Greece???

McGilla

Hi, im thinking of taking a holiday in Greece in 1st two weeks in October.

We are a young couple (may have friends with us too), and love good food, watersports and the great outdoors! But we also want the craic.

I know nothing about Greece, so which area would people recomend?

Just to help, the thoughts of Ibiza make my skin crawl and trekking around Vietnam was heaven! (hope that gives an idea of what type of holiday we are looking for.)

Please help, all advice appreciated.

bills

how about island hopping.

You can avoid the touristy islands if you so wish. Check out www.greeka.com for information on islands.

shayno90

Not so much of a trekking holiday in Greece compared to Vietnam.

The classical monuments that Greece is known for are the main attraction.

Stay somewhere near Plaka, just 1km south of city centre in Athens as this is where all the sites are.

rossie1977

athens is a really nice city, i was worried before i went as many on the net described it as dirty, can't say i saw that myself, plenty of sites in the city itself and when you get bored you can get a ferry from the port to one of the numerous islands

about 3 hours bus journey from athens is delphi, the site of the ancient olympics. plenty of hiking options around there as its in the mountains

red barron

the greek islands ...ios will be quiet enough but good for a spot of nitelife of santorini right beside it is a romance island. either way the islands are the way to go but stay away from crete. you can get to the islands via pireus just the equivallent to a dart from athens all the islands are accessable by boat from there

Tordelback

Greece, my favourite subject!

First, you only have two weeks, and if you want to travel around that's really not enough time for a serious stab at island hopping - especially if you're flying into/out of Athens, since you'd be mad to miss out on a few days in that amazing city if it's your first time: restrict yourself to three or at most four centres (i.e. Athens/the Peleponese/A Big Island, plus max. 2 or 3 smaller islands). Don't worry about crowds, Greece will be fairly quiet in October. You could have a great holiday just puttering around the sites of the Argolid (the area around Athens) and the Peleponese (the peninsular south of Athens) in a car, with an occasional ferry out to one of the Saronic/Argolic islands.

Some islands further afield that lend themselves to good walking and great scenery: Crete (big enough to hold you for a month never mind a fortnight, awesome mountains, beaches and valleys in the east and south, and easy to get a direct flight, option to pop over to expensive, busy but beautiful Santorini for a night or two); Amorgos (stark and utterly beautiful, there's a great trail along its high spine, monasteries and remote churches, rocky coves and a few sandy beaches - plus a long slow ferry ride from Athens to see other islands on the way); little Tilos (between Rhodes and Kos, almost deserted in between its two coastal villages, but probably only worth a few days visit). Damn, it's all good!

Tordelback

Greece, my favourite subject!

First, you only have two weeks, and if you want to travel around that's really not enough time for a serious stab at island hopping - especially if you're flying into/out of Athens, since you'd be mad to miss out on a few days in that amazing city if it's your first time: restrict yourself to three or four centres at most (i.e. Athens/the Peleponnese/A Big Island, plus max. 2 or 3 smaller islands). Don't worry about crowds, Greece will be fairly quiet in October.

Some islands that lend themselves to good walking and great scenery: Crete (big enough to hold you for a month never mind a fortnight, awesome mountains and valleys in the east and south, and easy to get a direct flight, option to pop over to expensive, busy but beautiful Santorini for a night or two); Amorgos (stark and utterly beautiful, there's a great trail along its high spine, monasteries and remote churches, rocky coves and a few sandy beaches - plus a long slow ferry ride from Athens to see other islands on teh way); little Tilos (between Rhodes or Kos, almost deserted in between its two coastal villages, but probably only worth a few days). Damn, it's all good!


EDIT: Quick note, Delphi was the site of the Pythian Games not the Olympics (although it is a stunning place), that's Olympia, in the north-west of the Peleponese, also pretty amazing.

undo

Tordelback wrote: »

EDIT: Quick note, Delphi was the site of the Pythian Games

When in Delphi, do not miss the elliptic stone that was considered to be the center of the world. I was amazed how many people rushed just past it...

Agricola

Check out this - http://www.greektravel.com/

The guy who built this site is an American who spends his summers in Greece. The site is absolutely enormous. The amount of info is insane. It has everything you would need to know about a trip to Greece. Theres even an FAQ section that pretty much covers most things you'd come up with.
Whether your into lying on an island beach, or treking around the Pelopenese for all the cultural sights, he explains it all clearly.

I hoped to get there this summer but had to postpone it. Hope to make it in summer 2011

bills

Two different articles on Greece on the Irish Times website under Life & then Travel

Athens City
& What good value is in Greece at moment

Denimgirl

Don't go to Rhodes whatever you do!I was there last year for 2 weeks! it's a beautiful island and we went on boat trips and the beach is lovely but the night life is sh*t! a lot of teenagers getting p*ssed and throwing up and it was like a creche!the main strip of pubs and clubs were'nt even that good!would never go back there!

McGilla

Denimgirl wrote: »

Don't go to Rhodes whatever you do!I was there last year for 2 weeks! it's a beautiful island and we went on boat trips and the beach is lovely but the night life is sh*t! a lot of teenagers getting p*ssed and throwing up and it was like a creche!the main strip of pubs and clubs were'nt even that good!would never go back there!

Thats what Im trying to avoid - Thanks

Thanks to all, for the info, it looks like we're going to get a villa, and relax for a couple of weeks, rather than travel (just back from a year traveling Oz)

So now there is 6 of us, we are thinking about Crete, so we can relax by the pool/ beaches, but still get plenty of activities to do during the day.

Does every one think Crete will be a good option for relaxation, watersports, with good food and craic at night?

RubyK

The area of Rethymno is supposed to be lovely. Personally, I'd say stay away from Hersonnaisis/Malia/Stalis, unless into club 18-30 scene.

http://www.greeka.com/crete/rethymno/index.htm

Tordelback

RubyK wrote: »

The area of Rethymno is supposed to be lovely. Personally, I'd say stay away from Hersonnaisis/Malia/Stalis, unless into club 18-30 scene.
http://www.greeka.com/crete/rethymno/index.htm

And more to the point, even that dubious attraction will be pretty much dead by October. The Budget Travel Ireland coastal strip of Hersonissis/Stalis/Malia (Stalis in particular) makes for a good base if you're planning on a cheap package and either lots of traveling in the east and even south-east, or just drinking yourself stupid every night and recovering on the beach, but it's not really somewhere to lounge about .

Responding to the OP's revised plan, Crete is probably the place if you want to have a nice base and still have the option for nice day trips and poking about.

As others have said, Rethymno is a nice town, and very central (pretty much equidistant from the two biggest towns of Chania and Heraklion, and it's just a short hop (an hour) south across one of the narrowest part of the main island to the beaches around Plakias, Samaria Gorge and the amazing valleys west of Mount Ida). With 6 of you you should definitely get a car, that'll allow you to stay somewhere nice along the coast to the west and make the best of the surrounds. Whatever you do, do take the chance to get up into the mountains and valleys, either to the SE or SW of you, they're great. You'll have a grand time!

McGilla

Thanks for all the reply's..Boards is better than Google!:D

Im going to research the hell out of the above mentioned destinations, but havnt concidered flights yet.

I know Ryanair dont fly to Greece, where is the best place to get affordable flights?

Thanks in advance

Bookkeeper09

Went to Zakynthos with OH in 2008.
Was really lovely.
We stayed in Argassi which had plenty to do but wasnt the main resort for Club 18-30! There was also a beach about 20 mins away that had loads of watersports!
Would defo recommend it. Let me know if you want any info!

bills

McGilla wrote: »

Thanks for all the reply's..Boards is better than Google!:D

Im going to research the hell out of the above mentioned destinations, but havnt concidered flights yet.

I know Ryanair dont fly to Greece, where is the best place to get affordable flights?

Thanks in advance

Aerlingus fly to athens
Check out olympia or aegean airlines for flights between athens & some of the islands
Also, easyjet flies from london direct to some of the islands

Tordelback

Often the most economical way to get to Greece from Ireland is to get the absolute cheapest possible package deal and just ignore the accommodation (last year the cheapest seems to be directholidays). AFAIK all the Irish packages are in the north-east of the island (flying into Heraklion), but that doesn't matter if you aren't planninhg on using them - just hire a car at Heraklion and off you go, drive 1 hour west to Rethymno!

Other options are to see what cheap flights go from London etc, and see can you get a cheap Ryanair flight there.

Or my own favoured option: fly to Athens, and get the ferry from Piraeus to Rethymno - an amazing trip. Just be careful that you allow the ferry back extra time to get your plane home.

nancy121

Since you are an adventurous kind of person and love spending most of the time outdoors, I would recommend that you visit Delph, Pilion Hydra and Vikos Gorge. All these places are known for their steep mountain climbs. Great place to go on a hiking trip with your friends.

For good food, Greece has a lot in its platter. You can check out Varoulko, Vlassis, Fish Taverna Takis To Limeni and Selene.

Selene offers the best food in whole of Greece because its owner loves to experiment with local produce to turn out innovative versions of traditional dishes. Now that's something worth eating out at because the next time you visit Greece you are bound to get something unique and different out here.

Sue Rocks

Hey OP I went for a 3 week holiday to Greece with my BF 2 years ago. We went mini-island hopping on Zakynthos,Corfu and Kefalonia.

Kefalonia was by far the best. Absolutely amazing (we went in Spetember) it is fairly quiet in relation to the rest of Greece but some of the beaches were incredible and renting a car was fantastic way to see the island. Great food, great beaches and we loved every minute of it. Im very jealous of you now!! ENJOY

baaaa

I wouldn't really bother with Athens unless you're really into the artifacts,just wasting time that you could spend on the islands.

McGilla

Sue Rocks wrote: »

Hey OP I went for a 3 week holiday to Greece with my BF 2 years ago. We went mini-island hopping on Zakynthos,Corfu and Kefalonia.

Kefalonia was by far the best. Absolutely amazing (we went in Spetember) it is fairly quiet in relation to the rest of Greece but some of the beaches were incredible and renting a car was fantastic way to see the island. Great food, great beaches and we loved every minute of it. Im very jealous of you now!! ENJOY

Kefalonia - funny you should mention it, we were looking at lonely planet, and added it as our most likely destination, we were looking at a villa and its only €1500 for 2 weeks - between 6 of us!

Is there much snorkling...scuba there do you know? Tell me all!;)

The beaches look amazing!

scudzilla

This is the exact same reply i gave to somebody else asking for Greece advice

We got married in Zakynthos last sept and are going back in Sept, it's an awesome place.

Only problem is since Budget travel went tits up there's only 1 flight a week goin to the island.

With Sunworld it was 499 return, or a single (just going out) was 150.

We booked the single, and are returning with Easyjet to gatwick, hotel the night at gatwick, then aer lingus back the following day, all in all around 320 return each, incl hotel in gatwick.

Here's a few pics of the Island that i took last year, the water really is that blue!!

A great thing about Zante is that it's a nesting place of the loggerhead turtles, 2 years ago i was snorkelling in the bay and a turtle was 15ft away from me, that was awesome

Another good point about Zante is that Kefalonia is the next island, it's a 45 min ferry away, or a 10 min plane ride, ya could shoot across for 3/4 days like we're planning in sept.

If you're interested i can give you the details of the studios i use, they're the best i've ever been to, a family run place with an awesome restaurant attached to it

We spent a day snorkelling here at pic below









This boat is on the trip to the blue caves, it pulls up and lets ya swim for 45 mins or so, the snorkelling is deadly :D






Here's the thread

http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055921692



If ya want any advice just ask, we stay at an awesome Self Catering place in Kalamaki, he charges 250 per room per week, and that includes air con, transfers & safe deposit box.

Here's the link for the hotel.

http://www.dias-zante.gr/start.php?lng=en

http://www.holidaywatchdog.com/15045-Kalamaki-Dias_Studios__Apartments-Holiday-Review.html (1 dodgy review from competitor, all the rest are 10/10)

Sue Rocks

McGilla wrote: »

Kefalonia - funny you should mention it, we were looking at lonely planet, and added it as our most likely destination, we were looking at a villa and its only €1500 for 2 weeks - between 6 of us!

Is there much snorkling...scuba there do you know? Tell me all!;)

The beaches look amazing!

Hey McGilla honestly I would love to get married in Kefalonia it truely is spectacular the beaches are amazing! We stayed in the Princess hotel in Lassi and there is a scuba school in Lassi (I only did snorkeling but that was incredible also). The beach was right across the road from us and was pure white sand and the clearest sea I have ever seen (have been to Thailand recently and the beach at Lassi was every bit as good as Thailand's best)

I will get some pics for you when I go home this eve and post them up. Fefalonia is MUCH quieter in terms of nightlife than the other islands though so be warned if that is what you are after.

Sue Rocks

Beautiful pictures by the way Scudzilla they are making me want to go and book 2 weeks away tomorrow

unseen

Just returned from my holidays in Santorini. Its the second time i went there. Total cost for the tickets 370.

bills

Thanks for the photos!!
Looks amazing, heading there next month. Any tips for santorini?

unseen

Hi Bills,

Santorini this year is quiet and prices in everything are very reasonable. For example big bottle of water(1,5lt) 60 cents :eek:
I rent a suite for two in Fira, 75euros per night with jacuzzi,swimming pool, transportation to/from the port etc. They even gave me a bottle of wine produced from their vine yards free as a present the day i was leaving.
Check this if you are looking for a place to stay http://www.villa-anemomilos.gr/suites/

I will upload a video from the sunset in Oia tomorrow.

bills

Thanks unseen.

Sounds great

nellocono

Hi there,
Just seen this thread and am considering heading to the islands this summer with the girlfriend...I have been to Ios before so am kinda familiar with the whole thing...However, anyone have any idea about the cost of a ticket for an itinerary, I am planning on going from Pireaus to Paros then onto Naxos, then to Ios and finally santorini...

My bigest reservation at the moment is the cost of ferry tickets and also accomodation? Is 11 days too little to do 4 islands?

Would love some of your thoughts on this, thanks!

unseen

3 days in each of these islands is quite ok

annie.t

Ok i have a question too.

So lets say me and OH take aerlingus to Athens and want to go on one of the islands (Zakynthos preferably but we are open to suggestions)). What is our way around it? Booking apartment/hotel shouldnt be a problem (booking.com etc.), but my main concern would be the journey from airport to the island. Can somebody guide me thru this.
Im not afraid to travel on my own but would rather it not to be too "adventourus" if you know what i mean.
Many thanks in advance.

unseen

there you go
http://www.ktel-zakynthos.gr/en-external-routes.html
http://www.zakynthos-net.gr/pag_eng/pages/info/entr_en.htm

nellocono

Hi annie.t,

I have actually done this trip before on my own so trust me its actually not that bad.

I got to Athens airport at about 9pm at night but the first ferry does not leave til around 6am I believe. I just hung around the airport til 4am.

You just need to get a ticket for a ferry which can be got online or from one of the travel desks at the airport. Once you have your ticket then you just need to get to the port Piraeus. I got the bus. It goes practically right outside the door to where you arrive. I cant remember but it is the "X91" bus or something like that. Once you get the bus to the port, you just need to find the ferry which will be numbered.

All in all, its not too bad. I done it when I was completely sleep deprived and I made it in one piece.

My advice though is to skip Zakynthos its just your typical Budget resort full of Irish and english drunks. Go to one or a few of the cyclade islands - Paros, Naxos, Ios, Santorini. Trust me you will not regret it!