Suggestions for Greece stay?

[SciTchr]

We will be taking a cruise of the Greek islands. Any suggestions for a great one week timeshare stay after the cruise? I don't know much about Greece, yet. Thank you.

 

[Passepartout]

This is purely second hand knowledge, but after some research, Crete has several TS's, and looks like a very interesting place. Rick Steves and Samantha Brown have both done shows on it that really whetted my appetite to go there. Nafpilion is an island many Athenians go to on holiday, but I know of no TS's there, however there are apartments, run by Untours (.com). I put one on Crete on hold at RCI, but after checking airfare and ferry schedules from Athens, backed out and booked Portugal instead.

Another place to consider would be Istanbul. I know of a couple TS's there and from Athens it's a short flight or overnight ferry. Istanbul is a wonderful city, well worth whatever time you'd like to spend there.

Jim Ricks

 

[CarlK]

A few years ago we stayed at the Golden Coast Holiday Club on the mainland, and then the Leoniki on Crete. If I had to do it over I would stay in Athens for 3-4 days in a hotel. We took the bus into Athens from the Golden Coast ts and rented a car for one day to do extra touring, but a week seemed just a little too long. And, the Golden Coast ts is very basic in furnishings, etc., although it is on the grounds of a Club Med. We flew from Athens to Crete to stay at the Leoniki. Crete is a beautiful island and we did a lot of driving -- which was a real experience going over the mountains! I think my reviews are still posted. Other options are Santorini and Mykonos. I believe they have a couple of timeshares; and my first choice of the two would be Santorini.
Carl

 

[SciTchr]

Thanks...

Jim and Carl,
I appreciate your insight! I have lots to learn about traveling to Greece, but then, that is the fun of it.

 

[Jimster]

greece

First of all- DO NOT DRIVE A CAR IN GREECE! I have driven in most European countries but DO NOT DRIVE A CAR IN GREECE- i'll skip the details. Second, if you want to stay on the mainland you can stay in Marathon at the Sun Beach Holiday CLub- It is on the Agean and very nice- EXCEPT the rooms are clean but very poor. They have a disco, a theater, great day trips, great food etc everything you could want except the rooms are terrible- but they are clean. If you don't plan on staying in the room much then this is a perfectly acceptable TS. If you want to stay in the room and watch the 2 greek channels on the TV in black and white on a !3" screen then you are in trouble. The resort is partially owned and operated by Club Med so that is what makes the rest of it very good. If you look at the Club Med website and look for their Athenian resort you will learn more about it. If you want to stay on the islands, others can give you better advice than I. If you want to stay in Greece for the rest of eternity- DRIVE A CAR THERE! They have the highest per capita death toll in all of Europe.

 

[hibbeln]

Nafplion is sometimes also spelled Nauplion or Nafplio. It is about a 1.5-2.0 hour drive/bus ride from Athens on the Pelopponesse Peninsula. It is a very pretty little town. From there you can tour to Corinth, Epidavros, Mycenae, Olympia.....lots of ruin sites. So if that is up your alley....(we are staying there next April, getting an inexpensive hotel for 4 nights). It is a popular spot for Athenians to get away for a weekend.

 

[CarlK]

Well, obviously Jim and I differ on this one, so let me clarify the points I was making. But first, if you want to stay on the mainland near Marathon you will have to exchange into the Golden Coast Holiday Club, not the Sun Beach Holiday Club (it is on Rhodes). The Golden Coast Holiday Club units are clean but austere. For us, the major fault with the resort was we did not feel the location was convenient to Athens. We took a bus to the city, then took the subway, so it is doable, and we knew this when booking. But, as I said -- if I really wanted to see the sights of Athens I would reserve a hotel room in Athens next time and spend less time commuting. Jim is right about the day trips though, we did a day trip to Delphi from the resort and it was very good. So, the decision is commuting versus convenience.

As for driving - we did (and I'm still posting!). I quickly learned that in Greece a two-lane road is really a four-lane road because slower drivers are expected to pull over to let faster drivers by (the shoulders are all paved on the major roads). I did this regularly and often stopped to enjoy the scenery, which is very beautiful on Crete. Jim's point about the high number of traffic fatalities may be right, based on the number of roadside shrines we saw. There are aggressive drivers (they're everywhere) and some of the roads through the mountains are narrow and the cliffs can be intimidating, so in both cases I just took my time and drove defensively. So, IMHO, if you want to really explore Crete, rural villages for example, I believe you will have to drive.
Carl

 

[Jimster]

Greece

I don't really think Carl and I differ on much. I did misstate the name for the TS. He is right it is Gold Coast Holiday Club. It is not in Athens but then again there are very few urban timeshares in Europe. Europeans don't want to take a holiday in the middle of a city. It also takes a while to get into the city-it is a matter of how much inconvenience you are willing to endure. Personally, I enjoyed the adventure and seeing Greece from this perspective, but if you want to go to the Plaka every day then I would stay in the city. I think you could do Athens in a couple of days. You could always drive into Athens but I suggest you don't. Carl is right about the highways being 2 lane and used like 4 lanes. Knowing that is not much comfort when on a tight winding mountain road you see a car pass an oncoming car going down the middle of the road expecting you to move over to within inches of the cliff. They also don't obey parking customs or even stop signs. I was horned once because I stopped at a stop sign at a busy intersection. The roads are unmarked and narrow. Driving in the UK on the left hand side was a breeze in comparision. Add on top of that they are terrible drivers. It simply isn't safe. I did 3 day trips from the TS and they take you by coach bus all over. That was great and so was everything else at the resort- EXCEPT the rooms. Don't miss the free live performances in the Theater every night.

 

[Conan]

Crete is very much worth a visit, but you must rent a car (or hire a driver). Driving conditions are somewhat difficult (two-lane high-speed highways; twisty mountain roads) but manageable.

We flew Athens to Crete, stayed a week, took a short ferry ride to Santorini, stayed a few days, and flew Santorini to Athens to home.