I always wanted to see Greece not because of all its history and ancient monuments, but for its natural beauty and the pristine beaches. I am not too much into historical places so this was not about educating myself on the age old items retrieved from the sea bed, or the slabs of marble erected in 500 B.C, but more about seeing the best waters, meeting good looking people and having the world’s best yogurts 🙂
Since we decided to go during season time- September, we had to book a little in advance in order to get great deals on hotels with great locations. Booking 4 months in advance is the best thing we did. I will tell you why a bit later. The itinerary we followed was:
Day 1- Fly from Mumbai to Athens. Night at Athens
Day 2- Explore Athens. Night at Athens
Day 3- Early morning ferry to Mykonos. Night at Mykonos
Day 4- Explore Mykonos. Night at Mykonos
Day 5- Next day take the ferry to Santorini
Day 5, 6,7- At Santorini
Day 8- Head to Paros, Noussa. Night at Paros
Day 9- Night at Paros
Day 10- Fly to Athens. Then to Mumbai.
There were some key decisions I had to make while planning this trip. First, the per head budget. Second, which airline to fly. Third, the order of cities/islands to visit. Fourth, whether to take the slow ferry or the fast ferry between islands. Or to opt for a flight instead. Fifth, which area to stay in once we reach the island.
All these decisions were inter-dependent, making my task that much harder. So I started with the budget. I kept 1.5lacs as the per head expense. And then looked at the fastest flight to Athens from Mumbai. Sadly the fastest flight was not the cheapest. So we opted for Qatar airways which had a 6 hour break at Doha but was the most reasonable. The flight back was much quicker though.
Then came the order of islands to visit. I initially wanted to see Mykonos, Santorini and Naxos in that order. But there was no early morning ferry or flight out of Naxos to Athens for us to catch our connecting flight to Mumbai the same day. Going to Naxos would mean leaving the previous evening for Athens and spending an extra night in the city, only to catch an afternoon flight to Mumbai. That seemed like a waste of time and money.
That’s when I looked at Paros. An island which lies to the west of Naxos, Paros is known for nonchalant beaches and wind surfing. Also the smaller island of Antiparos, 1km southwest of Paros, is easily reached by car ferry or excursion boat. Paros had an early morning flight out to Athens and that allowed us to catch the connecting flight back home the same day.
We also decided to book cabs in advance for both airport and pier transfers because the ferries and flights were all in the wee hours of the morning. So we really did not want to take a chance. This turned out to be a good decision again because not only was it convenient, the pre-booking rates were widely different from actual taxi charges on the concerned day.
The slow ferries had no contest with the fast ones because both my husband and I have sea-sickness. So we were more than willing to pay the premium to save a few hours at sea. Now I know, by that logic we should have flown to the islands, but affordability took precedence there 🙂
Finally, there was the decision on hotels. Once the itinerary was finalized, I did some research on the best areas to stay in on each island. You get a lot of contradictory information online about such stuff. Even travel agents or online portals do not give you a clear picture because they are not local. So I spoke to a few friends who had been to Greece and understood the best locations to stay at. This really helped and we landed up choosing hotels with the best views of the sea at very reasonable prices. We went with makemytrip for all our final bookings- transfers, hotels and tickets. No, it was not a group booking and no they did not decide the hotels, or the flights. They just booked at the best price.
Day 1& 2- Melia Hotel, Athens
http://www.melia.com/en/hotels/greece/athens/melia-athens/index.html
Our flight to Athens was quite tiring because of the long halt at Doha. We landed at around 6 pm local time. So the entire day was pretty much lost. We headed straight for the hotel. The drive was nothing to write home about. Athens is a city which looks robbed. There is graffiti on practically every wall and the buildings are quit dilapidated. Everyone on the streets looks depressed or angry with life. Quite unimpressive really.
We were told not to spend too much on the hotel in Athens and to choose a safe area like Plaka. Our first priority was Hotel Acropolis Select or Fresh Hotel. But both were overbooked. So we decided on Hotel Melia which was slightly more expensive.Walking distance from the National Archaeological Museum, the Greek Parliament and the National Library, Melia is a very centrally located hotel. You have the hop on hop off bus stop just a few blocks away and a great view of the Parthenon from the roof top restaurant and bar.
When we arrived at the hotel, the reception staff was very courteous and helpful. They explained everything about the hotel to us very clearly and were extremely patient. And the lobby was small but very contemporary. However, when we entered the room, we found it a bit small. And there was not much of a view. But our bathroom was nice and spacious with a bath tub and a separate showering area. The coolest thing about the room was the fact that the TV Radio was connected to the speakers inside the bathroom 🙂 and one could listen to music while bathing!
Get this-our friends who were staying in a hotel next door, having paid the same tariff, found our room massive because apparently theirs was half the size. So I am guessing in general the rooms are pretty small in Athens.
The breakfast at the Melia was excellent!! The breakfast area was a bit small but the spread was not. It was the best part of our stay here. The perfect start to the day. The hotel was really sweet to pack us breakfast on the 2nd day before our early morning ferry to Mykonos.
Athens has quite a few remarkable things to see. Including the night life in the old town, Plaka. But don’t spend more than 1-2 days here. Head straight for the islands 🙂
My verdict: The hotel website is pretty honest and a little exaggeration does not hurt anyone. But Melia is the best for tourists who want to stay closer to the museums and the national library. Pubs and bars are 2kms away.
My rating: 4/5 We had nothing to complain about. And the breakfast was delicious! So thumbs up!
fanatictraveller 