I am in the very beginning stage of planning a trip to Greece. We will be roughly 2 weeks. It will start or end with just my husband and I. Then our parents maybe some siblings will be joining.
Last year we did Italy and had an amazing time.
We have a mix of ages and interests. We would like to do a mix of cities (history/museums) and beaches and island relaxing.
Thank you in advance!!!
Katie
Look at the RS Greece tour itinerary for inspiration.
Will you be driving or using public transportation? The RS tour goes round the Peloponnese for the most part and you'd need to drive to see much of it. Driving isn't easy - signs can be only in Greek, the area is mountainous, and the roads are 2-lane. The views are magnificent and the towns/villages are charming! I took a tour in the spring (April-May) and the water was still very cold - no one stayed in very long - but gorgeous.
We are going in May for two weeks with our three young adult children, and my daughter's husband. My husband's brother will join us after three days. It is our first time in Greece so thought I would share our itinerary in hopes it might be helpful. Some of our group have extensively traveled but two have never been to Europe. We also have a mix of interests and I tried to accommodate that.
We decided the Rick Steve's itinerary was too much driving with a group.
We are flying to Athens and then to Santorini that day. We are staying there three nights. Then we are ferrying to Naxos where we are staying four nights. My husband's brother who has been to Santorini and had no desire to return will join us there. He has traveled several times to Greece and we thought he would be a nice addition.
We are flying back to Athens and renting a van and driving to Nafplio. We will stay there four nights.
Then we will drive back to Athens airport and drop off the car and spend last three nights in Athens.
We choose Santorini because of its beauty and felt like we wanted to see it once even though it is very tourist ed. It does not have good beaches though and I was looking for a nearby island (in same island group for ferries) with good beaches for my crew as I knew that was important to them too. It turns out Naxos has an excellent combination of beaches, mountains, historic places, and charming towns. I picked Nafplio because it is a beautiful town on the sea and is close to several important ancient sites (e,g., Epidavros, Mycenae). It also is only a couple hours from Athens and I wanted to minimize driving.
Beth
I like goodorf's plan though I have less interest in Santorini. Athens, Nafplion, Delphi, and one of the less busy islands, like Naxos, would be right for me.
Driving in Greece can be a challenge for Americans. If you drove in Italy you may be ready to "take it to the next level." ;-) But if you don't want to drive, maybe just stick to Athens and one or two islands.
If you want to swim at those beaches, look for a summer or early fall trip.
