Travel Tips - Greece

Lodging

In Athens, we stayed in the Athens Gate Hotel and the AthiNN Residence. We would certainly recommend the Athens Gate Hotel; it was in a great location near the acropolis and was a good price for a really nice stay. The AthiNN Residence was great as well but was VERY difficult to locate. There was no front desk person to check you in and the entry itself is rather hidden. Overall, it was a clean, nice room that we enjoyed. The location was in a different location in Athens and was not as easy to trek towards the city center. 

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In Rhodes, we stayed at the Hotel Acandia, which was FANTASTIC. We greatly enjoyed our stay here and the rooms were very nice. The location was also amazing and within walking distance to the beach with tons of restaurants nearby. We would definitely recommend this hotel.

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In Crete, we stayed at three different lodgings in two cities -- Heraklion and Chania. Our visit in Heraklion was brief, to say the least, it was really only a placeholder for our commuting days. We stayed at the Olive Green Hotel and the Kastro Hotel. Both of these hotels were rather quirky and fit our demographic as 20-ish-year-olds. Both were in a good location and were convenient but were nothing to write home about. Our lodging in Chania was not for the faint of heart. While the Hotel Porto Antico was in a FANTASTIC location, it was not an overly nice lodging. For our needs, it served our purpose, but it was not luxurious. 

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In Santorini, we had my personal favorite stay -- Fileria Suites. This lodging was exquisite, in a fantastic location, and overall, just beautiful. The staff were incredible as well! With all of these amazing characteristics in one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, it is no surprise that this stay was the most expensive. 

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Finally, in Mykonos we stayed at Villa Pinelopi, which was the WORST lodging I may have ever stayed in during all my travels. Not only was this location IMPOSSIBLE to find, but the quality of the stay was far below what we had hoped. While there was a small kitchen available (small +), there was a very narrow stairwell to get to the bedroom which was crammed and placed the bed right next to the bathroom. The area was not fully cleaned, either. The worst part of this lodging was that someone walked into the apartment WITHOUT KNOCKING! We would not recommend staying here. 

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Transportation

Obviously, to get from the United States to any part of Greece you most likely are going to need to take a flight. We also found that flying from the mainland to Rhodes and from Rhodes to Crete worked very well.  We took ferries from Crete to Santorini, Santorini to Mykonos, and Mykonos to Athens. The ferries were a great way to travel between islands and tolerable for someone who gets EXTREMELY motion sick. We used Sea Jets and Go Ferry and had positive experiences with both. Another final mode of transportation we used was buses which honestly worked out pretty well also. Usually, Google Maps is a fantastic resource but keep in mind that you may need to download the maps first so you can access them without data. Overall, Greece was easy to navigate which was great!

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Activities

There is no shortage of incredible things to do in Greece but here are some of our favorites: 

• Athens: Acropolis & Museum Tickets with Optional Audio Guide

• From Chania: Day Trip to Elafonisi Island

• Mykonos Town: Archaeological Site of Delos Guided Day Trip

• Delphi English Day Trip from Athens