Honeymoon Greece 2024 for 17 DAYS 🇬🇷
DAY ONE ⭐️
I flew from San Diego, California, to Athens through LUFTHANSA airlines they partner with UNITED airlines. I purchased a ticket with one stop in Washington, and from Washington I flew straight to ATHENS, but there are other bigger cities in the US that have direct flights to some cities in Europe, you can make a short stop on those cities and then go to Athens. I normally chose my flights in the very early morning, I like doing this because in destinations like Europe you will arrive during the day, which makes more easy to take a taxi and find your hotel.
I left on a Sunday and arrived on a Monday. My flight from San Diego to Washington duration was 5 hours, and from Washington to Athens was 9 hours.
It was a long flight so if you have the chance I recommend you to purchase a wider seat in economy plus in UNITED. I paid $220 USD to upgrade my seat at that time.
For long flights like this I highly recommend bring in your carry on the following stuff:
1)Toothbrush/toothpaste/mouthwash
2) Travel pillow, blanket, sleep mask, headphones
3)Medicines for any kind of pain or illness
4) Tablet with a lot of downloaded movies/books.
5)Disinfecting wipes
6) Lysol (travel size ) to use the toilet
7)Chewing gum
8) Deodorant
The information may seem obvious, but I wish someone would told me this on my first trip abroad.
DAY TWO⭐️
ARRIVAL AT ATHENS
I arrived around 10 am to Athens airport, The first thing I did after picking up my luggage was exchanging my money to EUROS and getting a SIM card for my phone. I found Vodafone they charged me 45 euros for unlimited data for 30 days. I did all of these inside Athens airport.
Finding a taxi is very easy at any airport, but if you want to book a taxi before hand you can use My Athens transfers. They will wait for you and it's very easy to communicate with them, plus they have 5 stars in google. I highly recommend downloading WhatsApp . A lot of services in Europe communicate via WhatsApp is easy and faster.
I booked Coco Mat Athens BC hotel to stay 3 nights. A lot of people stay only 1 night in Athens, but I suggest to take more days to visit this historic city. Also it is a good chance to recharge your batteries before exploring the islands. After long flights I usually just rest and sleep the day of the arrival, but as I mentioned on the description of this hotel , Coco mat has an excellent location and you will have the possibility to explore a lot of places by foot like Plaka and Monastiraki,
DAY THREE⭐️
ACROPOLIS GUIDE TOUR
To be honest when we think about Athens the first thing that comes in our minds is The Acropolis, and you can't miss your chance to see it. Because I didn't know a lot of the Acropolis before my trip I decided to book a walking guide tour. I love walking tours, you can chose how long you want to explore that day, and someone who actually has more knowledge about that ancient monumental can guide you.
The company that I reached was Athens Walks tour company. They have a rating of 5.0 stars in TripAdvisor. They have different tours for Athens, but I chose the Ancient Athens Tour. This tour starts at 9: 00 am, the duration is about 4 hours, and includes: Acropolis, Parthenon, Porch of the Caryatids and the theatre of Dionysus. I recommend to purchase this tour with entrance to the museum , because it will be easier to skip the lines.
DAY FOUR⭐️
PLAKA, MONASTIRAKI , AND LITTLE KOOK
I took this day to explore the authentic food, and Plaka is a great way to do it with tons of options you can get lost in their picturesque streets, get souvenirs, pretty jewelry or get a yummy dessert.
Monastiraki is another neighborhood worth exploring. Located in the heart of the city you will find beautiful small churches, ancient libraries and museums.
Make sure to make some room for great dessert at Little kook. For those who loves fairy tales and beautiful decorations don't forget to visit this place.
DAY FIVE⭐️
There are 2 ways to get to the main islands in Greece by ferry or by plane.
In my case I decided to take a plane for more comfort. The first island I choose to visit was Mykonos. When I was doing my research I found out that by ferry from Athens to Mykonos takes around 3 hours with Seajets , and by plane only takes 40 minutes with Aegean airlines. It depends what you like. Maybe the ferry sounds easier because you don't have to check in any baggage, but for those people who suffer from getting seasick and prefer a shorter transfer the plane could be an option. Also it is important to book your taxi from your hotel to the ferry port or the airport with time ahead.
When I was planning my trip I realized that because Mykonos is an island is not as easy to get a taxi as if you do it in a big city, so I recommend contacting your hotel and reserving a taxi in advance that can you pick you up either from the airport or the ferry port, that will make less stressful on your arrival. All the hotels that I reserved in Greece were very helpful arranging the pick up and drop off. Mykonos is a very rocky town, make sure to bring comfortable shoes ,and I recommend water shoes for the beaches.
The staff at this hotel were very kind and very happy to help you if you have any question. I arrived on an early morning to Mykonos , my room wasn't ready, but they will keep your luggage and you can explore Mykonos town and find a place to eat. I found delicious pancakes at Nice N easy organic bistro.
SNACK BAR
I found this amazing place to eat any time during the day or night at Mykonos town , they have affordable prices and the food is very delicious. If you are hungry and want to get something fast definitely come here!.
DAY SIX⭐️
I couldn't wait to see the ocean in Greece! I chose Platis Gialos beach. This beach is one of the nearest beaches from Mykonos town. I took an 8 minutes walk from Bluetopia suites to Fabrika station. You can chose between a taxi or the bus.
Platis Gialos
This beach is beautiful, but a little crowded . I still found 2 sunbeds for a fee. I enjoyed a club sandwich with a piña colada, took a lot of pictures and jumped into the water.
Nightlife
Mykonos is the queen of nightlife. There are many nightclubs and bars in Mykonos town than stay open very late.
DAY SEVEN⭐️
On my last day at Mykonos I decided to go to Ornos beach. It was a lovely beach , The sunbeds were more comfortable, but more expensive fee to get them. The food was amazing also.
Ornos Beach
Sunset at Mykonos
Sunsets are one of my favorites things to see when I am on a trip. I wanted to find a beautiful place to see it.
The view at this bar is absolutely beautiful, but it's pricey. Food and drinks are not the best, but if you don't mind to pay to see a panoramic view of Mykonos, go for it!. I recommend not being very hungry before getting here. However you have to consume food and drinks while you are at your table. Make your reservation online with time ahead, they have different prices depending the area of your table. I chose the Windmill seat. Bring a sweater in general Greece is very windy.
Before leaving, I asked the staff of the bar to call a taxi to get back to my hotel
DAY EIGHT⭐️
On this day I took the Seabus of Mykonos. The Seabus is a water taxi that takes you from Mykonos town to New port Tourlos station. New port tourlos station is where I took my ferry to Ios. It only cost me 2 euros, and it was super short walk distance from my hotel Bluetopia suites. You can purchase your ticket online or in a kiosk that is located in the Seabus stop.
The next island I visited was Ios. I purchased my tickets online with Seajets. I choose the Worldchampion jet . Make sure to arrive early to new port Tourlos station. The ferries are not very on time , but don't panic it will arrive. The ferry transfer duration from Mykonos to Ios was 1 hour 15 minutes. It was an easy ride, they have food inside the ferry that you can purchase.
When I plan a trip I love to see great new places , but my priority is give time to enjoy that new place instead of trying to visit as many new places as I can. I look to spend less time on transfers or pick places that are very close to each other. When I was planning Greece trip I wanted to visit all the islands, but it's impossible to visit all of them in just one trip. I choose the ones closer to each other.
IOS ARRIVAL
If you want a less crowded island I would recommend coming to Ios. Ios is also a party town, but only during the night, I found very calm during the day I think because the summer ended by September.
I stayed in Liostasi hotel, this hotel is one of the best at Ios. It is located at Chora town. They picked me up from the Ios port. When I arrived to the hotel my room wasn't ready, meanwhile the staff l gave us a short tour through the installations and a fresh lemonade.
I booked the panoramic sea view room for 4 nights. This room was very small with very little space for baggage. If you are looking for more space I suggest to upgrade to Junior Sea View suite.
This hotel is walking distance to Chora, Chora is is the picturesque capital of the island of Ios. Chora is a village built on a high hill. You will see beautiful churches, and white houses.
RESTAURANTS IOS
I took time to look around the restaurants near the hotel. I found a great place for Brunch and the most delicious smoothies.
On this day we rented a dune buggy.
The Dune Buggy rental place was very close to Cantina Del Mar it was easy to rent, they only asked us for my driver license and sign a few forms.
DAY NINE⭐️
On this day I had breakfast at the hotel, and put on my swimsuit to visit Mylopotas beach.
It was an an easy 15 minutes ride on the dune buggy to get there from Liostasi hotel. The sun beds were free. I ordered food and drinks. This beach is very clear and beautiful. It was a peaceful beach with not a lot of people.
DAY TEN⭐️
On this day I took the time to walk around and just enjoy the beautiful sights of Ios.
Liostasi hotel has a Spa with massage options. I highly recommend book it. They have a jacuzzi in the Spa where you can enjoy the beautiful view of Ios.
DAY ELEVEN⭐️
On my last day at Ios I took the time to do laundry, if you go early they will deliver your clean clothes the same day, depending how much laundry you have.
DAY TWELVE⭐️
SANTORINI ARRIVAL
Santorini is divided by towns and villages.
1.-Fira town
2.-Oia Village
3.-Imerovigli Village
and much more..
I stayed at Oia, and it was absolutely beautiful. The location of my hotel was surrounded by amazing views, restaurants, stores and pretty domes.
DAY THIRTEEN⭐️
Restaurants
NOCTURNA CAFE, SANTORINI
This place is located walking distance from Atrina, and has the best eggplant appetizer!
NOBU LOCATED AT IMEROVIGLI VILLAGE
DAY FOURTEEN⭐️
On this day I went for an early breakfast to start a tour of Santorini with a great tour company.
After the tour ended we went back to our hotel, and stop at Flora restaurant for have lunch. They have the best piña colada.
DAY FIFTEEN⭐️
After 3 days in Santorini I flew to Athens trough Aegean Airlines to get back to San Diego. I stayed again in Coco Mat hotel.
Athens afternoon
DAY SIXTEEN⭐️
I Took this day to rest from all the trip and get ready for the next flight to San Diego.
I got souvenirs and try a great place for Brunch.
DAY SEVENTEEN⭐️
My flight to San Diego was on an early morning. This time I took an Uber. to the airport. Athens is the only place on Greece that Uber is available
My flight back lasted around 15 hours. Athens to Munich and Munich to San Diego.
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