Where to stay on first visit to Greece?

Travel Info
For one or two weeks, on tight budget, in March or April next year, a pleasant spot to stay and use for home base?

Travel Tips

For a home base, Athens is best. A can't miss if you will only vist Greece once is Santorini. Indescribably beautiful! If you want something a little different from what everyone else does, go to Crete, or even better, go to Volos. You can stay on Mt. Pilion. Volos/Pilion is a perfect base for visiting Skiathos, Skopelos, and, my personal favorite, Alonissos. Mt. Pilion is virtually unknown to foreign tourists, but a favorite place for Athenians, with good reason. It is the real Greece and would be incredibly interesting at Easter time. The villages are stacked up the mountainside and cars have a difficult time going through them, so you have to travel by donkey from the village square or by foot. On one side of the mountain, the views are breathtaking, and you can drive down the mountainside to private or public beaches. A less expensive option might be Thessaloniki. You can visit Halkidiki and take a ferry to Alonissos from there. Wherever you go, Greece will still be quite chilly in March. The Greeks swear that there is no cold weather after Easter, and in my years there, I found that to be true.

Others
a hostel
not sure, however, you must visit the island Paros, and a nitespot called Agosta. This is the place to see and be seen during the Easter festivities in Greece. Remember, Greek Easter is usually a different Sunday than our Easter, sometimes a month apart. The partying does not start until 10 or 11 pm and you don't go home until 4am. We are talking, a GOOD time! Put on your best looking Italian shoes and dance all nite!!!
anywhere just be friendly and you will be welcome
Athens is not a great place to spend too much time - a couple of days to see the sights, and then get the heck out. However, where to go/stay depends on what you want. If you just want to hang out in cafes with the locals then Athens might be ok. The islands are quiet before May. Many accomodations are closed October-May, so you'll have to make sure the one(s) you choose are open when you go. March can still be a little cool. Santorini & Mykonos might be open for business, but they can be expensive, even in low season. A friend of mine went to Ios for spring break (March) a couple of years ago. In summer Ios is a party place (at night) but when he went it was dead quiet - him, his 3 buddies, and about 5 other tourists. Many of the locals were gone and half the businesses were closed, but they loved it. Kos is nice - they say it's the "greenest" island in Greece (i.e. more vegetation/trees, not ecologically friendly). Again, it all depends on what you're looking for.
Modified 1 year ago
The first place you should visit is Athens of course, to see our grate Acropolis. You know....this country has SOOOOOO many places to visit, it depens on how much you stay. You have to remember this place is not cheap at all. If you have such a tight budget you should go to an island of Kyklades. Let's say Paros, Sandorini, Sifnos and other. I have been to Paros once, it was great. It's gonna be windy though these months!!!!