Santorini and other Greek isles...

[mpc]

Who has been to Santorini? We will be there for 3 nights this summer.

How did you get around while you were there? Rent a car? hire a guide? take the bus? We're just trying to figure out what to do about that.

In addition to our time in Santorini, we are doing a cruise that gives us a half day in each of the following ports: Mykonos, Patmos, Kusadasi, Rhodes (full day), and Crete (Heraklion). If anyone has advice on what to see and how easy it is to DIY and not use the boat's excursions, that'd be awesome!

Thanks!

[lightbulbsun]

I did a similar cruise to Mykonos, Kusadasi, Patmos, Santorini, and Crete last year. I would suggest booking tours through the cruise line, even though it's more expensive, because you're only going to be at each location for a few hours, and I would be worried about doing something on my own and then getting back to the boat in time.

We just walked around Mykonos. There are a bunch of cute shops, and it's a really pretty town.

At Kusadasi we did the tour of Ephasus and it was so worth it. If you have the option, see the Terrace Houses. That was definitely the best part. I thought the Roman ruins there were better than in Rome, haha. Unfortunately since we did the tour we weren't able to look around the bazaar at Kusadasi, but the tour was worth it.

Patmos - Unless you're religious don't bother with the monastery tour. I know a couple of people who hiked up themselves for free, instead of paying $50 or whatever it is for the bus tour. We just bought some beer and hung out on the beach (which was all rocks), there's really not much of a town or anything. Be careful if you decide to swim, because someone we were with stepped on a sea urchin and got a spike stuck in his foot.

Santorini - We were only there with the cruise, but I did the excursion to Oia. It's a really cool town. Gorgeous views.

Crete - we were in Heraklion on a Sunday morning, and nothing was really open. We walked from the docks to the town, just to get off the boat. A couple of people told me that the Knossos was not worth it, because there's only one wall remaining and the whole time the guide was like "Imagine there was a big palace here!".

[mpc]

Thanks lightbulbsun, that was helpful! Did you go on Louis cruises? Did you like the boat?  That was the only one I could find that really focused on just greek islands. We arranged to get off the boat in Santorini and just stay there for a few days on our own rather than finishing out the cruise back to Athens. We decided we'll probably do the excursion to Ephesus, but in the other ports I was hoping we'd be able to do things on our own. I know my H wants to see the monastery in Patmos, so I will have to look into that more to see how hard it is to get to.

@sfgal530 and RockNVoll - I was thinking that renting a car might be best... we have 6 people in our group which complicates things a little! Where did you pick up your rental car? Maybe that's a good idea to just have  it for a day or two. We're staying in Oia, so imagine part of our time will just be spent in that area.

[lightbulbsun]

Apr 7, 2014 13:40:22 GMT -5 mpc said:

Thanks lightbulbsun, that was helpful! Did you go on Louis cruises? Did you like the boat?  That was the only one I could find that really focused on just greek islands. We arranged to get off the boat in Santorini and just stay there for a few days on our own rather than finishing out the cruise back to Athens. We decided we'll probably do the excursion to Ephesus, but in the other ports I was hoping we'd be able to do things on our own. I know my H wants to see the monastery in Patmos, so I will have to look into that more to see how hard it is to get to.

I did do Louis cruises. It was an addition to a ground tour we did in Italy/Athens.  Honestly it was not my favorite.  Our boat was older (hello 80s!) but it was clean and had a bunch of bars, and a nice pool/deck area.  I just don't think I'm a cruise person. H wanted to try it out, so we added it on, but it's not my thing.  I also get seasick so I was super tired/foggy from taking Dramamine, so that may have colored my perspective. 

However, there were a bunch of people on my trip who really liked the cruise part.  I'm sure you'll have a great time. 

St John's monastery was at the top of a hill semi-close to the boat drop-off.   I think it's about 2 miles if you want to walk.  The cave of the apocalypse is on the way. 

The only excursions we paid for were Ephasus and going to Oia on Santorini.

[mpc]

Apr 7, 2014 13:45:12 GMT -5 @sfgal530 said:

Apr 7, 2014 13:40:22 GMT -5 mpc said:

@sfgal530 and RockNVoll - I was thinking that renting a car might be best... we have 6 people in our group which complicates things a little! Where did you pick up your rental car? Maybe that's a good idea to just have  it for a day or two. We're staying in Oia, so imagine part of our time will just be spent in that area.

Honestly, I'm not sure you'll find a car that holds 6 people that you can rent on the island.  We rented a smart car, which our hotel arranged and which was delivered to us and then picked up from the hotel.  Also, FWIW, I think the drive to Oia sucks.  It's super windy and the road is kind of treacherous, especially with the huge buses coming at you from the other direction.  

yeah, I feel like we've looked it up and seen a 7 passenger van as an option, but I'm not seeing it in my quick search right now. Plus, that just seems so ... bulky, I guess. If we wanted to rent we might have to get 2 cars, which wouldn't be the end of the world. But it's why I'm trying to figure out if there's another "good" way to see what we want to see while we're there.

[mpc]

Apr 7, 2014 14:01:32 GMT -5 lightbulbsun said:

Apr 7, 2014 13:40:22 GMT -5 mpc said:

Thanks lightbulbsun, that was helpful! Did you go on Louis cruises? Did you like the boat?  That was the only one I could find that really focused on just greek islands. We arranged to get off the boat in Santorini and just stay there for a few days on our own rather than finishing out the cruise back to Athens. We decided we'll probably do the excursion to Ephesus, but in the other ports I was hoping we'd be able to do things on our own. I know my H wants to see the monastery in Patmos, so I will have to look into that more to see how hard it is to get to.

I did do Louis cruises. It was an addition to a ground tour we did in Italy/Athens.  Honestly it was not my favorite.  Our boat was older (hello 80s!) but it was clean and had a bunch of bars, and a nice pool/deck area.  I just don't think I'm a cruise person. H wanted to try it out, so we added it on, but it's not my thing.  I also get seasick so I was super tired/foggy from taking Dramamine, so that may have colored my perspective. 

However, there were a bunch of people on my trip who really liked the cruise part.  I'm sure you'll have a great time. 

St John's monastery was at the top of a hill semi-close to the boat drop-off.   I think it's about 2 miles if you want to walk.  The cave of the apocalypse is on the way. 

The only excursions we paid for were Ephasus and going to Oia on Santorini.

I've read on tripadvisor that people think of louis cruises as just a glorified ferry, so I figured it wasn't going to be super fancy. We mostly just wanted a way to visit a bunch of the islands. The itinerary seems packed - did you find it to be exhausting? I'm excited but I envision lots of naps in between ports lol.

ETA: changed "I'm exciting" to "I'm excited" hahaha

[lightbulbsun]

Apr 7, 2014 14:14:19 GMT -5 mpc said:

Apr 7, 2014 14:01:32 GMT -5 lightbulbsun said:

I've read on tripadvisor that people think of louis cruises as just a glorified ferry, so I figured it wasn't going to be super fancy. We mostly just wanted a way to visit a bunch of the islands. The itinerary seems packed - did you find it to be exhausting? I'm excited but I envision lots of naps in between ports lol.

ETA: changed "I'm exciting" to "I'm excited" hahaha

I thought it was a lot of "hurry up and wait". Wait to get off, wait to get on, wait for food, blah blah. It was nice to be able to see a lot of places, and I never really felt rushed when I was off the boat.  On the boat we typically just hung out by the pool, or at a bar.  We did get the unlimited drinks package which we made good use of.   

[stever]

I went to Santorini as a backpacker. I mostly walked or took the bus but I rented a moped one afternoon and it was awesome!

[origami]

I did a Louis cruise to the Greek Isles. I do not recommend it. The ship we were on, Sea Diamond, is now at the bottom of the Mediterranean. We weren't on it when it sank thank God, but it wasn't long after we were on it that it went down. The entertainment was sub-par, the food was mediocre and only available at set meal times, there were long waits to exit the ship for excursions, and the rooms were dingy and reeked of smoke. We were on a smaller ship and many people were sick from how choppy the sea was. I don't usually mind cruising or jam packed itineraries. I loved seeing all the islands. I'd just rather pay more for a princess cruise, or something like that - a more organized line, so that you don't waste so much time getting off/on the ship and you have the usual benefits of cruising (abundance of food, etc)

[mpc]

Apr 7, 2014 16:48:06 GMT -5 origami said:

I did a Louis cruise to the Greek Isles. I do not recommend it. The ship we were on, Sea Diamond, is now at the bottom of the Mediterranean. We weren't on it when it sank thank God, but it wasn't long after we were on it that it went down. The entertainment was sub-par, the food was mediocre and only available at set meal times, there were long waits to exit the ship for excursions, and the rooms were dingy and reeked of smoke. We were on a smaller ship and many people were sick from how choppy the sea was. I don't usually mind cruising or jam packed itineraries. I loved seeing all the islands. I'd just rather pay more for a princess cruise, or something like that - a more organized line, so that you don't waste so much time getting off/on the ship and you have the usual benefits of cruising (abundance of food, etc)

we're not really going into this looking for the cruise experience. we really just wanted a way to get to many islands. I think we'll be happy with it. and if there's an itinerary from princess or any other cruise line that focuses just on greek islands, that's news to me. I searched and searched and found nothing.

now I would've loved to do one of those mega yatch cruises, but they were super expensive and not recommended for small children.

[dutchgirl678]

We also stayed in Imerovigli, loved that part of the island. We only rented a car for one day. There was a rental place near our hotel and we just walked up to it and rented a car. We walked most of the time. One time we walked to Oia and took the bus back, one day we walked to Fira and back. We took a boat tour from Fira to the volcano that was fun. We drove to the south tip to go swimming at the Red Sand beach and then to Parissa on the other side for lunch. Stopped at a winery and a museum on the way back.

[origami]

Apr 8, 2014 9:19:54 GMT -5 mpc said:

Apr 7, 2014 16:48:06 GMT -5 origami said:

I did a Louis cruise to the Greek Isles. I do not recommend it. The ship we were on, Sea Diamond, is now at the bottom of the Mediterranean. We weren't on it when it sank thank God, but it wasn't long after we were on it that it went down. The entertainment was sub-par, the food was mediocre and only available at set meal times, there were long waits to exit the ship for excursions, and the rooms were dingy and reeked of smoke. We were on a smaller ship and many people were sick from how choppy the sea was. I don't usually mind cruising or jam packed itineraries. I loved seeing all the islands. I'd just rather pay more for a princess cruise, or something like that - a more organized line, so that you don't waste so much time getting off/on the ship and you have the usual benefits of cruising (abundance of food, etc)

we're not really going into this looking for the cruise experience. we really just wanted a way to get to many islands. I think we'll be happy with it. and if there's an itinerary from princess or any other cruise line that focuses just on greek islands, that's news to me. I searched and searched and found nothing.

now I would've loved to do one of those mega yatch cruises, but they were super expensive and not recommended for small children.

wait, are you taking small children? Many of the ports we stopped at required tenders. At Mykonos and maybe santorini we had to climb ladders from the tenders to get back on the ship. If that's how they still do it I would not take a child. The water can get very choppy so the tenders are going up and down while you're trying to grab the ladder. Elderly people had a very difficult time and no one had children on board. I would ask the cruise company about how they ensure the safety of children because it was very nerve wracking watching even fit people try to manage the tenders. I hear you on not caring about the cruise experience though. My main complaint about Louis is that the disorganization resulted in the time at each port being unnecessarily shortened and rushed. We only got a few hours on santorini because we were the last ones off the ship. It was barely enough time to see Oia. Maybe they've improved over the years since I was on their ship, but it's something to research.

This link says princess has Greek isle cruises:
www.princess.com/learn/cruise-destinations/europe-cruises/cruises/emg.jsp