9/10 days in Greece

When are you looking to go?

For me, with a 6 year old I'll be looking at finding a place near/on a beach on one of the islands and stay there for the entire duration. 6 year olds are not interested in traipsing around and exploring old Greek towns, historic ruins, churches or museums, 6 year olds are interested in playing in water, be it beach or pool or other kid-centric activities.

Yes we've taken our young children all the way to the US or the Middle East but those holidays have always been beach/pool related. As they've got older we've introduced more cultural activities but ultimately they still love jumping into a pool at the end of the day.

If you're happy to travel a fair distance (it's not clear where you'll be coming from) to spend the duration in one place then do so, you'll probably experience more of Greek life by going out and visiting local restaurants and shops nearby than you would rushing between so called 'must see's' and dragging a bored and frustrated 6 year old with you.

I agree. Choose one island and make that your destination, maybe returning to Athens a day early to play it safe in case of delays or cancelations.

For a family with a child, an island that is not so extremely full of partying tourists should be great: Naxos or Paros would be nice places to stay on a first time visit to Greece.

Choose the season wisely. Don't know what kind of climate you are used to, but the kind of thing I've seen more than once - Northern European parents letting their blond and light-skinned children play on the beach and in the water in the Greek July or August noontime sun without so much as a hat or a T-shirt - borders on child abuse, IMO.

Paros and Naxos is ideal for families holidays. Paros is more smaller than Naxos which is the biggest island of Cyclades. But you need only about 1 hour to get from Paros to Naxos. 9 Days is enough to explore Paros and visiting some villages in Naxos.

Also from Paros and Naxos you can also take a small ferry for a daily excursion to nearby islands e.g. Mykonos , Santorini Koufonisia, Iraklia