So many people asked me about this trip, I figured it was worthy of a blog post. I'm not sure if it is the beautiful waters, amazing fresh food or friendly people that brought about the current travel trend for Greece, but it is a must for your travel list.
If you are planning a trip to Greece or thinking about going, hopefully this post will answer some main questions for you. We made a point to chat with the locals and hotel/restaurant workers. You can talk to travel agents and join travel groups on social media, but to get the best information you have to go directly to the source, chat with the locals!
Best Time to Visit
Greece gets hot in the summer, as in southern US, fry an egg on the sidewalk...hot. However, if you go in the winter, many shops and restaurants will be closed. The open season for Greece runs from May to the end of September. Greece thrives on tourism and many of the hotel and restaurant workers on the tourist islands live in Athens, but come to islands like Santorini and Mykonos from May to September to work. All the locals said the middle to end of June and early September are the best times to visit Greece, weather wise. July and August are very hot and very crowded.
We went the end of June and weather was perfect. It was very warm walking around, but doable and hot enough to lay out by the pool and beach without being miserable. The sea was still pretty chilly, but it is the Aegean Sea and we were told that is as warm as it gets, which is around 75 degrees fahrenheit.
Islands to Visit and Transportation
We flew into Athens and then took another flight to Santorini. We stayed in Santorini for four days and took a seajet to Mykonos where we stayed four days and then took another flight from Mykonos back to Athens for two days. You can travel by plane or ferry between islands. Traveling by ferry was cheaper and faster in some instances. We booked tickets on www.seajets.com
The seajet was an experience. If you get seasick I suggest booking a ticket on the upper deck. The seats were roomy and comfy. The upper deck also had snacks and drinks available and a TV. Trust me after waiting to get on the seajet you will want a comfortable space to rest. The boarding process was crazy. Imagine 500 people lined up with luggage all getting on a ship at the same time with no organization. When you get on the boat everyone leaves their bags in the bottom of the boat. There was no designated space or check in process. You just leave your bag and say a prayer that your bag is still there when you are ready to leave the ship. The ship makes multiple stops at various islands along the route. Hence, it is important to have proper ID tags on your bag.
In true Jodi fashion, I refused to leave my bag and carried it up three flights of stairs. But, we also had a non-carry on bag, which we had to leave at the bottom level. Amazingly, we found it pretty easily when we exited the ship. We spoke to other travelers who traveled by ferries multiple times and said they were also surprised by the lack of process, but never had any problems. Maybe this little seajet experience was a slight God wink way of restoring a smidge of my faith in humanity.
Our hotels in Santorini and Mykonos had hotel drivers and we used Uber in Athens. Again, if you get motion sickness just know you need to take a zofran every morning in Greece. A few days I had to take 2-3, but I was totally fine and thankful for meds! The roads are narrow on the islands and the driving rules seemed similar to the seajet experience.
Athens
While going to Acropolis and seeing the original buildings from 400-500 BC is a must do, I would not recommend spending much time in Athens. You can see the Acropolis area in a day. We stayed in Plaka, which was recommended and our hotel was about 10 minutes from Acropolis, walkable restaurants and nightlife in Athens. While, I might have enjoyed this faster pace as a 20 something, as 40 somethings my husband and I both agreed we should have stayed at a beach hotel in the Athens Riveria area even though it was farther away from Acropolis.
The Plaka District somewhat reminded me of New York. I wish I had done more research on Athens, because if I had better insight I believe we would have enjoyed Athens more. It was the last place we visited so we were also tired. If we had more time, my advice would be to fly into Athens, spend 2-3 days there as the first stop on your trip. Use the first couple of days to sightsee, spend the third day relaxing at a nice beach hotel or beach club, then travel the fourth morning by plane to one of the smaller islands.
Santorini
I know everyone says this is the most tourist island, but there is a reason. The beauty of Santorini and especially Oia is unmatched. We stayed at a boutique hotel in Oia which was great. Oia is the more expensive and more crowded area, but I highly recommend staying in Oia. I debated staying in a cave hotel in the actual caldera, but not being a light packer and knowing the area had so many steps, I opted for a hotel about 5 minutes from the caldera with easy access to the hotel and to the caldera. We both enjoyed our hotel as it was quiet and very clean with great food, atmosphere and amazing service. The hotel concierge basically planned out our whole stay in Santorini in the first thirty minutes we were at the hotel and all we had to do was show up at the front desk at specific times. They took care of all transporation and every detail.
We went to Fira one afternoon and night and while it was lovely with better shopping price points, my opinion is that Oia was nicer with better views. When you first see the views from the caldera in Oia you do a little gasp. If you like to travel, you know what I am talking about and those are the moments and reason that you remember why you like to travel and what an amazing world God created.
The must do's in Oia are having dinner at a restaurant at sunset on the edge of the caldera where your view is from the cliff straight out into the sea and take a sunset catamaran. We loved the Trinity Restaurant at the Saint Hotel. I would also recommend a private or semi-private boat for the sunset cruise. Our boat was really nice and I had the best fish I've ever had in my life on the boat. My husband and I both agreed that watching the sunset in Oia from the boat was definitely in the top five of our life moments.
Mykonos
I saved the best for last. While many people skip Mykonos because it is known as a party island, I think it gets an unfair reputation. Mykonos does have great night life and you can buy a designer bag after midnight, but it has more to offer than a party scene. I enjoyed Mykonos because it felt more spacious than Santorini and I liked our spacious resort hotel, the Mykonos Grand Resort. The town was also nice to stroll through day or night with people buzzing and tons of restaurant and lounge options. I especially enjoyed Little Venice in Mykonos. This is a great area to sit and enjoy a long lunch or a snack and cocktail during an early afternoon. While Santorini doesn't really have beaches, Mykonos had more beach areas and our hotel had a private beach area with beach service.
The hotel next door was called Hippie Chic and it also had fun island vibes with a private beach area. We went to the famous Nammos Beach Club for the day and had lunch at the restaurant. While we don't regret going, we both felt that it was somewhat overrated, but still a fun experience. (If you enjoy craft cocktails, our hotel had some of the best we have ever had!)
We also received a food recommendation for Buddha Bar from a few friends who had previously been and it was definitely a great recommendation. Buddha Bar is located in a fabulous hotel called Santa Marina Resort. The only negative thing I can say about Mykonos other than higher price points is that there was no karaoke. (You all know I was ready to sing and smash some plates! I think they had to stop the plate smashing for liability reasons. We lawyers have to ruin everything with rules and litigation.)
Tidbits and Random Thoughts
Greece uses the Euro and you get a better rate to exchange your money in the actual towns rather than at the airport. While, you can cover more ground on a cruise I don't think you can get the full Greece experience on a cruise. I think Greece is a place where you have to go, spend a few days and just wander around without worrying about a cruise schedule. Greece deserves the extra time. There is enough to see and do in Greece to stay at least a couple days on each island. But, this is also a personal preference depending on what you want to get out of your travels.
Everything in Greece is painted white to reflect the sun so the buildings are not hot to the touch. The caldera in Santorini was formed due to a volcanic eruption. Mykonos was the most expensive island for hotel and transportation so if you are on a specific budget you may want to swap out Mykonos for another island.
I also loved the music in Mykonos. It was a lot of American pop music mixed with an island techno vibe. I definitely enjoyed the fashion in Greece and would describe it as a sassy island flair casual style. Mykonos was much more family friendly than I imagined. Greece has hardly any elevators, lots of steps and cobble stone streets so bring good shoes. We also saw lots of cute dogs and tons of cats on each island. I had to pet every store owners' dog.
Most people in Greece speak English and will gladly speak English to you because tourism is how the country survives. The food was the freshest food I've ever eaten. I was not a fan of the wine because it all had a mineral taste to me. But, they also have many other wine options. There is an eight hour time difference between Greece and Central Standard Time in the US. Oddly enough, I really had no jet lag and my body seemed to function best in this time zone. (I KNEW I have always been displaced in this world. haha)
In all, I would rate Greece as one of my favorite trips. I would love to go back someday to check out Crete and Rhodes and then fly out of Italy back to the US. If you are thinking about going or already in the planning stages, please feel free to reach out to me for any questions. Thanks for reading my blog and stay spunky!
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