In this post, I’m going to share my Greece travel tips and some of the things my friends and I did to visit Europe for 10 days for less than $1,700 each! I’ll share some things I wish I had known/an overview of each Greek island we visited! At the end, a detailed itinerary will be linked to help with your future Greece trip! 

How I ended up going to Greece: My friend Cindy (who I just went to Hawaii with!) showed up at my house one day this past December and said “I saw flights to Greece were only $500, wanna go?!” and naturally, I said (with no questions asked) “OF COURSE!” Thus began our adventure. We planned a 10-day trip to Europe in about 4 months! If I can say anything, I would say that travel doesn’t have to be intimidating or scary. Just say “yes” and be excited about going from there on out! 

I think a lot of people think traveling to other countries is overwhelming or even nearly impossible. But, I can say with confidence, I think it is one of the best things we as humans can do. Having the opportunity to experience other cultures has shown me the beauty in not succumbing to what is “normal” in our hustle-filled, hurried western society. The people we got to meet and befriend in Greece showed me the beauty of balance in working hard, yet also making time to rest and slow down and appreciate everything surrounding us. All that to say, TRAVEL THE WORLD IT’S FUN AND SO GOOD FOR YOU!! 😀

When should I visit Greece?

• Late spring is a little windy but not crowded and much cheaper – First week of May would be ideal to go – water is chilly but fun to swim in – everything is just opening in April though, so you may not have allll the options. But the options you do have are amazing and you get the best seat in the place without having to wait AT ALL
• Summertime is HOT and very crowded and expensive. You will have to wait in line for pictures and everything will be packed – not worth it to go from June – August. All the locals agree.
• October-November – water still is a little warm, starts getting chilly again because of the wind but not as crowded
• December – March – don’t go. Everything is closed and it’s freezing. People move home to Athens for the wintertime and hardly no one lives on the island.

SANTORINI

• Yes this is a “touristy” place, but for good reason. If you go in the offseason, it is not crowded at all. You get to explore the winding alleyways and take in all the creativity and beautiful architecture. One of the prettiest towns I’ve ever been to. 
• Stay in Oia – White buildings on the side of the cliff, blue domes
• Get a hot tub/pool and stay on the side of the island facing the Caldera. It is more pricey, but it is 100% worth it. We stayed at Anemi Villas and it had a PERFECT view of the sunset.
• You don’t need to rent a car, unless you plan on going out at night in Fira (a 20 minute drive). 
• Super fun to explore the narrow, winding streets – Chelsea and I went on a run and enjoyed the whole town, taking our time to explore all the tiny winding streets. 
• Go on a catamaran tour. It is the coolest experience. We sailed with Santorini Yachting Club and it couldn’t have been better!
• Eat Gyros at Luno for lunch!

• This one of the most unreal places I have ever been!!! It looks like an entirely different planet every couple of miles you drive! Linked in the itinerary are some really cool beach options to visit! It has farms, fields, rock beaches, and several quaint villages to explore. 
• Stay in Aqua House. Louis Vuitton and Dior both shot campaigns in Greece and stayed at this property during their time there. Sofia and Michail are the owners and are incredible humans. They are chic and creative, yet kind and so helpful. Aqua House is a secluded property by a quaint fishing village. You drive down a gravel road past a sheep farm, which eventually opens up to a view of the Aegean sea and the white-walled home you get to stay in. It overlooks two huge rock arches and has arguably the best sunset view on the island. On top of all that, a basket of local foods is left for breakfast for you and there are two kayaks you can use to explore the caves in the sea behind the house. 
• The village of Pollonia is a sweet place and includes another incredibly designed stay created by the owners of Aqua House. This property is called Captain Zeppos and is equally as stunning in regard to design! 
• You need to rent an all-wheel drive car here. The island is worth exploring and taxis are few and far-between. 
• Eat at the local dessert shop near the ferry port! The best chocolate pudding I have ever had!
• We jumped off the rocks at Sarakiniko beach into the freezing cold water. It was the most magical thing ever. Ask the locals where the best places to visit are. Google Maps doesn’t always work well, so sometimes you have to rely on road signs. Papafragas is another amazing beach to visit. You have to climb down a ladder to get there and it is very adventurous feeling!

• This island has the least nature/beauty of all the places we visited. If you love to party, this is the place to be. I love dancing and being out late, but it was honestly our least favorite part of the trip! We were only there for one night, but it was the most eventful section of the whole trip. We were in severalll sketchy situations, and we are very aware, on guard people, so we decided we do not love Mykonos at night. 
• We spent the day at Ilio Maris, a luxury pool club and hotel, and it was a dream! It overlooked the windmills and Mykonos Town and was so relaxing! We got lunch at this pastry shop and it was so inexpensive and delicious!
• During the day, you can go to a beach club or shop, and at night, most people go out to places like Paradiso or Scorpios to party until sunrise. Most clubs don’t open up until the first week of May, so just FYI if you plan to visit for the nightlife.

• Shopping here is a MUST. There are four Zara stores within a 20 minute walk of each other! Stradivarius is another super trendy store. Prices in Greece are cheaper for clothing, so leave room in your suitcase to bring some things home! The streets are kind of dirty though, so wear shoes you can clean easily. 100% need to wear sneakers!
• The Acropolis is a very worth-it touristy thing to do. You get 50% off admission if you are 25 and younger, so bring your ID!
• You do not need a car in Athens. Driving in traffic here is absolutely worse than New York City. Rent a place in the city (warning: it can be a little sketchy) near the city center so you can walk to everything! When you get off the airplane, you can take a taxi to your rental property. There will be fancy vans at the airport that cost WAY too much money, so just order an Uber taxi instead. 
• Harvest Coffee and Wine has the best hot chocolate I have EVER had for only two Euros! MELT Gelato was the best ice cream I have ever had! The workers recommended pistachio and it was amazing.

Flights vs. Ferries

• Taking a flight may seem cheaper sometimes, but it actually ends up costing more with baggage fees, etc. Most flights charge you for a carry-on if it is over a certain (very low) weight, even if it says the carry-on is included online.
• The flights end up costing between 50-120 euros, and ferries are around 50 euros with no baggage fees, and they’re way more spacious and comfortable than a tiny plane!
• After having to check in, etc. flights also take just as long as ferries. So if you’re going to Greece, taking a ferry to island-hop is absolutely the way to go. We used Sea Jets!

Where to splurge and where to save:

• Splurge on a nice place to stay in Santorini and Milos 
• Mykonos and Athens: must stay in walking distance to the town and splurge on going to beach clubs 
• Most things are cheap in Athens (hooray!) 
• Ask how much the bread and oil costs before you eat it at a restaurant. It is not complimentary. 
• Buy a filtered water bottle. I used my GRAYL one and gosh it was so helpful so I didn’t have to buy tons of bottles! The sink water is not safe to drink. 

Card? Cash? Euros? Car rentals?

• Get Euros before you go. I ordered mine from my bank about two weeks in advance. A lot of places don’t take card and if you don’t withdraw before, you will be charged a big fee. Like 100 euros actually charges 128 euros to your card. You also get foreign currency fees if you do not have a travel credit card. 
• A car rental is only needed on the more spacious islands like Milos, Paros, etc. that demand some exploring! Definitely not in Athens. Traffic is crazy and if you have a place near the city center, there will probably be nowhere to park. Taxi is only about 35 euro. Taxis only carry three people. I offered them 10 euros extra cash though and they drove all 4 of us. Can use Uber in Athens and pay card, but everywhere else, taxis normally only take cash. I would take about 500 euro just to be safe.

Random Helpful Information (I wish I had known before!)

• You need a converter for your phone charger, curling iron, etc. to plug into outlets. 
• You have to have a covid test or vaccine card to get into stores in Athens.
• Bring a zippered purse and be very aware of pickpockets (saw a man try to reach into my friend’s purse and pulled her away just in time AHH)
• You have to ask for the check at restaurants. They do not bring it until you ask because it is customary to sit and enjoy time lingering with the people around you! They also do not split checks.
• eff-har-E-stoh means thank you! par-uh-KUH-lo means please and you’re welcome. sig-NOH-me means excuse me or I’m sorry. This means a lot to the people when you try to speak their language! It is so fun seeing their faces light up when you speak to them in Greek! I love getting show people in other cultures that I value understanding them by *attempting* to learn their language. I did some Duolingo before the trip.
• Do not tip people unless you really want to. They do not do that in Greece. Your waiter may be sketchy and ask for a tip because they know you are American, but it is not customary to tip people there (luggage people, waiters, drivers, etc.)

In conclusion…