Are you planning your much awaited honeymoon in Santorini – or anywhere else in Greece? But now you’re wondering how much your dream honeymoon in Greece is going to cost. Like with any destination it can be done lavishly or on a budget. Mu husband and I decided to do it somewhere in between. We started off in Athens and then made our way to the Greek islands of Santorini and Paros.
Honeymoon in Greece cost breakdown
Here is our breakout for 9 days of an affordable (but luxurious feeling) honeymoon in Greece. We travelled at the tail-end of the ‘peak’ season, at the beginning of October. The timing of your travel can make or break a budget, and this definitely had it’s pros and cons as I share below! All prices below are in Canadian Dollars.
Travelling to Greece
Flights: $366/pp
We flew direct to Athens from Cairo, so our flights were relatively inexpensive. I realize coming from North America your flight alone will likely cost triple this, but be on the lookout for deals and start saving those travel points now! We arrived in Athens at 3am and had our return flight from Santorini through Athens back to Cairo around 7pm. Flying out later in the day is great because you get some extra time to explore, just drop off your luggage with either the hotel concierge or a luggage storage. Flying in that early however, was not the best idea (in our case).
ATHENS – 1 night
Hotel: $154 total
We stayed at the centrally located InterContinental Athenaeum Athens. Originally, we had used some leftover Airmiles, which would have put our grand total to $42 to cover taxes, helping us save well over $250 for a standard night at the time. We arrived exhausted in Athens at 6am, and our request for really early check in was denied as those rooms were fully booked. They managed to convince us (with about 2 hours of sleep it didn’t take much) to upgrade to a ‘specialty room’ that they did have available (with a 2 hour wait) and had access to a lounge. While bitterly sleeping/waiting in the lobby for our room to be ready (not the glamorous start to our honeymoon we had imagined) which also set us back $112. The lounge access was totally worth it, just check out the view in the photo above! The lounge had lots of food available during meal and snack times, and yes we got our money’s worth! (Insert Friends meme of Ross and Chandler binging on hotel freebies haha).
Acropolis entrance fee: $30/pp
We got to see the Acropolis on two separate occasions by night and by day. It felt expensive, but it’s a beautiful piece of history worth exploring.
Escape room: $26/pp
We also squeezed in an escape room, as we have a longstanding obsession with them. Plus they are sentimental for us, as my husband proposed to me in one!
Transportation: $50 total
We took an Uber from the airport and also used it a handful of times to get around the city as we were short on time.
Food: $70 total
Mostly gyros and snacks. But we had a delicious dinner at a local cafe with the friendliest owners who offered us free dessert – this happened to us several times by the way during our time in both Athens and Paros.
THE GREEK ISLANDS: PAROS – 3 nights
Ferry from Athens to Paros: $41/pp
We booked our ferries online, on blue star ferries in advance and it saved us some hassle.
Transportation: $60 total
We had transfers to and from our hotel to the port.
Hotel: $105/per night
In Paros we stayed at Kanale’s Paros which we loved. It’s a few minutes walk into the town of Naoussa, maybe 30 steps to a beach and they include a breakfast buffet that’s very filling and delicious.
Buggy rental: $30 total
Our hotel was also conveniently, right across the street from a nice rental place if you are looking to get a scooter, buggy or ATV. I would recommend doing this in Paros because the island is relatively flat. We rented a car in Santorini and saw loads of people stuck in ATV’s because the hills are VERY steep.
Food: $40/pp per day
We had some great meals in Naoussa and some of the local villages. Usually we like to order two different dishes and share! We also like to snack… a lot. Paros was that much more special, because it’s less touristy, the locals are super friendly (plus your money goes much further here!). For us, it had a more authentic feel to it. At dinner you’d see the locals out celebrating, so you felt as if you’re genuinely experiencing life on the island.
THE GREEK ISLANDS: SANTORINI – 4 nights
Ferry from Paros to Santorini: $32/pp
The ferry system in Greece is extremely well developed and if you’ve got the time to take the scenic route, it’ll save you some much needed budget (because you’ll need it for Santorini)!
Hotel: $118/per night (blended cost, with travel points applied)
In Santorini we decided to split our stay between two hotels so we could get a feel for different sides of the island. Unfortunately, we booked late and missed some of our first choices for our budget option, but found a decent place in Imerovigli, where they say is the best sunset watching spot. We stayed at Villa Libertad (about $90/night), a very simple hotel, but they had an amazing breakfast included with the hotel run by a local family.
We then splurged and stayed at the Caldera Villas, Oia, Santorini ($400/night) in one of those traditional white cave homes carved into the caldera. We had a two level suite with a hot tub and a view of the Aegean sea – what instagram (and honeymoon) dreams are made of. This place was seriously a steal! We were skeptical at first, because the reviews were very mixed, but it really came down to one thing, people couldn’t stomach the stairs. Yes, it feels like you walk down 10,000 steps to arrive at the hotel, but the views are truly worth it. I would not recommend it for elderly couples or those with any leg injuries. Other hotels in the area charge upwards of $600-$1000/night for similar style rooms. We had been saving some travel points and this helped cover a large chunk of the cost!
Car rental: $50/day (2 days rented)
We rented a smart car and thankfully have lived to tell the tale. The roads in Santorini are no joke; winding and steep. Also if you rent, it’s recommend to know how to drive standard. The car rented to us was “automatic” and ended up being semi-automatic. The island is relatively big with some interesting beaches, villages and viewpoints to see. Greece was having a cold front at the time, so it was too cold to swim, but still beautiful to visit the beaches around the island, black sand beach in particular. In hindsight, we should have rented for one day and used the bus to get around more. We discovered the bus a day too late, which was very convenient to take from both Oia and Imerovigli.
Food: $60/pp per day
Be prepared, everything in Santorini is overpriced and it’s full of tourists, because it’s also a cruise ship port. We had a few go-to gyro restaurants, snacks (of course) and splurged some fresh seafood at Ammoudi Bay.
Transportation: $60 total
We arrived at the port and found a bus to get on (save yourself the hassle and organize something in advance). We took the bus to the airport, quick and convenient!
Souvenirs: $50 total
We aren’t big on knickknacks, so we bought a few more meaningful ones to share with family and for ourselves.
Total Greek Honeymoon Cost
So total budget came in at *drumroll please* just over $3,000 or $1,500 per person!
A honeymoon in Greece can be done on a budget, it just takes a bit of time, research and points (those really, really help)! Coming from Egypt, Greece wasn’t as affordable as we had expected. While we certainly could have spent more or even less, we were really happy with how everything turned out and we made some amazing memories.
We learned a lot after this trip about what we were and weren’t willing to compromise on when it comes to travelling. I’ll share those tips in an upcoming post.
Some additional guides that may help with your trip planning:
Are you planning a honeymoon in Greece? Have you set a budget? Would love to hear your thoughts!
Planning on travelling to Greece? Pin this for later!
Travel to Greece costs much more than before. Nice post, thanks for sharing.
Author
Yes, it was surprisingly expensive! Although I think there are still many better more affordable islands that you can see instead of places like Santorini.
I appreciate the detailed breakdowns of each area, the two level cave type room sounds dreamy for sure! The stairs would be 100% worth it. We have yet to travel to Greece and would be coming from North America most likely so we will save in advance for sure, thanks for sharing!!
I looked into going to Greece earlier this year, Santorini in particular. Bit it it was too expensive for a backpacking trip :/ certainly up and coming as the Mauritus of Europe. Did you see anything that was on a backpacker budget and half decent during your time out there? It’s still on my to-do list but the ££ puts me off.
Author
Yes! There are loads of options for all budget levels. In Santorini, Oia and the surrounding is going to be pricey, but if you don’t mind staying on other less touristy parts closer to the base of the island, you can really find some great deals (Check for Kamari, Perissa…).
What a great trip for not so much money! I spent almost that much on a long weekend at Disney World early this year, so I’d love to stretch my dollar a bit more – especially in somewhere as gorgeous as Greece. I just wish that – as you pointed out – flights from the US weren’t so darn expensive. Congrats on your marriage and I hope the rest is as good as your honeymoon!
Author
Thank you so much! Greece is definitely much pricier than anticipated, it can still be done within your means! Disney World sounds amazing though, although the mark ups there are insane so no wonder it’s expensive!
It’s so useful to see a breakdown like this! I’m from the UK so thankfully it’s a bit cheaper to fly to Greece from there, but I’ll certainly take your advice on places to stay and eat, and using airmiles to save money too! We went to Thailand for our honeymoon and had the most incredible time 🙂
Author
Thank you so much! Thailand would be an amazing honeymoon destination!
This sounds like a gorgeous honeymoon, and you did a great job at keeping costs very reasonable! I’m visiting Greece for the first time this October, now I’m really excited for it after seeing your beautiful photos! Thanks so much for these tips, and congratulations!
Author
Thank you so much!! Enjoy your trip, Greece is truly beautiful!
Dam it looks amazing and thank you for the pricing. It cost a bit much for traveling to Greece. I might have to rethink when I want to go. I really liked all the info on this blog. Helped me alot.
Author
Ya even at the tailend of peak season we were surprised by some of the costs. But timing and how far in advance you book can make all the difference. Plus, if you opt for some of the lesser known islands, you can have equally as much fun!
Such a brilliant breakdown of costs, we done a similar trip last Summer and fell in love with Greece. Being from Europe I couldn’t believe I’d not visited before this. While I did love Santorini (it’s a bucket list item for sure) my favourites were the island of Syros and Meteora on the mainland – if you ever do go back I highly recommend those two. Oh and congrats on your marriage – what a wonderful way to spend your honeymoon.
Your costs are in line with what we spent we visited Greece a couple of years ago. We only stayed on one island to cut back on travel and also see more of the place. A truly beautiful country 🙂 Good point about arriving early. There is nothing worse that not having your room ready when all you want to do is sleep. Sounds like you had a great honeymoon though. Thanks for the updated pricing.
I am all about budgeting for travel and appreciate seeing all the nitty gritty costs. I visited Greece about 20 years ago as a backpacker and had a much tighter budget. But I want to bring my husband now that I’m all grown up. And maybe we need a second honeymoon….hmm.