2 weeks in Greece for first visit. I've got QUESTIONS!

Are the flights to Santorini already booked?

And I found it a bit confusing where you were planning to spend the night.

Is this what you have planned?

4 nights Athens
4 nights Santorini
4 nights Athens

My first thought is you are spending too much time in Athens. I would do something else with one of your 4 day stays. We spent 3 nights in Athens out of a 14 day trip on our first trip to Greece. I thought that was about right, although we could have used one more day but would not have wanted to give it up from anywhere else.

Would you consider renting a car? If you want to go to Delphi, you could combine that with Meteora which is hard to do by public transportation. Or you could go to Nafplio which you can get to by bus but harder to see the surrounding area without a car.

Thanks for your reply Beth. Yes, you have the nights correct. What I didn't include were the day trips. For example, We expect to do the some of these day trips from Athens depending on what makes sense for water temperature:

• Mycenae, Epidaurus and Nafplio Tour from Athens - 11 hour tour
• From Athens: Hydra, Poros, and Aegina Day Cruise - 12 hour tour
• Athens: Agistri, Metopi & Aegina Cruise - 10 hour tour
• Athens: Delphi Oracle & Museum Tour - 11 hour tour

We have considered renting a car - I agree, it would make sense to do that if we decide not to go with a tour company to get to Delphi or Nafplio for example. That decision should probably be made soon as I suspect renting a car won't be trivial and I understand parking is also an issue at some VRBOs. My biggest concern is whether we should be considering beach or swim time at all due to the timing of the trip. If beach and water time is out, we will have to make changes quickly.

Thanks again for your thoughts and willingness to help a fellow traveler!

I have never been to Greece in October but my impression is the water is still swimmable.

You can’t see everything in 2 weeks so just decide what you want to see most. And plan to return. We are planning our fourth trip to Greece for next May.

Consider going to Nafplio for three nights rather than doing a day tour. You can see the town and is magnificent castle and the ancient sites in driving distance. There is a pebbly town beach worth visiting.

You could take a day trip by ferry to one of the islands close to Athens.

If you did those trips in addition to Santorini, and Athens you will have filled your two weeks.

There are, of course, many other choices.

Personally, I shy away from the type of tours you list because they tend to spend a lot of time traveling and little time at sites.

Thanks again for your reply. I suspect renting a car will be a good solution. We will still be spending time traveling but it will be at our own pace and it avoids the obligatory tourist stops for purchasing unwanted trinkets. We weren't planning on doing all of the tours but perhaps a couple since we haven't adequately planned this trip. I'll look into a longer stay in Nafplio. We had also considered shortening our trip in Santorini and going to Naxos via 2 hour ferry for a couple of days and flying back to Athens from there. Again, more options than I thought possible for a trip I've got to plan in two weeks. Appreciate you!

Thanks again Beth! Just like that, we are making changes! We are getting a car, and spending two nights in Nafplio before we go to Santorini. Yay!!!

This sounds very exciting- and no need to feel overwhelmed! Regarding your question on whether it will be warm enough to go to the beach later this month, this is a website I use for checking monthly average temperatures and weather: https://www.holiday-weather.com/santorini/averages/october/

As you can see the highs are around 20C / 69F in late October. For me, that is definitely too cold for the beach- not to mention the higher likelihood of rain. Beyond that, I believe a lot of beachside amenities (like tavernas which rent sunbeds) close around early October. In that case I would focus your activities on sightseeing. You can check if Akrotiri (the archeological site) will be open, for example. In general you will find with a lot of the islands that things that cater more to tourists (like some restaurants) close in the offseason, which starts around now. A lot of people who work on the islands in the high season go back to Athens for other jobs in the offseason.

Sounds like a great trip, good luck with the rest of your planning and kalo taxithi.

We are currently in Greece and left Santorini a few days ago. Beach season is pretty much over, the water is still warm enough to swim but it doesn’t feel like beach weather. You may want to spend a couple hours at the beach or sit on a patio at the beach, but even many of the restaurants at the beaches in Santorini have closed or are closing. 3 nights in Santorini is lots too. We stayed in Firostefani and found it to be quieter that Fira or Oia. Also maybe check to see how cruise ships will be in port when you plan to visit. Last week when we were in Santorini there were 7000+ cruise ship passengers in port each day. Use the time at the end of your trip and return a car and head to the Peloponnese, the weather will still be mild and you will find lots to do. I would skip Naxos and save it for earlier in the season.

I would not divide your island time between Santorini and Naxos.

If you are not set visiting Santorini in the middle of your trip, I would consider doing some version of this.

1. Either fly to Santorini the night you arrive or spend night near airport and fly the next morning.
2. Spend 3 nights on Santorini
3. Fly back to Athens and rent car.
4. Drive to Nafplio. You could spend 4 nights here or spend less time and drive south and visit Mystras and Monemvasia and spend one night in Monemvasia or Gythio.
5. You could then visit Delphi on way back to Athens and spend 1 night here.
6. Spend remaining time in Athens.

You can spend a night or two somewhere easily if you are driving. Taking a ferry is a totally different thing. It takes much longer than you would expect.

Agree 100% with Beth ... that sequence has worked for dozens of newcomers ... You'll probably have trouble getting a Santorini flight that night (Day One and why try? There's a nice hotel with FREE shut from/back to airport (If you book shuttle at same time you book hotel room)... HOTEL Avra, 25 mins away, in Rafina, on the shore. Have light dinner in small tree-shaded town square, early bedtime for jet-lag recovery, then get shuttle back to airport for an AM Flight to santorini ... with that schedulle, 2 nights (Day 2 & 3) are plenty, to enjoy the Caldera View.
Book a 9 or 10 am flight back to ATH, pick up car before noon & enjoy a great drive To Nadfplio on a modern div ided hghway with sea view m uch of the way. Early start is good because (1) off-season, some interesting sites close at 3pm and (2) you're in later fall, When it gets dark early. This FAB Website tells ALL You need to know about sightseeing where to stay, eat, walk etc. -- http://www.visitnafplio.com/ -- click every link!!

NAFPLIO -- HEre's a great online map --- https://euro-map.com/karty-grecii/peloponnes/podrobnaya-turisticheskaya-karta-peloponnesa.jpg -- it shows how road bypasses Athens, NO stops at all until after Corinth canal .. easy driving... Recommended stop enroute -- about 15 mi (9k?) after canal, on your Right , ANCIENT NEMEA -- the "runner up Games Site to Olympia." ANcient temple columns, Fab stadium, excavated, restored, used today for Revived Games. Easy to apprciate in 45 mins, stop in local Nemea Village for a abottle of Nemean Red (it's harvest time!). As map shows, Nafplio is just 30 mins away, cross the big highway, go t hru local roads thru citrus orchards & Olive Groves, Get to Nafplio in thime to stroll town, enjoy sunset at seafront. Here are 2 amazing photo albums by a top RS camera ace contributor, StanBR -- https://www.flickr.com/photos/visitnafplio/sets/72157626483407223/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72177720319228274/
2nd one shows views from BEST located hotel Agamemmnon if u are lucky enougoh to snag a room. Otherwise Hotel Athena on main Square (marble-paved) is handy, and family-run Omorfo Poli is well-placed, very hospitable.

With a car it's easy to see the main ancient sites, and the Old Town is stunning to stroll in. With 3-4 days in NAfplio, you'll learn SO much about Greece ways, that you'll be ready to navigate BIg-city Athens knowledgeably, and its famous landmarks will mean much more to you, after a few days immersed in Greek l andscapes & history.

NAFPLIO --

A second here for the suggestion @BethFL made to rent a car and go to Delphi and Meteora. Delphi is interesting. Meteora is unbelievably amazing! It was the highlight of our first trip to Greece and is easily visited independently.

Have a great trip!

I agree that Meteora is an amazing curriosity ... Monasteries built atop towering pillars of rock (tho it always puts me off, thinking of those medieval peasants lugging rocks hundreds of feet up winding steps) ...its a very unsual landscape ... but for a first time, and in late Fall when days shorten drastically ... I dthink it's a loooong drive. Maybe in May, when days are lengthening into 8:30 or so. I'd save it for another trip.

Delphi is a shorter drive and a beautiful mountain setting... best appreciated if you're a Classics scholar OR book an onsite licensed Guide who can make it come alive. There's a very well=known person, lives in Delphi, can meet people onsite... https://sites.google.com/view/delphi-guide minimum 2 hr booking @ I think €60 per hour... stellar reputation. It's about a 4 hour drive from Nafplio ... 3hr return from Delphi to Athens ... hard to do it in 1 day espec in shorter daylight in Oct,.. either a very early start, or plan to stay overnight then drive to Athens.

This is all AMAZING!!! Thank you one and all for taking the time to reply. You have no idea how much this has helped!