Best time of year and way to travel Greece, Italy

Our favorite time is late September through October. For the Greek Isles not much later than mid Oct since the islands start shutting down in mid October. Best way to travel depends on your time and money. Some people like tours, some don't. It is personal preference thing with no correct answer. The islands can be easily done with the ferries and you can fly to some of the larger islands. Hard to use a car in the islands. Greece mainland and Italy are completely different. For Italy the train systems is well established, reasonably cheap, and probably the way to go for a couple. For Greece, buses are better than the limited train system or even drive. And Oct is a good month for Italy. Read some guidebooks, see some DVDs, and form your own opinion as to what interests you.

Just to expand or clarify Frank's comments - for mainland Greece you pretty much need a car. Trains are non-existent and have little or no value to tourists. Buses can work but are far less convienent than renting a car. Of course if you're just in Athens and the islands, ferries and air are all you need. And Delphi has lots of day trip tours available. I also concur with his assessment that early fall is really nice - less crowds and cooler weather.

Since we live in Texas, we prefer to travel when the weather is cooler. Late April & May are good for mainland Greece since it is cooler and the spring flowers are in bloom. It's probably a little too cool on the islands for swimming though. The roads are marked well in Greece, so driving would probably be a good idea (except for driving in Athens, which I would avoid at all costs).
Can't address Italy -- not going there till this May.

I love Greece and the islands in spring. May and June are beautiful as it is not too hot, yet, but at the same time you get all the beauty of spring flowers and greenery. Summer is hot and dry and fall still will have rather brownish vegetation.

Hello Sharon. I do not recommend going on a cruise ship on the Aegean Sea. Those ships stop at an island for four hours or less time. When I was at the Greek island Rhodes I saw people who got off of a cruise ship there at Old Rhodes town. They walked fast to the Archaeological museum located in Old Rhodes town. That museum was closed at a time that was earlier than the closing time posted at that museum's door. The travellers could not walk through that museum. It is a very good museum. Those people had time for buying a small souvenir item in a store in Rhodes Old Town. They could have bought an item like that in Athens. I do not recommend driving a car in Greece, because it is very dangerous. Many thousands of people are killed in motor vehicle accidents in Greece, each year. Driving a rental car might not be dangerous going from the town Ionnina (in northwest Greece) to the ancient theater at Dodoni.

I visited Greece one July and found it delightful, particularly on the islands where the warm evenings by the sea under the starry sky are memorable. Go when it's warm. June-July would be my choice.