Mykonos, Athens, Santorini

Athens is an amazing city with rich history and wonderful museums, shops, restaurants and galleries. It's definitely worth 3 nights, easily. By late June Mykonos will have turned into a 24/7 party island. If your children are small this might not be the best island for your family. There's a lot to see and do on Santorini. Visit the archaeological site of Akrotiri. Hike up to Ancient Thera. Visit some wineries. Have a meal in Amoudi Bay below the most beautiful village of Oia. Again, if your kids are small, please don't be tempted to let them ride the poor abused donkeys!

We're a family of 5 - all adults except for a 10 year old boy. So we're not particularly looking for things to do for just kids. And no, definitely won't be encouraging donkey riding! Thanks for the suggestions for santorini, browsing through Amoudi bay led me to find that we could do Cliff diving which is pretty exciting! :)

Must do activities, sightseeing, things to do in Athens and Mykonos - Suggestions anyone??

YOu need 2 full days in Athens ...Best orientation on morning of day #1 is to sign up for the the well-regarded http://www.athenswalkingtours.gr/ -- their Main tour walks you thru the central athens area past many landmarks up the the Acropolis. Next walk down thru the Ancient AGORA, and out the south entrance to the Acropolis Museum. It's a great place for lunch, also on the terrace looking up at the Parthenon. BTW, Rick Steves website gives FREE AUDIO downloads of step-by-step guide to Acropolis/Parthenon and Ancien Agora, if y ou don't want to take a guide tour. For Day #2, He also has a step-by-step free AUDIO guide to the Top TEN sights in the Nat. Arch Museum (it's too far to walk - you take a taxi there & back), & his guidebook does it in print, and i think, his website too.

This website - http://www.planetware.com/tourist-attractions-/athens-gr-ath-ath.htm#GR107 (TOP 10 Tourist sights of ATHENS) will help you keep focussed & also has superb central Thens map to print out. Another website for Athens that you can "get lost in" is -- http://www.athensguide.com

Muskanm, you are spending a TON of money on this trip, so why not do some serious prep yourself instead of relying on random forum contributors to do your homework and make up your activity schedule for you? When you have a list of activities, you can ask our opinion for which are do-able and most worthwhile .... but we cannot sit at the keyboard and type out GReece 101. I suggest you run over to the library and get Rick Steve's Travel book -- it doesn't cover the islands but does a GOOD job of Athens highlights & 2-day activities for newcomers. Take it along. YOu can even buy a used copy cheap on Amazon.

The 2 islands you name are easy; small, very touricized (eveyone speaks English, u won't hear much Greek) BRotherlee has covered the main highlights of Santorini ... be aware that the beaches are NOT an attraction, so I hope you have a hotel w. a pool, if you want cooling swims.

In Mykonos, the beaches are sandy (and windy), and get ready for sticker shock at price of renting sunbeds & sunbrellas. What to do there? If you are interested in the island of Delos, do study up beforehand, or it will just look like a bunch of stones. Other activities? Beaches, taking pictures of the 5 windmills (not operative), walking around town admiring the architecture, having pricey drinks at cafes, staying up after midnight to experience some nightlife (only that's mainly July-August). And of course, shopping. Those beautiful white "cube" buildings along the lanes are now all shops for Famous Names -- Cartier, Hermes, DKNY, Hugo Boss, Calvin Klein, Dior, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, etc etc. For budgeteers like me, the best buys are the famous Greek Fisherman caps -- on this island, all the old Greek Guys wear them, and they're sold everywhere in small sidewalk displays ... and you cannot find them in most other island. Nor on most other islands can you find all those other International Famous Names .. mainly the few islands that have huge cruise ships docking, with eager shoppers!

Hello Everyone!
I'm planning a trip to Greece by the end of June, the tentative plan is - 2 nights in Athens, 3 nights Mykonos, 3 nights Santorini. I was wondering whether 2 nights in athens would suffice or we should make that 3 as well? I've also heard that the shopping there is good, is that right?

Substitute Andros, Syros, or Naxos for Mykonos. Again, and I sound like a broken record, just because you've heard of Mykonos, doesn't mean you must go there. It's also not the best for a family.

Do some research...browse Lonely Planet, browse other online guides too (Frommers, Rick Steves) or the official tourism agency's site: www.visitgreece.gr. Browse Thorntree forums... Make a list of all the suggested places to visit in Greece, look them up on a map, and use the power of Google Images and Streetview to see what they're like. We're talking about a country that receives 30 million international visitors a year (2017 projection)...Mykonos gets, what, maybe only a million of them? There's a lot more to the country than Mykonos. Mykonos is just known outside of Europe because it was one of the first places in Greece to start receiving mass tourism back in the 60s.

Shopping: Athens will have all the same stores as any other major European city (from cheap like H&M to mid-range like Zara and Bershka to luxury brands like Louis Vuitton, etc)... and at European prices, including high VAT. Department stores like Attica will carry all the same things as department stores in other European cities. There's also a lot of locally-designed stuff in boutique stores. Ermou St is a pedestrianized street in the Plaka neighborhood that's lined with stores. Patision Street also has lots of retail. Kolonaki district will have the expensive/luxury stuff. Outside the city center, there's quite a few malls. There's also, of course, local things like flea markets, souvenirs (mostly made in China), crafts, antiques, etc (though I think that there may be issues taking antiques out of the country). (And yes, I mean buying antiques, like something 100 years old, not antiquities). Monastiraki neighborhood is notorious for tacky souvenirs (and I admit, I have a Pegasus statuette), but you may also be able to find worthwhile arts and crafts, like baskets, folk art, or Christian art. And there's also African migrants selling knock-off purses and watches in the street.

Mykonos is a party island. Things to do are go to the beach, come back to the town fro sunset drinks, go have dinner (see and be seen) then drink til almost dawn. Make your way back to your hotel sleep as late as you can so you don't miss breakfast than head to beach. Repeat for as long as you are there.

I have never seen a child in Mykonos.

Hi,
I'm not sure what led you to insinuate that I haven't done/been doing my own research and am "relying on random forum contributors to do my homework"- that would obviously just be foolish on any travelers part? I have merely asked people for any suggestions that they would like to give which I would then incorporate into my own findings. An individual that has travelled and experienced a city first-hand, would have far greater and valuable inputs to give than the numerous websites on the internet; also many a times there are worthwhile, unheard things to do which one tends to only discover upon reaching the place. If you would've clearly read what I've previously written you'd understand that in no way have I asked you to sit at your keyboard and "type out greece 101".

Nevertheless, thanks a ton for all the information that you have shared. I really appreciate it and I'm sure it'll be of great help to me :)

We could help more if you would first share your own findings, then we'd understand how much you know about the plusses and minuses of various places. I myself did not suggest you rely only on numerous websites on the internet ... I recommended you try the method I have used to prep for greece ... reliable & candid guidebooks. Websites may be promotional in nature, but guidebooks need to be more straightforward, revealing drawbacks as well as highlights, or their reputation will suffer. I did clearly read what you wrote, and you ask for definite evaluations -- how much time does Athens deserve. I tried to give you resources that would help you make that decision.

Without knowing more about your interests, we can't really say what is a "must-do" for you. For instance, a "must" for me in Athens is a visit to the Melina Mercouri Foundation Building, where there's a stunning photoramic display of the life and patriotic role of this amazing Actress who singlehandedly rallied world opinion to bring down a dictatorship, and then became Minister of Culture to enrich the education of millions of grateful Greeks ... half of athens turned out to follow her funeral cortege thru the streets. But for others, this would not have meaning.

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.