Athena and where else

Hello!

A couple of random thoughts:

You do not mention WHEN exactly you plan to visit and if 5-6 days are days on the ground or include arrival and departure days. Also on a small time frame, one extra day makes a difference, sop is it 5 or 6 days?

If you are experienced on traveling solo you may know that meeting people to hung out with often is pot luck. Good food can mean many different things but most taverns in Greece tend to serve items based on fresh ingredients and costs on most low key places are very reasonable. Sea food tends to be expensive. Any place with decent pernament population and/or lots of visitors offer a decent nightlife but this varies according to season and destinations. Mellow bars where you may enjoy a few drinks and conversations till early morning are often more common than clubs on most places.

The easiest islands to connect from Athens are obviously the Argosaronic ones, Aegina, Hydra, Poros, Angristri... Spetses could be added to on this list.Those are 2+ hours ferry ride at most from Piraeus. Often they sort of operate as suburbs of Athens due to close proximety and might be very busy on weekends. Each one has a different mentality though, for example Angistri often attracts people who love free camping or Hydra more upclass visitors or Spetses the yaught club crowd...

Your dates and budget an time of arrival might be crucial to advice on a few more ideas. For example arriving on Athens airport you could get a flight straight away to an island, no island is more than 50 minutes flight away... Or you may time arrival to the airport with a transfer to Rafina port and a quick ferry ride to an island no more than 4-5 hours ferry ride away...
I think an island such as Paros or Naxos might fit the bill for a first timer. Those suit the generic idea most people have for a Greek island (sandy beaches, white/blue architecture, harbour towns, nice taverns and bars, boat trips in season, decent bus network to explore around some of the key spots and so on)... Larg-ish pernament population, so lively even on shoulder season and not feeling like a tourism theme park either, while depending on specifics, prices are quite reasonable.
You may get a flight or a ferry to Piraeus and save your Athens exploration for the end of the trip.

That said, Greece is not only about the islands. Nafplio, a very pleasant sea side town with lovely waterfront and a medival castle on top, is only 2 hours away from Athens and is a great base to explore the surrounding area too.
Galaxidi, a town with long shipping tradition, interesting captains' mansions and a lovely small fishing harbour is about 3 hours bus ride from Athens and you may combine it with Delphi UNESCO Heritage site.

Hiring a car for a couple of days, there are tons and tons of mainland destinations to explore, providing often a more real picture of Greece than many islands provide...

Hello
Its likely to be in Mid June this year and for 6 days
I quite like the idea of leaving Athens to the end of the trip
Would 3 nights be enough in Athens?

I understand meeting people on holiday is purely by chance
I prefer staying in hotels rather then hostels even though i figured it is easier to meet people in hostels

Is there any advise in what the hotels are like in Greece and the surrounding islands and what location to stay in

Thanks

i'll be also in Greece from 6 june to 13 june. any good idea for this country?

Traveling is a personal thing. Personaly I can spend weeks in Athens. 3 days will be enough to check most major archeological sites, visit a couple of museums, enjoy a leisure meal or two and have a stroll or hike on one of the hills and/or pedestrianized streets around the Acropolis.

I have often share my extended views on the "stay in hostels to meet people" idea, a statement that I find over-rated although I have nothing against hostels and actually I stay on some every now and then... In Greece hostel vs hotel is not much of an issue because hostels are not a very common thing anyway, you will find 2 or 3 real hostels in Athens and one or two in very few islands and that's it. Hotels cover a very large variaty of different accommodation,from say small 5-10 rooms' B&B hotels to several hundrend rooms' resort hotels and from stylish boutique mansions to spa hotels or villas or whatever...

A popular feature on the Greek islands for the budget-consious traveler is rooms to let. Those are spartan but clean, nowadays coming ensuite and often with basic cooking equipment and more often than not are now part of a purposely built block of rooms rather than a room in someon'e house..

In Athens make sure you stay somewhere central. Syndagma, Monastiraki, Plaka, Acropolis, Thision, parts of Koukaki and Kolonaki, Psiri or every Evaggelismos could make the trick but no further than this. You will find hotels in Omonoia offering quite cheap rates, location is central but while the area is not as dangerous as some people and guides present it, it is rather unattractive and boring for a first time visitor.

Further advice on hotels depends on what kind of budget you have and what kind of facilities you are after I guess...

I've found a place in Gizi - would this be considered too far out? I like to get a feel for a residential neighborhood, but this might be kind of far. The place itself is about 30-40 mins walk to the Acropolis (20-30 by bus).

Highjacking someone's else thread is bad forum etiquette and all it happens is that it makes original thread confusing, while people who make irrelated questions to the thread title will more likely receive limited advice or not advice at all!

rhadoo_sb, why don't you read a guidebook or two, then come back with specific questions (on a sheparate thread!). Your post makes no sense to be honest, an answer covers lots and nothing!

jennesy it is up to you, but on a first time visit I would not want to waste 40+40=80 minutes of my day getting to/from the sites or points of interest. I am not very familiar with Gizi but it is a wide area, covering the edge of Mards Field all the way to Polygono and beyond... Where exactly is the place you found?

Sorry! Will start a new thread. Didn't realize this was a problem.

This topic has been automatically locked due to inactivity. Email community@lonelyplanet.com if you would like to add to this topic and we'll unlock it for you.