3 Greek islands and 9 nights

A good guidebook is Lonely Planet and is the guidebook that Rick uses. The 12th edition won’t be available until Sep so wait until then to buy it and get the one titled Greek Islands.

Crete is very large and filled with things to do and see. 3 nights will yield 2 days and maybe a little more. Not enough. Also, you plan to fly home from Crete. It is almost certain that you will have to change somewhere. Be sure to have both flights on a single ticket. If you don’t know why, come back and I or another poster will explain it to you.

Thanks MaryPat, I will wait till Sept to get the book. Rosalyn, yes, I am aware to book that return flight on the same ticket. I’m planning to book multi city tickets. Just trying to find the best deal now.

I like the Rough Guide to the Greek Islands.

It takes a long time to move from island to island so I would consider staying at only two islands.

Santorini is beautiful but the beaches are black grit. It is volcanic. Not the beach to relax on, in my opinion.

Crete is huge. You can't see much of it in 2.5 days.

Personally, I would drop Mykonos, spend three nights on Santorini and then spend six nights on Crete.

I'm a big fan of Blue Guides. They are more about the culture and what to see in a place than where to stay or eat so they make a good complement to Rough Guides or Rick's books. I just picked up a used copy of the Greece and Aegean Islands guide published in 2010 for $12. They don't update them very often, but that's not as important since it's mostly historical information. They also cover more of the smaller places you may never have heard of or seen mentioned in other guides for an island like Santorini.

I have used Lonely Planet in Greece.

Three islands is very rushed. Personally, I would drop Santorini - far too Disneyfied and un-Greek. You could easily spend all 9 nights on Crete as it’s huge and has lots to see. Only having 2 days here would be a rush.

There are no beaches to relax on in Santorini - you must be confusing that island with somewhere else. You go to Santorini to take Instagram photos of yourself and the windmills/blue roofs and then wander all day in the heat trying to figure out what to do with yourself. We spent a night in Santorini for the photos and then took a ferry over to Naxos for a week, which was fabulous and chill with one of the best (if not the best) beach in Greece. Mykonos? I think you really need to dig deeper if you want a decent Greek island experience.

Trying 3 islands in 9 nights is rushing it.

Bear in mind every time you move from Point A to Point B loses time and costs money.

Crete is Greece's largest island and deserves weeks to fully experience.

Mykonos and Santorini are the two most popular and heavily touristed of the Greek Islands. I would drop Mykonos and spend the remaining time on Naxos to give you a change of pace from the over-the-top crowds/costs of Santorini.

Spend more time on Naxos as it's one of Greece's best all around islands.

Lonely Planet and The Blue Guides to Greece are my two favorite guide books.

Check out the comprehensive website for Greece and the Greek Islands for more info:

https://www.greektravel.com/greekislands/

I second, third, and fourth everything that everyone has said about
A. Santorini being Disneyfied and the beaches being the least nice of the islands you mention
B. Naxos being a great island for several days
C. Crete being large with a lot to do and see (we were there for 9 days and scratched the surface and we cover a lot)

That said. To answer your questions:
Yes you can get to the bottom of Samaria Gorge (where it meets the sea) but it will take you most of the day, depending on where you are staying. The place where Samria Gorge meets the sea is called Agia Roumeli. You can catch a ferry there from Sougia or Palaiochora, both west of there. If you google-map Crete, you will see the blue dotted lines in the sea of the ferry route[s]. You could spend a night in Palaiochora - I believe the ferry departs there early in the morning for Agia Roumeli and returns in the afternoon (This was 2 years ago. Who knows what the ferry schedule would be like now). So sticking to your desired site seeing, you would likely spend one night in Chania, one in Heraklion, and one in Palaiochora (unless you departed from Chania very early in the morning and drove to Palaiochora to catch the ferry, etc etc, making for a very long day). So, you can see how 3 days in Crete disappear quickly.

Back to beaches: Elafonissi, on Crete, is unique. You could spend a day there. We stayed near Plaka beach on Naxos and that was very nice for beautiful beach + not tourist crazed. Plaus Naxos has so much else to do, so you can spend mornings exploring and afternoons relaxing.

If you must see Santorini, you could reduce your time there. Maybe give yourself two full days and use those to walk around Oia, Fira, and maybe the lighthouse and the archeological site. Or, instead of a beach, you could take a catamaran boat dinner cruise and see a lot of the island and surrounding geography while lounging on a boat and swimming and being fed (we did this, and while very out of character for us, gave great perspective of the island with history, and forced lounging)

I think adding places, like Delos and Paros is crazy. I think three islands in 9 days is also not awesome, but doable. Again, I would schedule my time on Santorini so that Im there for two full days and thats it. That way, at least, you give yourself more time for Crete perhaps

I like the Rough Guide to the Greek Islands

I too like Rough Guides but I purchase that the day before I depart because Rough Guides doesn't say when the next edition will be available, only Rick Steves' and Lonely Planet provide that information.

Crete is huge. It requires a minimum of a week with a rental car just to barely scratch the surface. If Santorini and Mykonos are must-sees then the logical addition to those islands would be either Naxos or Paros, both of which are located between the other two. If you do plan to rent a car be sure to go to your local AAA office to pick up an International Driving Permit, no test or membership required.

Thank you all for your advice. I truly appreciate and hear what you’ve all said about rushing through the islands. I will have to talk to my travel buddies and see really where their interests are. One has her heart set on Mykonos and I really want to see Santorini. I may leave Crete out this time and like the idea of adding Naxos to the mix. It’s situated between Mykonos and Santorini so we can put it in the middle and fly home from Santorini. Now please tell me some great places to eat and stay at!

For Santorini: Metaxi Mas in Exo Gonia is considered by foodies to be the best restaurant on the island. Santorini Mou in Oia is fun. The owner and friends play music and sing and sometimes there is spontaneous Greek dancing. Reserve an outside table and join in the fun. Go down to Amoudi Bay below Oia for lunch on the wharf and/or a swim at the end of the seawall. This is what you'll see there: www.tinyurl.com/rysbym8 and www.tinyurl.com/584xxt8e

It's very doubtful you'll find any apartment with a washing machine on Santorini.