Greece Honeymoon/Travel Advice
After six years of being together we've finally decided to make it all official and are on the fast track toward getting everything in order. The church is handled, she's working with her mom on reception/wedding details, and much of the honeymoon planning has fallen to me.
We've always planned on going to Greece, but I've never seriously researched it, and now that I've begun to delve a little further into it I can see that it seems to be a little more complicated than I first thought. I know Roo has quite a bit of familiarity with the country now since he lives there and all and it would be great to hear any input he may have, but I'm definitely eager for advice from anyone at all.
We are getting married November 17th and would like to leave for Greece the following day or even potentially later that night so we could sleep on the flight. From what I've read so far November is largely considered off season and many beaches and islands essentially shut down for tourism. I understand that it's not going to be amazingly sunny and swimming will probably not be an option so late in the year, but it still seems there is plenty to see and do.
From what I've read I'd like to see Athens and the surrounding areas, Crete, and maybe Santorini. I'm not sure how accommodating each of these places are during November or if there is something I should add to the list that I'm overlooking. We are planning to meet with a travel agent next week to discuss plans and see what they can arrange, but I'm still very much open to setting things up ourselves via net bookings if anyone has any general advice beyond the usual Expedia/Orbitz type places. I've looked into it, but it just seems like it will be tough to find places to stay and book transportation between the islands on my own.
So basically I'm just reaching out to you guys as these forums have always been a great source of off the wall information over the years and I'm sure at least a few of you have some past experience with this sort of thing that could really help out. I'm just really looking forward to it and want to make sure all goes as smoothly as possible. 
AoC- Indozola (Guardian), Bauchelain (Bear Shaman), Aphesian (Demonologist)
I have never, ever, ever seen a thread so tailor-made for one particular member of the forums.
Someone go find Roo.
Quote:
XBL Tag: Prederick
This is a pretty good plan.. you basically want to avoid the larger islands like the plague.. complete tourist traps..though in November its pretty much a ghost town in terms of islands.
Since you cant swim.. I'd plan on a few days in Athens for the various sites... hit Crete for some really fabulous restaurants..and then I believe Santorini will still have a few hotels open so you can go there and watch some sunsets..
IF you do go.. I'll give you the name of a restaurant in Crete that has the worlds greatest Lamb Chops (and actually thats pretty much all they serve.. you can get a salad also)
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Down in the Park with a friend called Five.
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My wife was in Santorini and Corfu a few months ago. She said that Corfu was nice but that Santorini was unbelievable.
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In my opinion, you only need a few days in Athens. Do the walk up to the Acropolis and utilize the excellent transit system to see all of the other sights.
Santorini can also be done in a few days, but you'll probably want more. You can rent a Smart car for 50 euros and see the whole island in a day.
We stayed at Canaves Oia, which I highly recommend.
One note: Prices were expensive, and I don't see the dollar improving against the Euro anytime soon. If you're looking for something a little cheaper, try Turkey. We took a very reasonably priced tour from Antalya to Istanbul, and Istanbul was much more interesting to me than Athens.
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Well, trips plans have changed somewhat...
The more I looked into it the more it seemed like finding proper reliable transportation between the islands could become a big headache, and worrying about that during the trip is the last thing we want. We consulted with a travel agent and now we are doing an 11 night Mediterranean cruise which solves our transportation problem. We will be hitting Genoa and Naples in Italy, then crossing over to Alexandria and Port Said Egypt, then Rhodes, Cyprus, and Athens in Greece before heading back to Genoa.
Neither of us have been on a cruise of any sort and from what I gather we will be pressed for time at many ports and we aren't going to get as good of a look at many places as we might want, but it seems like a great way to sample the area and flag spots that we may want to return to in the future. This way we'll get to see the ruins in Pompeii, the Pyramids, and many of the Greek sites we wanted to visit anyway. I also have the flight set up as leaving the night of the wedding and arriving in Paris the next morning at 11 where we will have a 10 hour layover to maybe get a little glimpse of the city before catching the connecting flight to Genoa that night.
Looking at it all it does seem like we are packing a ton of stuff in on a relatively short time schedule and we'll probably be exhausted, but I'm really looking forward to heading out. Any cruise advice or things I should try to catch in my limited time at any of these locations? I've heard some real horror stories cruise-wise, but hopefully we can avoid any of those pitfalls.
AoC- Indozola (Guardian), Bauchelain (Bear Shaman), Aphesian (Demonologist)
If you have a 10 hour layover in paris, expect to spend the majority of that sleeping. I would highly advise against trying to go out and do anything, since it's only going to make your jetlag that much worse.
wordsmythe wrote:
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Do not fly an Air France 747. Be warned.
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I wouldn't count on getting to see the pyramids unless you have a good long stay in Port Said. Giza is a good 100-125 miles from Port Said, judging by the map at Wikipedia.
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Hopefully we'll be sleeping for a large portion of the flight over as it will technically be our "night time" and jet lag will be minimal. I purposefully arranged for the 10 hr layover in Paris so damn it we are seeing something there
Hmmm. We are flying Air France, but I don't think it's a 747. I assume there is some bad tale to go along with your warning? I'm not sure if the connecting flight from Paris to Genoa is a smaller plane or not.
The cruise line actually has a tour deal to see the pyramids from our Alexandria stop. I think we are there from early morning until late that night so getting down there shouldn't be a problem and if you go with the cruise guide they supposedly won't leave you if you aren't there on time for the departure.
AoC- Indozola (Guardian), Bauchelain (Bear Shaman), Aphesian (Demonologist)
If you don't have your passport, get it now. Expedite it. Do it now.
Wannabe priest with a sword....
I totally get that, but even if you sleep the entire flight, your body is still going to be 7 hours behind; you'll be landing 11 am local time, but your body will be thinking 'dammit, it's 4am'.
Actually, I don't think he'll be able to pull that off if he doesn't have it already. I lucked out the last time I had to travel abroad; Military orders superceded my need for a passport. Even so, the fastest time I've heard of one being issued is 2-3 weeks, and that was with military orders backing that guy up. I could be wrong though.
wordsmythe wrote:
Podunk on Jessica Alba wrote:
Passports are handled. Still current from our last trip. If we had overlooked that at this point I think we would have no business marrying and potentially passing our genes on to future generations.
AoC- Indozola (Guardian), Bauchelain (Bear Shaman), Aphesian (Demonologist)
YMMV.
Some folks are better at handling the time warp than others. A trick I've learned is just to get horizontal -- lie down somewhere for ten minutes with your eyes closed, you don't really need deep sleep. Something about it seems to reset the internal clock for most people.
rabbit wrote:
1Dgaf wrote:
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Check on rules/laws for aquiring Visas. Some countries require you buy a Visa so they know how long you will be there. Although with taking a cruise, might not be an issue, you still might want to check with the travel agency.
Wannabe priest with a sword....