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April 4-19 2016-- Pls help with island choices

Posted by on

Hi,
14 day trip- arriving Athens 900pm April 4 from USA- departing April 19.
We plan to visit Athens- 4 days, bus to Nafplio- 4 days where we will rent
a car for several days. We have no hotel reservations so we can do trip in any order.

Please help with island choices for 6 days maybe two islands?-Since this is the off season, I thought that maybe some of the smaller islands that I read about would not have ferry service or fairly shuttered until May.

Not interested in Crete at this time.

Is this a good time to visit Santorini?(the thoughts of crowds and mega cruise ships is not appealing)
some other islands that are more the traditional Greek ones?

I have read from your site here the closer ones are Hydra and Aegina which sound interesting but thought could go farther since I have 6 days.

Thanks in advance.

Posted by
1157 posts

After Nafplio you will have to return to Piraeus to get to most of the Greek Islands. April will be off season so you will have far less tourists on any island. If you think Santorini is for you then that's OK. It does offer spectacular scenery and I'm sure far less tourists. However, there are numerous other islands that may offer you a more "Greek" experience including Sifnos, Milos, Naxos, Paros, Amorgos, Astypalea and a number of others. Several of them have airports which will make it easier to get to than a ferry. Other islands with airports and more a Greek atmosphere are Lemnos, Skyros, Ikaria, Kythira plus the above mentioned Paros, Milos, Naxos.

Aegina is a nice island overlooked by many and Hydra offers one of Greece's nicest waterfronts, upscale atmosphere and no motorized vehicles . . . only donkeys to transport everything which will give you a feel of the "old" Greece. Six days there, however may be too many.

A good combination would be Sifnos/Milos, Naxos/Paros or spend your entire 6 days on any of the islands mentioned. You won't get bored!

Posted by
9 posts

I am in Greece right now, in Kardamyli. There are a f e w tourists here but no crowds at all. Many places here have not opened back up yet, but enough are open to offer good choices. I am on the RS tour and we have seen many shuttered businesses as we move along in the tour bus. The folks here really appreciate your business and the euro goes far. If there are as many vacancies elsewhere as here you should get your rooms for a real bargain. Be prepared for the fact that you can't flush any toilet paper, and maybe the hot water runs out but you will have a good time. It's a laid back place. Have a great trip.I

Posted by
3120 posts

My best advice, regardless of where you choose to go, is to save ALL of your time on the mainland for the end of your trip. When you first arrive fly or ferry to your first island, then make your way back to Athens according to your itinerary. This allows you all those extra days to return to the mainland without any last-minute stress in case of a flight/ferry cancellation or breakdown. You'll be relaxed and be able to get out to the airport at your leisure for your flight home.

Posted by
1366 posts

I know you said you were not interested in Crete so i ask you forgive me for making this suggestion. This early in the season Crete and Rhodes are quite a bit further south so will be warmer than the islands you are considering. Also they are both large with permanent populations so there will be a lot more activity than the smaller islands.

So you might consider flying to Chania Crete then visiting a combination of Chania Rethymnon and Heraklion all with very interesting characteristics or just flying to Rhodes which has lots to offer.

Chania http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/sets/72157632117917828/Rethymnon https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/sets/72157654700502270
Heraklion https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/sets/72157655935354556
Lindos and Rhodes http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/sets/72157634754696058/

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