and not sure which is better.

6/29/2018 12:12:20 PM

Is this part of another trip?

6/29/2018 12:17:34 PM

Yeah, going to Portugal too afterwards. Long story, but we got R/T flights from SF to Paris for $400 on United last October, so bouncing around a bit before and after Greece.

6/29/2018 12:20:36 PM

Crete had some of the best and cheapest food I’ve ever eaten. The beaches were phenomenal. We stayed in Chania 5 nights. In hindsight, Crete seems more like a 7-10 day type of place. It’s spread out, the roads suck, and if you want to see the best beaches (hello Elafonisi) you’ll kill a day driving there and back.

Santorini was otherworldly. We stayed in Finikia which was about a 10 minute walk to the outskirts of Oia. The highlight of our 2 night stay was the caldera sunset cruise and waking up at dawn to wander the empty streets of Oia without the droves of tourists. The food was generally crap. We hung out with friends who stayed in Kamari beach and it was cool, but the beach was lame compared to anything on Crete. Overall, night and day contrast between Crete and Santorini. I loved both and would return to both.

Athens is mostly a shithole. We blitzed through the Acropolis in about 45 mins. One of the most underwhelming, overhyped tourist traps I’ve ever been to. I can see why history buffs might like Athens, but the Plaka district where we stayed (Avoid: Herodian hotel) was a total letdown.

All said, we loved Greece and would definitely return- probably a full week on Crete somewhere besides Chania (its very nice, but I’d rather chill closer to better beaches) and spend 4-5 days on Santorini with a caldera view (our cave apartment was nice, but the view wasn’t as spectacular as some of the ones in Oia).

8/18/2018 6:01:46 PM

^ thats a shame. I thought the food on Santorini was fantastic (around our hotel in Imeroviglia and in Oia). Never had a bad meal but we also didn't eat in Fira.

Loved Athens. We stayed in Syntagma Square and there were a ton of food/bar options around and walkable to most of Athens. I do agree that the Acropolis was a huge letdown. Just awful considering the impressive history of the ruins.

Next time we go we will plan to do Crete or Mykonos instead of Santorini but probably still spend some time in Athens and explore more of it.

8/25/2018 10:24:13 PM