Sunday, July 3, 2011

Greek Islands Itinerary

Parthenon in Athens

I've been having difficulty finding sample itineraries for my multi-week trip around Thailand, and then realized I never posted my own from the Greek Islands from 2009. I did all this island hopping by myself and had a super blast of a time, so here's a post with what you can do in 1.5 weeks in the Mediterranean.

Day
Activities
6/13/09Check-out of conference resort (Hotel Aldemar) and check-in to Hotel Olympos in Old Rhodes Town.
Wander around Rhodes Town for the day.
6/14/0914 hour ferry ride from Rhodes to Santorini (leaving at ~7am).
Check into Youth Hostel Anna in Perissa Beach in Santorini.
Fall asleep so fast. So fast.
6/15/09Book and attend boating day tour of the Santorini Caldera (volcanic island, Thirasia, hot springs, and Oia for the sunset), through the hostel.
6/16/09Rent an All Terrain Vehicle and drive around Santorini (shopping in Fira, the black Kamari Beach, get lost and end up in Pyrgos for the sunset).
6/17/09Wake up early and go for a quick morning swim at the closest beach.
Take a high speed ~3 hour catamaran from Santorini to Mykonos in the morning.
Walk around Mykonos Town (Little Venice, the Old Port, etc).
Check into Studio Eleni.
Have dinner with some older Australians.
Get lost in town. A lot.
6/18/09Take a morning/afternoon day trip to nearby Delos Island to see the ancient Greek ruins.
Return to Mykonos and swim in the town.
Spend the night on the town.
6/19/09Check-out of Studio Eleni in Mykonos Town, and check-in to Paradise Beach Resort in Paradise Beach (Mykonos Island).
Spend the day drinking on the beach and swimming.
Attend a party held by the campground/hostel's club.
6/20/09Spend the day on the beach.
Make new friends and hit up the gay bar scene at night.
6/21/09Attend a PADI "Discover Scuba Diving" lesson.
Spend the rest of the day on the beach.
Hit up Mykonos Town at night, with the scuba diving instructors (sketchy fellows).
6/22/09Take a 6 hour ferry to Athens.
Check-in to Student & Travellers' Inn.
Have dinner with new friends.
6/23/09Take walking tour of Athens (the Parthenon, Hadrian's Arch, Ancient Agora, etc), booked through the hostel.
6/24/09Find bus in the city to the airport.
Depart Athens at 11:45am.

Greek Coffee from Pyrgos, Santorini Chalki, Greece


I've stayed in 10-person hostels (Youth Hostel Anna), plywood boxes on the beach (Paradise Beach Resort), simple tiny rooms with doors that open to a courtyard (Hotel Olympos), and made friends in 3-person hostels (Student & Travellers' Inn). All of them were great, but very very different. I had all of the accommodations reserved ahead of time, but booked the ferries and catamarans typically the day before I left that particular island. I got everywhere I needed to go, although I could have done without that sunburn on the 14-hour ferry.

Mykonos Town Windmills Pyrgos, Santorini Sunset
Little Venice in Mykonos Old Town Rhodes Castellania Fountain
The Sun Setting on Oia in Santorini
Oia on the cliffs of Santorini Temple of Olympian Zeus in Athens
Sassy Statue at Delos Ruins Perissa Beach in Santorini

There's more photos of my trip to the Greek Islands up on my Flickr account.

View from my hotel balcony in Mykonos Paradise Beach

9 comments:

  1. All I can say is: Rad! Looking forward to the Thailand pics.

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  2. Wow, it looks and sounds like one amazing trip!!!

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  3. It was pretty amazing even if it was two years ago, haha.

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  4. Wow. This looks like it was an amazing and beautiful trip! I need to be a better planner like you. :)

    <3Chelsea Elizabeth
    http://www.organizedxxmess.blogspot.com

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  5. What an amazing trip!
    If this is too personal please just delete but . . . How much does it cost to do a trip like this?
    I want to start budgeting but have NO idea past airfare and lodging.

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  6. I'm crazy jealous - this looks like a fantastic trip.

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  7. I love Greece and it´s islands! :-)

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  8. Soutenus- The best advice for pricing I can give you is to buy a guidebook that'll give you approximate pricing information.

    I used the Lonely Planet guide, but Rough Guides and Let's Go should also work. You'll need to check out what current prices are for ferries to get from place to place, approximate meal prices for each island. It's kinda the same way you'd figure out cost of lodging.

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  9. your photos of greece are so gorgeous ... it really is about the blue & white there. thanks for visiting us!

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