Yep, FINALLY sharing our Greece trip! It’s only been two years that I haven’t gotten around to blogging this but ya know… a LOT has happened between then and now. Two Summers ago now, at the very end of May, my girlies and I set out on our 4th Annual Summer adventure. Set out on a six week European adventure just on the heels of me filing for divorce a few weeks prior. The literal start to a brand new life. The literal TRIP OF A LIFETIME. A trip I am not sure I will ever ever ever be able to beat!
I have blogged the first few stops on our adventure that Summer…Barcelona, Spain and Cassis, France (TRIP POST LINKED HERE) as well as Antibes, France (TRIP POST LINKED HERE) and I do plan to go back and cover the rest of our stops that Summer… Rome and the Amalfi Coast of Italy. It was one of the greatest blessings and most incredible experiences of my life. To be able to see so many amazing places and be with my girlies while also being able to just get away from it all… forever thankful for that Summer. Here’s a full video recap of our trip AND a tour of our incredible villa…
Video Tour of Our Travels…
I can honestly say that I visited my three very favorite places I have ever been that Summer. First, my very favorite city in the world… Antibes, France. Although my other two favorites are more “flashy… WOW… MUST-SEES”, Antibes is a city that stole my heart a few years ago now. I guess first and foremost likely because I love everything about France from the language to the culture. Antibes is on the French Riviera between Nice and Cannes tucked away as a lesser known and somewhat sleepy little beach town. It is bustling with lots of yummy outdoor restaurants and tons of cute little shops but without being quite as “pretentious” and busy as Nice, Cannes and Monaco. The city was built in the 16th century as a fortress along the Mediterranean sea. It is sooooo charming and I am SO IN LOVE!
My next two favorite places are quite a toss up… the Amalfi Coast and the Greek islands. I honestly go so so back and forth about the two. I think that overall the Amalfi Coast is maybe a pinch more beautiful OVERALL but then I think that Santorini is a bit more relaxing. Amalfi is sooooo much walking and soooo many stairs! So when it came time to book our honeymoon AND I saw that Greece was open to US tourists… GREECE IT WAS!
I decided this post could cover both bases… recapping our trip there in June 2019 and sharing our honeymoon plans because they are pretty much EXACTLY the same. I have this thing where when I go somewhere amazing or experience something wonderful, I want everyone I love to see it and do it as well. I remember sitting poolside at our incredible villa in Santorini thinking about how romantic it would be alongside someone you love. Of course experiencing it all with my girlies that Summer was EVERYTHING, but getting the opportunity to go back and snuggle in that very same spot with John now is a dream come true!
Now let’s chat traveling to GREECE!
First things first… FLIGHTS! No matter how you plan it, you will most likely be making a connection in mainland Greece to visit any of the Greek islands. So although our destination of choice after leaving France was Santorini, Greece, we had to first fly into Athens, Greece. From there, you can either make an immediate connection or choose to stay a few days! Y’all know I am always super honest with reviews so I will say that Athens was not my very favorite (it’s kind of “dirty’, super busy and it was pretty hot) BUT it’s absolutely worth a stop for a day or two between flights.
Flight Tip… over the course of my travels over the years, I have discovered that it’s way more cost efficient typically to book your main flight (through Delta or whatever main carrier) into a main city (in this case Athens, Greece) and then book a “puddle jumper” flight completely separate through a smaller local carrier. You can always book both flights through a carrier like Delta but I have always found that you end up paying a lot more and it’s easier to stay a few days when you book them separate as well. For my 2019 trip to Santorini, I booked Delta into Athens and then used CheapOair.com to book flights on Olympic Air from Athens into Santorini. For this upcoming honeymoon trip, I booked our main flights once again through Delta and then used Bravofly.com to book flights on Sky Express airlines into Santorini. For our 2019 trip, we chose to spend a few days in Athens, Greece on the front end of the trip and this next go around we are spending our last two nights there. Either way we connected/will be connecting in Athens both ways but that’s just when we chose to stay a few days rather than making an immediate connection.
Athens, Greece
As I said above, in my own personal traveler opinion, Athens wasn’t one of my favorite European cities. There are quite possibly a million and one reasons that may have been the case… from only having had two days there, to possibly not knowing the best places to peruse the city to the fact that I just love France and Italy so much. Either way, not my favorite BUT worth it! Just for a day or two. You’ve gotta check places like the Acropolis and the Parthenon off of your list!
For our stay in Athens, I found the cutest downtown Airbnb that was pretty affordable and had INCREDIBLE views of the Acropolis! Our Airbnb from that stay is LINKED HERE. It was nice and clean and in what seemed to be a fairly central location. I usually like to stay in the “old town” sections of European big cities but we loved the view of this one. For mine and John’s stay in Athens this July, I chose THIS AIRBNB for the view and the hot tub!
As far as walking around the city, we loved popping into all of the shops and seeing all of the street vendors. You can see lots more of that in the video I share of our trip at the top of this post…
Of course if you visit Athens, you MUST visit the Acropolis and the Parthenon. The day we went it was quite steamy and quiet crowded but it was absolutely AWE inspiring!
Another must-see on mainland Greece is the GREEK RIVIERA!!! You can see lots more of the coast on the video I share at the top of this post but let’s just say it’s beautiful and at least worth a little lunch date! We took a hop on/hop off bus to peruse the area and eat lunch on the water. My mom is OBSESSED with the hop on/hop off busses… we always joke with her about it BUT it really is such a great way to see so much in a touristy town.
Santorini, Greece
I don’t even know where to begin about Santorini. It is absolutely UNREAL. As I said above, one of the most if not THE MOST beautiful place I have ever been. My comparison between Santorini and Amalfi is so confusing. Overall, all sights considered as one, I think the Amalfi coast is more beautiful. HOWEVER, from one breathtaking vantage point after another, I think Santorini reigns supreme. They’re both just unreal and unlike any place I’ve ever been. I will say that they’re both also A LOT of walking and A LOT of stairs! Amalfi is way way more but both are pretty substantial FYI!
Upon arriving in Santorini via our short 45-50 minute flight from Athens, we took a taxi to the coastal town of Fira. When I was booking our trip, I had happened upon Porta Fira Villas and found the most incredible three bedroom villa you’ve ever seen in your life. I’d booked it all before I had even an inkling that I was getting a divorce and had used our business credit card points. It was pricey but OMG it was AMAZINGGGGG!!! This was the placed we stayed in last time… OUR VILLA LINKED HERE!
This time for John and I, I just couldn’t stop thinking about staying in another villa. We had a three bedroom last time so of course we wouldn’t need the exact same one so we did some searching and found Porta Fira Suites which is the perfect one bedroom with a hot tub and A VIEW… SUITES LINKED HERE!
Here is Our Honeymoon Villa…
As far as Fira and what to do… walk around, enjoy the views, eat a lot of yummy food and do a little shopping! Fira is a literal maze of walkways and steps that lead to the most magical restaurants and shops hidden around every corner.
There are several day trips I would suggest… the first is Oia! I remember when I was first planning our trip contemplating staying in either Fira or Oia and for whatever reason at the time, I booked Fira and I remember being glad I did. It’s been two years now so it’s hard to remember why I ended up booking our stay in Fira vs. Oia and why I liked Fira overall better than Oia but I do remember that they are VERY similar. And if I remember correctly, I think Oia was a wee but more touristy and crowded. Still gorgeous and absolutely worth a day trip!
Addie found THE CUTEST bookstore in Oia…
And once again, Oia had tons of cute little restaurants…
Another fave was this little drink/dessert spot with the MOST GORGEOUS VIEWS!
Another amazing spot in Santorini is in the city of Imerovigli and it’s a hotel called Cavo Tagoo Santorini … RESORT LINKED HERE. We went for lunch and OMG it is STUNNING!!!
Another MUST MUST MUST MUST see is Black Sandy Beach in Perissa, Greece!!! It is a literal black sand beach a maybe 45min taxi ride away from Fira. One of the coolest things I have ever seen! We went for the day and had soooo much fun! The sand is HOT so make sure and bring sandals but the water is so so clear and gorgeous.
XOXO, The Future Mrs. Palazzo
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