Help with 11 night itinerary?

You mention Santorini and beaches but it is not known for it’s beaches. Very touristy, lacking the authentic Greek experience. If you go, only stay there two nights max. Mykonos has beaches away from the main town. But it is April.
Naxos and Paros would give you beaches and a better Greek experience rather than cruise ship inundated Santorini and Mykonos.
Athens needs two full days at a minimum. Another location in place of an island is Napflion where Athenians go on the weekends. Beautiful seaside town with a nice old town, a castle on a hill and another on an offshore island. About two hr drive from Athens.
I agree with your husband!

I agree with Suki. Naxos & Paris would give you a more authentic Greek experience.

But it is your first time to Greece, so I would propose:
Fly directly to Santorini upon arrival. See the excavations at Akrotiri & the glorious sunset. Spend 2 nights.
Ferry to Naxos. Now you can appreciate it! Stay on St. George Beach. This is your r&r. Spend 4 nights.
Ferry to Mykonos, so that you can visit the sacred island of Delos. Spend 2 nights on Mykonos.
Ferry to Athens. Spend 3 nights. Fly home.

Thank you so much for the help. We need all the help we can get. We are thinking to fly into Náxos directly upon arrival to Athens. And making Náxos our home base. I was reading some posts regarding joint day-excursions to Santorini --
“whereby you can arrive at teh Santorini dock about 10:30 AM, a special bus takes you to the (highly promoted) village of OIA for 2 + hours of time, then re-board bus back to FIRA town for the rest of your time... then 4:30 or so, the bus takes u back to the pier. Back at your island for a serene sunset & dinner. Gives you the "Famous Caldera View" for about €55 without the hassle & cost of a Santorini stay.”

Has anyone done this that could recommend the name of a company we should use(Náxos to Santorini)? Or company that we shouldn’t use. Unable to find anything reliable online.

Also, Will it be too cold to go to the beach in Náxos ?
Thanks in advance

Yes Jessica, it will be too cold to swim in April ... however if it's warm, the beach is nice for sunning & strolling. If you wanted to swim, you should have done some checking re weather (the Aegean is not like the Caribbean... when u consult a map it's actually about the same latitude as Northern Virginia).

As for the trips to Santorini ... there are not reliable vs. unreliable companies. There is only ONE company, and it is long-established & reliable. Here is the web page with photos of the ships -- https://visit-cyclades.com/day-cruises-naxos-cruises/ it has 2 vessels -- Naxos Star and MV Alexander. Same size but MV Alexander is double-hulled (catamaran) so it is more stable & a smoother ride, if the weather is very windy, causing waves. Alexander goes every Tuesday, Nax Star every Wednesday. Price I see has gone up to €65 but still worth it, when u consider it covers boat-fare both ways, plus the private bus on the island. I know several people who have done this cruise on the Alexander, and it delivers as advertised.

What I do NOT know is whether it operates as early as April, especially since Greek Easter is so late this year (April 29). I know it operates in May. ... the best way to find out would be to shoot an e-mail to the address of the company: [email protected]. Even better is this e-mail, direct to the woman who runs the office - [email protected] I e-mailed her once with an inquiry, and got a prompt reply. If they ARE operating, you should buy the ticket at an agency at the Naxos harbor... it's always good to check the weather forecast the day before, before you book.

If you cannot get this excursion, that's a problem, because the first regular ferry that leaves for Santorini is about 1 pm not arriving til after 3 pm. In that case, since you have not booked those domestic flights yet, you'll have to do a reverse strategy. Upon Arrival, fly ASAP (allow 2 hrs layover) to SANTORINI... probably arrive late afternoon 4/18. Stay walking distance to FIRA town, that's where most things will be open -- I highly recommend my little family hotel VILLA FOTINI, just 50 yards from the rimside view, and just at N. edge of Fira Town. Try to book a rooftop terrace table (I recommend STANI Taverna in Fira) for a sunset dinner (sun will set around 7:30). You could go next AM 8:30 to OIA to wander & take pix ... cruise mobs don't invade until nearly 10 AM. If all you realliy want from Santorini is the Famous Caldera View, then you can catch the 3:15 BLUE STAR ferry to Naxos that afternoon.

Thank you all so very much for the information! Extremely helpful. I will look into Norwegian airlines to fly trans Atlantic. Janet- I will email your contact and see what they say. A million thanks. Will keep you posted.

Jessica, I worry that you are making decisions & perhaps locking in arrangements without doing the necessary homework yourself, instead relying on forum contributors to do it ... what if we don't? There may be pitfalls you have not considered. For instance, the link-up between the international airline & flight you choose to reach Greece -- AND the flight timing (and cost) to reach an island on day one. Here are aspects you may not have researched yet:

• Only 3 airlines have flights that reach ATH before 11 AM - the nonstops from PHL, JFK, and Toronto/Montreal. Those with connex in Europe mainly arrive after 12 noon, some as late as 4 pm. This limits your options for onward flights to an island.
• NAXOS in April, beside a VER Y early AM flight, has only 1 flight per day; on 4/18 it's 16:00 (4pm), 45 mins, €80 fare.
• SANTORINI has many more: 10:10, 1:35 pm, 5:15 pm, 7:45 pm. but cost is way more ... €132, €145, €215.
-- to check the options yourself, here is the Aegean/Olympics website - https://en.aegeanair.com/plan/book-a-flight/
-- This website - https://www.skyscanner.com - gives other options but READ CAREFULLY; low rates do NOT include a checked bag & limit carry-on to about 15 lbs... SKY express and Ryanair also have iffy reviews about on-time etc. Remember, if you don't have TIME, you must spend Money... on brief trips far far from home.

It seems to me that you need to find out things in this order:
• availability of day-excursion from Naxos to Santorini
• depending on that, choose between flight into Naxos OR Santorini
• Choose international flight based on feasible connection at ATH to domestic flight

Thank you Janet for all your feedback. I truly appreciate it. I was hoping for seasoned travelers with experience in Greece to share their pearls of wisdom. I have done some research but trying my best. Will keep you posted. Thank you again everyone for your help

I just had a thought for yet another scenario, Jess -- upon arrival make the connection on April 18 to that 4 pm Naxos flight. Spend 4 days there. Then take the 1 pm BLUE STAR ferry to Santorini arr 3:30 (a wonderful litle "mini-cruise" and you get to see the santorini cliffs as you enter Caldera). Stay there that night & next night. the following EARLY MORNING get a flight from Santo to ATHENS (usually a 7 am or 8 am flight is much cheaper -- sometimes €60. ) That should leave you at lest 3 days for Athens.

Well I heard back from Ms Maria about the day excursions and she said they will not be running until 29april at the earliest but the final schedule has not been put out. So looks like we will have to fly to Náxos or Santorini. Thank you for your input Janet on flipping the islands. Our flight arrives from USA at 10am to ATH and the options are Santorini flight at 1250 vs Náxos at 1600. After all that flying I’ll probably wimp out and take the Santorini flight since it’s earlier otherwise I would have loved to do Náxos then Santorini as you suggested. We will take the blue ferry as you recommended to Náxos then fly Náxos to Athens. My husband told me tonight he wants to go to nafplio and Delphi! He never asks for much but now I feel like we will not have time for Santorini (2nights), Náxos (3 nights), Athens (3 nights) and now Nafpoli and Delphi. that leaves us with 2 days left. Is this enough for side trips to nafplio and Delphi? I saw your previous posts on leaving the islands early, fly back to ATH rent a car and drive to nafplio on the same day. Should we stay over night in nafplio then drive to Delphi the next day? No clue what to do with this curveball. Help! What are your thoughts? Suggestions welcomed and needed. Thank you thank you

Recommendations on lodging in Náxos? There’s a lot out there thank

There is NO way you can fit in All of those destinations in 11 days! No way. Not very thoughtful of your husband to spring this on you now! It would be trying to pour a Quart into a Pint bottle. You have the added pressure of being off-season so that historic sites and museums often (except Athens) will close at 3 PM. Also, because early in the year, you have shorter daylight, early sunset (8pm). Also so much time in transit! you cannot Squeeze time. Einstein would tell you this. You will have to give up something, or else determine that it's more important to tick off a long list, than it is to stop and enjoy the moment.

Let's look at the logistics if you want to Do it ALL -- it would mean you'd Just give Santorini a fast glance, for the Caldera view, and cut back Naxos to 2+ days (or Paros), and are willing to spend a whole lotta time driving:

4/18 10 am - take 12 noon flight to Santorini in hotel by 2 pm. Rush up to OIA to look around 3-5 pm. sunset dinner @ Stani.

4/19 check out, wander around Fira town; take 12:45 ChampionJet (largecatamaran); has back deck for caldera-viewing for 30 mins; arrive NAXOS 14:10 - in hotel by 3. explore Old Town, Out to Causeway arch for sunset, dinner at port town seafront cafe?
4/20 & 4/21 - Rent car drive around island, go up to Kastro, etc etc 2 more delicious dinners
4/22 - Now Here's the problem!!! Only 1 Naxos-ATH flight per day 17:00 - arr 18:00 or so (6 pm) ... No can drive to Pelops in the dark. . The answer would be PAROS -- PAROS has AM fllights 9:30 - arr ATH 10:10 or 11:45 - Arr ATH 12:25. If you stay in NAXOS, you'd have to get a 9:30 ferry arriving Paros 10:10 & taxi to PAROS airport for 11;45 flight .... might be simpler to stay in Paros instead of Naxos. Just stay on the CHampion Jet 1 more stop on 4/19, & stay in PAROS -- Not as pretty a port town as Naxos. Your choice.

4/22 - 11 or 12 noon - leaving ATH airport for NAFPLIO. Arriving?? 3 ? explore town, sunset dinner.
4/24 - Mycenae? Epidaurus? Palamidi ? A full day! can't go on to another destination until morning...
4/ 25 - Leave early, back across Corinth Canal, turn LEFT & go to DELPHI, arrive ?? 1 pm?? 1-4pm on site. 3 hr drive to ATHENS --go to airport you don't want to drive into city. Taxi 1 hr from airport to Central Athens hotel. COLLAPSE ... OR you could stay o'nite in Delphi, (hotel Pan has room w. view down mountain to the sea)... & drive back 8 am 4/26.
4/26- 27 28 -- ATHENS.

This has exhausted me just typing it .... you'll have to decide whether you can do it -- and if so, you'll have to work out the logistics yourself; we give advice but we are not travel agents... a travel agent could do all these booking for you. that's their job. Good Luck!

Jessica — I think you should go back to my original suggestion. Skip Napflio & Delphi. Too much rushing around. We have made seven trips to Greece and have still not seen them. You can come back someday & visit the Peloponnese peninsula. Let this be your island trip.

Fly directly to Santorini upon arrival. Stay 2 nights.

Ferry to Naxos for 4 nights. Stay on St George Beach. This will be your r&r.

Ferry to Mykonos so you can see what all the fuss is about. Stay 2 nights. Take a day trip to Delos on your full day there.

Ferry back to Athens for the rest of your stay.

Charlene, I agree .... but in that case, jessica needs to convince her husband ... I hope she is a strategic communicator...

This thread has been helpful to me! I am planning a 11 day trip from Seattle to Greece - (4/5 through 4/16) and I am just getting some idea in terms of what a possible itinerary might look like. I might do the fly straight into Santorini and leave out of Athens (or the other way around).

Jessica, your first post said this trip was R&R [rest and relaxation] and now you have made it into Rush and Hectic Distress.
Listen to Janet and the others. Par your plans to what you can achieve in a manner that you and your spouse can enjoy.
Consider the word "recreation". It is made of re and creation. Travelling is a way of re-creating ourselves into a better "whole"; not tearing ourselves apart through hectic over exertion.
In view of the religious days at the end of April this year, can you move your trip to May? The tourism infrastructure will start to buzz, but there won't be large numbers of tourists. You would benefit.
Enjoy yourselves and your re-creation.
Harvey