4 week trip to Greece and Turkey
Hi. I'm beginning to plan a 4 week trip to Greece and Turkey for the summer of 2008, probably around June and July. I started looking at guidebooks for Greece, and quickly became overwhelmed, feeling that every single island is a 'must see.' I know I definately want to go to Athens, Santorini, and Crete, but I also want to see less touristy parts of Greece. Which islands should I go to, and should I look into other cities, towns, etc. that aren't islands?
Alison
Woodacre 6/30/07
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Hi Alison, I was at Greek islands in 2005. My first advice is : do not read the "Best Islands" in the book Frommers Greece. (I do not agree with that writer's opinions of which islands in Greece are the best. Probably the best travel guide book for reading about the Greek islands is "Lonely Planet:Greece". If you want to read more about Greece, I recommend the travel guide book :GREECE, by Dana Facaros & Linda Theodoru, published by CADOGAN guides (Copyright 2003). It is distributed in North America by The Globe Pequot Press, Guilford, Connecticut. Its descriptions of places, and history of Greece, are beautifully written, and it is a totally high quality book. 844 pages, plus index and maps in the back of the book. If you can not find that book, the book "ROUGH GUIDE to Greece" is the same kind of book. (good descriptions of places in Greece). A book that I enjoyed reading is "THE GREEK ISLANDS, by Lawrence Durrell. Published in 1977. It is a big hard cover book. See next message.
Hi again, Alison. Four weeks is a long time to be in Greece and Turkey. What number of days will you be in Greece ? In Rick Steves' video travelogue of Greece and Turkey, made in the 1990s, most of it is of Turkey. A video tape cassette (VHS) of that travelogue of Greece and Turkey can be found in some public Libraries. And I guess everything seen in that video tape is also in one of Rick Steves' DVDs that is for sale now. For ancient archaeological sites, they are much better in Turkey than in Greece. Islands in Greece : I recommend first fly from Athens to the island Naxos (in the Cyclades islands at the Aegean Sea). Hotel Apollo at Naxos town (Hora). Stay on Naxos for five or six days. Busses go to the villages, but a person can ride on a bus to only one village each day, for day trips from Naxos town. A car can be rented there. Naxos is a peaceful island, with hills, olive trees, goats, donkeys. And very good, peaceful beaches. Ride on Ferry boat from Naxos to Paros. (one hour)
(continued from message above). Be at Paros for one or two days : ride on a bus from Parikia to Lefkes. Read about it in the book "Lonely Planet: Greece". When you leave Paros, go to Santorini, by ferry boat. And from there to Crete. You will want to stay on Crete for 4 or 5 days, or more. It is possible to fly to some islands, but for most islands, flying between the islands requires flying to Athens to get on an airplane to the next island. I think the Greek islands that I mentioned : Naxos, Paros, Santorini, Crete, are enough islands to go to. I was at Old Town Rhodes on the island Rhodes,for four days, but I do not put a high priority on going there. The island Rhodes has scenic spots at its north coast, but going to those places is difficult. Driving a car there from Rhodes town is very dangerous. You will see enough scenery at the other islands that I mentioned. On the mainland of Greece, I suggest be in Athens for two whole days.
(Continued from my message above). Mainland of Greece. I recommend : a day trip from Athens to Delphi, preferably on a tour bus. Ask for information about that at the tourist information office of Greek National Tourist Organization in Athens. Also ask about tours to Delphi at Travel agencies in Athens. You can communicate with them by E-mail, before you go to Greece. If you want to travel to more of mainland Greece, I recommend fly from Athens to IOANNINA (in northwest Greece). Read about it in Lonely Planet : Greece, and THE ROUGH GUIDE to Greece. Two nights there is enough. The day after you fly to IOANNINA, I suggest go to the ancient theatre of Dodoni (21 Kilometers southwest of Ioannina), by driving a rented car, or ride in a Taxi, return to IONNINA. That theatre is the best preserved ancient theatre in Greece. On another day you could go north to the Zagoria villages and see the Vikos gorge. But that is not important for you if you will be at Crete for 5 days or longer.
(Continued from my message above). I am not enthused about the Peloponnese (southern part of mainland of Greece). It has ancient archaeological sites which are not as good as what you can see in Turkey. Some people will say : "Go to Nafplio". It is a pleasant small town, a good place to stop for lunch, at the coast of the Argolic Gulf. But you will not have time to go there. Going to Nafplio is not a high priority. I recommend : plan for most of your time in Greece to be at the islands. Be at each island long enough to relax and rest and eat good food, and enjoy it. Rick Steves recommends that travelers in Europe plan for a day for resting (no schedule or appointments that day), every seven days. I agree with Rick. Especially on the islands of Greece. Relaxing and resting is what the islands of Greece are for. I suggest : buy the small book : "HARPER COLLINS LANGUAGE SURVIVAL GUIDE : GREECE". It has small color photographs of all kinds of things in Greece, including food.
You don't say how much time you are devoting to Greece, so it's hard to suggest how many places you should see. Our trip was 15 days and included Crete, Naxos, and Athens. For a 2-week trip, I would suggest, at the most, only one more island in addition to your existing itinerary. Since you already have guidebooks (smart move), your best best would be to make a list of which locations have what sights and how assign a rating to each sight. Do you like beaches, archeological sites, nightlife, nature, etc.? Getting suggestions from other people is just going to add to the confusion.
I am going to be in Greece for about 2 weeks.
Before I went I did a google search for attractions or sights for every location I was considering. Ask for "Athens sights" and do the same for every island or city you consider. You will find detailed descriptions that will help you decide which place to see. You can't use other people's decisions because our tastes differ so much. Your tastes will determine which places to see.
Hi Alison: Sounds like you could be a neighbor (we're in Napa Valley). Anyway, we were in Greece a couple years ago and plan to return next year. Definitely don't plan much time in unlovely Athens. The area we enjoyed most was Anafiotika, a little whitewashed village in the highest part of Plaka in Athens. A nice outdoor restaurant is Taverna tou Psara nearby. Mykonos is party central, but we enjoyed Santorini, particularly Amoudi Bay, where the tables of little cafes are so close to the water if you lean back too far, you'll be swimming. Forget the main touristy town of Fira. We rented an ATV and explored. Stay in the area of Imerovigli for fabulous crater views. There are many, many islands outside the Cyclades, which grab so much attention. We rented a house on the little island of Symi, which is lovely.
With two weeks, the secret is to look at a ferry route. It is a major hassle to visit two islands not on the same route, and it usually means a long wait at an island where routes cross, or going back to Athens. For Santorini, there are two sort of basic routes, the most popular hits Syros, Tinos, Mykonos, Paros, Naxos, Santorini. So any of those islands would be a good option. If you really want seclusion, you can take a ferry from Naxos and hit really small islands like Iraklia, Schinoussa, and Koufonissia, then back to the main route. Another major route is westerly of that one and hits Serifos, Sifnos, and Milos. Figure any stop will be at least 2 nights, if not 3; and to hit someplace like Koufonissia, probably 4. This is just due to the fact that most ferries run during the day, and will take up a good portion of that day.
As for other areas, not islands, Crete itself is more like a mainland than island, lots to see, and probably more opportunity for "non-touristy" stuff. The Peloponnese on the mainland is very nice as well. As for connection to Turkey, you could enter via Samos, otherwise, some connection through Istanbul.