Last minute vacation. Ath- Santorini- Mykonos

Hi
Need help planning trip. Just decide to go here. It's an interesting, beautiful place We leave Chicago 4/29 pm. arriving on 4/30 in Ath.
I don't know if it better to get a guided tour or just do it on our own? We are traveling on a budget. 2 adults, leaving 3 kids with grandma

Need help with this, it's a last minute plan, and I know I need to get everything reserve before it goes any higher.
pls advise.... thanks in advance for suggestions
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Where should iwe stay in Ath? Not too expensive hotel, I prefer to enjoy the city and pay entrance fees to museums.

Stay maybe 2-3 days and then fly to Santorini via Aegean Airlines, can not do ferry, to many hours on water.

Not sure if we should try to get over to Mykonos or just skip it.
We are returning to Chicaho on May 8.

Do you want some beach time on classic white sands, etc? If so then you will be well served looking at an additional island or mainland seaside town. We were somewhat underwhelmed by Mykonos, I have to say ... was very crowded (we were there around 1 May as well), and we just didn't like the layout much, the traffic, or the well-known beaches.

If you don't need such beaches then four or five days can be well spent on Santorini, visiting Oia (pronounced Ee-Uh), Thira (the centre, where most accomm will be found), and the southern parts of the island where there are archaeological sites as well as some unique volcanic beaches. You can also do a variety of short boat trips out into the caldera and to the nearby islands.

The place is beautiful, and I would probably spend all my non-Athens time there, on such a short trip. Our weather at that time was outstanding (but the water was still very chilly).

In reality you have 7 days+2 part days in the country. While 3 destinations might be doable, you will spend a large percentage of your time in transit. I would stick with 2 plances taking one or two side trips if you wish. Now here is the tricky part on your dates: 1rst May 2016 is Greek Easter Sunday. This might influence things a lot. I guess you plan to depart on May 8th to USA, so having a sea to cross last minute for your flight home might not be so advisable. What if a delay or cancelation of flight/ferry from an island to mainland results on missing your flight home? This is one reason people on this forum usually advice to put islands at start of the trip, then Athens/mainland at the end. Then, it is easy to cure a jet lag on an island rather than on a large busy city, trying to sightseen among crowds under the sun with a dizzy head and swollen feets. And last but not least, the Greek Easter holiday means that most places you'll want to check in Athens will be closed on May 1rst (Easter Sunday), having limited schedule on May 2nd (Easter Monday)... and to complicate things further, as May 1rst is traditionally a strike day but this year coincides with Easter holiday, the stike will move an other day, according to current announcements on May 3rd, so maybe this will be an off day too for archeological sites, museums and the like. So the usual advice here would be trying to book a late flight on April 30th to an island upon arriving in Athens airport and start your trip there. But, April 30th is Great Saturday before Easter. What does this means? That many many people living in Athens and elsewhere will travel to celebrate Easter with friends and family back home in the countryside/islands or visit islands as an Easter get away. This means there will be large demand for flights and hotels and rates will go up! Of course people will take the reverse route a few days latter, so flights/ferries from islands to Athens will be fairly busy too.
If Santorini is a must for you I would look for flights and book... yesterday. Check Aegean Air, maybe Ryan Air and Volotea and see what comes up. On one hand you are lucky as Great Saturday flights might not be as busy as say a bit earlier on the week, but on the other hand, many hotels may not take bookings starting from Saturday...

Sounds good advice ... maybe plan to fly straight to Santorini on 30 April, and see Athens when Easter has blown over.

We were in Florence for the 2015 (Western Christian) Easter, and gosh it was crowded.

Airbnb and booking.com might be the next step!

It is crucial to secure transport first though, before making accommodation bookings. There is no point to book a hotel on an island, then find out you can not reach this island on dates hotel is booked .

I would suggest booking somethin asap Easter is crazy in Greece really is the biggest holiday of the year. As for other things I cannot help with travel and such but be aware whilst the weather might be nice and warm the sea and swimming pools will still be pretty cold.

Unless the OP has booked nonrefundable fares Chicago to Athens, she might reconsider which week she chooses for this jaunt without the kids!i

I second richiavo: seawater will be chilly. Mykonos and Santorini are just the places where all tourists from overseas and all cruise liners go. If you prefer to see more Greek than foreign people and more authentic Greek life, you may consider other places too.

Ah, Easter is a unique experience in Greece, it could be fun to attend midnight celebrations on Great Saturday. But not after ages of flying I guess....

Mykonos and Santorini are just the places where all tourists from overseas and all cruise liners go.

There are pretty good reasons why they do so ... these islands offer quite a lot to a lot of different people. And they are as authentic Greece as a lot of other places.

They are popular for good reasons ... you do not see what Oia and Thira have in many other places, even within Greece. Lots of reasons to go there (not that we were enthralled by Mykonos very much, but Santorini was pretty good, notwithstanding its tourism scene).

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