Greek Islands?

[StarStruck7]

Well I just bought tickets to Greece for Spring Break... can't believe that I'm really going!

Anyways, I was wondering if anyone had been to the Islands or to Turkey and had recommendations on where to go? We're trying not to plan anything too much before we get there since we have a month to do what we want but I was curious if there were any places people thought we shouldn't miss?

[Poopyjo]

Oooh...baby, you lucky duck you...

Went round the islands a couple of years ago, and you CANNOT afford to miss Santorini, in the Aegean. It used to be a huge volcano which erupted like, eons ago, and now the villages are perched on huge clifftops, the scenery's fantastic and they reputedly have the best sunsets in Greece...
Spent a lovely evening sitting at a restaurant on the very edge of the cliff eating stuffed vineleaves and drinking wine with Zorba the Greek playing wistfully on the breeze and some mad islanders jumping on tables.... Don't miss it. You can get there by ferry from Piraeus in Athens (stopping off at Paros, Naxos and Ios (party island) on the way, or get there by ferry from Crete.

ALternatively, i also loved Zakynthos, Ithaca and Cephalonia on the other side of the Peloppones in the Ionian sea.....

ALl of it's amazing. You bastard!
<IMG alt="image" SRC="wink.gif" border="0">

[octopus]

How lucky are you!
I went to crete a couple of years ago. Its nice, but some bits are really touristy. If you don't mind that then fine, but otherwise try to go inland a bit: it's much nicer. Also try to get to some of the smaller islands. If you do go to crete, don't miss vaii beach (I don't think thats how you spell it) , on the south coast I think. Its where the old bounty ads were filmed (ie: blue sea, gold sand, etc) and is fab.
Have fun! <IMG alt="image" SRC="biggrin.gif" border="0">

[StarStruck7]

Thanks for the advice everyone!

Couple other questions:
Any places that aren't worth going? that are over-rated or too expensive or you just had a bad experience?

And has anyone been to Turkey and what was that like?

[katchika]

If you go to Crete you can geta boat trip out to somewhere called Something Bay (sorry, can't remember the name, it's on the north eastern side of the island). It's gorgeous, the water is completely clear and you float so easily. You can throw a sarnie in the water and watch all the fishies go and get it. You can get a rubber ring ride round the little island that the bay is on.

Is lovely, in fact I have some pics that I will put up on my site soon!

Have a lovely time..are you flying to Athens? You can get loads of ferry hopping tickets from there.. Just don't go to Faliraki unless you like Club Reps!

[StarStruck7]

Yea, we're flying into Athens but only spending about a day or so there before heading to an island called Samos and from there taking a connecting ferry over to Ephesus in Turkey. We'll probably spend the next week or so in Turkey- plan to make it up to Istanbul and Troy... then its back to the islands for the rest of the time.

Thank you again everyone! Honestly we have no idea what we're doing while we're there but from the looks of it Crete seems to be the most popular destination.

[SeaShihtzu']

Crete is popular.... but if you want somewhere slightly less built up, try Skiathos, It's lovely, scenary is breathtaking!

[suzy]

I want to visit Crete in the summer- just wondered if it was true that you can't flush loo roll down the loo- instead have to put it in a basket next to the toilet...?

[*hellie*]

Originally posted by suzy:
<STRONG>I want to visit Crete in the summer- just wondered if it was true that you can't flush loo roll down the loo- instead have to put it in a basket next to the toilet...?</STRONG>

Yup, that is true!! The Greeks don't have a very good plumbing system! Its not as bad as it seems though & u do get used to it! I only went for a week & went to do it when i got home! <IMG alt="image" SRC="eek.gif" border="0">

[katchika]

You reminded me..when I was in Crete I made friends with these 2 girls. One of them forgot, and threw the paper in the loo, we made her get it out with a fork!

You do get used to it though, and as long as the bin isn't full it's fine!

[suzy]

Sounds like it could be potentially disgusting but am sure they probably empty bins out more often knowing its purpose?

[StarStruck7]

I've also heard that they don't always supply toilet paper and that you should always make sure that you take it with you? Any experiences with this?

And that is an interesting point about not flushing- not something I knew before but will be sure to keep in mind.

Any other cultural things I should know about that y'all know?