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Greek Islands visit in early April 2015 after RS Athens/Heart of Greece Tour? Suggestions

I'm hoping someone can give us some guidance on which 1-2 islands would be best to visit during 1st week of April 2015 after we complete our RS Athens/Heart of Greece tour. We know it will be too cool for swimming/sunbathing and that's ok, but want to enjoy some quiet time and the beautiful sights of the islands. We are thinking of going to Santorini, Naxos or Mykonos, or perhaps two of the three if our 4-5 nights time frame is reasonable for this goal. We aren't interested in bars/nightlife but do want to enjoy some good restaurants, and soak up the local flavor/culture of the area. From my research it appears that flying from Athens on Aegean to whichever island and then possibly a ferry to the next destination would be best. Flight schedules are out for April now but not sure whether many ferries are traveling at this time.

We are a mother and daugher group in our 40's and early 70's and in pretty good shape, although we'll be ready for some rest after the busy RS tour before the islands.
Thanks!

Posted by
1554 posts

We're in our early 70s and 2 years ago in September we spent 4 nights on Santorini and 5 on Naxos. It will be early in the season and should not be too crowded. If you want some of the most beautiful scenery in the world, then Santorini may be your choice. We stayed in Fira and took the bus to Oia to visit that beautiful town. Besides the scenery you can visit Akrotiri, the ancient ruins, as well as ancient Thera, less well preserved ruins, but also great to visit.. There are many small villages and beaches to visit also. We rented a car for one day to visit these sights.

Naxos has beautiful scenery, beaches, and an old town. We stayed in the town of Naxos. There are many small villages and we also rented a car for one day to visit some of the sights. From Naxos you can take an excursion to the archaeological island of Delos. These also stop for 3 hours on Mykonos.. In the short time we spent there we did not find much to appreciate but others who have spent more time there will have some suggestions.

You can google the sights on these islands to see pictures and they might help you to decide. You can fly to the island which will save a lot of time, but with the number of days you have it might be best to pick one island to enjoy without rushing from one island to another. The problem, of course, is which!

Posted by
5678 posts

I really loved Santorini and would second spending time there. After the tour boats leave it 's a different place. We rented mopeds one day to get around.

Another suggestions might be Crete. Having read Mary Stewart's book Moon Spinners and watched the Hayley Mills / Peter McEnery film, I really, really wanted to go there. We traveled by bus and visited Knossos. We also visited the Samaria Gorge. I hiked partly up it.

Pam