Cyclades Island recommendation

Thank you. Maybe seeing Mykonos and Santorini would be to much. We do want to see Delos. Any suggestion of one island over another? We Want a bit of classic Greek picturesque village life. We are not planning on renting a car.

Naxos is your answer ... as others say, bus system is extensive there... I'll address the island-exploring but first, I want to explain the location & accommodation options tho you haven't asked specifically:

LOCATION/LODGINGS
• In September, the sea will be superb for swmming, so you'll want to be very near or on a beach. I recommend looking at St. George beach, although the water is shallow at shoreline (you wade out 100 yards to swim) ... however, it's easy to hop a quick bus to 3-4 other beaches, and St George locale has key advantages:
• Other beach locations (Ag. Anna, ag. Prokopios, Plaka) begin to wind-down in September... tho populated by day, many things close up in evening. By contrast St. George open & lively, and so is the port town -- restaurants are well-filled, but if u look closely, other diners will be greek locals... Naxians love to eat out.
• Since St. George is directly adjacent to port town it's an easy 10-15 minute stroll along the shore to the harborside attractions of cafes, tavernas, clubs, shops etc, and -- up in the heights, the amazing fortress/Kastro and the best tiny museum in the cyclades. Plus, if you stay late at dinner over a glass or three of wine, no worry about taxi or driving, just wander back by moonlight.
• It may not matter to others, but as a place to stay, I find St. George is greener/shadier... the others are "beach strips" built on the edge of fields and tho hoteliers make an effort at landscaping & shrubbery, they feel more treeless & dusty to me.
• The "condo situation" you ask for is not as available at an optimum beach location, for historic reasons -- Naxos was developed as a modest-budget vacation place, with "studio units"(with kitchenette niches & balconies) in smaller family-run places right on the beach. By the time more upscale tourism developed with 3 BR, pool, etc, all the good beachfront was filled.... so if you want to be all together, it may be way back from the sea, even far enough you'd need a car. If you use booking.com and filter for 1-br units or studio units, you'll find a bunch of them with balconies right on the sand. and Guess what?? they'll probably be less expensive than a new upscale condo with marble countertops and 50" TVs. You could get a studio unit for you 2, and a 1-BR for the young couples, and use their unit for communal breakfasts. More privacy, your own bathrooms, hurrah!

EXPLORING
Your options include (1) full-day bus tour takes u to all the landmarks & hill villages, major ruins, mountain landscapes your heart could desire, with a lunch-break Swim built-in at Appolonia, village at far end of Island, for about $25 each. OR, (2)with your 6, you could check a local office like Naxos Suntours for a half-day tour in a mini-van. (3)The el cheapo special is the regular island bus up to Appollonia, no stops, for about €3. Also, (4) after one of the above, you might decide to local-bus to one special village, explore, have lunch, do a hike (Naxos is Heaven for hikers; see this http://www.cycladen.be/NaxosEng.htm), and take a bus back (you can flag one if you're on its route) or keep a taxi-card and just phone for a pick-up. I remember fondly a September AM; a friend and I bussed to Filoti, strolled down a road into an olive grove, spent 2 hours sketching, bemused by a flock of turkeys wandering thru, and church bells from atop Mt. Zeus ... at the town square for the bus, we had snacks under a huge plantana tree watching the local priest beat 2 people at backgammon at the next table.

SPECIALS
Naxos is very fertile, has vineyards, and also has village wine festivals in September, I gather just advertised on posters, you could check in the harbor-crescent store that features 100% naxian products, its clerks know all. Also .. you could do that Delos/Mykonos excursion ferry to see Delos: smart not to book far ahead, check weather forecast & book for a good-weather day.

We were just in Greece with of family group of 7 including our three grown children and my daughter's husband. We were on Santorini and Naxos. In Santorini we stayed in an air bnb in Oia but there really is no equivalent option on Naxos as Janet said. We stayed in Kymata in St. George beach which everyone loved--mostly because of the staff, location, and the wonderful breakfast. It is not a fancy hotel but my son told me he would never stay any where else! (he is clearly planning to return!)

One thing we found really important for a group which is probably why you are thinking condo is a gathering place. Kymata has a roof top suite that is more expensive than their other very reasonably priced accommodations. We rented it for 3 of the 4 nights we were on Naxos. It wasn't available the other night and if to confirm my choice, everyone ended up in one hotel room!

We ended up ordering in two nights and eating on the roof top deck which everyone enjoyed. It was cheaper and faster and allowed time to do more exploring.

That said, some of the rooms at Kymata are a bit tight with two single beds as my sons had. The beds are pretty close together and our older son ended up in the adjoining suite room for the nights we had the roof top room. They are fine for a couple.

I wrote up a trip report which is under trip reports if you click on travel forum which you might find valuable as we were traveling with a similar group as you.

Beth

Janet and Beth,
Thank you so much for pointing me in the direction of Naxos. As you obviously know, planning and traveling with your adult children and spouses makes picking the destination key and then people can go their own way during the day sometimes and meet up for breakfast and dinner.
Did either of you rent a car? As I mentioned we were thinking of walking, taking bus and maybe using taxis.
Do you recommend a day trip to Delos/Mykonos or is Santorini the place to devote a day to?
Thank you and I look forward to reading your trip report too.
Jane

You have just pointed out one more reason to stay in Ag. Giorgios (St. George) -- the different priorities among a family group. If you stay somewhere that requires a car or 2 cars to get anywhere, there has to be agreement on what to do ... and also doesn't allow for someone to short-cut an outing if feeling tired (or bored). Ag. Giorgios allows people to go their own ways and meet up at dinner ... I have visited naxos a dozen times, often with 3-4 people with different interests... and we could all scatter and then re-group.

Yes of course you can rent a car, I didn't deal with it because you specifically said you weren't planning on it. I gave you a list of options for seeing around the island ... and another one is to rent a car and do-it-yourself. When you rent a vehicle for a whirl around the island, there are several things to remember:

• if you want to do it in just 1 vehicle, you'll have to do a thorough web-search and NOW (if you are talking THIS September). vehicles seating 6 - 8 are VERY rare and MUST be booked in advanc - in fact, if you require an automatic shift,you'd best book ahead online.

• Remember that Greece requires an INternational Driving Permit to rent a vehicle; no test involved, you get it at AAA office in 20 minutes, about $25 (save a few bucks by bringing along 2 passport-size photos). Of course, uneed to bring your own license to Greece also... one of my travelmates proudly waved her IDP, but left her license back home.. so she was not able to drive!

• Know where you want to go... DO some Homework (may I suggest the library?) A guidebook like Rough Guide gives VERY thorough info on island highpoints, not just beaches. Also go on other Greece forums where you can reseach by topic and look for Naxos sightseeing threads.

• When you rent car, tell the agency specifically what you want to see, and have them mark your map. Ask advice on changing itinerary , in case for instance, you want to cut out your last 2 stops & head for a beach -- it's tricky to get from hill villages to beaches without getting lost on tiny roads (I speak from experience).

• Island offices, travel agencies, car-rental places are often open until 9 - 9:30pm. They open again at 8:30 or so in the AM, but Greeks take a long time to get underway (they dine at 11pm), so if you book a car for 9 am, you may not get on the road til 10:30. Best bet is to book it the evening before and park anyplace handy, then you can get an early start.

About day excursion to either Delos-Mykonos or to Santorini, If you have 7 days, then yes, a day-excursion would be fine. I think you should discuss the choice with spouse .... and with the grown kids IF they are paying for any of this. Read about the 2; think about what you want; this is not just jabbing a pin into a punch-board.

For either trip, Naxos has 2 excursion vessels, Naxos Star and MV Alexander. Choose the LATTER -- it is much larger &a smoother ride if the wind makes the sea rough (which can happen in September). Here's the website to check what dates these are offered & description - https://visit-cyclades.com/day-cruises-naxos-cruises/ Book the day before your chosen date, at an agency at the Naxos seafront, but check weather forecast first.

We spent 3.5 days, four nights on Naxos. We all agreed we wished we could have spent at least another day.

We spent 3 nights on santorini prior to coming to Naxos. I would not go there unless you can spent the night. You will spend more time traveling otherwise.

We did rent a car. One day there were five of us-my sons were doing something else. We asked at the desk about the bus to Plaka beach and found out it was the same price to rent a manual for the afternoon. We went from beach to beach exploring. It happened to be a bit cool for swimming that day so perfect.

The next day we had two cars and went exploring the island.

I would not rent a van, even if you can find one. The roads are pretty narrow and windy. We didn’t have trouble driving though-it was definitely easier than santorini where we rented cars for a day.

Beth