# Must sees on Crete, Santorini, and Rhodes



## alliebrian (May 9, 2008)

Have five days on Crete, three on Santorini and six on Rhodes.  Need to cover some ruins and some marine biology for school projects (ain't it great we found a way to get school credit for our trip to Greece for the two soon-to-graduate high school seniors!).  Have four 18-20 year olds with me.  What would you recommend?  Will have a car.  Thanks.


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## Carolinian (May 9, 2008)

On Rhodes, the old walled city of Rhodes and the accropolis of Lindos would be the main things to see.


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## CarlK (May 9, 2008)

I don't know about marine biology (although I did go swimming on Crete), but for ruins we enjoyed visiting:

Crete: Palace of Knosos -- the capital of Minoan Crete, Knosos had over 1,000 rooms, and they even had flushing toilets.  Many of the ruins have been restored to what they might have looked like in 1700 BC.

Santorini: The excavations and ruins at Akrotiri are very interesting.  We did a one day tour, arranged through our hotel, where we spent the morning at Akrotiri then had a boat ride to an inactive volcano, had lunch at a little port, then finished the boat ride at the village of Oia. 

Carl


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## ailin (May 9, 2008)

Old Rhodes and Lindos are definite musts.  We also enjoyed a day trip to nearby Simi as well as the Valley of the Butterflies (depends on when you go though, peak season is August).

On Crete, I loved Chania and Knossos is a must as well.  You might want to think about going with a tour or hiring a guide for Knossos.  We didn't and feel like we didn't get the full experience not knowing what we were looking at sometimes.

On Santorini, soak up the caldera views at Oia, one of the most beautiful places on earth (IMO).  The volcano boat tour is fun too.


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## ailin (May 9, 2008)

Just wanted to mention that Akrotiri has been closed since 2005 when a roof structure collapsed and killed a tourist.  It hasn't reopened to date, but double check once you get there.



CarlK said:


> Santorini: The excavations and ruins at Akrotiri are very interesting.  We did a one day tour, arranged through our hotel, where we spent the morning at Akrotiri then had a boat ride to an inactive volcano, had lunch at a little port, then finished the boat ride at the village of Oia.
> Carl


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## hibbeln (May 11, 2008)

How did you find a way to get high school credits??!  (We travel a lot with our boys, one will be in HS in one more year).


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## Conan (May 11, 2008)

*Samaria Gorge Hike in Crete*

The absolute must do for Crete if you're staying in the western (Chania) part of the country, assuming you and your teens are reasonably able hikers, is the Samaria Gorge (closed during winter months).

A tour company will pick you up before sunrise and will bus you to the top end of the gorge.  At dawn, you'll start the hike, all downhill, and around 5 hours later you'll emerge at a nice seafront taverna where you'll take a short ferry ride to meet up with the bus for the return to your hotel.

The hike itself you'll do on your own, at a pace you're comfortable with, 12.8 km from top to bottom.
http://www.explorecrete.com/hiking/samaria.html


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## Fletcher921 (May 11, 2008)

Spend an afternoon wondering around Oia on Santorini - cute little shops and beautiful vista's


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## Carolinian (May 11, 2008)

When you go to the accropolis at Lindos, make sure you ride the donkeys to the top.


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## Keitht (May 11, 2008)

Carolinian said:


> When you go to the accropolis at Lindos, make sure you ride the donkeys to the top.



There is an advisory weight limit of 8 stone - 50 kilo - 112 lb for riding a donkey.  I don't know whether or not that is enforced in Lindos.


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