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Greece with the family~

We are thinking of travelling to Greece in Sept however we have never been.. We are a family of 4 (2 adults and 2 kids ages 11 and 9) We have done Spain, Italy and France (couple of cities in each) and have found that when we put too much into our trip, we do not get what we should out of it.. No relaxing time and moving from place to place has been hard on my husband and the kids.

We Love Sevilla (Spain) probably one of our favorites.. We also love the Costa Brava (Spain) area.. Also, on the love list is Venice, Firenze and Rome.. We did NOT like Madrid.. (just for you to get a feel of what we like)
We are planning to get away for 2 to 3 weeks.. What places in Greece or countries nearby would you suggest. What cities in Greece are best for families.. We like to eat and become one of the locals. Im not much into the tourist areas as they are usually quite full..

WE were also looking into a cruise that would hopefully take us around Greece and doing the other 2 weeks in 2 different cities..
We have done the Mediterranean cruise twice and most itinerary are Genoa, Marseille, Palma de Mallorca, Barcelona etc.. All of which we have done so I would need something different..

Thoughts?

Thanking you in advance.

Posted by
979 posts

You might want to consider Crete rather than the Greek mainland. There are great beaches, nice smaller cities (Chania is a favourite), good food, friendly locals, interesting sites, and a rich and long history.

For cruises to the Islands you might do well to contact a travel agent in Athens (I have used Fantasy Travel to book some tours). They will have a much better idea of what is available through local cruise companies. Check Celestyal Cruises website; they offer a number of 7 day cruises from Piraeus going to various islands including Milos, Rhodes, Crete, Mykonos and Santorini.

Posted by
168 posts

I will definitely check with them! Thank you so much!

Posted by
16895 posts

Similar to the idea of choosing Crete, if you focus on the Peloponnese peninsula you can drive (rather than relying on ferry schedules) and can get a variety of sightseeing in a relatively manageable area. Nafplio(n) is a good home base.

Posted by
11507 posts

Naxos -

Aggia Anna -

Heaven

Ticks all your boxes I think .

We made the mistake of only staying 5 nights there this past trip ( we just left there 1 week ago ) - many cute tavernas and restaurants , proprietors recognize you on second visit , amazing beach - plus walk to other great beaches .
No Starbucks or Yves st Laurent stores .

Posted by
168 posts

Is it easy to drive in Greece? I would love to spend 2 weeks and maybe get to see 2 or 3 different places within Greece..

Posted by
9 posts

We sound very similar - and we have kids 12, 10, 7. Just returned from a month in Greece, Turkey and few in Prague. It was a fantastic itinerary. Paros (2N) - Naxos (3N) - Syros/Rhodes (2 N via cruise). Then in Turkey: Fethiye/Oludeniz (4N) - Dalyan (2) - Selcuk (2N) - Cappadocia (4N) - Istanbul (4N) - Prague (3N). We like to live local, stay in airbnb with super hosts to give us tips and be adventurious.

I would highly recommend Naxos & Paros for your age kids. Stay right in towns, perfect size to wander, nice beaches and good food/culture. Prague was super fun as well. Have great family airbnb tips if you end up at one of these towns. Fabulous hosts at our Naxos airbnb: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/17902940 We could have spent a week in Naxos exploring with our cheap rental car - so many amazing beaches and restaurants - all were incredible.

Have heard Crete is great, but huge. And we love these places from past summers: Sardinia (Cala Ganone & La Madallena), Menorca (Citadella) & Venice (fun with our kids). These are some of our favs.

Good luck!