First time in Greece.. suggestions for Santorini and Mykonos traveling in July 2023

[Daycare Provider]

😀 Help please…. My husband and I will be in Santorini and Mykonos next summer.  I need help with planning excursions.  We will be arriving on the Odyssey of the Seas.

[edinburgher]

 Help please…. My husband and I will be in Santorini and Mykonos next summer.  I need help with planning excursions.  We will be arriving on the Odyssey of the Seas.

 

As no replies as yet, I suspect it is because you have not given any indication as to where you might want to go or what you might want to do on each island and not everyone will want to do the exact same thing. You might also not need an excursion whether shorex or private tour as both islands can be done solo, although again, that depends on what you want to do.

 

Can I first suggest that you read a little about both on some of the many websites you could easily access, also look at the shorex being offered by Royal Caribbean as these will give you ideas of what might be possible. And use the SEARCH facility here on the Greece Forum to read the Qs and As which others have posted in the recent past. (much faster than back-paging) By then you should have ideas of which options appeal to you most and you can take it from there.

 

There is a useful sticky at the top of the Greece  Ports page as both islands are FAQs..  Loooong, but again, probably a "must read"

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2739131-find-it-here-santorini-firá-and-oia-q-a/#comment-56004683

 

And join your Roll Call as that is where others on your sailing will exchange ideas and information and arrange private tours. If there is not yet one up and running, you could start one.

 

Both are beautiful islands so you should have a wonderful time whatever you decide to do

 

 

[Daycare Provider]

Thank you for the information.  AS of now there is only one person on the roll call so no help.

 

We had no idea as to what to do on these two islands.  We are open to walking tours, wine tours, snorkeling trips….

 

Thank You for sharing.

[edinburgher]

No problem sharing, but you do need to read read and read to get information on both to help you decide what you want to do with your time on each,and whether you want to stay in town at each or venture further afield. I cannot emphasise enough that reading is the first step, and it doesn't matter at all that the Roll Call is quiet at this stage. And the more you read, the more you will find images/photos of these destinations and these alone might give you ideas of what would interest you.Both highly popular tourist destinations, there are a multitude of websites which you only need to look for. You could try Tripadvisor first  as there are usually lots of photos, but there are many others.

 

At Mykonos you could consider Delos in the morning and explore the pretty town in the afternoon or spend all day in town or explore the island or have a beach day.

 

Santorini on a first visit most folks would opt for a visit to famous Oia (the reason I gave you the "sticky" link to Santorini). It is where most of the iconic "blue and white" images are taken, the ones you see on postcards, calendars, and on the covers of  books about Greek islands etc.

 

And did you check what your cruiseline is offering as shorex as browsing these is a good way to get an idea of what options there would be?

 

 

Edited November 23, 2022 by edinburgher

[Daycare Provider]

I try to book outside the cruise lines…

[edinburgher]

I try to book outside the cruise lines…

 

Wasn't suggesting that you must book a shorex, was suggesting only that you read what they are offering as it is a good way to see what might be possible. If you see something that appeals, you can then research how you could DIY  it or if you might need a private tour.

 

As an examle, unless you specifically want an island tour of Mykonos, it is really easy to do your own thing in town or simply have a beach day.. 

Did you read recent threads posted by others using the SEARCH facility as I suggested?

 

Go to Greek Ports but not to your own thread.  Log in.  Under your user name will be an empty box.  Input the name of your port, eg Mykonos, choose ON THIS FORUM from the dropdown, then hit the little magnifying glass.  All previous threads will appear in the results ready for you to read and get the info you need. Super easy.

Edited November 24, 2022 by edinburgher

[Hlitner]

I think Edinburgher has given some good advice.  While some of us here on CC have lots of travel experience, we cannot "do it all" for other folks.  Part of travel is doing your own "homework" and deciding what best meets your own needs/wants.  When we go to a new port we will usually read through all the cruise line's excursion offerings since they usually offer some good ideas about what is possible/reasonable to do in that port.    But, as independent travelers, we seldom take a cruise line excursion unless it does something, we want to do, that we cannot reasonably do on our own.  When it comes to Santorini and Mykonos there is nothing the cruise lines do that we cannot easily do on our own (without having to deal with a large group) with the possible exception of the excursions to Delos.  

While it is possible to do Delos on your own (you would need to book a local tour/transportation) it is generally not a reasonable option.

 

So, for the OP we would suggest that you read about Delos and see if this is something you want on your Mykonos day.  If so, book a cruise line excursion to Delos.  Otherwise, everything can be done on your own or with a private tour.

 

Hank

[tunafish]

There is a daily boat from Mykonos to Delos for 22 euro round trip. Something like 8 euro for the entrance ticket. Ruins are easily doable independently, just read ahead what you are looking at and notable structures like mosaics leftover and such.
Rest of Mykonos is done by foot, small place walk to the mills and you covered everything. Very touristy place.

Santorini has two villages, both walkable to cover pretty much everything. there is a local bus between them for 1-2 euro one way or taxi for 25-35 one way. both villages doable in one day without a problem. There are other things to do (like beach, winery and such) but would be much for one day. Both places would have a shitload of people and this is your biggest concern. 

 

PS. Still surprised that people can write 2 pager to school someone... 

[Hlitner]

3 hours ago, tunafish said:

There is a daily boat from Mykonos to Delos for 22 euro round trip. Something like 8 euro for the entrance ticket. Ruins are easily doable independently, just read ahead what you are looking at and notable structures like mosaics leftover and such.
Rest of Mykonos is done by foot, small place walk to the mills and you covered everything. Very touristy place.

Santorini has two villages, both walkable to cover pretty much everything. there is a local bus between them for 1-2 euro one way or taxi for 25-35 one way. both villages doable in one day without a problem. There are other things to do (like beach, winery and such) but would be much for one day. Both places would have a shitload of people and this is your biggest concern. 

 

PS. Still surprised that people can write 2 pager to school someone... 

The reason it can take 2 or more pages is that short posts have no details 🙂  For example, while there is a daily ferry between Mykonos and Delos you need to know from where it departs, what time, and is the schedule usable for a cruiser :).  As to your two villages at Santorini, you are forgetting all the other villages such as Firostefani, Pyrgos, Kamari, etc.   There is a lot more to Santorini than Oia and Fira. And there is a lot more to Mykonos besides Mykonos Town.

 

Hank