Hello!
We are looking to plan a trip in late September/early October originating in Philadelphia that would ideally include the Amalfi Coast as well as a Greek island or two. We also need to stop in London for 1-2 nights on our way back to visit a friend. A) is this too aggressive of an itinerary given the travel involved? B) Researching everything from flights to ferries to car service and looking for tips.
Thank you for any suggestions.
I would suggest Greece OR Italy, not both for the time you have. If the 14 days is exclusive of the transatlantic flights, perhaps Amalfi and ONE Greek island, but it looks pretty busy.
Thank you very much! That's how I was feeling but looking for some insight. As it stands right now, the plan would be to fly on a red eye on Thursday 9/20 and fly back on ideally Friday 10/5, so technically 15 days total. We could push to come back on 10/6 which would make 16 days total. We traveled in 2016 to Venice, Florence and Tuscany but have not been to Amalfi before nor have we spent any time in Rome. We also have never been to Greece. We are people who enjoy a great mix of culture and activity as well as relaxation. If you were choosing (an awesome choice to have) where would you go? Also, if, as you suggested, we did just one Greek island, which would be your recommend and why?
Again, many thanks!
Sarah
Avoid moving around and perhaps base yourself on Paros or Naxos for 10 days, from where you can do day trips by boat to Mykonos and Santorini. Lots of great advice in this blog.
https://santorinidave.com/paros-or-naxos
Hello jsarah01. I recommend : go to Greece and London. Fly from Philadelphia to Athens, and the morning you arrive at Athens airport fly from Athens to the island Naxos. Naxos is a big island, with variety. The best beaches in Greece are at the island Naxos, south of Naxos town (Hora). Have overnight accommodation at a hotel in Naxos town. One day, ride in a bus from Naxos town to a beach. An other day, stay at Naxos town. An other day, ride in a bus to the interior of the island, and return to Naxos town. An other day rent a car, drive to the north end of the island, and driving back to Naxos go the north coast route (scenic). An other day ride on a ferry boat from Naxos to an other island in the cycladic islands, perhaps Mykonos, be there two nights. Return to Athens. Be at Athens two nights. One whole day in Athens : walk through the National Archaeological museum. Fly from Athens to London. I suggest be at London 4 or 5 nights. That would give you two or three whole days at London, plus a day trip to Windsor castle (palace) via trains. At the Greek islands, Mykonos has the traditional small white buildings, and wind mills.
I did a similar trip a few years back. We booked a direct round trip ticket In and out of London and then did easy jer flight to Greece. I would also reccomend skipping Italy this trip and would do a trip like this:
Day 1: leave us
Day 2: arrive in London early
Day 3: London
Day 4: London
Day 5: fly to Santorini direct (I think it’s just under 4 hour flight)
Day 6: Santorini
Day 7: Santorini
Day8: Santorini
Day 9: Santornk to Mykonos
Day 10: Mykonos
Day 11: Mykonos
Day 12: Mykonos
Day 13: fly to London spend night near airport
Day 14 fly home
Personally, I wouldn’t base myself on a smaller island like Naxos for my first trip to Greece unless you are looking for a vacation based mostly on relaxing/ beach time.
You could also rearrange this a bit to fly out of Athens to home.
Also I forgot to mention, if I were to pick one Greek island, it would be Santorini. You could easily spend a whole week there alone.
I loved Rhodes or Rodos in Greek. I thought it was better than Athens!
