I have a dilemma. My wife and I are visiting Athens as the first leg of a Athens-Munich-Paris trip in March. We are arriving in Athens around noon on a Friday after taking the redeye from the USA and connecting in CDG (praying for no strikes). Our flight to Munich is on the next Tuesday morning. Currently booked cash-points at the Grande Bretagne. Planning on using a full day to do the Acropolis, National Museum, etc.
We'd both like to see the white washed buildings of the Greek isles via Santorini. We'll have to fly because high speed ferries don't run in March. Flying means packing and airports. I was thinking about doing this Sunday-Monday, but I suppose it is a possibility to book a flight on Friday afternoon and go directly to Santorini for 1 or maybe 2 nights. I'm not sure there will really be anything to do other than oooh and aaah for a little bit. Lots of hotels appear to be closed and I'm guessing restaurants and bars too. Not much in the way of beach activity.
We could scrap Santorini entirely and opt for another trip out of Athens. I have the UNESCO site at
Meteora in mind. Also an overnight trip, but by train. I imagine the trains will be a lot cheaper and less hassle than any flight. And the train station is probably easier to get to than the airport from the Hotel, meaning that we can go whatever day we want rather than possibly rushing to Santorini on Friday night to avoid an extra airport trip.
I think Meteora is much more practical and very compelling site in it's own right. Further, even though I like off-season tourism to avoid crowds, I think Santorini and the other islands warrant a separate trip when there is more action. But my wife is worried we'll never go back to the Greeks isles and she'll never get to see the white buildings.
Has anybody been to both Santorini and Meteora? (Most advice I've been given has been biased because Santorini is wonderful and nobody has been to Meteora). Any advice or suggestions?
Some previous threads I have viewed about Santorini in March:
Link 1
Link 2