Often landing among the top destinations for a honeymoon, my (newly minted) husband and I selected Greece for our two-week trip and would do it all over again if we could. With a late April wedding, we hit the Greek Islands a little earlier than most, just as several of the islands were waking back up from shuttering for the off-season. I actually had a travel agent tell me that she wouldn’t help us book anything before May 15, suggesting that the islands would still be mostly closed, but that’s a story for another time.
Here’s how we spilt up the two-weeks:
- Santorini – 3 nights
- Paros – 3 nights
- Milos – 3 nights
- Athens – 2 nights
Santorini
Santorini is undoubtably a very popular honeymoon destination on its own thanks to its romantic setting and was our first stop. After arriving into Athens, we hopped on a short flight to the island directly and checked into our room at Above Blue Suites just in time for sunset. This place was magical – the island itself, the views, our hotel – wow! It was the perfect way to kick off our two weeks in Greece.
Also, they served us the best breakfast we’ve ever had and we are not breakfast people but every day they brought a giant tray full of way too much delicious food to our room, including glasses of sparkling wine, and we could not say no. We then talked abut how much we missed those breakfasts for the remainder of the trip. I still talk about that Greek yogurt and honey…
Being that it was the end of April, the island of approximately 15,000 locals was still decently quiet. Santorini is not a large island – it’s hilly with rocky terrain, mostly shrubbery for vegetation, and the towns themselves aren’t exactly walking distance. We decided to rent a 4×4 to explore and easily navigated the one lane highways between towns. As we spoke with locals though, we learned that in peak summer, Santorini often swells to 130,000 people from all the tourists arriving by ferry, plane, and cruise ships. Between the rising temperatures and hordes of people, I could not have imagined enjoying our stay if we had arrived later and was so grateful we were there when we were.
For our second night, we opted to dine at Selene in Fira, an upscale restaurant with a prix-fixe menu that was priced at significantly more than we’d ever spent at a restaurant but was a meal we’ll never forget. It was our honeymoon after all! The multi-course experience was incredible, with thoughtfully crafted dishes that progressed beautifully from one to the next. While I skipped the photos, I will say that if you’re looking to enjoy a special dinner, I would absolutely recommend this place.
One of my favorite activities while traveling is to book a wine tasting tour and Santorini was the perfect place for it. Given that the island is made entirely of volcanic soil, I knew it was a unique location for grape-growing but was surprised by how much more I learned while on this tour. Not only is the terrior unusual, the island also receives significant sunshine and wind due to its location in the Aegean Sea and so the wine makers learned to grow the vines in a basket shape to help protect the grapes from these conditions. The wine produced here is often crisp whites that are high in acidity and perfect for summer sipping.
Santorini is also the place where we began our obsession with gyros. Before leaving for Greece, I told Andrew that we’d probably be eating gyros every day for lunch and he understandably sighed, saying that he didn’t want to eat the same thing over and over…until he tried one. We were hooked! These affordable lunch options are better than anything you’ve had before (plus Greeks add fries inside!) and we continued to try as many as we could over the course of our two weeks, our favorite out of all of them being Lucky’s in Fira, Santorini. Don’t sleep on these – so flavorful and delicious!
Paros
After checking in to our ferry online, we departed Santorini for a quick ride to Paros with Blue Star Ferries. I can’t say I knew a ton about Paros before arriving but, when researching other islands to visit, it came highly recommended for its nightlife options and local feel. Paros turned out to be even better than I’d imagined. The island is mostly flat when compared to Santorini which meant we could easily walk and dine along the water of the town, Naousa, we were staying in.
We stayed at the Adonis Hotel & Apartments, which was within walking distance to the center and, although there was construction nearby, was a relatively quiet and relaxing place to stay. They also gifted us with a bottle of bubbles upon arrival and had a bartender available to mix up some solid gin and tonics each day. The staff also helped us rent a car to see more of the island one day which was an adventure all in itself. Again, I was grateful that we weren’t there with the crowds as it would have been more expensive and far more difficult to manage.
Among my favorite things about Paros was finding great dining, bars and shops in the central part of town. We stumbled upon an incredible bar called Kosmos and went back again the next night for another round of craft cocktails expertly mixed up by the owner. Everything stays open late there – boutique shops included – and by late I mean well past midnight, which meant I was stopping for gelato on the way back to our hotel at the end of a night out.
Milos
Next up was Milos and, while we didn’t get to explore this island nearly as much, we did experience hands down the best tour I’ve ever been on anywhere while we were there. I’ll share more on that shortly…
After taking a taxi from the ferry port, we checked in to our apartment at Orizontes Studios and headed down to the pool to get a feel for the place. There we met the owners, a husband and wife duo who was absolutely lovely. They have a bar/restaurant at the pool and over the next few days we spent a lot of time getting to know them and eating there delicious food. The hotel itself is small, just outside of town, and quiet. It wasn’t as walkable compared to Paros but we did explore a few hiking trails that kicked off just beyond the property line (and properly got lost and/or trespassed trying to navigate the trail).
We mostly used taxis to explore and quickly realized that this island had not completely reopened yet from the winter months. Several of the shops and restaurants we passed either had limited hours or a sign up saying that they’d be reopening within the next few days. We did find some great restaurants though, including Nostos which serves incredibly fresh seafood dishes right along the water.
Easily the best part of Milos, and our trip overall, was the full-day catamaran tour we booked with Oneiro Cruise. With about 12 of us on board, we spent the day cruising around the island and further out to sea to access some of the best caves and swimming spots that are only accessible by boat. Our captain grew up on the island and was incredibly knowledgeable, sharing bits of history and facts throughout the trip. At each stop, we would anchor down and then take turns hopping into a smaller dingy to get a closer look at the caves, beaches, and bays. The crew was so friendly and kept our bellies full with unlimited beverages, snacks, lunch, and an afternoon treat that consisted of barbecued octopus and other salty snacks to pair with a glass of ouzo. It was such an amazing time on the water and is a tour that I brag about to anyone who asks for my recommendations when visiting the islands. Highly, highly recommend!
Athens
Our fourth and final stop on our two-week adventure was Athens and woah, it was quite the culture shock after spending a week and a half around the idyllic Greek islands. Athens is much like any large city, loud, grimey, densely populated, lots of activities and then it’s not like any other city at all.
Athens is home to several historical landmarks, including the Acropolis and Parthenon as well as many Greek ruins scattered throughout the city. Given its historical significance, we were surprised to see a large amount of graffiti around the city, including on and around historical sites. It is absolutely common to find graffiti in a city but the amount of it and where was particularly shocking. We were also surprised to learn that Athens continues to be a city that’s prone to protests and large group demonstrations as we quickly found ourselves in the middle of one that occurred while we were there. There was a substantial police presence as well and it seemed generally peaceful but when we started to notice the crowd forming and the steady flow of police marching down the street toward them, we went in the opposite direction and as far away as we could.
We stayed at The Pinnacle Athens, which had a rooftop bar with excellent views of the Acropolis. We popped up there one evening with a bottle of wine and enjoyed the beautiful city views. The hotel was centrally located we walked everywhere from there, including to meet our Acropolis & Plaka Guided Walking Tour. This tour was very informative and hit the right notes in terms of time, amount of walking, and summer heat – book this one earlier in the day to avoid the crowds and to enjoy slightly cooler temps. Our guide shared historical details about several of the archeological sights as we walked up to and around the Acropolis and ended the tour in a neighborhood on the other side of where we started. It is a lot of walking and may not be entirely friendly for those with mobility issues but that would be true for anyone visiting the Acropolis as there isn’t a really easy way to get up to the top – well worth the visit though. The historical sites are amazing and there were so many more up there beyond the Parthenon that I knew little to nothing about. Greek mythology has always fascinated me and our tour guide did a great job sharing more of the tales that inspired the creation of these monuments and sites.
I am honestly not sure I could have imagined (or planned) a better trip! Between the relaxing islands, generous Greek people, fantastic food, historical sites, and what felt like the perfect amount of time in each spot over the two-weeks, this was one of my most memorable adventures. I am so grateful for the opportunity to travel and to experience this trip (and many others) with my forever. Thank you, Greece! You are beautiful!
ALI IN OZ 
Lovely, and congratulations 🥂✨🇬🇷
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