greek island itinerary

If you have any interest to explore the museums and major sites in Athens you're going to need at least 2 days there, not just one.

Hello, we travelled to Greece this May. Below is from my trip report that I posted on the trip report section. Hope this helps.

"From Athens, we flew to Heraklion, Crete on Aegean Airlines. We were very impressed with their service and would highly recommend flying with them. At the Heraklion Airport, we picked up our rental car from Sixt. We were also impressed with Sixt. We stayed four nights at the Lato Boutique Hotel. We had a room with a balcony that overlooked the harbor. Nice room, good service and huge buffet breakfast. We would definitely stay again there. Our first day we drove west two hours to Chania, we spent 5 hours there walking around, eating lunch and going through the Folklore Museum. The wife really liked it as she does various hand crafts. We enjoyed walking around the town and the views of the harbor. On our way back to Heraklion, we stopped at Margarites which is famous for their pottery. It’s a picturesque hill town with at least a dozen pottery shops. We were there around 4:00 on a Saturday and we almost had the town to ourselves. We went to most of the shops and bought many items. We really enjoyed our time there. The second day, it was raining so we went to the Heraklion Archaeological Museum, which is first class. In the afternoon, we went to Knossos, a 3500 year old Minoan palace on the outskirts of Heraklion. We paid for a guide (I think it was 10 Euros a person) and there were six total in the group. The hour long tour was well worth the money. Our third day, we drove east to Aghios Nikolaos. We decided to take the 4.5 hour round trip boat ride to Spinalonga Island The weather was beautiful and the cruise very enjoyable, one of our trip highlights. Spinalonga is an interesting island to tour and you do get a chance to swim in the Mediterranean which was fun. We ate twice at Ippokambos Restaurant in Heraklion. Very good fish and large portions.

From Crete, we took the ferry to Santorini Island. We were booked on the Hellenic Seaways ferry (bought tickets in Heraklion), but it was canceled the morning we were to leave. Fortunately, the Seajet ferry hadn’t left so we were put on it. Not sure if this common, but neither boat would have been half full. It took about two hours to get to Santorini. The ride was pleasant, but there is little to see along the way.

In Santorini, we stayed three nights at the Blue Dolphins Hotel in Firostefani. This was by far the most expensive place we stayed, but considering where we were, it was worth the money. Both our balcony and breakfast area had awesome views of the caldera. We would recommend staying here for the views and the great room plus you are just far enough from Fira to be away from the cruise crowds. The first day, we took a five hour cruise on a Spiridakos catamaran. The cost was 150 Euros per person and included hotel pickup/drop-off, buffet lunch and drinks. There were 10-12 plus crew on board. The weather was perfect and cruise very relaxing. There is time to swim in the Mediterranean in clear water and the hot springs. Probably would pass next time on the hot springs as the water is murky with a rocky bottom in the shallow water. The second day we took an all day Nostotravel bus tour of the island. We visited the excavations of Akrotiri (included guide), Black Beach, walking through Megalochori village, a stop at the highest point on the island, Santo wines with wine tasting and Oia village. The tour lasted from 11:30 to 9:00 with hotel pickup/drop-off. I believe the cost was 43 Euros not including meals and Akrotiri entrance fee. Akrotiri city was destroyed in the Thera volcano 3500 years ago and was buried in volcanic ash. Only about 3% of the city has been excavated. It was probably my favorite ancient site we visited in Greece. From Santorini, we flew to Athens again on Aegean Airlines"

Athens will take a minimum of two days to at least get a taste of it with its World Class Archeological sites and museums, not to mention the Plaka, Monistiraki and Syntagma Squares, Athinas St., Psiri District, Anafiotika, Keromikos Cemetery, the Central Markets and so much more. That doesn't include time on the Acropolis and surrounding sites and just wandering around the city.

Crete deserves more than a few days to really enjoy and experience. Santorini is the most heavily touristed and popular of the Greek Islands, also one of the most expensive. Some like the hordes of crowds and buzz and the fantastic scenary but a lot avoid that island due to it's huge tourist presence. However, to each their own.

I would devote more time to Athens and spend the remaining time on Crete

Thanks for your advice. We have adjusted our itinerary to spend more time in Athens at end of trip.