Planning a trip to Greece? Well, you are at the right place. Greece, in one word, is a beautiful country. It has history, culture, scenic views, delicious food, blue waters, and much more. So here I will take you on a 9 day Greece itinerary which we followed; Typically an Athens, Santorini and Mykonos Itinerary!
Just keep in mind a few things while planning a trip to Greece.
1) Take a look at ferry timings. You don't need to book the ferry in advance. But you can book if possible just to avoid the last-minute hassle from their website.
2) The ferry usually takes 4-6 hours to reach from one port to another. For ex. from Athens to Santorini it takes around 6 hours.
3) The port names are not the same as of Island name. The names of the ports are not Athens and Santorini! The “Athens” port is actually Piraeus which is just outside of Athens but easily accessible by metro and the Santorini Port is entitled Thira which is actually the major city in Santorini.
4) You can use iOS/Android app mentioned at (https://www.aegeantaxi.com/) to book cabs as other aggregators like UBER and OLA don't work there.
5) Don't forget to bring your umbrella, sunnies, lots of sunscreens and your beachwear outfits.
Day1: Athens
Day2: Athens
You can start your day early with a wholesome breakfast and go out to explore the ruins namely Acropolis and the Parthenon. It's better to go to Acropolis museum first so that you would get to know about their history and then head to the Acropolis to enjoy the ruins or you can take a guide if you are not on a tight budget. Plan your day accordingly as you would need approximately 3 hours or so to see the Acropolis and most importantly, the Parthenon. It could be very hot during summers so make sure you carry enough water to stay hydrated.
Day3: Santorini
Take the ferry to the Santorini which usually starts around 7 AM and will reach by 2 PM. After checking into our Resort (Splendor Resort with Private pool), we ordered some food and relaxed for a while. Later in the evening we took a taxi to reach Oia to explore a bit. Oia is a coastal village located at the northern clifftop of the Santorini Caldera overlooking the caldera itself, and the vast Aegean Sea having whitewashed houses with blue dome. Make sure you find a good spot to witness the magical sunset from there as it gets crowded during the evening. Have dinner and come back to your hotel.
Day4: Santorini
Today we had booked a tour of Volcanic Islands Cruise with Palea Kameni Hot Springs which lasted for approx 4-5 hours. Volcano tours are a popular attraction in Santorini and a great way to enjoy your holiday in the romantic island. The boat starts from the old port of Fira and takes you to the first stop which is the famous Volcano of Santorini! Here hike lovers can hike to the peak where all the craters can be seen and also smell the sulfur-laden air throughout the hike. The time given to us was around 1.5 hours to come back from the Volcano. After done with hiking come back to the boat and head to the island of Palea Kameni where the famous hot springs are located on the west side. A place that is really popular for its thermal waters. The water is full of sulfur, iron and other metals coming from the volcano and they are very good for the skin, arthritis and other physical pains. People swim there in hot springs so don't forget to bring your swimwear. Once the tour is over, take any mode of transport and either go to your hotel for some relaxation or you can head to Oia for a magical sunset.
Day5: Santorini
Today we planned a visit to Oia again for spending time walking around the beautiful streets in the daylight. Oia is the perfect place to wander aimlessly on your own, with friends, or with your partner. Make sure to take a bunch of photos as there are some really cool spots to take stunning pictures. You can even hire a photographer for some time or a day for those perfect pictures at these iconic spots. Later in the evening either you can stay back and watch the famous Oia sunset or you can go to Red or Black beach. Afterward, have a leisurely dinner and enjoy some wine.
Day6: Mykonos
Today we had to leave Santorini and head to Mykonos but the ferry was around 1 PM so we had morning by ourselves to explore the Fira town. We started early in the morning, had breakfast and went to explore the Fira town. We bought some souvenirs and gifts from their local shops and came back to our hotel only to pack our bags and leave for the port to take the ferry to Mykonos. The ferry is about 3-4 hours and runs throughout the day. Once we arrived here, we went straight to our hotel (Crystal view, Mykonos/ Villa Margarita) ordered some french fries. In the evening, once we were ready to explore, we went to the Kato mills as we could see these windmills from our hotel balcony and then followed till Mykonos town which is famous for its cobbled narrow streets. We had our dinner at one of the Authentic eateries with a nice view.
Day7: Mykonos
Mykonos is very famous for its clean, sandy beaches with deep blue water. There are a lot of beaches in Mykonos where one can either spend the whole day at one beach or explore them one by one. As we didn't go to any beach in Santorini so thought of going to see beaches here. Paradise and Super Paradise beach are very famous so we took a bus from Mini Market which dropped us at Paradise beach. There are a lot of nightclubs which are open until sunrise and the party starts at 4PM with great music as well. .This is heaven for party-goers. After spending some time at the beach we went out for dinner at the Indian Palace restaurant which served quite nice Indian veg food. So you can give it a try if you are craving for some Indian north Indian veg food.
Day8: Mykonos
Today we had booked a City tour of Mykonos and a bus came to pick us up around 12 PM in the afternoon.It took us to that side of town which could have been missed by us as we were not aware of such places. They took us to the top of Mykonos town and we could see a panoramic view from there with windmills in the background. Later we went to see a Church which was a very beautiful place and then proceeded to a garden where our lunch was organized. We had a lot of drinks with some awesome food and enjoyed their cultural dance. The tour lasted for approx 4 hours and then we came back to our hotel by 4 evenings in the evening. We took a relaxing nap and then went to the nearby beach which we could see from our hotel balcony followed by a walk in Mykonos town again to grab our dinner.
Day9: Athens
Today we had a ferry to Athens around 2 PM so we had some time till afternoon to explore nearby places and market in Mykonos. Little Venice gets crowded during sunset time in the evening hence we thought to go there this morning. We had our last breakfast in Mykonos and packed our bags and left to see the Little Venice situated in the neighborhood of the town. It has lovely restaurants, bars, and shops with an even better view. We did buy some chocolates and souvenirs for our family and friends and came back to our hotel. We were dropped at the Port to take the ferry to Athens and reached there by 8 PM. We checked in to our hotel which was quite nearby and got freshened up and left for dinner. The next morning, We had our last meal as we had to fly back home with sweet memories.
Hope our post inspires you to explore the less explored area around the world. Rest assured you won't be disappointed.
Till then, Keep Travelling and Stay Safe.
This post was originally shared on ImpulsiveFeet
On day 1, we landed in Athens which is also the capital of Greece. It is packed with historical monuments including the famous Acropolis and a bustling nightlife. To explore the city, at least 2 days are required as it has so much to offer. So after we checked into our apartment (Athens Comfort Suits and Apartments) we freshened up and then went out for evening stroll. You can visit the Plaka district for some shopping and good food. Also, you can buy a local Sim Card for 10 euro(About 8GB of data with some local minutes) which you can use during your trip to Greece quite conveniently.
Athens is considered a very safe city, even for solo female travelers, but the theft of passports and wallets are common on the metro and in crowded tourist sights. So one need to be Li'l careful and advisable to leave the passport locked in your hotel room instead of carrying them with you.
