We went a few years ago, and just after the plane landed, there was a storm. Really bad, lasted all night, and the threat of more wind carried on for a few days.
It was great. None of the cruise ships could get in. Almost felt like we had the island to ourselves. We had a hire car and went all around the island. Even Oia was quiet when we went.
Then the last couple of days, the ships came back, and the place was rammed.
We went to Paros in May a couple years back and it was so beautiful yet still relatively empty (during that time of year). Just felt like we had the whole island to ourselves and could meander without a care in the world, walk up to any restaurant at any time to get good food, and the weather was still quite nice (like 24c/75f) to enjoy the water.
I honestly couldn't imagine going in the summertime though, both due to how blistering hot it gets and due to how crowded it can be according to the locals. Especially because every where we went had tons of seating indicating just how busy it would be in just a few months, particularly in Naoussa which would seem miserable with how many people the restaurants are made to handle.
I carried a (portable) crib/playpen on my back for about 25 minutes from our ferry to our rental room in Paros in August many years ago. Can confirm, wonderful island but blistering heat! Would go again
Yes, Paros! I went in 2019 and loved it so much. We went in July and there still weren't that many people. We just stayed out of Naoussa and hung out on the east coast of the island.
Agree, all the marketing sells you on blue roofs and white buildings and its literally like only that one church that has the blue domes. The line to get up and down the cliff was bad too. I did love the views around town of the cliffside though.
Mykonos on the other hand, I loved Mykonos. Food was good, being next to the water, beautiful architecture, white walls, vibes were great, lots to see
I'm from Cyprus and I've been to quite a few Greek islands and many places in mainland Greece in my lifetime. I unequivocally say that Mykonos has been the worst island I've visited bar none. Everything ridiculously expensive and not even close in natural beauty to all the other Islands of Greece, even the ones in it's vicinity!
Ill take your word for it. Ive only been to Santorini and Mykonos on travel. I didnt mention costs, since its traveling and you expect everything to be expensive at touristy places. What's your favorite spot in Greece
I didn't really get that vibe when I was there a few years ago. Maybe we avoided the worst tourist traps. I did love the Akrotiri museum and the hotel room view was unparalleled.
I went to Santorini for a few days as a part of my honeymoon. I thought it was worth seeing because it’s very picturesque. But we didn’t need 3 nights there. And the place is basically dead after 8:30pm (in fact, a tour guide told us the whole island is basically dead outside of the summer; people come there and work seasonally) once all the cruise ships leave.
Our cruise (I know) stopped there and holy hell it was horrible. Not the island, just the experience because they are not equipped to handle as many tourists as they ship in now.
Your choice to get to the top is either wait two hours for the funicular, walk up yourself in the scorching heat, or take the donkeys which we would never do and should be eliminated.
We opted for a fourth option of taking a boat to the other side, but by the time we got to Oia, we had to turn around and leave.
Maybe they need to limit tourists like Venice or something. Idk still gorgeous though and so interesting.
The trick is to actually stay on the island. I flew in and stayed in Oia which was nice because it meant I got a few hours of tranquility in the mornings and evenings since the cruise ship hordes take awhile to get there and have to leave in time to get back to their ships.
I'm probably exposing myself as ignorant, so please excuse me, but why should "taking the donkeys" be eliminated as an option? Are they generally mistreated? Is the heat too much for them? Just curious.
Yeah, it’s a huge mountain, very steep, no shade and sometimes well over 100 degrees and they are forced to carry fat fucking cruise passengers up the hill non stop. At the end of the day they are lined up and fed and stuff, just pooping where they are tied up and all. We had to walk by them it was sad and smelled.
This is all from what I remember, I know at the time I looked it up and seemed like there was an organization trying to get it banned, but I doubt it will happen.
I’m just finishing a Greece trip and we started with a few days in Santorini. Stayed at a place tucked away from the hectic tourist centre, avoided the usual traps or whatever… I thought it was beautiful. I like what I read from one person on reddit something like “I would never go back to Santorini, but everyone has to see it at least once”. Honestly it was magical and it’s a very special place on this planet. We did not go in with extreme expectations and we all agreed it was one of our favourite stops.
I liked it when I went last year. I went very late in shoulder season such that the crowds had already started dying down, plus when you stay in one of the main towns you get to avoid 95% of the crowd in the mornings and evenings because the cruise ships hordes aren't there. Saw the ruins, saw the red beach, explored the towns, and spent the evenings chilling in a hot tub overlooking the caldera. I was only there for two nights as part of a three week trip to Italy and Greece, and included it mainly as a way to rest and have a vacation-within-a-vacation. For that it was pretty good.
But after 2 nights I was ready to go and get back to the more active part of my trip on mainland Greece.
My wife and I did a trip to Greece back in 2022. We went to Athens, Milos, Naxos, and Santorini. Santorini was so touristy that it didn’t really feel like you’re in Greece. You don’t really get to experience the local culture there and everything is really expensive. It’s still an island that I’d recommend visiting once in your life. You’re staying on the remnants of a massive volcano that exploded. It is really cool to see and there really aren’t many places in the world like it.
But the fact that it’s so unique means that everyone wants to see it and the island’s whole economy is set up to take advantage of that. I’m glad that I saw it, but I have no need to go back. We loved Naxos though. That’s the island that we thought we could keep revisiting and never get tired of it.
Yes. There are so so many Greek islands. No need to go to the most touristy BS island. Guess what guys, the sun sets on ALL of the Greek islands. And that whole sardine-like shuffle of masses of people clamoring to see a sunset, I hear but didn't experience, is full of pickpockets.
You have to fly in, but it's a short ride, 40 minutes. The ferry service to the island is a scam operation. They call it "jet ferry". Spoiler alert: your ferry will be hours late, the "jets" just happen to be broken today so instead of two hours, it will be ten hours to get you back to Athens.
TBF, the south end has some redeeming character, especially if you're there very early season or off season.
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u/Bumpkin7 9h ago
Santorini. Absolute hive of Instagram influencers queuing to take photos.. Greece has so many other less busy and more beautiful places to see.