Having trouble figuring out my trip to Greece

Is your trip this September, next month? Santorini is always jam packed, over run. If you can book a room, do not stay four nights, too long. Add that day to Napflion.
At this late date, I highly recommend that you use a Greek, Athens based, travel agent to straighten this all out and make a good itinerary. They will have access to hotels to get you reservations. We never use travel agents but did for Greece and it worked out great. Our agent has retired but she recommended Fantasy Travel in Athens. Let them assist you so you can enjoy your time in Greece.

Hi Lea, sounds like you’ve got a little trip planning work in store. I’ve been to every place you mention other than Mykonos, all wonderful. You are traveling in high season, visiting very popular spots, and planning with short notice. So, most popular lodging will already be booked. You have also not mentioned what level of lodging you prefer, or a budget. So, for lodging, I suggest you do searches on booking.com using their filters for price and other factors that are important to you. Then when you have identified two or three possibilities with vacancies in each location, you can return here and maybe someone will have some knowledge of those places.
In 2017, I did arrange to visit Meteora with visitmeteora.com. It was a fine 1-night trip, and included round-trip train, nice mid-level hotel in Kalambaka with breakfast, and two guided tours of various different monasteries, one at sunset, the other in the morning, each 3 to 4 hours. This left some time in Kalambaka for wandering and for meals. I traveled Sat/Sun which meant that most of the monasteries were open on a Sun morning. The train going left Athens at about 8:30 am, left Kalambaka about 5:30 pm the next day. Train trips were a tedious 5.5 to 6 hours each way.
I loved Naxos, much less touristy than Santorini, as it has no cruise port. Yes, there is a ferry, mine was about 2.5 hours, between Santorini and Naxos.

Suki,
Thank you for responding. I did try to go the travel agent (AAA) but maybe just the wrong one. Do you know anything about the Fantasy travel agency ( are they expensive, fees involved). I looked them up on TripAdvisor and the last review for them was 2015. Not sure what that means.

Larry,
Thanks for responding. I'm glad to know that your trip to Meteora was a good one. I tried to get on the visitmeteroa.com website but it didn't go through. I'm wondering if that is the same company as visitmeteroa.travel. I will be calling them again tonight and set-up my trip. That will take 4 days and 3 nights. Then I have a hotel for the next night in Athens that I previously booked. Then off to the Island, just not sure which order to go in. I've been to Ferries.gr and not sure I understand the routes. Can I go from Athens, to Mykonos, to Naxo, to Santorini or is it Mykonos, Naxos, Santorini or Mykonos, Santorini, Naxos and if I end up in Naxos is there a ferry back to Athens. Where if anywhere should I put Hydra?
Would like to fly but i'm afraid my suite case maybe a little heavy for the low budget airlines.
Thanks again for all of your advice, keep it coming.

Lea, Janet and Stan are among are our Greece experts on this forum, so hopefully they and others will chime in soon. They certainly know transportation (and everything else about Greece) much better than I do. Yes, the group I dealt with is at visitmeteora.travel, that may be a new web address, since I dealt with them a while ago. I took their “2-day plus train” tour. I was really on my own other than during the two monastery tours, and they provided the train tickets by e-mail and the reservation for the hotel. When I went to the islands, I left most of my baggage stored at my hotel in Athens, where I returned for my last night before flying home, so I had minimal stuff with me on the islands. I took short flights to Santorini and back to Athens from Naxos, as those routes by ferry are considerably longer. On short notice, seats on those flights may been unavailable or really pricey. Good luck!

Lea, I would suggest that you immediately contact DOLPHIN HELLAS -- lately I've heard things on this forum that Fantasy Travel was not being that responsive to pople's wishes. Dolph-Hellas is used to working with people from USA on short notice -- their staffer Uli is considered a wonder worker... Here's their website and email https://www.dolphin-hellas.gr [email protected]

I think you should send them an e-mail with EXACT DATES and FULL DETAILS -- please do not make people guess when you want help at short notice!! Tell them the following:
• EXACT date AND Time of Plane arrival AND DEparture - Nowhere in this e-mail do you give your exact length of stay, but you are asking us to help... how can we??
• EXACT hotel booking you have in ATHENS and DELPHI, and exact date/time you expect to return to Athens area
• What dates you want to go on this VisitMeteora tour, and that you want them to book it
• When you want to go to Santorini (NOTE: if you do it LATER, better chance of tinding a room)
• WHAT other Island y ou want to Visit (NOTE: Naxos will be easier to find budget rooms than Mykonos)
• Your BUDGET RANGE for hotels in SANTORINI - MYKONOS - NAFPLIO - ??NAXOS -- NOTE: the prices will be in that order -- MOST expensive will be in Santorini.

If they can't find any rooms for you, at least they could book your tour and your Flight back from Islands to Mainland, and YES, you will have to book the domestic flilght(s) before you go, or they could fill up. THe ferries will have plenty of room. Good luck and DO not Dither; write tonight!

Janet,
Thanks for the information re: DOLPHIN HELLAS I just came across another listing that mentioned it but when I went to Trip Advisor for reviews they were from 2006,2010 and the most recent from 2015 so I wasn't sure of their reliability.
Can you tell me if they do segments of a trip, customize them, like just the islands or are they just tours that you are preset and you choose from?
I tried to get help from AAA but unfortunately they were unable to help so I'm a little shy on trying another travel agency that I don't know.
Have you used them?
Sorry for not giving you exact information when requesting assistance but as a solo traveler I'm used to being a little guarded. And again much of my plans are, should I say not planned.
I've read some of your reply's before and you definitely have good information.
The amount of time in Greece... Sept
I arrive in Greece on Sept 5 (dept on 27th) go to Delphi on the 6 1 night (in process of booking my hotel, been told I can purchase the bus ticket the morning of, for the 7:30am bus is this correct?
Back to Athens on the 7 until 9, have hotel-hilton.
Will try and book my trip to Meteroa tonight for Sept 10-13 or 14. This might be to much time, your thoughts?
but if I return to Athens on the 14 I have a room again at the Hilton. Would like to go to Nafpilo but not sure that I can get from Meteora to Nafphilo in a day so this way i have a place to sleep and I can head to Nafphilo in the morning.

If I can get from Meteora to Nafphilo in 1 day then I'd like to leave Meteroa on the 13 go to Naphilo for the 13-15 return to athens on the 16th - have a room at the Hilton for this night. On the 17th got to Santorini or Naxos for 3 nights 17-19 and head to Mykonos on the 20th. I've found rooms at Terra Maria, from RS book, stay there for 3 nights. The off to Naxo or Santorini which ever I didn't go before, who ever has rooms available and then it would be back to Athens and home.
So with a little more info do you have any other advice on trains, buses or ferry connections, which route would be easier to connect the islands together with ferries.
will do some more calling to night to find rooms and emailing.
Thanks for your help and patience, i've never used this forum before but have read it once or times so I wasn't sure what was needed as info.

Lea, don't ask me these questions, I suggest that you ask Dolphin Hellas... you are SO close to departure, and SO ambitious, and So scattered in your planning, that I can't take the hours off to try to get it straight in my head ... you need the pro's to help.

Have you checked out Matt Barrett's Greek Guide? Click on his link to Travel agencies and you can read all about fantasy Travel as well as Dolphin Hellas Travel

Did you search booking.com? Did you try Tripadvisor.com? Are you looking at a map of Greece while looking at how to best move around? Would you like to take a bus to Meteoria or Delphi the day you arrive, then Nafplio (you would change busses in Athens, but you don’t need to know this, it just “happens”), then bus to pireus and ferry to whatever Island has a hotel room; then back to Pireus, then bus back to Athens? That is 4 locations. Maybe that is enough. Maybe you could squeeze a 5th place? Have you checked other guidebooks for less popular Islands? Have you searched for ferry tickets to see where you can go and then checked to see if those places have hotel rooms? Why don’t you write what you think is a good itinerary, then try writing or thinking of many other alternative itineraries to see if you can think of a better plan, then post something again. Then just pick an itinerary even if it is not really the best plan just because you are runing out of time?

edit: Did you check rome2rio.com?

Lea -- Ideally, if a seat is still available, fly from Athens to Santorini, and stay for 3 nights. Then ferry to Naxos and stay 3-4 nights. Fly (if possible) or ferry back to Athens. Skip Mykonos and Hydra.

Hopefully the agency will be able to help put this trip together for you!

At this late date, I urge you to use a Greek travel agent.