Scoot 787 Dreamliner to Athens & Greek islands: Mykonos and Santorini

[CarbonMan]

All I can say is WOW! Two thumbs up, yflyer. The Greek tourism department should give you a free trip back!

[yflyer]

All I can say is WOW! Two thumbs up, yflyer. The Greek tourism department should give you a free trip back!

Thanks, CarbonMan! I would be happy if this TR inspires others to plan a Greek holiday...

[CarbonMan]

Thanks, CarbonMan! I would be happy if this TR inspires others to plan a Greek holiday...

Greece has been in the bucket list for a long time but somehow it gets overtaken by another holiday. Your TR has certainly pushed the destination back up!! Now have to talk to the Mrs about stopping our annual Japan holidays.

[SQflyergirl]

People say I'm mad for having gone to Santorini 3 times. Your TR reminds me that I'm not.

[259850]

A couple of years back, we pulled the kids out of the school for a week to go on a quick trip to Greece on a QR promo (and as an aviation geek, to be one of the first to fly an A350). We went to Athens and Santorini, of course, for reasons obvious from this wonderful TR.

But most of the nights were spent in quieter Naxos, and this was off season. One of the days, we rented a car (from a rental agent who served me 2 glasses of ouzo right after handing me the keys ) and drove out to some really small villages generally not on tourist radar. Greece off season off the beaten path was phenomenal - we have warm memories. Looking forward to ylflyer's report on his trip back on TR Y to see if we can survive it.

[SQ218]

Great TR yflyer. Thanks for sharing

[yflyer]

People say I'm mad for having gone to Santorini 3 times. Your TR reminds me that I'm not.

Anyone who has visited would be mad not to want to go back!

Great TR yflyer. Thanks for sharing

Thanks, SQ218!

A couple of years back, we pulled the kids out of the school for a week to go on a quick trip to Greece on a QR promo (and as an aviation geek, to be one of the first to fly an A350).

Three thumbs up for 1) Managing to get the kids out of school for a holiday, 2) Snagging a QR promo fare, and 3) Checking out QR's very nice A350's!

But most of the nights were spent in quieter Naxos, and this was off season....Greece off season off the beaten path was phenomenal - we have warm memories.

Off season in Naxos is probably better than off season in Santorini, or Mykonos for that matter. I suspect both those places pretty much shut down off-season.

One of the days, we rented a car (from a rental agent who served me 2 glasses of ouzo right after handing me the keys )

That sounds like Greek hospitality, all right!

Ouzo is strong stuff! I drank that too along the way. I actually prefer tsipouro, which is also very strong, but has a more neutral taste, without the flavour of anise...

[yflyer]

Continuing with the TR...

After our hike from Fira to Oia, we rested in the hotel, refreshed up, then headed back to Oia for dinner at Red Bicycle, which was right in the middle of the old town, set high on the caldera...



By this point in the visit to Santorini, we had run out of superlatives in our vocabulary to describe the view from our table...



Suffice to say anyone who wanted to have a romantic and/or memorable dinner in Oia would be hard pressed to find a better spot...

While there was a degustation menu available, we decided to go a la carte on this occasion...



...beginning with a marinated prawn and green bean salad with apricots and fresh mint...



...and roasted squid served on fava bean puree and fennel root, in a caper and raisin sauce...



For our mains, Mrs yflyer chose another starter, a white aubergine ravioli in tomato consomme, served with lemongrass and smoked eel, a dish which she found quite delicious...



I opted for the 12 hour slow-roasted lamb shoulder with aubergine, and gnocci with feta cheese, and Santorini tomato...which was a very popular dish that evening, judging from how many other tables were eating it...



We dined as the sun set...watching the cliffside transform into a sea of lights and brilliant blue pools of blue...



Our dessert, Red Bicycle's take on a traditional Santorini dessert, "Melitini"...served with a lemon-coconut sorbet and sweet cherry tomato-geranium preserve...



...followed by a glass of vinsanto, a very sweet ending...



Our meal at the Red Bicycle was remarkable both for the unique setting, sitting high up on the Oia caldera, as well as for the fine modern cuisine, with very creatively matched ingredients and flavours. The food, the wine, the ambience and service, were all impressive.

Later, though, when Mrs yflyer and I reflected on our meal there, we reached a surprising conclusion: We missed the bright, intense primary colours of more traditional and down-to-earth Greek cooking, just a little. Red Bicycle's flavour palette, by comparison came in more subtle, pastel shades. We enjoyed our dinner at Red Bicycle, but we also enjoyed the simpler, more rustic cuisine at other restaurants like Kiki's or Katina's just as much. Perhaps this wasn't a valid comparison -- these were all very different restaurants. But we wouldn't have wanted to give any of the restaurants we tried so far a miss. And Red Bicycle was a wonderfully intimate and romantic place to spend our last evening in Santorini.

We took a slow walk through the streets of Oia back to our hotel for a good night's sleep before an early ride to the airport the next morning...

[yflyer]

As our flight was too early in the day to catch the island bus services, we had pre-arranged a private car transfer from Anemoessa Villa to Santorini's airport (IATA: JTR)...



This was, in fact, the only time we opted for paid car transport on our entire vacation: apart from complimentary hotel transfers on Mykonos and an ATV ride, all other travel during this vacation was on public transport, such as bus or metro/train.



The airport itself is a small one, catering mainly to narrowbodies, with frequent flights from Athens on Olympic/Aegean. Because of its popularity as a tourist destination, JTR is also served by quite a number of European carriers, including BA, Eurowings, Easyjet, Vueling, Ryanair and Condor, just to name a few.

Arriving early in the morning, we were pleasantly surprised to find many F&B outlets just outside the terminal. You could have coffee, and a very filling breakfast before your flight.

The terminal building is quite undersized for the number of passengers passing through it. So much so that the check-in queues are actually outside the building...



You are only allowed into the terminal building when the check-in counters for your flight open...



After tags are placed on your bag, you physically lug your bag to a nearby security station to deposit your checked luggage, before existing the building to enter the gate area via a different entrance...



There were foggy conditions that morning, and so the first Aegean/Olympic flight to Athens for the day, scheduled to depart an hour or so before our flight still had not departed.

The airside holding area was packed...so far it had not been the most idyllic passenger experience...



But we were soon called for boarding, and as the weather had cleared up, both the Olympic/Aegean flights to Athens boarded in quick succession, with our 2nd flight following not long after the first...



Boarding through the rear doors, on this Star Alliance liveried A320...

[yflyer]

Inside, the usual 3-3 seating...



...with surprisingly decent seat pitch...



...especially for such a short sector, with scheduled time of 45 min.



The real cloth headrest covers had the Aegean and Star Alliance logos embroidered on them, a nice touch...

[yflyer]

A brief safety video...



...and a short taxi to the single runway...



...and take-off to the west...



...giving passengers on the port side one final view of Fira, Imerovigli and Oia as we climbed out...

Fira, overlooking the volcanic island...



Imerovigli...easily located by observing the rocky outcrop on the far right, Skaros Rock...



Oia...you can just make out the zig-zag staircase down to Amoudi Bay at the western end of the island...

[yflyer]

Just 220km from Santorini to Athens...with a scheduled time of 45 min and actual flying time between approximately 27 to 37 min...



On this short flight, there wasn't even enough time for beverage service. The cabin crew did make a pass through the cabin to give out fluffy chocolate croissants...





Before long we were descending into Athens...



Note that the airport in the picture above isn't ATH...it is the old Hellenikon airport, the previous international airport, no longer in use after the new Athens International Airport was opened in 2001.

Landing in Athens...



...and parked at the gate...

[yflyer]

Once again, we took the metro/train to our hotel in central Athens. We would have about 24 hours in Athens -- just one more night, before our flight home on Scoot TR701, departing the next morning at 11.30am.

For this final leg of our trip we would be staying at the Hilton Athens, recommended by kapitan and SQflyergirl when I posted my request for advice on a Greek trip on SQTalk. (Thanks for yet another a great recommendation, kapitan and SQflyergirl!)



The Hilton is not a new hotel: It was in fact the first of the large chains to open in Greece in 1963, with Conrad Hilton present for the opening.



The rooms and public areas have been beautifully renovated.



Our room was large and bright, with very clean, modern decor, and light wood tones...



After staying in delightful, but smaller and more modest family hotels on Santorini and Mykonos, it was quite a contrast to be staying in a large modern hotel again...we were now back on familar ground as far as hotel rooms were concerned...



The bathroom equipped had both bath tub and shower...





Our 4th floor room had a balcony with a view of the Acropolis...



Too bad about the unsightly concrete block, which distracted from the Acropolis views, at least from the lower floors of this hotel...the Acropolis view was better at night, when the unlit concrete block was not visible.



Our room also had a view of the large hotel pool...

[yflyer]

When we had initially checked in before noon, our room was not yet ready. We were invited to relax in the lobby or restaurant, or use the pool in the mean time, and we decided to grab a bite at the poolside restaurant...



The poolside F&B was outstanding...

First, cocktails to cool down...



...and then crisp sardines...served piping hot, with slices of chilli on each fish for extra kick. These were very light, crunchy and tender -- they could be eaten, head, bones and all...



The sea bass carpaccio was outstanding as well...



We finished with flatbread with Greek sausage, cheese and greens...served hot from the oven.



Very satisfying!

[yflyer]

This was our last day in Greece...we took the metro to Monastiraki...



...and took a walk to the Central Market...



Just outside the market, a store sellng all manner of bazaar items...





We took a walk into the market...



By then, it was mid afternoon, almost close to closing time. The market was not busy and quite a few stalls had already shut...



...but enough was still open to get a sense of what the market was like...





Like many markets all over Europe and the world, the stall holders were not squeamish showing all parts of their product...



...and at that hour the workers were more relaxed and keen to chat, and even pose for pictures...