Hi I am beginning to plan a trip to Greece. We are interested in flying into Athens and taking ferry to Hydra,then Mykonos,then
Santorini, and then back to Athens for flight home.
We will have about 8 days for travel. Thinking September 2025.
Does this sound realistic? Any suggestions if this plan does not seem realistic?
Thanks for your help. Doreen
I would lose at least one of those stops.
It helps others advise you if you explain why you chose each stop and what you want out of them.
We are looking to experience beautiful views,relaxation,good Greek food and wine, some nightlife,some water sports like a kayak or jet ski.
So perhaps Athens is not a priority for you. I'd still lose one island. You could do two three-night stays and then two nights to finish in Athens if you want to see the Acropolis. Much depends on how many nights you end up with, and if you can arrive in time to get to an island on arrival day.
How many nights will you be in GR?
After you arrive in Athens take a nonstop flight to either Mykonos or Santorini. To get from one island to another check: https://www.directferries.com/global/index.html.
Save Athens for the end of your stay since you are flying home from there. Remove Hydra from your itinerary since you’re visiting two islands that are way better than Hydra. If you don't want to spend time in Athens consider taking a bus to Nafplio instead.
You've already read what Rick has to say in the guidebook, right?
Athens deserves at least 2 days with three better.
Still with just 8 days I would drop one island and save Athens for the end of your trip.
It will be very difficult and time consuming to combine Hydra with either Santorini or Mykonos as there is no direct ferry from Hydra to either island. You'll have to go back to Piraeus and then take a ferry to one of the other islands and hope there is a ferry available without wasting a lot of time waiting for that ferry.
There are numerous other Greek Islands that offer what you are looking for with less tourists, lower prices and maybe a bit more "Greek" than Santorini/Mykonos.
More research on your part is needed to see what other Greek Islands have that may work for you.
You are seriously underestimating the time it takes to travel from island to island. If you spend one night in Athen area before flying out, that gives you 7 nights for islands.I would pick 2 islands and as Lee said, Hydra does not mix well because of difficulties with the ferry routes. It takes a half a day at least to move from island to island so you don't want to divide 7 nights between 3 islands.
You could fly to Mykonos or Santorini and ferry to the other but you then would be spending all your time on the two most crowded and expensive islands. I would pick one and then spend time on another island in Cyclades connected by ferry to it.
\
Thank you Everyone!!
From your initial post, I would suggest that you consider sticking to your plan. We have an 8 day trip planned this spring with 5 nights in Athens and 4 nights in Santorini. We have been to Athens (our 6th trip) , Santorini (this will be our 3x) and Mykonos (2x). In 2023 We did Athens, Santorini, Naxos and Mykonos. 14 nights. We flew into Santorini, ferried to Naxos then to Mykonos and flew out of Mykonos. We have been to many Cycladic and Dodecanese islands.
We always fly into Athens and do our thing …Greek food, wine, archeology , and then fly back from an island the day before we fly home and overnight at the Sofitel. It’s literally a 10 minute walk from room to Departures. So, I don’t know anything about Hydra but a ferry to/from the Cyclades, to me, would be insane.
Santorini is fabulous. There are many ways to avoid crowds. Stay in Fira not Oia. Book a hotel room with a Caldera view. Take a wine tour. Take an Akratori tour. We find moderate priced restaurants with views…so meals aren’t expensive.
For Mykonos, we love Delos and stay right at the town square, a 15 minute walk to the old pier to boats Delos. We only stay in Delos 2 nites, one day. Everything is expensive, so spend up and enjoy it.
To modify, we stay in Mykonos 2 nights, not Delos.
As an alternative to all the ferries, we took a 4-night cruise on what’s now Celestyal Cruise Lines that visited 6 ports. The ship was horribly antiquated by American standards - only one pool area, one buffet and one sit down restaurant! :-) But it was clean, had everything we needed for spending most of our time onshore, and prices were low enough we could swing a suite to have plenty of room for 3 people plus a nice balcony. Just something to consider!
Thank you everyone, it was very informative, we did it thanks to you!
