marazul

The beach facilities are still fine. In case it makes any difference to the OP, all beaches in the south of France are topless.

Neither. Too much to see at either port. Where else are you going? But if you must, there are good beaches right by the tender port at Cannes. You have to go further afield at Marseille. But, truly, save the beach day for some less interesting places.

Corinth and Mycenae is a far better tour option than Sounion. Closer to Athens and a lot more to see.

To enhance your education, don't forget that Google maps with satellite and street views are your friends! 😁 Have a great trip!

There is only one spot in Oia at the entrance of the village. Let the transfer company tell you where.

Do it. It's beautiful. You could actually have lighter crowds at that time.

I use ASCII codes on a keyboard that has a number pad. You hold down the alt key while entering a number on the number pad. (If you are interested I will try to attach a little chart to a post.) You can also install alternate virtual keyboards on your screen. That's best for non-Romance languages such as Greek. But the easiest of all is to hold down a letter on a touch screen keyboard (phone, tablet). When you hold it down, a pop-up screen pops up with all the accents.

There are plenty of gondoliers and some bad apples. If one tries to overcharge you, you move to the next one. What's important is to know the official price. And like you did, confirm the price upfront.

There are companies that do jeep safaris in Mykonos. You drive your own jeep and they take you through the back roads all around the island. They stop at several beaches. It is a lot of fun.

Yes.

Elevator up. Walk down.

Taxi. It's very reasonable.

Add another hour to be safe.

You are welcome. And you should ask where the sail ends and how you can get back to the cruise.

Are you taking a tour of the SF? If so, allow 1.5 hours inside the church. Then add a half hour to get to the park.

If it gets in at 3 pm the day before the cruise, stay in Athens. You will have the rest of the afternoon and evening, plus the next morning to stroll around Athens. Walking around the and watching the Acropolis at night is beautiful.

OK. I checked both excursions you are looking at. The catamarans leave from Vlyhada Marina which is South of Athinios - in the opposite direction of both Oia and Fira. If you get the Oia tour that takes you to Athinios, you should arrange your personal Athinios pickup to take you to Vlyhada and meet your catamaran tour there. This will save you a LOT of time (trip to Oia and back from Oia to Vlyhada). If by any chance, your catamaran actually leaves from Ammoudi, your best route is to take the ship's shuttle to Fira Old Port and from there take the local "ferry" boats that take you on to Ammoudi. No need to get up to Oia only for them to drive you down to Ammoudi.. Look at this map. Ammoudi is at the top tip of the island, just below the cliffs from Oia. Vlyhada is at the bottom (where it says Santorini Yacht Cruises), down the road from Athinios. "Santorini Old Harbor" is the Fira Old Port and it is in the middle and you can take a boat from there to Ammoudi, or just get a different catamaran cruise that starts and ends there. https://www.google.com/maps/search/vlychada+port+santorini/@36.4040143,25.376174,12.5z?hl=en&entry=ttu

Yes, we get that you want to get off the ship with the excursion and then meet your tour. I still think you need to ask the catamaran company where the boat is. It doesn't make any sense to go to Oia only to be brought back to Athinios or to the Fira old port to get on the catamaran.

Ooops. Random clicks/

Yes, but the OP also says he wants to get to Oia. Then you say he wants to get to Fira. I think the OP needs to find out what happens when they meet the guide and where the boat actually is. Do they take a van (from Oia or Fira) to one of the beaches? Do they take the cable car down to the Fira port? If the latter, the OP is better off taking a shuttle to the Fira port rather than to Athinios and wait for the tour there..

I know you do. We always drive in that area too. We are very familiar with it and when we lived there I used to be the tour guide for our visitors. The only issue with driving during your port day is the extra time it takes to return the car and get back to the port. It should be less congested in April. While looking up other stuff in the area I came across a couple of half-day wine tasting tours to Bellet. That would let you do a lot of tasting! Maybe they could pick you up at the lobby of one of the hotels near the Flower Market and return you to the ship.

No. Get a guide book. For St Mark's basilica and the Doge's palace you could consider a tour because it could let you skip the lines and you would learn more about the places. Go directly to their websites and see what they offer. Compare to tour operators.

Why would a catamaran tour start in Oia? They usually start from the Fira cable car port or from Athinios. Find out where the catamaran is and meet them there.

There are many gondola stands along the canals. You simply walk up to one and get on the next one. DO NOT PREBOOK A GONDOLA TOUR you will be overcharged. The prices are set by the city government: 80 euros for 30 minutes from 9 am to 7 pm 100 euros for 35 minutes from 7 pm to 3 am. They only take a maximum of 6 passengers. Here is a map of the main gondola stations: https://www.veniceingondola.com/gondole Some operators offer a tour and gondola combination. I think it is better to do them separately. Here are the options: https://www.getyourguide.com/s/?et=52926&psrc=widget&partner_id=374MR5Y&utm_medium=online_publisher&currency=EUR&q=Venezia&queryMatch=all&widget=activities&wid=add4c5af-5272-5c2d-aab2-5d775ae2b1b2&visitor_id=03ABB2D6E8094126AA20B5ED0517C3FD&visitor-id=03ABB2D6E8094126AA20B5ED0517C3FD&locale_autoredirect_optout=true

Sounds good. We have a couple of SB cruises next year. A lot of family events this year, so no Europe. I am sure we'll meet on board one of these days. I am afraid the airport may be your only choice on a Sunday. You could go to St Paul first and then across to Bellet. The road back is along the Var river and straight to the airport. The traffic is not bad in April.