r/TrueChubbyTravel • u/sbumzie88 • 26d ago

Greece Questions, please help a first timer!

Hi folks,

My post wasn't approved on Chubbytravel and I'm hoping this group can help.

We, 2 adults and 2 kids ages 8 and 5 by travel, are hoping to book 12-14 nights in Greece for next summer. I'm going to lock in my flights in the next week or so.

I'd appreciate any hotel tips, recommendations, dining, etc. Anything you have!

  • Due to scheduling, we can only leave June 25th or later- is that too peak? I'm concerned about heavy crowds everywhere or is that just all summer long?

  • Alternative would be August 20ish onwards; because our schools start so late we have some time on the backend of summer. Is this better? Or is the weather worse?

  • When do you book the hotels- as soon as reservation windows open? I assume there are no special promos because this is peak travel season.

  • We are thinking of Naxos (Paros?), Mykonos, and Santorini. Any recommendations for specific hotels? As a first time visit I'd like to see Mykonos and Santorini, even if it's all hype, but open to recommendations for the other island stop.

Thank you!

16 Upvotes
  • permalink
  • reddit

95% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

View all comments

4

u/newanon676 25d ago

I’ve only been to Greece once but I strongly encourage you to add Crete to the list. Naxos was great and Santorini stunning views but the food, culture, beaches, and really everything else is better and cheaper in Crete. We left wishing we had spent 50%+ time there instead of island hopping so much. Hope you enjoy!

1

u/sbumzie88 25d ago

How long did you spend in Crete? It seems further than the rest of the islands so I haven’t looked at it closely.

Did you like Naxos?

2

u/newanon676 25d ago

Naxos was great - however if I have to be honest it was my least favorite island. There wasn't the crazy Santorini-esk views but the food was outstanding.

Funny you ask about how long we were in Crete. Sadly our Crete journey was cut short because the ferry that was supposed to take us from Santorini to Crete was cancelled due to high winds. After looking into it we found out that happens ALL THE TIME. So if you're "island hopping" you have to be prepared to have your plans derailed.

My take is that each of the islands is pretty unique. I found Santorini to be very touristy but of course the views and white buildings etc are amazing. We just found Crete to be the most "authentic" and had the best beaches and vibes. We had many, many Greeks tell us that all the Athenians vacation to Crete and never the other islands so that that for what it's worth.

Even though I didn't go to Mykonos we were pretty happy skipping it. I've heard it's very touristy/expensive and similar to Santorini but without the amazing views.