Greece

We spent 2.5 weeks exploring Greece and it was one of my favorite trips so far! (However I’m a bit biased as this was my honeymoon). We traveled to Santorini, Milos, Paros, & Athens. I’ll tell you all my favorite things we did, our favorite island, where to eat, how to get around, and tips to make sure you have the best trip possible.

Santorini

We started off our honeymoon in Santorini. We spent 5 nights here and stayed in 2 different places. I wanted to start off in Santorini because it’s one of the most romantic islands, perfect for honeymooners. I also wanted to take advantage of Santorini being the most southern island we were going to, assuming we would definitely be able to swim here. Our trip was from October 9th-25th so we were kind of pushing it on the weather. Thankfully we had beautiful weather in Santorini, the water was cold, but we quickly got used to it and was able to still swim and chill in the water without freezing.

I’ve always imagined my honeymoon to be very romantic, breakfast getting delivered every morning, private pool, gorgeous room, and that’s exactly what we got. We stayed at the Lithi Luxury Retreat for 3 nights in the honeymoon suite. My goal with these first few days were just to unwind, relax, and not do much honestly. Lithi was the perfect place for this, the room was big, it had an adorable & peaceful aesthetic, we had our own heated infinity pool, a bed outside, and a wonderful breakfast delivered to us every morning. Another great things about Lithi is that they partnered with restaurants nearby that delivered, making it really easy on us whenever we needed food. Lithi was located about 10 minutes drive from Imerovigli, a little inland with views of the sunrise, it was very beautiful. I structured our days here to where we were out for the sunset and not home, since we could not see it from our room.

We got into the Athens airport around 8am, our flight to Santorini wasn’t until 1:30pm. This was way too long of a layover, not needed at all. I wanted to give us plenty of time because I wasn’t sure how long customs would take and just wanted to give us some flexibility. Customs was very quick, I would give yourself at least 2-3 hours but what I did was too much.

We then got to Santorini just before 3pm, I had booked a private transfer through booking.com to get us to Lithi, about $25. For the rest of the day we just settled in, swam, and relaxed at Lithi. We had dinner delivered to us and went to bed early.

Our first full day we spent chilling at Lithi, swimming, relaxing, taking time off of our phones, and we even booked massages through Lithi and they had massage therapists come to our room. It was awesome! This is not something I typically splurge on but since it was our honeymoon I figured why not. After, we got ready and headed to our dinner reservations at Orkos, located in between Fira and Imerovigli. First we stopped at the Three Bells of Fira, it was a 10 minute walk away from our dinner reservations. This is a really great viewpoint for the sunset and to get some pictures in front of blue domes.

The wind was not really cooperating but still a cute photo!

Orkos

Orkos is a really unique and romantic dinner spot in Santorini. You can book these tables that seem to be floating in the pool overlooking the caldera view. It’s truly so beautiful and a really unique, romantic experience. We were a little unfortunate because it was very windy, everyone else had cancelled their reservations so we had the whole place pretty much to ourselves.

To book the tables we had you did have to book the 5 course meal option, it was expensive, I believe around $300 or less, I can’t remember now lol. With this we got a bottle of wine or we could have chose cocktails, 2 apps, a salad, 2 main courses, and 2 desserts. I’d rate the food like a 6.5/10, not the best but not terrible. You are mainly going for the experience in my opinion. I’d recommend this to someone who’s looking for a romantic dinner spot and has a little bit of money to splurge with.

The following day we booked a sunset catamaran cruise with Sunset Oia. They have a van that can pick you up but since we were staying outside of any major town it was outside their route so we had to get a taxi to Imerovigli to get picked up. Lithi actually booked all taxi’s for us, they are expensive, I’d recommend renting an ATV if you are exploring but since we really didn’t go many places it wasn’t worth it for us to rent ATVs. The manager at Lithi said they are around 60 euros a day. Each time we took a taxi it was around 20-25 euros which we only used twice a day.

I’d highly recommend doing a catamaran cruise in Santorini. We started around 2:30pm and cruised around Santorini and ended in Oia for the sunset. We stopped in 3 different places to swim, the first one was by the red rock beach, the second was the white rock beach, and third was the volcanic hot springs. The hot springs do smell like sulfur, don’t wear a white or light colored bathing suit or it will stain if you want to swim in the hot springs. The water in the first two spots was beautiful, gatorade blue and so clear. It is cold when you first get in but you get used to it. We were also served a homemade traditional greek lunch and it was delicious! You also have an open bar with beer and wine, then they serve a cocktail at sunset. It was about 5 hours of boating and truly so much fun! It’s a great way to see Santorini, chat with people on the boat, and have some fun. Highly recommend!

Oia

We headed to Oia at 11am by taxi and were able to check into our airbnb early. We had an amazing airbnb in Oia, the view was awesome, we had our own hot tub, and I really liked the design of the interior. They also offered breakfast every morning in their community area, it’s a minute away not even and they have a few tables outside. It was really convenient.

Once we got settled in we headed down to Amoudi Bay to swim and cliff jump. You have to walk down the stairs, took us about 10 minutes, a bit hard on your knees and watch out for the donkey poop. Once you’re down at Amoudi Bay, walk about 7 minutes to the left, you’ll have to make your way through some rocks, then you’ll find the spot where everyone is chilling and swimming. It’s not going to be comfortable by any means as it’s just a bunch of rocks but the water is really pretty here, there aren’t really any other places in Oia to swim, chill, and cliff jump. This day we jumped off of the platform on the little island you have to swim to, it’s very very close as you can see in the photo. Then we swam a bit and headed back to our airbnb, showered, and then had lunch at Pytogyros, this was right by our airbnb. Very good gyros for a good price for being in Santorini. Def check out for lunch or if on a budget!

Before heading to dinner, we relaxed on our balcony with some wine and then walked around to do some souvenir shopping, and went to dinner at Oia Gefsis that had a great view of the sunset. We had wine, bruschetta, & the fresh fish of the day served with veggies. Everything was good, pricey, but it’s Santorini. We finished our night by chilling in the hot tub.

The next day we headed to Oia Castle in the morning, you have 360 degree views of Santorini here, it’s free, definitely worth checking out and doesn’t take too much time. I saw the windmills from this point of view and decided to go check them out. Then we went back to Pytogryos and took our lunch down to Amoudi Bay again where we chilled, swam, and cliff jumped. We jumped off a different spot today, I prefer this spot because one you don’t have to swim to it and two it feels more adventurous because it’s very rocky at the top where the other one is a platform, so it feels very manmade. If that makes sense.

Then we went back to our airbnb, got ready, and unfortunately went back down those stairs to go to Sunset Amoudi (but totally worth it). We had an amazing dinner here and had the best sunset we’ve seen so far in Santorini. We ordered the grilled octopus, greek salad, a bottle of wine, seafood linguini and orzo with fresh fish. Everything was delicious. Some of the best food we had during the trip. Plus, the dessert, OMG, I could rave about this dessert for days and would go back to this restaurant solely for this dessert. We ordered some chocolate lava cake like dessert, it was so flavorful, not too rich, cooked amazing, this is definitely my favorite dessert ever. No exaggeration. I give Sunset Amoudi 8.5/10. Definitely recommend coming here, it is worth the price.

So we had heard that the restaurants down at Amoudi Bay offered a shuttle to get back up to Oia so you don’t have to take the stairs. We go to wherever this shuttle is, didn’t organize it with the restaurant which we probably should have. We got in, and there was definitely a language barrier, he gets a call as we’re going up, and then opens the door for us to get out. We assume this is where we need to get out but I don’t think that was the case. It took us 20 minutes to get back to Oia, we were definitely lost. Very annoying, we would have rather took the stairs. But it was an adventure and adds to the story!

Today we were heading to Milos but I first wanted to wake up early to get the iconic photos in front of the blue domes. We got there around sunrise, 7:30am, and there was already a line, we waited around 15 minutes to get these photos. This spot was less than a 5 minute walk from our airbnb. So after we headed back and I looked over the photos and realized it was the wrong location, I was looking for a different location I had saw on someone’s blog. Plus I wasn’t a big fan of the photos we got at the first spot.

Iconic Blue Dome Picture Spot

So we went back out and walked about a minute further from the first spot, took a left, and found it. The line was a lot shorter here, we only waited a few minutes. Now this was pretty back lit, it was basically just on the other side where we first were so the sun was behind us, but you can edit this easily with your phone. I liked this spot so much better because the blue domes are much more prominent here. Just look at these photos, they are iconic!

Best Things To Do In Santorini

Catamaran Day - Rather you go in the morning or for sunset, you should definitely do a boat day! It was so fun & seeing Santorini from the water, especially Oia, is absolutely beautiful. You can even swim in the volcanic hot springs. Definitely recommend!

Swimming & Cliff Jumping at Amoudi Bay - A must if you are in Oia! The water down at Amoudi Bay is so clear and blue. If you are adventurous, you’ll love coming to Amoudi Bay. You only really need a few hours here.

Renting an ATV - We did not do this but heard a lot of great things about it. Really good way to explore Santorini and go to the different beaches like the red rock and white rock beach in Santorini.

Wine Tasting - Another popular thing to do in Santorini but we did not, we really just relaxed most of the time here since it was the beginning of our honeymoon.

Santorini Tips

Rent a car or ATV unless you are staying in Oia and only want to check out Oia. Everything in Oia is walkable. Keep in mind there’s really not much to do in Oia, we were starting to get bored after 2 days. I think 2 nights in Oia is enough. You can stay in other cheaper places like Imerovigli or Fira and easily check out the rest of the island. Go to red rock beach, white rock beach, etc.

Santorini is one of the most expensive islands in Greece, so keep that in mind when planning your trip. Milos was significantly cheaper and honestly more beautiful. The most breathtaking part about Santorini for me was Oia.

Most people in Greece speak English so getting around is very easy. You can either take a short 45 minute flight from Athens to here or use a ferry. Search on Google Flights for flights and I often use Ferry Hopper to search for ferries. Since we started in Santorini we took ferries for the rest of the trip. Most islands do have airports so just check the time and price difference and see what works best for you. What’s nice about the ferries is that you don’t have to worry about luggage, I had to take a lot of things out of my luggage on the flight to Santorini because the planes are so small.

Milos

We headed to the port around 11am via uber and waited for the ferry to Milos. The ferry was a little rough, there was a strong north wind, but after a 2 hour ride we made it. We walked to MilosRentCars by Unique, picked up our car, and headed to Mandrakia which is where we were staying. Mandrakia is a cute fishing village on the north shore of Milos. There’s a really popular restaurant here called Medusa, we ate here our first night and it was good. The octopus was very good. Due to the north winds the whole week we were not able to swim here or enjoy much of the outdoors, so we spent most of our time going to the southern beaches in Milos.

I would totally recommend checking out where we stayed at in Mandrakia, we found it on booking.com. The house was adorable, plenty of space, nice outdoor area, quiet, and they even stock your fridge which items like milk, eggs, yogurt, sodas, water, they gave us bread, cereal, so we pretty much had breakfast taken care of the whole week. It’s also a minutes walk to the cute fishing village and Medusa. If you’re a family of 3 this would work great too because there is a small, comfortable little bed in the living room.

In Milos I’d highly recommend getting a car, it’s pretty necessary to get around the island and see everything, or you can rent an ATV. Our first full day in Milos we went to Sarakiniko beach around 10am, this is the “moon-like” beach on Milos and it is one of the coolest landscapes I’ve ever seen. It really does feel like you’re walking on the moon, it reminded me of the waves in Arizona, but white. You can usually cliff jump here which is something I was really looking forward to but the sea was so choppy when we came it would have swallowed us. Sarakiniko is about a 5 min drive from Mandrakia so it was unfortunately affected by the north winds too. It was still really cool to walk around here and get photos.

We then headed to Fyriplaka beach, one of the most popular and nicest beaches on Milos. Sandy beach, crystal clear turquoise blue water, along amazingly beautiful rock formations. If you go down the beach further you’ll find so many different colored rocks. Fyriplaka lives up to the hype and truly is a really beautiful beach, you have to go here if you’re in Milos. While we were here we found our friends we met at the port yesterday and decided to rent a boat together.

Fyriplaka

Side note, we were supposed to have a boat day today to go to the Kleftiko caves but due to the north winds it was cancelled and not rescheduled because the winds were going to be strong all week. I even checked if they had options just along the south part but they said no. According to our host the south part of Milos was safe for boating, and we really didn’t want to miss out on a boat day because it is the best way to see Milos. So after calling around a handful of places we found a person that had a boat available for us to rent and drive ourselves for the second half of the day. We got lunch, got some cash out because he only took cash, and headed to Agia Kiriaki Beach which is where we rented the boat from. My husband has drove boats before so we felt pretty comfortable but if you haven’t, the owner walk through everything with you and lets you test out driving the boat first with him on it. Once we were all ready, we took off the Kleftiko caves.

Boating in Milos is a must do and was one of our best days during our time in Greece. The water is so clear and beautiful, the coast is breathtaking, there’s so much you can’t see until you’re on the water. There’s a reason why Milos is named one of the most beautiful islands by locals. It was so much fun renting a boat with our friends and being able to do things on our own time. Once we got to Kleftiko we swam for a while, drink some wine, and checked out the caves. Kleftiko is so awesome, very beautiful here, you can either hike here (30min) or by boat which is ideally what you want to do. We headed back around sunset and had the most perfect view of the sunsetting behind us. I’d recommend renting a boat or booking a boat day towards the beginning of your trip in Milos in case there’s bad weather you may be able to push it back.

The following morning we checked out some of the history behind Milos. We saw the ancient theater which has been redone using the original materials, nearby here you’ll also find a replica statue of Aphrodite. Both free to check out but if you want to go through the catacombs it is 4 euros per person. We skipped on the catacombs.

Right below all of this is a fishing village called Klima, probably the cutest one on the island, definitely check it out! We also had an early lunch here at Astakas Cafe.

Tsigrado Beach

We then headed to Tsigrado, another very popular beach. This one is harder to get to, you have to climb down two ladders, if you have bad knees or aren’t very mobile, I’d skip out on this beach. However it was my personal favorite beach in Milos. The beach itself is very small, we were here in shoulder season so it wasn’t very packed but in the summer I know it’s hard to find a place here. But you don’t come here to lay out, you come here to swim.

There’s different caves you can easily swim to, the water was the clearest here out of any other beach, it was just so amazing. The beach is rocky and not very comfortable to lay out, again this beach is more for swimming around to the caves.

Utopia Cafe

For sunset we headed to Utopia Cafe in Plaka, the perfect place to grab some drinks watch the sunset in Milos! Come early, especially during summer, we could not find a spot outside but we did get there only 10 minutes before sunset. I’d recommend coming at least 30 minutes before. However we still did see it from inside and right after it set, half the people left so we were able to get seated outside and still enjoy the aftermath of the sunset.

For dinner we ate at Archontoula in Plaka nearby Utopica Cafe, Plaka is the capital of Milos, it’s a cute small town, not too many options here but where we ate was good. We were with our friends this night and wanted to keep drinking so we kept the party going at Mosaic and then headed home.

The following day we had to go down to the port to figure out alternative routes to get to Paros because our ferry was cancelled for the next day. We were able to easily rebook and extend our stay and car rental an extra day. We went to check out the mining museum after, Milos is a huge mining island so if you are into this you should definitely check out the museum. You learn about the history of mining in Milos and all the different minerals the island has and what they are used for, it was very interesting. My husband is really into this so that’s why we went.

O!Hammas!

We then walked down to the beach in front of O!Hammas! which is where we were eating lunch. Wouldn’t recommend coming to the beach out front here, it was quite dirty. But O!Hammas! was delicious and felt like you were in a fairy garden. They are known for meat and the adorable handwritten menus. I’d check this place out if you like meat!

We spent the rest of our day at Fyriplaka and went to Plaka Castle to watch the sunset. Another great place to watch the sunset and it’s completely free. For dinner we went down by the port with our friends and I don’t remember the place we ate but I would not recommend eating by the port in Milos no matter what restaurant it is. Very mediocre food, I’ve heard this from several people.

Paleochori Beach

Our last day in Milos we went to Paleochori beach around 10:30am, there’s a really nice beach club here so we rented chairs, about 20 euros per chair, and relaxed here for the majority of the day. The aesthetic is beautiful, food and drinks were awesome, it was very comfortable, service is good, and of course the views are amazing. We really enjoyed our time here and I would totally recommend coming here if you have time in Milos.

Now, this day I actually almost drowned. It was recommended by a local to swim 15-20 minutes to the right of this beach around these rocks where there are hot springs and a little volcano that still drips molten rocks into the water. I didn’t have a good feeling about this, I’m also not the best swimmer. Well we go out there and after a little while, not even half way there, the current starts pulling us really bad, I started to panic, but we were able to find a rock to catch our breath on. We headed back and washed up on the beach and had to hike back through rocks. The water swimming back was really tough, constantly swallowing salt water, it was exhausting, and probably the worst recommendation ever so I HIGHLY don’t recommend doing what we did. Thankfully we turned back.

Anyways… For dinner we went to the town of Pollonia and ate at Yialos, a popular seafood restaurant. We got the grilled sardines, Evan got steak, and I got the seafood gnocci, the seafood was delicious and we ordered a lemon dessert and that was also delicious. This restaurant is also right on the water so as you’re having a lovely meal you’ll also have an amazing view. Definitely recommend coming here!

Today we are heading to Paros but first we woke up early to catch the sunrise at Sarakiniko beach, highly recommend doing this! It’s so beautiful in the morning, the way the sun reflects on the moon-like rocks. So amazing.

Fyropotamos

Before heading to the port we stopped by Fyropotamos, a small village surrounded by beautiful cliffs. You can check out the church here and if you walk past it you’ll find what looks to be remains of an ancient home or some structure, and then walk past this a little to the cliffs and the rock colors are amazing. In this picture I was standing on a purple cliff, it looks more purple in real life. The views here are so beautiful! Usually a good place for swimming but due to the north winds we could not.

Best Things To Do In Milos

Boat Day - Definitely a must do in Milos, it is the best way to see the island, there’s a lot of beautiful areas that are difficult to get to or can’t get to unless you go by boat. You definitely need to go to Kleftiko, the water is so clear, you can swim through caves, the rock formations are awesome. Rather you rent a boat yourself or do a boat tour, it’s a must do. Schedule it for the beginning of your trip, in case of bad weather you can push it back.

Fyriplaka & Tsigrado - I’m putting these two beaches together because they are right by each other. Both are beautiful, Fyriplaka has awesome rock formations and plenty of room to lay out and swim. The water is super clear. Tsigrado you have to use the ladders to get down to, a little more difficult for people who aren’t very mobile. But it’s a beautiful, the water is very clear and it’s really fun swimming around to the different caves. Not much room to lay out though.

Sarakiniko Beach - You absolutely have to come here in Milos. A beautiful, unique moon-like landscape. Explore, lay out, swim, cliff jump, you won’t regret coming here. Due to the north winds we could not swim or cliff jump unfortunately because the sea was way to rough but still amazing to walk around here and explore. There’s little caves to go into. Great place to watch the sunrise.

Klima & Mandrakia Fishing Villages - Stop by these adorable little fishing villages, great photo opportunities!

Watch the Sunset at Utopia Cafe or Plaka Castle - Beautiful sunsets over this way. I prefer to have a glass of wine and watch the sunset & Utopia Cafe is the perfect place to do so, make sure to come at least 30 minutes before to get a good seat. If you want a free option, go up to Plaka Castle, all in the same area.

Beach Club - Lastly, if you have enough time and want a relaxing day at a beach club, check out the beach club at Paleochori beach. We had a great time here, prices weren’t that bad, food and cocktails were great, and the vibe was awesome.

Best Places to Eat in Milos

Yialos - Really great seafood restaurant in Pollonia on the water.

O!Hammas! - Really good meat dishes and beautiful setting.

Mandrakia - Good octopus, tuna wasn’t the best though. Adorable area and right on the water.

Milos Tips

You’ll definitely either want a car or ATV in Milos. There’s a lot of different beaches and cool spots to see on the island, a lot of the roads are gravel/dirt and kind of rough, so keep that in mind when choosing what car. Don’t eat by the port, it’s not very good. Most everywhere will accept card, Visa or Mastercard, except for where we rented the boat - they needed cash. But I recommend trying to pay for most things in cash on these islands, sometimes you can get things for cheaper and it’s more beneficial for the owners. In Santorini and Athens we did pay with card most of the time though.

We had 5 full days in Milos, I’d give yourself 4-5 days to check out Milos, you could do it in 3 but with a full boat day it will be tight. It’s such a beautiful island with many great beaches you won’t be disappointed spending a lot of time here.

Paros

It was a 4 hour ferry ride to Paros from Milos only because we stopped at different islands. Definitely recommend getting sea sickness pills. We rented a car through Ace Cars Paros and they actually met us at the port to give us the car, very simple and smooth process. Great place to rent a car from in Paros and you’ll want a car here.

We checked into our airbnb which was a 5 minute drive inland from the port, we had amazing views of the sunset, a whole house to ourselves, the patio area was awesome. We had such a lovely stay here and the price was amazing.

For dinner we went to Notos in Naousa, one of the best meals we had in Greece, everything was so delicious! 9/10 definitely recommend coming here if you’re in Paros.

Our first full day in Paros we headed to Lefkes in the morning, Lefkes is an adorable little town, a few shops and restaurants, a great place to take photos. We had a light breakfast at Cafe Marigo which is right by one of the most picturesque spots in Paros.

We also went to probably the most iconic spot to get photos in front of in Paros, this spot is in Lefkes, this is the address we put in, Epar.Od. Parikias-Marpissas, Lefkes 844 00, Greece. Google maps can be a little difficult but just keep walking around until you find it. The owner was actually outside when we were there so we chatted with him, remember to be respectful, we did ask for permission, he was very kind and takes a lot of pride in his home.

We strolled around Lefkes for about an hour and then headed to Marpissa, another even smaller adorable little town less than 15 minutes from Lefkes. Here I was trying to find the pink door to get some photos. There was literally no one there, we only passed by one woman! It’s so quiet, peaceful, and so beautiful. The perfect little town to stroll around and get amazing photos and videos. Definitely recommend checking out both Lefkes and Marpissa!

Kalogeros Beach

While we were over on this side of the island we stopped by Kalogeros beach where you can cover yourself in the natural mud from the rocks and it leaves your skin feeling smooth and glowy. We left the mask on for 30 minutes and washed it off in the sea. Really cool and unique experience, so much fun! You have to come here in Paros.

The spot where the mud is is to the left of the beach when you walk in. Find the clay looking like rocks and you really have to dig in there and get it wet. I thought I would just be able to run my hand over the rock to determine if it’s the mud mask one but it didn’t work. So make sure the get it wet and scrap it with a sharp rock.

For lunch we stopped by Grill House Daras by Marpissa and had the best gyros we’ve ever had! And it was so cheap, 2 gyros and 2 waters for 10 euros. Definitely come here if you’re in the area. We went to the market and picked up some wine and food for the airbnb. We had a lovely dinner in tonight watching the sunset on the rooftop.

The next day we headed to Naousa in the morning, I wanted to get some photos in front of Linardo, a cocktail bar, but it was under construction. So we headed to a bakery in town called Batistas, got a few treats and it was so cheap and delicious!

Then we headed to Kolybithres, it’s supposedly a magical rock beach, we didn’t feel any type of energy there but it was pretty, the rocks are very smooth and unique. It was pretty windy and cold so we didn’t spend too much time here. We drove about 30 minutes to the opposite side of the island to Alyki, we went to the beach here but it was still windy and cold. We had lunch at To Balcany tou Aki, ordered the cuttle fish ink orzo dish and it was really good, felt weird to eat though because of the black ink but it was delicious. The views here are beautiful.

Unfortunately we just got a little unlucky with today in Paros. It was starting to get cold and it seemed like there was no way to get around the wind, unlike Milos. For dinner we tried going to Dyonosis, but it was closed for the season. It’s supposed to be a really good dinner spot. Amazing reviews.

We headed to the port in the morning to go to Athens. We booked our ferry with Blue Star, this ferry was super nice and large. We did not feel any sea sickness at all, there’s a cafe and restaurant on board. It took about 6 hours to get to Athens.

Best Things To Do In Paros

Visit Lefkes & Marpissa - One of my favorite moments in Paros, I loved strolling around these two adorable little towns. So many great picture spots. Marpissa is very quiet and peaceful. Both are about a 10 minute drive from each other.

Kalogeros Beach - Natural mud mask beach, really unique experience and it does leave your skin feeling soft and glowy. This was super fun to do.

Alyki Beach - A beautiful, calm beach in Alyki. Really cute little town with shops and restaurants.

Naousa - Popular place to go party or have dinner. There’s a lot to check out in this town, it’s cute and has a lot of shops.

Best Places To Eat In Paros

Notos - in Naousa and it was one of the best places we ate at in Greece, amazing service as well. We got three apps, 2 desserts, and each got our own meal, everything was delicious.

Grill House Daras - the delicious and cheap gyro place we went to by Marpissa. So good!

To Balcony tou Aki - In Alyki, we had the cuttlefish ink orzo and it was really good! This place has amazing views too, right on the water.

Paros Tips

You’ll also want to rent a car in Paros, roads are better here which was nice. Definitely come during May, June, September, or early October. We came pretty late in the season, got here the 21st of October and a lot of places were closing down. I would love to come back to experience more of Paros because it truly is a beautiful island.

You can get to Paros by plane or ferry. I’d recommend at least 2-3 days to explore all of what Paros has to offer.

Athens

We arrived to our airbnb in Athens around 4pm, took the metro line to Monastri, where we were staying. We were in a really good, safe, central location and our airbnb was very comfortable and adorable. Pretty cheap too. The host had a bottle of wine waiting for us so we enjoyed that, unpacked, and headed to dinner at Cardinale, an Italian restaurant right by us. I’d rate it a 7/10, it was decent.

The next day was our full day private tour of Athens. I booked this on Get Your Guide and it was around $350. Our tour guide picked us up at 9am and we came back home around 5pm. It was nice being drove everywhere, we went to so many places and learned a lot of history. We started at the Academy of Athens, then went to Mount Lycabettus which had amazing views of Athens.

Then we saw the changing of guards, I didn’t know other places did this I thought it was just London. After we visited the Acropolis, this was so breathtaking! Being in history is such a cool feeling, knowing how old these structures are, it’s really awe inspiring. You’ll only need about an hour here.

For lunch we went to Koutouki Kalypso, a local spot and it was amazing, some of the best meat I’ve had. If you don’t like meat I wouldn’t come here though. After, we explored Agora, it’s an ancient market hill in Athens right below Acropolis. Then we visited the Temple of Zeus, Olympian Stadium, and ended driving through the oldest neighborhood in Athens, Plaka.

The tour was great, it was amazing to pretty much see all of Athens in one day. The only con was the tour guide did not go in with us to any sites that needed tickets like Acropolis, Agora, Temple of Zeus. He ran down the history in the car and then we explored it ourselves. We also had to buy the tickets, not included in the tour price, you can purchase tickets that get you into everything listed above for 30 euros or just Acropolis for 20 euros. I wish that he was visiting the sites with us that way he could point certain things out. But overall, it was a good tour.

For dinner we went to a rooftop bar called XFloor, we found it last minute and it was actually very good with a good view of the Acropolis. 8/10.

Our last day of our trip in Greece was pretty chill. We started off having breakfast at Plakaki Cafe in Plaka, not the best place to get breakfast. Then we walked to the Acropolis museum and explored there for a few hours, they have a free audio guide so bring headphones if you come here as they did not offer any. We just put our speaker up to our ear.

Then we headed back home, relaxed, and went to the ancient library, right by Agora, our tickets we bought also included this. After we had lunch around this area, there’s a lot of restaurants over here but honestly most of them are tourist traps and don’t have the best food.

Our tour guide from yesterday recommended we check out Fairytale, a little cafe/dessert restaurant and the decor is insane! It was so beautiful and totally my style. Such a good place to take photos. Plus the desserts were amazing, I was shocked, I ordered the lava cake and it was one of the best lava cakes I’ve ever had. Definitely recommend checking out this place if this is your style.

We went to our airbnb and relaxed until dinner time. We had reservations at Stork rooftop around sunset time, we had an amazing view of the sunset and Acropolis. This rooftop is very pretty, good food, good drinks, and good service. It’s a shareable style menu so you can order a bunch of different plates and share with whoever you’re there with. This rooftop definitely has one of the best views of the Acropolis.

Best Things To Do In Athens

Acropolis - Obviously this is on everyone’s list, the most iconic historical landmark to see in Athens. I’d recommend buying the 30 euro tickets because they get you into many other landmarks you’ll want to visit like the Temple of Zeus, Agora, the ancient library, etc.

Stroll around Plaka - Plaka is the oldest neighborhood in Athens, lots of shops and restaurants over here.

Visit Fairytale - The adorable pink cafe I featured in this blog, if you are a girly girl you’ll love this place and the desserts were delicious.

Acropolis Museum - This was cool to check out because they showcase a lot of the parts from the Acropolis, mainly statues, art, that sort of thing.

Dinner/Drinks on a Rooftop - Have dinner or go out for drinks at one of the rooftop bars and restaurants with a view of the Acropolis. Stork was amazing, great views here. XFloor was also really nice. Better views at Stork though.

Athens Tips

Everything we went to in Athens was walkable, 15 minutes max. Now the tour I’m not sure, since we were being drove around. Athens has good public transportation so I definitely wouldn’t rent a car here.

You really only need maybe 2 days max here in Athens, we were able to visit all the historical landmarks in one day. Two days gives you a little more relaxation time and the opportunity to explore whatever else you may want to see in Athens.

For positioning Athens within your trip, it really depends on your preference… We were getting pretty tired towards the end of our trip so I think it was harder to retain some of the historical information. It may have been nice to do Athens in the beginning and then relax on the islands, but since it was our honeymoon I wanted relaxation right away. So it really depends on your preference.

Summary

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Summary ~

Greece was definitely one of our favorite places we’ve been to, Italy still tops it all though. We loved Santorini, the views in Oia are just amazing and it’s such a gorgeous little town. Milos was breathtaking, they really do have some of the best beaches in Greece. The water is so clear and a gorgeous turquoise blue. The rocks and landscape here is awesome. Paros was an adorable island, the towns Lefkes and Marpissa I loved. Athens was good too, we weren’t the biggest fans of Athens and I didn’t really know why. We liked Rome a lot better. It seems like the Roman history was a lot better preserved.

Milos and Paros are two islands I would definitely go to again. I would love to explore more of the islands outside of the cyclades. The Greeks are very nice people, we felt very welcomed and mostly everyone spoke English. I’m always so grateful for this. I always try to learn a few basic words in the language of wherever we are traveling though, the locals tend to love it.

We did get international drivers permit because it says online you need it, but it was never asked from us. Same for Italy too. I think it’s something that would maybe be asked if we were pulled over though. It costs about $35 to go do at AAA, so for me it’s worth it to just do because I’d hate to pull up to rent a car and they won’t rent to us because we don’t have it.

Some people are starting to compare Croatia and Greece, we’ve been to both now and I can say they are very similar, I will say I think the waters in Croatia may be just a tad bit clearer, on their islands. However I like the Greece architecture a lot and we did not come across any sea urchins and most of the beaches were sandy. Unlike in Croatia there were so many sea urchins which makes it less enjoyable to swim because you’re constantly on the look out, and the rocky beaches can be a bit uncomfortable. Some people are saying Croatia is cheaper, I don’t really agree, Milos and Paros were pretty cheap. If you go to Santorini or Mykonos of course it’s going to be expensive. However I do think both countries are worth a visit because they are still different in their own ways.

If you love clear waters, beautiful landscapes, nice people, and fresh food, you will love Greece.