Fira or Akrotiri for Santorini "base of operations"?
Apr 24th 2007 | 3:42 am
#1
Guest
Posts: n/a
Fira or Akrotiri for Santorini "base of operations"?
Thanks to all for the info on October weather in Greece. I'm thinking
mid- to late-Sept might work out better; we're not hard-wired to the
October time frame. Now, my next question (I know, I know; always with
the questions): given what we want to do, would Fira or Akrotiri be a
better home base? Our must-do items:
visit the ruins
visit Santo Wines
a good beach for sunbathing, with a good view of the caldera etc.
We will not have a car, so access to these things via public
transportation is a must. Thoughts? Thanks as always.
mid- to late-Sept might work out better; we're not hard-wired to the
October time frame. Now, my next question (I know, I know; always with
the questions): given what we want to do, would Fira or Akrotiri be a
better home base? Our must-do items:
visit the ruins
visit Santo Wines
a good beach for sunbathing, with a good view of the caldera etc.
We will not have a car, so access to these things via public
transportation is a must. Thoughts? Thanks as always.
Apr 24th 2007 | 8:01 am
#2
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Fira or Akrotiri for Santorini "base of operations"?
On Tue, 24 Apr 2007 16:42:20 +0100, Steve G wrote
(in article <[email protected]. com>):
> Thanks to all for the info on October weather in Greece. I'm thinking
> mid- to late-Sept might work out better; we're not hard-wired to the
> October time frame. Now, my next question (I know, I know; always with
> the questions): given what we want to do, would Fira or Akrotiri be a
> better home base? Our must-do items:
>
> visit the ruins
>
> visit Santo Wines
>
In my experience on Greek islands it's usually better to stay in the main
town (Fira in the case of Santorini). All buses will radiate from the main
town, so you will find it far easier to travel around the island.
I haven't seen it for a few years, but I remember Akrotiri as a rather
dusty little village with not much going on at all. It's a more 'traditional'
Greek village than Fira but if that's what you're really looking for, then
I'd say you're going to the wrong island.
> a good beach for sunbathing, with a good view of the caldera etc.
If by 'good beach' you mean large and covered with golden sand, then you can
forget it on Santorini. Like many volcanic islands the beaches tend to be
strewn with black pebbles and pumice. There are beaches on the south-east
coast covered with black sand which is not particularly attractive in my
view, and gets painfully hot in the sun. (It also makes sun-bathers look
somewhat like Frankfurter sausages on a Teflon pan). As before, if it's
beaches you're after, I'd say you 'd do better on a different island.
--
Mike Lane (UK North Yorkshire)
To contact me replace invalid with mike underscore lane
(in article <[email protected]. com>):
> Thanks to all for the info on October weather in Greece. I'm thinking
> mid- to late-Sept might work out better; we're not hard-wired to the
> October time frame. Now, my next question (I know, I know; always with
> the questions): given what we want to do, would Fira or Akrotiri be a
> better home base? Our must-do items:
>
> visit the ruins
>
> visit Santo Wines
>
In my experience on Greek islands it's usually better to stay in the main
town (Fira in the case of Santorini). All buses will radiate from the main
town, so you will find it far easier to travel around the island.
I haven't seen it for a few years, but I remember Akrotiri as a rather
dusty little village with not much going on at all. It's a more 'traditional'
Greek village than Fira but if that's what you're really looking for, then
I'd say you're going to the wrong island.
> a good beach for sunbathing, with a good view of the caldera etc.
If by 'good beach' you mean large and covered with golden sand, then you can
forget it on Santorini. Like many volcanic islands the beaches tend to be
strewn with black pebbles and pumice. There are beaches on the south-east
coast covered with black sand which is not particularly attractive in my
view, and gets painfully hot in the sun. (It also makes sun-bathers look
somewhat like Frankfurter sausages on a Teflon pan). As before, if it's
beaches you're after, I'd say you 'd do better on a different island.
--
Mike Lane (UK North Yorkshire)
To contact me replace invalid with mike underscore lane
Apr 24th 2007 | 2:08 pm
#3
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Fira or Akrotiri for Santorini "base of operations"?
On 24 Apr 2007 08:42:20 -0700, Steve G <[email protected]>
wrote:
>Thanks to all for the info on October weather in Greece. I'm thinking
>mid- to late-Sept might work out better; we're not hard-wired to the
>October time frame. Now, my next question (I know, I know; always with
>the questions): given what we want to do, would Fira or Akrotiri be a
>better home base? Our must-do items:
>
>visit the ruins
>
>visit Santo Wines
>
>a good beach for sunbathing, with a good view of the caldera etc.
>
>We will not have a car, so access to these things via public
>transportation is a must. Thoughts? Thanks as always.
Fira is more central. There are public busses to Akrotiri - there are
also tour buses which take you to Akrotiri (tour included), Santo
Winery (tasting), a monastery, a few other places on a loop.
If you want nice beaches, you want Naxos....the Ilona is a nice hotel
close to Georges Beach. The old town (Castro) is lovely walking, rent
a car or motorbike and trip around the island - lots of neat little
villages and sights.
wrote:
>Thanks to all for the info on October weather in Greece. I'm thinking
>mid- to late-Sept might work out better; we're not hard-wired to the
>October time frame. Now, my next question (I know, I know; always with
>the questions): given what we want to do, would Fira or Akrotiri be a
>better home base? Our must-do items:
>
>visit the ruins
>
>visit Santo Wines
>
>a good beach for sunbathing, with a good view of the caldera etc.
>
>We will not have a car, so access to these things via public
>transportation is a must. Thoughts? Thanks as always.
Fira is more central. There are public busses to Akrotiri - there are
also tour buses which take you to Akrotiri (tour included), Santo
Winery (tasting), a monastery, a few other places on a loop.
If you want nice beaches, you want Naxos....the Ilona is a nice hotel
close to Georges Beach. The old town (Castro) is lovely walking, rent
a car or motorbike and trip around the island - lots of neat little
villages and sights.
Apr 24th 2007 | 6:55 pm
#4
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Fira or Akrotiri for Santorini "base of operations"?
On Wed, 25 Apr 2007 02:08:26 GMT, [email protected] (Carole Allen) wrote:
>On 24 Apr 2007 08:42:20 -0700, Steve G <[email protected]>
>wrote:
>
>>Thanks to all for the info on October weather in Greece. I'm thinking
>>mid- to late-Sept might work out better; we're not hard-wired to the
>>October time frame. Now, my next question (I know, I know; always with
>>the questions): given what we want to do, would Fira or Akrotiri be a
>>better home base? Our must-do items:
>>
>>visit the ruins
>>
>>visit Santo Wines
>>
>>a good beach for sunbathing, with a good view of the caldera etc.
>>
>>We will not have a car, so access to these things via public
>>transportation is a must. Thoughts? Thanks as always.
>
>Fira is more central.
Maybe time to say that the island isn't huge.
>There are public busses to Akrotiri - there are
>also tour buses which take you to Akrotiri (tour included), Santo
>Winery (tasting), a monastery, a few other places on a loop.
>
>If you want nice beaches,
West coast of the Peloponnese.
>you want Naxos....the Ilona is a nice hotel
>close to Georges Beach. The old town (Castro) is lovely walking, rent
>a car or motorbike and trip around the island - lots of neat little
>villages and sights.
There are nice black beaches on Santorini.
--
Martin
>On 24 Apr 2007 08:42:20 -0700, Steve G <[email protected]>
>wrote:
>
>>Thanks to all for the info on October weather in Greece. I'm thinking
>>mid- to late-Sept might work out better; we're not hard-wired to the
>>October time frame. Now, my next question (I know, I know; always with
>>the questions): given what we want to do, would Fira or Akrotiri be a
>>better home base? Our must-do items:
>>
>>visit the ruins
>>
>>visit Santo Wines
>>
>>a good beach for sunbathing, with a good view of the caldera etc.
>>
>>We will not have a car, so access to these things via public
>>transportation is a must. Thoughts? Thanks as always.
>
>Fira is more central.
Maybe time to say that the island isn't huge.
>There are public busses to Akrotiri - there are
>also tour buses which take you to Akrotiri (tour included), Santo
>Winery (tasting), a monastery, a few other places on a loop.
>
>If you want nice beaches,
West coast of the Peloponnese.
>you want Naxos....the Ilona is a nice hotel
>close to Georges Beach. The old town (Castro) is lovely walking, rent
>a car or motorbike and trip around the island - lots of neat little
>villages and sights.
There are nice black beaches on Santorini.
--
Martin
Apr 25th 2007 | 8:36 am
#5
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Fira or Akrotiri for Santorini "base of operations"?
In article <[email protected]. com>,
Steve G <[email protected]> wrote:
>Thanks to all for the info on October weather in Greece. I'm thinking
>mid- to late-Sept might work out better; we're not hard-wired to the
>October time frame. Now, my next question (I know, I know; always with
>the questions): given what we want to do, would Fira or Akrotiri be a
>better home base? Our must-do items:
>
>visit the ruins
AFAIK the Akrotiri ruins are still closed, probably until 2008, after the
scaffolding collapse that killed a British tourist. There is a full-scale
photographic exhibit of the wall paintings in the Nomikos Conference
Center in Fira.
Steve G <[email protected]> wrote:
>Thanks to all for the info on October weather in Greece. I'm thinking
>mid- to late-Sept might work out better; we're not hard-wired to the
>October time frame. Now, my next question (I know, I know; always with
>the questions): given what we want to do, would Fira or Akrotiri be a
>better home base? Our must-do items:
>
>visit the ruins
AFAIK the Akrotiri ruins are still closed, probably until 2008, after the
scaffolding collapse that killed a British tourist. There is a full-scale
photographic exhibit of the wall paintings in the Nomikos Conference
Center in Fira.
Apr 25th 2007 | 10:56 pm
#6
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Fira or Akrotiri for Santorini "base of operations"?
On Apr 24, 5:42 pm, Steve G <[email protected]> wrote:
> Thanks to all for the info on October weather in Greece. I'm thinking
> mid- to late-Sept might work out better; we're not hard-wired to the
> October time frame. Now, my next question (I know, I know; always with
> the questions): given what we want to do, would Fira or Akrotiri be a
> better home base? Our must-do items:
>
> visit the ruins
>
> visit Santo Wines
>
> a good beach for sunbathing, with a good view of the caldera etc.
>
> We will not have a car, so access to these things via public
> transportation is a must. Thoughts? Thanks as always.
It's been a long time since our family spent a week on Santorini. We
stayed in Fira, and it's hard imagining anywhere else because the
other places are so small, including Akrotiri which I think you would
feel stranded in. If you want to get around, just rent a car or jeep-
like vehicle for a day or two which you can do in Fira as needed and
need not be that expensive. The boat trip to the new volcano island
and the other larger island to the west is another thing to do.
Others have mentiond the lack of good beaches which tend to be on the
east side of the island as the west side is cliffs.
After spending a horrid first night in one of the "better" hotels with
rooms almost the same size as the beds, we rented an apartment built
into the cliff just below the road leading from the cable car station
to the sea below. It was much nicer than the original hotel, much
cheaper, we had a kitchen, and the views from the terrace magnificent
with the cruise ships anchored almost immediately below. The
restaurant by the cable car station also had the best and worst
sausages I have ever eaten, on two consecutive days! What a
disappointment the second lunch was!!!!
The later you visit, the rooms will probably be cheaper.
George
> Thanks to all for the info on October weather in Greece. I'm thinking
> mid- to late-Sept might work out better; we're not hard-wired to the
> October time frame. Now, my next question (I know, I know; always with
> the questions): given what we want to do, would Fira or Akrotiri be a
> better home base? Our must-do items:
>
> visit the ruins
>
> visit Santo Wines
>
> a good beach for sunbathing, with a good view of the caldera etc.
>
> We will not have a car, so access to these things via public
> transportation is a must. Thoughts? Thanks as always.
It's been a long time since our family spent a week on Santorini. We
stayed in Fira, and it's hard imagining anywhere else because the
other places are so small, including Akrotiri which I think you would
feel stranded in. If you want to get around, just rent a car or jeep-
like vehicle for a day or two which you can do in Fira as needed and
need not be that expensive. The boat trip to the new volcano island
and the other larger island to the west is another thing to do.
Others have mentiond the lack of good beaches which tend to be on the
east side of the island as the west side is cliffs.
After spending a horrid first night in one of the "better" hotels with
rooms almost the same size as the beds, we rented an apartment built
into the cliff just below the road leading from the cable car station
to the sea below. It was much nicer than the original hotel, much
cheaper, we had a kitchen, and the views from the terrace magnificent
with the cruise ships anchored almost immediately below. The
restaurant by the cable car station also had the best and worst
sausages I have ever eaten, on two consecutive days! What a
disappointment the second lunch was!!!!
The later you visit, the rooms will probably be cheaper.
George
Apr 26th 2007 | 12:42 am
#7
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Fira or Akrotiri for Santorini "base of operations"?
On Apr 25, 4:36 pm, [email protected] (Mike S.) wrote:
> In article <[email protected]. com>,
> Steve G <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >Thanks to all for the info on October weather in Greece. I'm thinking
> >mid- to late-Sept might work out better; we're not hard-wired to the
> >October time frame. Now, my next question (I know, I know; always with
> >the questions): given what we want to do, would Fira or Akrotiri be a
> >better home base? Our must-do items:
>
> >visit the ruins
>
> AFAIK the Akrotiri ruins are still closed, probably until 2008, after the
> scaffolding collapse that killed a British tourist. There is a full-scale
> photographic exhibit of the wall paintings in the Nomikos Conference
> Center in Fira.
That won't be a problem, we are looking at 2009 for our next jaunt to
Europe.
On the same subject, what does everyone think of Oia? the map
indicates it
has a beach, and some nice hotels, but beyond that ... ?
> In article <[email protected]. com>,
> Steve G <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >Thanks to all for the info on October weather in Greece. I'm thinking
> >mid- to late-Sept might work out better; we're not hard-wired to the
> >October time frame. Now, my next question (I know, I know; always with
> >the questions): given what we want to do, would Fira or Akrotiri be a
> >better home base? Our must-do items:
>
> >visit the ruins
>
> AFAIK the Akrotiri ruins are still closed, probably until 2008, after the
> scaffolding collapse that killed a British tourist. There is a full-scale
> photographic exhibit of the wall paintings in the Nomikos Conference
> Center in Fira.
That won't be a problem, we are looking at 2009 for our next jaunt to
Europe.
On the same subject, what does everyone think of Oia? the map
indicates it
has a beach, and some nice hotels, but beyond that ... ?
May 9th 2007 | 2:42 pm
#8
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Fira or Akrotiri for Santorini "base of operations"?
On 2007-04-24 10:42:20 -0500, Steve G <[email protected]> said:
> Thanks to all for the info on October weather in Greece. I'm thinking
> mid- to late-Sept might work out better; we're not hard-wired to the
> October time frame. Now, my next question (I know, I know; always with
> the questions): given what we want to do, would Fira or Akrotiri be a
> better home base? Our must-do items:
>
> visit the ruins
>
> visit Santo Wines
>
> a good beach for sunbathing, with a good view of the caldera etc.
>
> We will not have a car, so access to these things via public
> transportation is a must. Thoughts? Thanks as always.
Well Fira is the main town on the island so the bus links would be the best.
If you have a motorcycle qualification on your driver's license, you
can rent a scooter.
The caldera view is best from Fira. There are hotels that overlook it.
--
Dan Stephenson
Photos, movies, panos from the Europe, USA, plus N.Z.:
http://homepage.mac.com/stepheda
(remove nospam from email address to reply via email)
> Thanks to all for the info on October weather in Greece. I'm thinking
> mid- to late-Sept might work out better; we're not hard-wired to the
> October time frame. Now, my next question (I know, I know; always with
> the questions): given what we want to do, would Fira or Akrotiri be a
> better home base? Our must-do items:
>
> visit the ruins
>
> visit Santo Wines
>
> a good beach for sunbathing, with a good view of the caldera etc.
>
> We will not have a car, so access to these things via public
> transportation is a must. Thoughts? Thanks as always.
Well Fira is the main town on the island so the bus links would be the best.
If you have a motorcycle qualification on your driver's license, you
can rent a scooter.
The caldera view is best from Fira. There are hotels that overlook it.
--
Dan Stephenson
Photos, movies, panos from the Europe, USA, plus N.Z.:
http://homepage.mac.com/stepheda
(remove nospam from email address to reply via email)
