Potential Problem With Our April Trip to Greece

[Ian S]

We finalized our various reservations for our trip to Greece and two of the islands, Naxos and Santorini. We leave April 19 and return May 4. The first week will be spent in Athens and include a couple of day trips. The second week includes 4 nights in Naxos and three in Santorini. With recent seismic activity in Santorini, we're considering a plan change where we opt for a different island and make plans that would be completely refundable closer to the time of travel. In essence we would have plans for two different islands, Santorini and X, and make the choice of which island to actually go to much closer to the actual travel dates. We do have travel insurance. Based on available information about the seismic activity, it quite likely will have dissipated by the time we arrive - Santorini is at the very end of our trip.

Two things we have planned for Santorini are a caldera hike from Fira to Oia and an island tour ending with sunset in Oia. Is there another island that might provide similar experiences or even a preferable island with other experiences? We are also doing a hike to the summit of Mt Zeus on Naxos so we enjoy being active. We are not really into beaches/swimming nor are we seeking an exciting nightlife.

 

[OldShooter]

FWIW, reinforcing your decision for a different reason: We have been to Santorini and it was awful. Hordes of tourists, herds of buses, bus loading and unloading constantly blocking roads and sidewalks, just totally unpleasant overall. Getting out of town helped, but we will never even consider going back.

 

[Ian S]

FWIW, reinforcing your decision for a different reason: We have been to Santorini and it was awful. Hordes of tourists, herds of buses, bus loading and unloading constantly blocking roads and sidewalks, just totally unpleasant overall. Getting out of town helped, but we will never even consider going back.

We were hoping to avoid some of that by going in the shoulder season.

 

[OldShooter]

We were hoping to avoid some of that by going in the shoulder season.

We were there the first week of September. Don't know how that compared to early May. Good luck.

 

[audreyh1]

Bummer! Is there plenty to do on Naxos?

 

[OldShooter]

Bummer! Is there plenty to do on Naxos?

No idea. Santorini was our only island stop. In the unlikely event we look at going back I would be looking for islands without cruise ship berths or, at least, without cruise ships scheduled in port when we were planning to be there.

 

[wearefinishedworking]

We spent 4 days on Naxos and could have stayed longer! But we are also beautiful beach loving people. We rented a car and went to Eggares, an old olive oil press/museum, went to the temple/museum Demeter, drove through gorgeous old villages where men are still riding donkeys, ate at taverns that looked closed, but they would quickly open up and produce amazing food. So many pristine beaches. I would love to go back!

 

[audreyh1]

We’re not visiting the Cyclades islands this May, but we are visiting Crete.

 

[UpQuark]

I really enjoyed the Akrotiri ruins in Santorini. I was there for 1 day during the last week of August from a cruise that visited several islands. There were two huge and one medium cruise ship there that day. The only annoying crowd was the very long line to the cable car, but the line winds between a ton of little tourist trinket type stores, so if you have someone to hold your place in line it could be a good time to buy a few mementos. If your caldera hike is one that requires a high(ish) level of exertion, I'd think that would weed out a lot of the crowd (it weeded me out anyway!).
The crowd on Mykonos was a lot worse, I wouldn't have minded skipping that island, except I had a good chat with a local when in their store, so that was nice. Plus it was an experience, nice to have plenty of those.
If you like archaeology at all, I'd recommend a visit to Delos, that was really special and pretty empty (no one allowed to live on that island except archaeologists and guards and cats - lots of cats - take a baggie of kibble!).

 

[bbqcoder]

I can't really contribute much to this thread since the only time we went to Greece was our honeymoon 30 years ago. Spent 2 weeks visiting Athens->Santorini->Naxos->Mykonos->Athens. Santorini & Naxos were our favorite. I didn't mind Athens. Didn't care for Mykonos.

I remember running out of gas on Naxos. We had rented a scooter and was given a map showing gas station locations. I didn't pay attention to it so I got to this village expecting to find a station. Nope, none there. Had to back track 25 kilometers to the nearest place by hitchhiking. Bought a big 2 liter bottle of water, dumped it out and filled it with petrol. Then took a cab ride back to the village where I refueled the scooter.

 

[Luvdogs]

We were in Greece the first two weeks of May 2023. I planned the dates to dodge the cruise ships. It was actually so "uncrowded" at the Acropolis that I got a really cool photo of a cat in front of it with just a few tourists!! But it did get crowded later in the morning.

We stayed in Firostefani for 3 nights, then Heraklion for two nights, Chania for three nights, then back to Athens for three nights (really only needed two nights there).

So I would recommend Crete, the two areas we went to are completely different from each other-and different from Santorini.

 

[Koolau]

I can't really contribute much to this thread since the only time we went to Greece was our honeymoon 30 years ago. Spent 2 weeks visiting Athens->Santorini->Naxos->Mykonos->Athens. Santorini & Naxos were our favorite. I didn't mind Athens. Didn't care for Mykonos.

I remember running out of gas on Naxos. We had rented a scooter and was given a map showing gas station locations. I didn't pay attention to it so I got to this village expecting to find a station. Nope, none there. Had to back track 25 kilometers to the nearest place by hitchhiking. Bought a big 2 liter bottle of water, dumped it out and filled it with petrol. Then took a cab ride back to the village where I refueled the scooter.

You probably remember that early-marriage story better than the rest of your trip to Greece. Not fun at the time, but a great story to tell and to bond over low these 30 years later!

 

[Ian S]

Bummer! Is there plenty to do on Naxos?

We have three full days there, one of which involves a day tour of the island and another of which is a guided hike up Mt Zeus. The hike starts about the 2000' level and the summit is about 3200' feet. It's a relaxed pace with numerous stops apparently. We were going to do a day trip to Mykonos but it won't work out schedule-wise. We could do the Santorini two days in Mykonos instead I suppose.

 

[bbqcoder]

You probably remember that early-marriage story better than the rest of your trip to Greece. Not fun at the time, but a great story to tell and to bond over low these 30 years later!

Yes, indeed. I forgot to mention that we went at the of May and I can't recall any issues with over tourism, buses, etc. Maybe it's because there were some travel warnings for Greece? I remember seeing some anti-US graffiti in some places but we had a great experience. People were very friendly.

Another breakdown story happened the day before we left for our trip. We were traveling from VT to MA after the wedding reception. Our flight to Athens was the next day in the evening. My car broke down halfway between Lebanon & Concord, NH. Almost the middle of nowhere.

The NH state trooper called for a tow truck and the guy would not take credit cards, only cash. Needed $75 to tow the car back to a Jeep/Chrysler dealer in Hanover, NH, about 25-30 miles. We didn't have cash. So we opened all of our gifts/cards and luckily a couple had cash in them so we were able to pay the tow truck guy.

My wife called her parents who lived in Washington, VT to have them meet us and bring a car. Her father answered and said "no". Then her Mom grabbed the phone and said "yes, we'll be right down there". An hour later, they arrived with 2 cars. This was probably around 2am. Drove home in their car. Had to stop at least once/twice to take a nap because we were so tired.

We were able to do our pre-trip errands and then got to the airport on time. Then after the trip, went back to VT to return the car and to pick up the 93 Jeep Grand Cherokee car. That was the first and only time my car stranded me. I kept it until 2007 when I sold it with 235K miles.

 

[frank05]

Last time Santorini erupted it destroyed most of the eastern Mediterranean, so going anywhere in that area would have the same danger. I would be most concerned with the hordes of cruise ship tourists.

 

[Koolau]

Last time Santorini erupted it destroyed most of the eastern Mediterranean, so going anywhere in that area would have the same danger. I would be most concerned with the hordes of cruise ship tourists.

Hmmmmm. It's a long shot, but if Santorini erupts again... Maybe no more cruise ships and "boat people." Gotta look on the bright side.

 

[audreyh1]

Santorini’s huge eruption and sinking happened in 1600 BC! The most recent volcanic eruption was 1950, it was small. The recent seismic activity is not due to magma buildup. The area is active with shifting tectonic plates and the earthquakes are coming from a fault region. I’m not worried.

 

[Koolau]

Santorini’s huge eruption and sinking happened in 1600 BC! The most recent volcanic eruption was 1950, it was small. The recent seismic activity is not due to magma buildup. The area is active with shifting tectonic plates and the earthquakes are coming from a fault region. I’m not worried.

It's nice to live where we describe our volcanoes as "walk-in" volcanoes. There's even parking and overlooks. Kilauea is erupting now and Volcanoes National park has earth quakes daily. Very interesting stuff.

 

[audreyh1]

Hawaii is a hot spot in the ocean floor. Those are usually “friendlier” volcanoes compared to those near the edges of tectonic plates like most volcanoes are such as Tonga, Greece, Italy, Ring of Fire, etc.

 

[JoeWras]

We spent 4 days on Naxos and could have stayed longer! But we are also beautiful beach loving people. We rented a car and went to Eggares, an old olive oil press/museum, went to the temple/museum Demeter, drove through gorgeous old villages where men are still riding donkeys, ate at taverns that looked closed, but they would quickly open up and produce amazing food. So many pristine beaches. I would love to go back!

This is the way.

Santorini and Mykonos are stunningly pretty, and also pretty crowded and pretty tourist-trappy.

Go to a less traveled island and enjoy a real taste of Greece without the crowds.

The only "problem" is that the secret is out on Greece in general. People are starting to go to the less traveled islands. Naxos is becoming a new favorite, but it sounds like it is still OK.

We went to Andros, where very few non-Europeans go, and had the place to ourselves in September. Of course, there are no big tourist sites, or ruins, so you just have to enjoy the scenery, beaches and food.

To OP: sorry to hear about the disruption of the earthquakes. That's bad luck.

 

[misanman]

FWIW - We are planning to visit Santorini in September and have booked a guide. Got word from him that he and his family have moved to safety in Athens because of the seismic activity.

 

[brett]

We are very spontaneous travellers. We typically have a plan B at the ready in case we change our minds about a place or are able to pick up an amazing offer.

Last extended trip to Greece it was very inexpensive flight offereings from Athens to Cyprus. Along with another two weeks later from Cyprus to London to pick up our flight home.

We had never been to Cyprus, or even considered going there. Spouse and I looked at each other and we both said why not at the same time.

If Santorini does not work our or you cancel mid trip it there are other nearby destinations that can be easily reached.

 

[grasshopper]

Our Greek Island trip in September has us going to 8 islands, on a 102 passenger sailing ship. Santorini is one of them.

 

[audreyh1]

Our Greek Island trip in September has us going to 8 islands, on a 102 passenger sailing ship. Santorini is one of them.

The Orion. We’ll be thinking of you when we get on it. We’re not visiting the Cyclades on that ship. It makes a few stops in southwest Greece on the way to Athens.

 

[Koolau]

Hawaii is a hot spot in the ocean floor. Those are usually “friendlier” volcanoes compared to those near the edges of tectonic plates like most volcanoes are such as Tonga, Greece, Italy, Ring of Fire, etc.

Yeah, it's kinda cool to look at the Hawaiian Island chain on a map and imagine each little Island being "blooped" up and "sanded off" over the eons. In addition to the Big Island which is still totally active and Maui which is considered dormant but not extinct (last eruption 1790 IIRC) there is a new "island" that will eventually reach above the water, south east of Big Island. The new "island" already has a name. Kamaʻehuakanaloa, recently changed from the original name, Lōʻihi.