We are booked for the 14 day Greece tour next September (24) I have the Rick Steve Greece book but he doesn’t talk about all little islands, so many! I am thinking of adding 5 days to the end of the group trip to Naxos or Naxos and Santorini? We would fly from Athens to Naxos and then should we just stay and take ferries to Santorini, Paros? This is the hardest trip I have ever tried to figure out. Any suggestions for where to stay on Naxos, how long the ferries take? We are older just want to relax after a very active group tour. Thank you for any help.
Posted by
Massachusetts, USA
1700 posts
When you say you are adding 5 days, is that 5 nights or 6 nights? If 6 nights, then you could divide your nights by 2 nights in Santorini and 4 nights in Naxos, OR 3 nights on each island. If you only have 5 extra nights, then 2 nights in Santorini and 3 nights on Naxos. OR with only 5 nights, you might be better off visiting only one island. I think this would be more rewarding and relaxing, and you do mention you want to relax after an active group tour.
The Blue Star ferry from Santorini to Naxos is 2 hours. It's a large ferry and very comfortable with seating outdoors (as well as indoors) so you can enjoy the scenery as you are sailing out of the caldera. Whether or not it's feasible to daytrip to Santorini from Naxos depends on the ferry schedule and how long you can stay on Santorini for that day.
We stayed at Hotel Palatia in Naxos on the edge of St. George's beach. We were able to walk everywhere. We spent 4 nights on Naxos, and rented a car for a day to explore the island, which was awesome. I highly recommend doing this so that you can see more than just Naxos Town.
On Santorini, we stayed at Blue Dolphins Apartments in Firastefani, which is quieter than Oia and Fira. The rate in May 2022 was about $230 for a room (with patio) overlooking the caldera.
Posted by
2782 posts
If you want to relax, I would stay on one island or add more days. We spent 3 nights on Santorini and 4 on Naxos. We really would have liked a 5th on Naxos.
Posted by
OP
Maineville Oh
40 posts
So now thinking 6 nights 5 days Naxos, and a ferry to another island. Thanks for input. I will look at hotel and if anyine has other suggestions for hotels on beach or restaurants.
Posted by
Huntington Beach CA
1162 posts
Oh you will love the tour and you will definitely need time to relax and recuperate afterwards. It was a lot of up and down hill walking that I felt like I developed buns of steel after the two weeks. It is one of the most active tours that RS offers. Going to the islands to relax is definitely a good idea. We did 4 nights in Mykonos and 4 nights in Santorini. Loved Santorini and would love to return someday, Mykonos not so much but still glad we got to experience it. I do recommend you fly back to Athens the day before your flight home just in case there”s an issue with your flight back to Athens.
Posted by
7 posts
Paros is lovely and I heard Naxos is similar but more family-oriented. I can say you can definitely make it work with 2 nights Paros and 3 nights Santorini. That's what we did and I wouldn't change it. Another night in Paris wouldnt have been a bad thing though