Check out our full Itinerary here for a detailed look into what we did, where we stayed and more!
We took our trip to Greece in May of 2017 with two of our best friends, Bobby and Lacey. Neither had been on a big international trip before so it was wonderful to experience it with them! The flights we booked were from Newark, as we found a flight deal non-stop to Athens for $382- to find out more about how we did this click here. The flights took off on a Sunday night, so we decided to fly out to NYC a few days early and get a mini trip in! While on this trip we visited Athens and the island of Santorini, and I have to say this trip produced some beautiful pictures. Since this is the first time we had planned to fly round trip within the trip, there were some logistical decisions that I would do differently next time around- I will be sure to detail those below!
Athens
We arrived in Athens at 4pm with enough time left in the evening to get to our hotel, check in and grab some food. Athens is magical in the evening- the Acropolis stands tall in the center of the city, lit from underneath like a shining beacon. I was awestruck to be looking up at the same structure that Greeks have been looking up to for two thousand years. From far away the damaged pillars and rooftops melt away and you imagine the buildings as they were in their prime- shining white with statues and scenes depicting the great feats of the gods.
We started our first full day in Athens bright and early- we made it to the Parthenon on foot by the opening time of 9:00. There was a small wait, but we bought our ticket ahead of time so were able to get through the line pretty quickly. We headed straight up to the main building of the Acropolis- the Parthenon- to get some pictures. That was one of the best decisions we made, because within an hour it was packed. We were able to get some great pictures with little to no people in them. From there we spent the next hour and a half wandering around the area, exploring the different temples and sites. At one point, Bobby found an “ancient” turtle walking around that he properly named Michelangelo. The fun ended when he decided to pick up the turtle and nearly got us all kick out. Pro Tip: Do not pick up the wildlife.
After the crowds picked up and the weather got warm we had some lunch and went to explore the other wonderful ruins that Athens has to offer – Hadrian’s library, the Roman Agora and the Temple of Olympia Zeus. Althens does have a metro system as another way to get around the city, however since our hotel was centrally located we were on foot a lot, so wear comfy shoes and bring your sunscreen!
The second day we took a walk to the National Archaeological Museum, which was around a 30 min walk (may want to consider the metro) and outside of the tourist area. If I could go back, I would go to the Acropolis Museum instead. On our last day we walked by it and saw that the ruins displayed below and the pictures of the different statues taken out of the acropolis and wished we had time to go in. Not that the National Archeological Museum wasn’t cool – on the contrary, it had some incredibly delicate and interesting artifacts from thousands of years ago. However the Acropolis Museum really brings together the existing ruins with what it would have looked like in its prime. If you have time, visit both!
We felt that 2 days in Athens was more than enough- in reality, 1.5 days would have been fine. However, we crammed in a lot within those 1.5 days so you may want to take it at a more leisurely pace and stretch it out more.
Santorini
The next day we got up bright and early to catch out plane to Santorini- we caught a 7am RyanAir flight and landed at the tiny airport before 8am to pick up our car and head to our AirBNB. We chose to rent a car for the additional flexibility, and man were we glad we did. We took the public bus one time from Oaia to Fira and it was a miserable- it was jam packed to the point where you couldn’t move, the guy that was taking our payment was shoving his way through the mass of people and stepping on toes and it was very hot inside.
From there, we checked into our beautiful AirBNB and went out to explore the island. This day we sipmly explored the area and had a nice dinner in Fira to watch the sunset. The next day was by far the highlight of our trip – a sunset catamaran cruise. We did this as part of a group- there were maybe 12 other people, plus the boat crew. We recieved dinner, made about 3 stops to snorkel and swim in the hot springs by the volcano and got to dance on the boat with a very entertaining crew member. It was one of our favorite vacation memories, and highly recommend. ***insert link here **
The next day we decided to get up bright and early, get some breakfast and do the hike between Fira and Oia. Little did we know, it was nearly impossible to find food early in the morning. We kept walking and decided just to head straight to Oaia. Pro-Tip- put on sunblock and bring lots of water- this hike is pretty long and it gets hot quicky. When we got to Oaia we got breakfast and explored, but unfortunately a cruise ship had just pulled up so it was packed so we decided to head back on the above described bus. We returned to Oaia for dinner later on with our rental car and enjoyed the beautiful sunset and awesome shops.
The next day we were set to head back to Athens to catch our flight to New York. We landed pretty late in Athens so weren’t able to get any additional activities that day, but got one last chance to walk around Athens the next day before our flight out.
All in all, Greece was a wonderful expereince, and the Parthanon was a must see. If we were to ever come back I would take the opportunity to explore outside of Athens a bit more, and maybe hop to another island. Greece has so much to offer, and you really get engyulfed in the history. Santorini is as beautiful as the pictures, if not more. We will never forget the breathtaking Santorini sunsets and the amazing friends we had by our side.
Tips:
Athens in particular is very strict on video recording- Luke had to leave his camera mic at the ticket office and we got in trouble a couple of other times around the city for recording.
I mentioned this above, but get to the Acropolis as early as you can. It quickly fills up and makes getting good pictures much more difficult.
The best food we had in Greece was what we called the ‘street meat’- lamb, chicken, beef kabobs and pita bread that are very cheap and delicious.
