Greece – Page 2 – Pilot Life for Me

With Santorini being a hotspot for luxury honeymoons and vacations, plus a steady wave of tourists from cruise liner stops, you can bet it’s not as cheap as some of the lesser-known islands. BUT, the good news is that if you do your homework you can actually make it quite affordable if you do it right! When we came to Santorini in September 2016 we were definitely NOT looking to pay for the luxury experience or the luxury prices. Luckily, in doing our homework we were able to plan a trip that would fit within our budget without staying anywhere sketchy. While it does take work to spend countless hours searching for hotels on different sites, comparing prices, and reading tons of reviews, it pays off in the end! OR, if you’re looking to avoid all that, just read this one post, take my word for it, and book at the Blue Dolphins! (For additional info on what to do in Santorini read here.)

We stayed at the Blue Dolphins in September 2016 and had a absolutely amazing experience! Olga, the hostess, was AMAZING and arranged a pick up for us at the ferry, gave us a private sit down “meeting” to show us the best places to visit on the island, made dinner reservations for us, arranged for transport to the airport on our last day, and even booked us a hotel in Athens for the following night when our plans changed last minute due to flights. All of the employees are super friendly and helpful….they drove us to and from the ferry and airport, and always carried our bags for us. They also helped us rent an ATV and even got us a discount and an extra half-day rental at no additional charge!

Unfortunately, at the time, I wasn’t blogging and therefore didn’t think to take photos of the room, sorry! Take my word for it though, it was great and super clean. Also, the free breakfast was amazing (Greek yogurt, fresh fruit, granola, honey, bread, cheese, Nutella, meat, eggs, cereal, etc.)! Some of the reviews online noted that the breakfast was disappointing….either they were just cranky or management upgraded the breakfast because we loved it!

The location is perfect…..an easy 10 minute walk along the paved path that runs through the city into Fira. The view is absolutely incredible….we had a perfect view of the caldera and also of the city of Fira right from the balcony. There is a beautiful little common area deck/balcony where breakfast is served, which also doubles as a great place to relax at the end of the day with a bottle of local wine and Greek chocolate while you soak in the views. This hotel was amazing, especially for the price (I think we paid around $87 a night!). I could not recommend this hotel more and will definitely be staying here again if we ever return to Santorini.

Check it out here: here

*all images and opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation or discounts for this review

Naxos is a lesser-known island in the Cyclades of Greece….even though it’s the largest and most lush. However, SINCE it’s lesser-known, it’s not nearly as crowded as Santorini, and MUCH cheaper. Sold! We stayed at Hotel Poseidon in September 2016 for $30 a night and had an absolutely wonderful experience! Let me say that again….$30 a night. No joke. That’s essentially what I pay for rent at home….I might as well just move to Greece!

The staff was super friendly and helpful and the room was cleaned every day. We couldn’t ask for a better location….literally an easy 1 minute walk to Saint George beach and a 2 minute walk into the center of town. To be fair, I would not call this a beachfront hotel, and we could not see the beach from our room (although maybe you can from other rooms?), but the price was great and we were not expecting it to be beachfront so it was not a surprise. Honestly, for $30 a night I was just happy that it was cleaned! There are also plenty of convenience stores, shops, and bakeries right next to the hotel, and an ATV/scooter rental place right next door. We got the free breakfast every morning and ate on our private balcony. The food was great, mostly what you would expect for a European breakfast… yogurt, fruit, granola, eggs, meat, bread, cheese, Nutella, juice, coffee, etc. The service was awesome, and the location could not have been more perfect. I would definitely recommend this hotel to anyone looking to stay in Naxos and would absolutely book again if we return!