Greece - Honeymoon

forest_clover

New Member
Hi och,
thanks.
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och

New Member
hi michelle, july,

sent liao.

btw, i think i should repeat that i went on f&e and the itin probably only going to be useful for pple who go on f&e. if going on group tours, i'm sure the other ladies here can provide much more insight than my itin.
 

jasann

New Member
Hi girls!

Wow... all this talk about going to greece for honeymoon has made me really gian! I've been to Athens before with a friend and it was really beautiful!

What do you girls think of this? Going to more than one country at a time for honeymoon? I was thinking of spain, greece, prague and southern france but haven't decided where. Would you recommend going to more than one place?
 

juz_dimp

New Member
i was just back from greece too..the islands are simply beautiful.i went to santorini, mykonos and paros.
Went to anthens. Nice but will suggest a short stay since theres nothing much to do there.
Went to delphi, olympia and meteora.I joing the G.O Tours too.The ruins are good to see but i dun think i will go again as those rocks are simply not my type.i will rather spend the time and hours travelling to relax on those beautiful islands.
Will love to go to those islands again if there's a chance with my love one.
Too bad this trip i went with a calculative woman who only care for herself more.
 

juz_dimp

New Member
hi JK,
she dun like to go pubs/disco..even if I suggest sit down on pubs/discos after a day of walking, she regards there as dirty places.
Will rather go back hotel to sleep around 11pm.
what e !@$%#%^#^.i cant go myself rite.so dangerous
Say going to tour does not mean you need to get so tired. Imaging hitting the hotel before midnight...come on travel so far from singapore there to sleep early? we are mid 20s...

imagine go back to sleep before 11pm in the islands,esp santorini and mykonos..where night life is so bustling and romantic..she wants to go bk n sleep.

-she suggest a COMMON FUND where each of us poll in a money.eg $50.so that it will be slowly deducted for the common things we do together.eg eat.bus tix..then she takes charge of the fund....i feel pissed off when she keep reminding me the fund is low..must top up...i was wondering must she calculate the portion of the spagetti i eat to her as we share together..
then later i say.i dun like common fund..i prefer flexbility..then she grumble that she and her frends do tat in hongkong..wtf

- b4 e trip she went with me she went a few days to hongkong, then every sight she see.she will comment like ..chey not much like hongkong or watever..i was like..wtf...this is europe y keep lamenting with hongkong

-for one scenery or things, she can take 360 degree images of photos for that certain thing...pose here n there...2Gigs of memory for 5 days also not enough...buay dahan .

-at first she calculate every single cents she spend..record down every single dollar and cents on a piece of paper every thing we had spend..go up bus 1 euro..quickly write down.spend $8.95 euro, then quickly write down..etc
yes i know euro is twice or more than sing, but this type of behaviour i see already very sick..
she even calculate every single cents with me if we buy things togethter.

then later i buay dahan, i scream at her, i feel very "xing ku" to travel with you, if i want to be calculative with you, i can ask you to return every single cent of the free air tix that i have given to you (i won a pair of air tix) and share with her..since she still so calculative (she says shes on budget)...then she keep quiet.

well if u travel, if ur partner is tired or thristy, u go buy mineral water..50 cents..will u ask money back from your partner?
She did at the first place..WTF
She will think want to buy this for this friends that friends, i was thinking: hey i as your frend so unimportant at this moment, i am here physically with you, yet you didnt return favour for me for my "tix pressie" yet being so calculative....haiz

Greece is a beautiful person n one shd go wif love one or buddy that gams with you and share the same interest.
Anyway its a good experience.

anyway i have planned along e trip..during e last day..i ask her to swipe credit card for a S$300 hard rock cafe merchandise say my cc is not working..till now 3 weeks liao she haven ask me for payment.....
i was wondering....if shes really very thick skinned..will she ask back the $ from me..

heee
am i bad?...heee
 

juz_dimp

New Member
The list are longer that i not happy with this calculative woman, but i dont want to say more as not good to bad-mouth her..just wanna to voice up my anger..hahaaaaa

eg
She wear those charles & Keith 'womanly' type to climb mountains, see rocky ruins...i had remind her to bring a sandal all along, but she bot 3 pairs of flat slippers

she is the first one to bath in hotel room, and when i finish bathing shes still there mo mo mo..everytime i have to wait for her

she has to do packing n packing every nite..(she bring a small luaggage and 3 side carrier bags)..had to pack every nite.waste time.i just bring a large luaggage and dump in all my stuff then last nite i repack b4 my return to singapore...

i wan to go beach to relax n enjoy on the islands, she will rather stay indoor to buy little souvenirs, esp those greek soaps..freak me out..tik buy more than 50..say give this frend give tat frend..i was thinking..sometimes when i travel y must i buy things for frends..i am paying my own money to travel not for the sake of them..if got then buy, if not forget it..somemore large quantities..
i have to wait for her.

we each bot 10 maggie mees to eat just in case we get sick of eating same greek food..she keep complaining that must eat every nite...else she say cannot finish..so irritating..

she dun like to suntan, always hide under e shade, but i love to tan a bit, then she will keep pointing out those freckles on my hand..
wtf
and the list goes on..

hi swear to myself not to go tour with such a calculative woman again..
 

greenbamboo

New Member
hi ladies...just want to check if anyone flew by air france or emirates to athens before? came across some f&e packages offered by these 2 airlines, so would like to want to find out which one is better. advice is very much appreciated!
 

juz_dimp

New Member
hi jk,
she REALLY come and ask me for $ for the hardrock thingy eh...see how she writes..calcuate every single cent..

"My CC bill is here... The total cost that you have to pay me is $321 (after round down to whole no.).

Two T-shirt you bought in that late evening cost 18 Euro each which I paid using cash (18x2x2.05=73.80). And the rest I paid by Credit card which was charged at a higher exchange rate (total cost by CC is 247.85).Therefore, total cost of yours is =>73.80+247.85=>321.65

You can transfer this money ($321) to my POSB saving acct => xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"

wat shall i say to her then..in order not to pay her money?
...say i tok this is a gift from my free trip to you??
 

novia

New Member
hi everyone!

I heard from one local greek operator that some hotels in the cyclade islands will be closed during winter, which is when i plan to go there (dec-jan).

Need help!
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was planning to follow the operator but now seems like they don't have a tour package for me. Anyone of you girls went to mykonos, santorini and crete during dec? Dd you face difficulty in getting there by ferries?
 

therat

New Member
It's true. Especially for those island that heavily depend on tourist.
That time I went to Rhodes. The resort that we stay told us that almost all the resort and restaurant close during winter.
b'coz .. no tourist.
 

och

New Member
hi bride,

i went to santorini n crete in winter (feb). santorini is quite quiet in winter. many shops, restaurants n hotels r closed. i thought crete was still quite busy, since the island has a much bigger local population. bus services decrease n some of the more expensive restaurants r not open, but travelling around is not much of a problem.

in winter, most ferry companies halved their frequencies. there r still daily ferries to santorini, n twice weekly ferries between santorini n heraklion. occasionally in winter, the winds get rough n ferries get cancelled bcos it is too dangerous to sail. so be mentally prepared that u might not be able to hop from island to island with ease.
 

novia

New Member
Hi och,

Thanks for the advice. Was thinking of going to italy on a tour by trafalgar or contiki, then F&E to Greece. At least we try to be 'adventurous' by going on a tour ourselves and booking accommodation and ferry ourselves. Only scared the tourist areas in athens like the museums closed. Then jiat lat. We don't mind not running around the greek islands cos our main aim is to relax after touring italy
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We also were thinking of scrapping the idea of going to greece because of this reason and go france but then can't decide. Help!
 

och

New Member
hi bride,

athens is definitely open in winter. tourist arrivals drop in winter, but there are still a lot of tourists. tons of their own students visit the archeological musuem n acropolis in winter so no worries there, everything is opened. u get free entrances on sundays too.
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the biggest inconvenience will be 1) opening hours are shortened (to 5pm in athens n 3pm in delphi), 2) some hotels r not opened n 3) there is a chance that ferries get cancelled the day u want to sail.

the french n greek experiences r totally different, so pick the country to visit based on what u want to see, but dun skip greece bcos u r afraid it's closed. it definitely isn't.
happy.gif
 

novia

New Member
hi och,

so glad to hear that! The reason why we may want to go France instead is because their local tour operator told us that winter's not a good time to visit the greek islands. Hmm... Greece was our first choice. So hard to decide cos france is also romantic.

See, france is not too good during winter (except paris) because all the vineyards are either closed or grapes have been plucked so nothing much to see
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But i heard nice is so romantic... But greece is such a mystical place, so enchanting. So torn in between. Each has its pros and cons. We will definitely stick to greece if we find that the cons are ok to get by. I've personally been to athens and it's a beautiful place. I told myself I will go back again and what better way to do it than during the honeymoon
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I would definitely want to go to mykonos and santorini too. Just to relax.

We actually have 2 different types of itineraries for our honeymoon. Italy (sightseeing) and Greece (Relaxation). Quite excited. Want to book now but the agents are telling me to wait cos the packages are not out yet! haha! kiasee :p

When are the NATAS fairs coming to singapore again ah? Anyone knows?
 

och

New Member
hi bride,

it's true that most of the greek islands r quiet in winter. a lot of things were closed in santorini when i visited n the beaches r deserted. but the seas n sunsets r still gorgeous lah.
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crete is still quite busy though, think it's bcos they hv a huge local population which doesn't disappear when winter comes.

another place that is very surreal n beautiful is meteora, abt 3 hrs bus ride away. http://www.meteora-greece.com/ and http://www.greecetravel.com/meteora/.

natas is held twice a yr (mar & sep). next one is in mar 06: http://www.natastravel.com/holidays2005/.
 

sweetspuppy

New Member
Hi bride, I've been to Italy/France in both summer/winter & Greece in summer. So, here are some of my observations, to help you decide :

1) Italy - It's beautiful whether in Summer or Winter. Most roads would still stay open if you're doing a cross-country coach tour. The only minus point is that your romantic cruise down Venice wld be butt freezing, but at least, u can hug your hubby! Great food, great wine & great shopping! A must go in any season! But watch out! Italian man in Rome still very "chi-ko-pek" even if you are all wrapped up in winter coat.

2) France - Vineyards are closed in winter, so the only things nice in France during winter are shopping & Paris sight-seeing. You won't be able to sit by the cafe side-walks to look at pple going by, coz u'll freeze & pple will be scurrying by. France will be great for shopping & is really quite romantic during winter.

3) Greece - a definite summer vacation. There's no pt visiting the islands if u don't get to jump into the sea as Greek islands are famous for their beaches. Also, cruises will definitely be affected due to winter winds/ currents/ ice bergs. Shopping is ok, but shops also close earlier during winter. So if you want to truly experience Greece, it's best to go in Summer.

Hope this helps.
 

novia

New Member
Hi och,

Thanks again for all the helpful website links! Wow you're really resourceful! In this case, I'll wait till the NATAS fair before signing on any package. The fair will be from 24th-26th Mar next year (just for info). Wonder if the Contiki/Trafalgar tours will be fully booked by then. Worried...

Hi sweets,

Thank you for your views! Certainly helpful in helping me decide where I wanna go. Italy's a sure go ahead then. Definitely. Think I'll give up France. Ya, the main reason why we wanted to go France is also to see the vineyards. My FH is a wine lover
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So no point going there if everything's going to be covered in snow/dead :p As for greece, I think we may go ahead. We love greek history and my FH is really gian on going there. Heard that the weather in santorini is quite ok during winter right, och?
 

och

New Member
hi bride,

u r welcome. glad to help.
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i think booking in mar is quite safe. rome will be crowded around christmas, but u get to join in all the festitivities.

i agree that the greek island experience is very different between summer n winter. in winter, u will miss the partying, lazying on the pebble beaches n the musuems in the island may be closed. santorini, especially, becomes very quiet n serene. the beaches empty out, not becos the waters r that cold but becos the winds r pretty strong. as long as u r wearing a good jacket, u can hv the whole beach to urself. it might rain occasionally, but the rains seldom last for more than half an hour. the strong winds that makes the greek islands so cool in summer n a little chilly in winter also blows the rain clouds away fairly fast. n u can see the rainbows drifting away behind the rain clouds.
 

mirror

New Member
hi precious thots,

i've just went to greece this may, dun mind sending you our itinerary. it's really beautiful in may, though some of the party places are not open yet
 

novia

New Member
Hi Och,

Yup, want to catch rome during christmas but surely crowded one. Maybe the tours not even available...

Oh no! Meaning mykonos will be closed for partying? Then how... the point is to go there for partying :p We want to go sightseeing also when we're at the islands. If it's winter time then can we still sightsee? We're going to F&E for greece so hopefully can do some touring

Hi miriam, can you please send me your itinerary as well? My email's [email protected]

Thanks!
 

mirror

New Member
hi,

i need to compile the itinerary first... shall email tmr morning?

if you're planning F&E, suggest to read up the guide book, if possible, borrow one from the libary or buy one to bring over. our guide book serves us very well through out the trip. and most of the accomodations reccomended are really good.

just a note, mykonos partying hours start from midnite, unlike s'pore at about 10 plus 11pm. so best to stay in town if you plan to check out their party scene.
 

novia

New Member
Hi miriam,

no problem. Thanks for sending me the itinerary!

Yup, planning to go F&E to greece. Will read up on guide books before going. You have any guidebooks to recommend? Will probably wait till march to confirm the trip. Want to see what NATAS fair has. I wrote to a couple of greek local operators and they all replied saying I should contact them only in sept 2006 for my early jan 2007 trip! so late... they also said most hotels and sights will be closed.

Hmm.. if everything closed, is it still advisable to go? Och, we really would like to see the sights and i'm glad to hear from you that athens sights are still open in winter. It's the islands that I'm worried about...
 

och

New Member
hi bride,

sorry, couldn't check the forums earlier.

the best time to visit the greek islands is in late spring or in autumn, when there r few crowds n yet, most of the tourist infrastructure is still opened.

if u want to party, winter is the wrong time to be in many of the greek islands. when we were in santorini, the car rental companies told us that the number of winter tourists is only abt 10% of the number in summer! santorini is really a tourist island. many of the smaller tourist towns in santorini r closed totally. a few pubs in oia r open (we could hear the pounding music starting from sunset), but honestly, there r so few tourists, there really isn't much partying to be done.

as a result of the small number of tourists, i can assure u that there will be plenty of vacancies in all the hotels etc. there's really no need to plan ahead.

the ministry of culture has all opening hours posted online at http://www.culture.gr/2/21/toc/index.html. i'm not sure exactly how much time u hv or what u want to visit. for myself, it was after consulting this list that i felt confident enough to go ahead with the trip. since u still hv time to plan, shortlist the sights n check if they r open in winter b4 making up ur mind.

a summary of my experiences:
1) santorini: the beaches r still accessible n they will be deserted. however, the akrotiri musuem was not opened in feb when i visited. i read later that the musuem is closed for restorations, not sure if this is a winter thing or a multi-year restoration. the boat ride to the volcanic hot springs was not operating. the scenery was gorgeous still. overall, i will say it's pretty ok for a 2-day stay but i probably wouldn't stay longer.

2) we didn't visit mykonos, but i checked b4 i left that delos (the birth place of apollo) is definitely opened until 3pm everyday.

3) in crete, knossos palace, heraklion musuem, fortezza fort, musuem of rethymno, r opened almost everyday (if they close, it's usually on mon). however, operating hours r usually shorter, usually until 5pm, but sights in rethymno close at 3pm. the musuem of rethymno is not really worth the time lah. the thing that really sticks in my mind was the coin collection.

one thing to note when planning ur f&e. i checked with my husband, who visited mykonos some years back on new year's eve. new year (jan 1) n christmas (dec 25-26) r holidays in greece. my husband said mykonos shuts down during those holidays. projecting my experiences in vienna on christmas, u might want to check the opening hours in italy. hardly anything was opened in vienna on christmas. so remember to take these into acct when planning.
 

novia

New Member
Hi och,

Hmm... ok... our honeymoon will definitely be between late dec (christmas season) to early jan 07. Don't want to put off our honeymoon.

From the summary of your experiences, it is still definitely viable to go to greece. Our purpose of honeymooning in greece is to relax, not to rush with other tourists. If there's partying to do, that's a bonus. what's more impt for us is that there are sights to see loh.

I will take your advice and check out the opening hours of the places we want to visit when planning our F&E to greece. Italy shouldn't be a problem cos we will be following a land tour from trafalgar, probably. Tempted by cosmos one though, because they have one which starts on 24th dec 2006. That's exactly when we want to go. Trafalgar's one starts 29th Dec.

We'll prob stay for 10 days in italy before going F&E in greece for another 10 days.
 

och

New Member
hi bride,

why not book the cosmos one then? r there differences in the itin?

do u hv a guidebook already? i hv the lonelyplanet guidebooks. if u want, can lend u first while u decide on where to go.
 

sweetspuppy

New Member
Hi Bride,

I went to dig up my old fotos & found that I took an Insight tour for mainly Greece & took a cruise around the islands. These can be 1-day or 3-day cruises.

If you want to go free & easy, it would take a longer time as you need to take local transport to different parts of Greece. But it's not impossible.

I found the Lonely Planet Greece book very accurate in terms of their map, guest house, things to do & operator listings.

I traveled from Athens to Crete with zero plans just based on Lonely Planet & managed very well! If you're on your own, you'll also meet locals who are more than happy to recommend places/ things to do or show you around.

Haha, may I add that Greek guys are gorgeous looking, tho a bit short. Greek gals make Asian gals feel so petite!!
 

novia

New Member
Hi Och,

Thanks for offering. But my FH's cousin will lend it to us. As for the differences in itinerary between Cosmos and Trafalgar, well, not a lot of difference, just that Trafalgar's 10 days and Cosmos is 8 days that's why Trafalgar will bring us to more places. But the timing's not that good... unless we go to rome first to experience christmass there then join the Trafalgar tour on the 29th of Dec. Problem is, that's a good 4 days before the tour starts! Will be quite ex to stay there so long. Another alternative would be to go to Greece first.

FH's friend recommended Trafalgar because he said their tours accommodation are good and their guides are experienced. Dunno about cosmos cos I haven't heard much about them. But I'm leaning more towards cosmos because I like their timing.

Hi sweets,

Waws the insight tour good? Are the guides and accommodation good? They don't do tours in winter I heard so we'll definitely be going F&E. FH said he wants to have some 'adventure'! haha!
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Really? Yum! haha went to athens before and the greek guys were quite good looking. Didn't notice the girls :p no time
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sweetspuppy

New Member
Hi Bride, Insight is usu 5-star, so you can be assured of good service & really good hotels.

I've used Cosmos but not for Greece. They're pretty good too, except that their hotels are 3 or 4-star & some sights are optional, which means that you need to top up.

I've tried Trafalgar for local UK tours & found them so-so.

Best thing to do is compare the itineary offered by the different companies, cost & timing.

Haha, but u're goin there for honeymoon, cannot look at guys liao...
 

novia

New Member
Hi sweets,

That's great to hear that Insight is 5-star and good service
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Ya, I spoke to the Cosmos agent in singapore and she said cosmos is 3-4 star and globus is 5 star. I guess yi fen qian yi fen huo hor
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You pay for what you get. In the end, all may end up same price!

Haha ya, cannot look at guys. But FH and I have this understanding. He can look at gal and I can look at guy, then we comment together
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purple_poppy

New Member
Hi Bride,
When are you planning to go for your Greece trip? Can email me the itinerary which miriam sent to you? I am also planning to go for my HM during either AUG or SEP. Thanks!

Gals,
Any Greece pics to share? [email protected]
 

micyan

New Member
Hi Bride,

Do you mind sending me the itinerary which miriam sent you too?
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I'm planning to go to Greece for my honeymoon in June. Thanks in advance
 

oriental_b

New Member
hey pple,

I have one silly question for those who have already been to greece. Was there any prob wif the ferries? Is it easy to get sea sick? I have pretty bad motion sickness..so wondering if i'll have any prob. Any advise?
 


mint

New Member
Hi,
Anyone here who has been to greece has an itinerary to share?

Also, is it safe to do a self-drive in greece?
 

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