Any charming village or place to stay close to Athen's airport?

If you want the best advice, you need to give us more details -- like what you will be covering during the rest of your 3 weeks, so we don't duplicate (i cannot tell u how frustrating it is to spend time pondering & writing about possibilities, only to have the Orignal Poster say, "oh, i forgot to tell you, we are already going there" or "i forgot to say, I get seasick een in a rowboat". Wastes our time And yours). ALSO, do say WHEN you are coming -- exact date of arrival/departure AND time of day matters ... the transport options can vary a great deal, depending. Greece is not italy,, where trains leave hourly. Greece has no trains to speak of, and ferries aren't always set up for convenience of tourists. Thus, timing info is key.

We "old hands" tend to recommend that you save Athens for the last, for several reasons: (1) After a loooong trip from West Coat u will be exhausted, and it's so much more relaxing to recover from jet-lag and economy-seat-cramp on an island or a seashore (2_ Even w 3 weeks to play wish, u don't want to waste time in backtracking, so why use precious hours going in to athens/checking in/out, going back to airport etc? (3) Newcomers to greece take a while to get the hang of things; after a couple of weeks, you'll know "how greece works" and will be able to make the most of busy, bustling Athns (4) after you've seen more of Greece's history, culture, and ancient sites, the treasures of Athens museums, and its major landmarks will resonate so much more. If you don't land on arrival day until 5 or 6 pm, there are several good B & Bs for just that night, near the airport, so you could depart early AM next morning to your first destination.

For final night, nothing like Stresa is available just 45 minutes away.... Rafina, a seaport, would be closest, but I believe u may have read abot the recent tragic wildfires there... and being a West Coaster, you know how this can scar the landscape. If you are in Athens for the last 3-4 days, there's a terrific little day-excursion to a small island to consider, depending on your dates -- weekend or midweek. So I won't describe until we know something of your rough itinerary, destination list, and dates. Do share!

We are considering 3-4 weeks beginning the last week of April. Very tentative concept is as follows:

4 nights Athens
2 nights Delfi
2 nights Olympia
3 nights Nafplio
Then out to islands. Fly to Santorini. 2-3 nights there (yes, touristy but not to be missed?)
Then trying to map out other islands to see. We aren’t beach people, hate tourist spots, Naxos seems to be very well liked, and Aegena also has good reviews.

Flying back out of Athens, because of the long flight back to west coast, we can’t do any other travel that same day and would likely want to spend the night first. Hate to waste it at a airport hotel although last year had fun watching Asian flight crews come through at our Paris airport hotel.

Before I deal with query about lodgings for final night -- I trust you are aware that Greek Orthodox Easter weekend in 2019 is Fri-Sat-Sun-Mon April 26-27-28-29 ... NOT a week earlier as elsewhere. This is THE biggest holiday in the Greek calendar, and it affects traffic, openings, closings, bookings etc. Travel will be heavy on days before Good Friday (because many greeks leave Athens & other large cities to go to their families villages or islands), then on GF, much is closed, ditto Saturday... going to a church or a cathedral Sat. nite for services is memorable... but then on SUNDAY almost everything is closed down including public transport... everyone's off roasting a lamb int he backyard. Easter Monday also most sites/museums etc closed. So... since u have not booked flights yet, you might consider arriving on Easter Monday.... or else arrive on a Thursday, & get yourself to an island for 3-4 days. On those 4 days trying to sightsee in Athens will be frustrating

For your last night before homebound flight (I get the idea that you plan earlly AM flight?) ==There is only one "airport hotel" right on the premises, Sofitel, and it is VERY pricey in Greece terms, around $250, tho they do have promotional pricing ... there is a Holiday Inn Attika, about 30 minutes away with a free to/from shuttle that starts around 4 am I think. Several other options:

• ST THOMAS B & B -- http://www.stay-in-athens.com/ about 10 mins drive/taxi from airport, small place in an olive grove, run by expat Englishwoman, landscaped, 3 lovely rooms/suites. a little pool (in Mid-may warm enough to swim. No dinners, but cocktails beside the pool & they will have food brought in if u order ahead ... and they feature a "bountiful breakfast buffet" which you could take advantage of only if your flight is 10 am or later, since u are required to be in line 2 hours early (how stupid-- in mid-may, not large crowds & you'd probably sit for a full hour in departure lounge!)
• AVRA HOTEL - In Rafina, http://www.hotelavra.gr. 20 min ride from airport on their FREE shuttle bus (IF you request ahead)... it's right on a beach. It's closing for renovation in Nov, re-opening in January so should be dewy-fresh. Right on the beach (check website). Recently the Rafina area was hit by wildfires but in the north, does not affect this area. Prices similar to St. Th. Rafina is cute little port town u can sit at seafront before dinner & watch ferries come/go.

My Goodness, thank you for telling me about Easter--- I was thinking we were missing it. we have not booked our tickets yet so will shift the whole itinerary to come after. we are just trying to beat the crowds and any heat.

Thank you for the hotel ideas and most of all, for catching us BEFORE a huge blunder!!

Consider flying to santorini (or furthest island) after you arrive. We arrived in am from US and took flight few hours later to santorini. It is wonderful to recover from jet lag on n island. You can then ferry to other islands, ending on one with an airport. You can then fly back to Athens and rent a car to go to Delphi and nafplio and anywhere else you want. Return the car to the airport and go by metro, bus, or taxi into Athens. Spend your last night in Athens and then you won’t have problem of staying near airport. We took a taxi to airport to catch our flight and enjoyed our last night eating on the rooftop of our air Bnb enjoying views of the Acropolis .

When you plan for your other islands
to visit, realize that ferries go most easily within an island group. Santorini is in the Cycladic island group. We went to Naxos after santorini which we loved.

Beth

Thanks again. since we fly from the west coast, we will be dead when we get into Athens -- we will only have the energy to get to our hotel or apartment. We fly out of LA in the evening and arrive late afternoon, have early dinner and crash early for 10 hours sleep -- then our jet lag much less by the first day. This strategy has really worked for us.

thanks for tip on Naxos -- many people seem to think this is a great stop.

You, of course, will have to decide what works best for you. Have you been to Athens before? Personally, I think it was easier to hop on one more flight and arrive on an island than to manage to get to hotel in Athens (which we did at end of our trip). It takes about an hour as airport is located some distance from Athens. I know that stan who posts often and has been to Greece multiple times and also flies from west coast always flies to his furthest destination the first night.

But if you do decide to go to Athens first, I would recommend you book a taxi ahead of time. There was a four hour metro strike when we arrived in Athens and we had to make alternative arrangements. We took an overcrowded bus to Syntagma square and then a taxi. The taxi line at airport was a mile long.

Beth

Andrea, I agree on your strategy to find a convenient lodging the first night and "crash" for 10 hours sleep, good idea. However once you get up & have breakfast, I still suggest going on to an island for your first stop, and still saving Athens till last. It's not about energy, it's about what you will get out of it ... believe me, when you've had a few days or weeks to immerse in the Greek culture and history --- then the major landmarks will resonate so much more with you. But if you have your mind made up so be it.

Thanks again. heading out to the islands the first morning might be a good strategy since that will be early May and perhaps less crowded. then we can work our way back. I'll getting our itinerary put together and will post for feed back in a couple of weeks.

Maybe the ATH Sofitel that first night, if all you'll want to do is crash. Then fly to Santorini and proceed from there. You'd find the Sofitel most convenient on the night before your early AM flight home. It's expensive but they do have promotions, check the internet. You save 10% by joining the Accor hotel chain loyalty program. About three minutes' walk from the terminal building, with an OK restaurant and coffee stand.

I think Janet is right about the reasons to end, rather than start, in Athens. I also think, FWIW, that you could do Delphi justice with just one night there, visiting either the ruins or the museum the afternoon you arrive and the other one next morning before the day tour buses get there.