We are in the early planning stages for a trip September 2025. length of time would be 5 or 6 weeks. We like to base ourselves for at lest 5 days in a place. We prefer non touristy places. We are starting to think maybe 4 weeks on the mainland and then two or three islands. We are completely open to suggestions as to islands and to anything else.
Thanks for your help
Greece is made for a driving vacation. There are countless historic sites, beautiful beaches, charming villages, and wonderful natural areas that you can easily access with a car.
I would recommend that you pick up a comprehensive guidebook, or similar, and identify all of the sites and places that you would like to visit. I, personally, based on your remarks, would do something like this:
Arrive in Athens, walk directly into a rental car at the terminal, drive to Nafplio.
Two weeks driving around the Peloponnese.
Two weeks in the northern mainland.
Handful of days in Athens, return car, fly to Crete. Work your way back to Athens by ferry visiting a few islands along the way.
Gonna be great.
With the time you have you can see a lot of Greece.
The Peloponnese is a large and wonderful area and just that alone could take your entire five weeks.
However, 2 weeks as suggested would give you a good taste of the Peloponnese.
I haven't spent time in Northern Greece but my research shows that it also is a beautiful area and a different feel from the rest of Greece.
Obviously some time on an island or islands is also a must.
More research is needed and there are plenty of websites and guide books available.
I would recommend the Cadogan Guide for the Peloponnese as it's the best available. While last published in 2010 it's still relevant and filled with more info than any other. Available as a used book on abebooks or ebay.
One of the better websites for all of Greece is:
I would suggest looking into several websites and guide books to get a more complete view of Greece.
Another good idea for driving in Greece is some type of navigation system which will make getting around much easier. I use Google Maps.
The post hyping Santorini appears more of an advertisement plugging the island rather than a recommendation.
