My husband and i are traveling to greece for the first time in early September. We are coming from Newark in NJ. We have 9 nights. I was going to book 4 nights in Santorini (my dream destination), 3 nights in Crete and then 2 in Athens. Looking for what others have done that worked well. Any place that is a must see that i am missing? We are trying to limit the logistics of island hopping.
Also, we arrive in Athens at 10:30 am and there is a 1:30 flight to Santorini. Flying United. If we land on time, could we make it; how bad is customs in Athens? - if not next flight is 3:30 ish.
Airfare booked - trying to get hotels done.
thanks!
Posted by
Camarillo, California
3122 posts
Crete is huge and requires a minimum of a week with a rental car just to barely scratch the surface. Choose a different island, one closer to Santorini for easy ferry access, such as Ios, Naxos or Paros. 3 hours is plenty of time to make your flight to Santorini. ATH is quite organized and not huge like some other international airports. Customs is easy there. If your flight to JTR is on Aegean or Olympic you can print your boarding passes out at home 48 hours in advance, then all you need to do in Athens is drop your bags off at the appropriate Aegean ticket desk. More time saved.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
2 posts
Customs was a breeze 2 years ago, when we flew into Athens. We were there in September and it was amazing. The weather was perfect and there weren't as many crowds. You may want another day in Athens as there is so much too see there, and I'd recommend a quick trip to Delphi if you end up not doing Crete. I would also recommend visiting the Peloponnese if you have time. We spent two nights in Nafplio and it became a surprise highlight for us. You will LOVE Santorini
Posted by
OP
2 posts
thank you both for the quick reply.