I’m Sailing in Small Cyclades, Greece….travel tips/suggestions?

[MikeBiDude]

Just yesterday I confirmed I’ll be aboard a 46’ Catamaran with friends sailing the Greece Small Cyclades in September of this year. I will be on the boat 9/10-9/17. I’m looking to spend an extra 7-10 days (alone) in the area, before/after the charter.

What I’m looking for are suggestions for:

• Flights LAX >Athens>LAX
• places to visit before, after, Mykonos? Santorini?
• Athens or other mainland Greece suggestions?
• General suggestions for the area

I’m very comfortable alone in an AirBNB making my own coffee and cooking and grocery shopping, or staying in a five star hotel. Open to all options. 
 

[+ nycman]

First…..I’m incredibly jealous. 

Can’t help with LAX-ATH flights but there are nice EWE-ATH flights
on Emirates that are frequently available on Emirates for points. 
And Emirates 1st Class…is real 1st. 

Mykonos is nice, but unless your into the circuit scene there are
better places to spend your time and money IMHO. 

Santorini is heaven. Spend the cash and get a crazy room overlooking
the caldera. It’s touristy as fuck and loaded with newlyweds, but I still
think the place is magical. Great food and surprisingly good local wines.

Athens is a dump. If you’ve never been, spend a day seeing the highlights
and then get the fuck out of town. If you’re into monasteries Meteora is
pretty accessible (but too far for a day trip). If you’re REALLY into 
monasteries Mt. Athos is stunning, but it takes a fuck ton of preplanning
and/or luck to visit. Hiking Mt Olympus is a real achievement. Most Greek
Classical ruins…are in ruins. There are better ones in Turkey.

Just FYI, Greek trains are pretty rough. I’ve ridden next more than
a few chickens. No joke. 

Thessaloniki is beautiful and rich in Byzantine history/art/architecture. 
Home of the frappé coffee. Fair warning, they’re addictive. I think of 
Thessaloniki as Athen’s prettier and more refined little sister. 

Don’t overlook Corfu. After a week sailing the Cyclades (did I mention
I’m jealous as fuck….and available?), it would make a nice contrast. 
It’s more lush than the rest of the Greek Isles, but after a week 
(which I happen to have off….grin), you might be suffering from 
island fever and need a break. 

Hope that helps. Have fun!

Edited January 31, 2022 by nycman

[mike carey]

8 hours ago, nycman said:

Can’t help with LAX-ATH flights but there are nice EWE-ATH flights

EWR perhaps? Emirates probably have availability from airports other than Newark. If you have enough points, your airline's award site would be the place to start. Whichever airline that is, seats on Emirates may be available from them (I don't know which US carriers that is true for), but they all offer seats on their partners' flights as well as their own. If you have transferable points in a credit card account then you can look for deals on a range of airline programs (including non-US carriers).

If you're looking to pay money for your tickets, start checking on the travel aggregator sites or a site like Amex travel for the dates you're interested in. Discounted fares pop up in all classes frequently, and you'll recognise a good deal after watching the market for a couple of weeks.

[MscleLovr]

9 hours ago, nycman said:

Mykonos is nice, but…there are better places to spend your time and money IMHO. 

Santorini is heaven. Spend the cash… It’s touristy as fuck and loaded with newlyweds, but…surprisingly good local wines.

Athens is a dump.

Just my 2 cents…I agree with @nycman about Athens and Mykonos but disagree about Santorini.

My views on Athens date from 2004 (the Olympics) when I toured with an old friend based there, who’s a fluent Greek speaker. It was tiring to stay alert to all the attempted rip-offs. My most recent experiences of Mykonos and Santorini were in 2018 (so pre-pandemic). Mykonos is wildly overpriced; think more expensive than the South of France or St Barth’s in high season.
 

I enjoyed Santorini, thinking to myself that it was a one-time visit. My much younger partner enjoyed the overall trip (we went on a Seabourn cruise) but he surprised me later by saying ‘Never again’ about Santorini. 

[+ Italiano]

I used to go to Mykonos and Santorini in the early 80s, when I was living in Italy. Both were absolutely gorgeous. I went back about 10 years ago. Still gorgeous, but totally unbearable for me. Ruined by mass tourism, loud music, and SUPER expensive. I can't imagine how they are now! But I think that seeing them once in your life is a must, especially out of peak season (which September somehow still is). With a Catamaran it's going to be fabulous.

Alonissos is gorgeous.

 

Anyway, I am REALLY jealous. I LOVE the Cyclades!

[+ Pensant]

Greece is one on the very few European countries that I’ve still not visited. I too have heard great things about Thessaloniki and, as an avid fan of Balkan history, it’s been on my list. I want to return to Bulgaria and hike the Rhodopes between Greece and Bulgaria. There’s a famous monastery there. I hadn’t thought about Corfu and have added that to my list. Since I’m in the neighborhood, I’ll throw in Albania as well. September sounds good. I’m not interested in Athens, Santorini or Mykonos. 

[Rod Hagen]

Folegandros !

One of my favorite places on earth.

https://www.greektravel.com/greekislands/folegandros/

 

 

[+ nycman]

17 hours ago, mike carey said:

EWR perhaps?

Of course, the airplane nerd corrects me. Grin. 

What can I say….I don’t go to "Jersey".

I take the JFK-MXP flight if I’m flying Emirates to Europe. 

A. Yes, I looked up the Milan airport code to make sure I got it right.
and
B. Yes, I get hard when you speak airline to me.

7 hours ago, Rod Hagen said:

Folegandros !

One of my favorite places on earth.

Lord, over a decade later….and I’m still in lust with my luxury top brother. 

Folegandros looks amazing…..when are we going?

Edited February 2, 2022 by nycman

[mike carey]

14 minutes ago, nycman said:

What can I say….I don’t go to "Jersey".

I went to Jersey but I didn't get off the train.

[Rod Hagen]

Ignore people who say "skip Santorini".  It's popular because it's beautiful.  Jesus Christ, those sunsets.

You can and should take the Ferry from Santorini to Folegandros.

 

[MikeBiDude]

3 hours ago, Rod Hagen said:

Ignore people who say "skip Santorini".  It's popular because it's beautiful.  Jesus Christ, those sunsets.

You can and should take the Ferry from Santorini to Folegandros.

 

Thanks for the suggestions. 

[Rod Hagen]

26 minutes ago, MikeBiDude said:

Thanks for the suggestions. 

You are most welcome.  Additionally, there's much to enjoy in Athens.  I've been there at the worst possible time of year, late August, and still had a great time.  People don't like it, because it's crowded.  It's popular because it's important.  Why don't people get that?

I would say, unless you're an alcoholic, the place to skip, if you had to skip a "must see", would be Mykonos.  

Edited February 2, 2022 by Rod Hagen

[MikeBiDude]

3 minutes ago, Rod Hagen said:

Additionally, there's much to enjoy in Athens. 

I will definitely do a few days in Athens. Most likely I’ll research and look for a private walking tour guide, stay in 4-5 star hotel to get acclimated and over any jet lag.

With 7 days Sailing the Cyclades I’m not sure how I should break things up? I’m thinking Athens first, then 7 days on boat, the x-number of days Santorini, the Folegandros side trip is of interest. 

[+ Italiano]

On 2/2/2022 at 1:02 PM, Rod Hagen said:

Ignore people who say "skip Santorini".  It's popular because it's beautiful.  Jesus Christ, those sunsets.

You can and should take the Ferry from Santorini to Folegandros.

 

+1

[Epigonos]

The islands of Paros and Naxos are great and don't have the large tourist crowds.  A little further afield is Crete which is definitely worth a visit as it has a unique history and culture.  Rhodes is another possibility you might want to consider.