HM questions -greece/turkey

just wondering what extras we should add on to our HM. our options are:

half day Athens city tour including the Acropolis at an additional $79 per person

in Mykonos there’s a half day Delos excursion that I would highly recommend at an additional $79 per person

Santorini there’s the full day cruise visiting the volcano crater and its hot springs, the neighboring island of Thirassia and then you will finish in the town of Oia in order to view the sunset and I can offer this one at an additional $92 per person

Istanbul I would highly recommend that we do a full day Istanbul city tour including lunch for an additional $92 per person and in Istanbul also there is a full day Bosphorus cruise that would also include lunch at an additional $84 per person. (This last one i'm iffy about b/c we could do this sooo cheap on our own.)

Has anyone ever heard f or done any of these tours? i do like the idea that we take a tour the first day in each place to get better oriented and they pick us up at the hotel and drop us off. The bad is that like with all tours i'm sure they pick you up around 8-8:30, which stinks but it's necessary in order not to waste the day.

I don't know about the tours you listed but FH and I are going to Santorini for 4 nights and 5 days. Then we are going to Athens for 2 days.

I've heard that Athens isn't that great and there's not much to do and see besides the acropolis.

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Posted by pa56

I don't know about the tours you listed but FH and I are going to Santorini for 4 nights and 5 days. Then we are going to Athens for 2 days.

I've heard that Athens isn't that great and there's not much to do and see besides the acropolis.

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yeah, i heard the same thing. my other option in athens is to get a 10 E 'metrocard' and bus it to all the sites, which would be fine but then we have to pay entrances. the upside is they pick you up, you get oriented, and they drop you off. the downside is it's usually soo early. FH will kill me if i have his butt up at 8 on the HM

well watever you do def spend a few days in athens. its my absolute favorite city.
i stayed within the city limits and walked everywhere. then took a bus tour down to the coast. but i BARELY foudn this bus depot. it would have been nice to have a guided tour for a few days...early or not.

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Posted by bkbaby4life

well watever you do def spend a few days in athens. its my absolute favorite city.
i stayed within the city limits and walked everywhere. then took a bus tour down to the coast. but i BARELY foudn this bus depot. it would have been nice to have a guided tour for a few days...early or not.

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yeah, I heard a that three days in athens is enough to see what we wanted to, plaka, ruins, furnicular, restaurants. it's always so nice to get an idea of where you are so it's not so confusing. and it's a half day tour so it's not a whole day of being herded around, so i guess it's not so bad.

Definately do the volcano/Thirassa (sp?) tour in Santorini. FH and I had a blast on that excursion and you will see things that you would have never seen unless you were on the trip. The view from the top of the volcano is absolutely breathtaking!! If you can wear sneakers or realllly comfy shoes during the hike because it is not an easy walk.

As far as Athens goes, the Acropolis must be seen.. so I'd splurge on that excursion as well. And like the others said, there isn't much to do in Athens, but FH and I had fun just walking around. (Unfortunately for us it rained the entire 3 days we were there, so we didn't explore as much as we would have liked).

In Mykonos-- ditch the Delos tour. I heard from others that it was incredibly boring. Instead, try to find a 1/2 day walking tour of the city.. they take you all over and show you the best spots. (Plus they serve you ouzo-- haha!)

If you have any questions, feel free to FM.

Good luck!!