Help with itinerary , first time bucket list trip to Grece

Crete deserves days, weeks even months to fully enjoy and explore what the island is all about.

I see you have Santorini & Mykonos on your itinerary which are two of the most popular, expensive and hyped of the Greek Islands. Eliminate one and spend more time on Crete.

Five days in Athens is good. There's more to Athens than just the tourist sites. It's a city filled with wonderful areas . . . touristy and non-touristy.

Athens deserves two if not three days to experience the city.

Day trips to Corinth, Mycenea and Nafplio can be done in 1 day but it will be a full day and a car rental would make it much easier than public transportation.

Over-rated can be subjective. I feel Santorni & Mykonos are over-rated even though I haven't been to Santorini and only did the Delos/Mykonos day trip with Delos far more enjoyable than Mykonos.

A great day trip from Athens would be the island of Aegina, which is just a short ferry ride away. It has everything one wants in a Greek Island without the hordes of tourists like Santorini/Mykonos.

I also love ancient history and I think your list nails it. I hated that Akrotiri was closed when we were in Santorini in 2008. Will your next trip be to Turkey so you can see Ephesus and Troy?

Thank you for your replies.

Yes, Troy and especially Ephesus are on our list but Im not sure when we will get there.

I understand that we wont have the opportunity to see most of Crete unless we extend our stay, but if we do stay longer what specifically would you recommend we do with the extra time. Would that extra time in Crete be worth mising Mykonos and particularly Delos altogher.

One idea is to substitute Naxos for Mykonos. Tour boats go to Delos from there as well, although I don’t know about their timing. Naxos is a delightful island and far less expensive than Mykonos. We went to both Santorini and Naxos on our trip. Santorini is amazing especially for the views but we actually liked Naxos better.

We were in Crete last June for about a week. I'm an ancient history buff; that was my highest priority on our trip although we did other things as well for variety. I wasn't sure about visiting Phaestos and thought it might be too much like Knossos but it was a very different experience. We loved both sites. Phaestos is on high promontory that bifurcates a broad valley leading to the sea. This situation alone gives you lots of ponder in terms of control and fortification of the area. The site is extensive, not overly restored, and the views are beautiful. It's a great opportunity to see some of the countryside, relax and wander through the site, and get a better feel for the complexity, sophistication and size of the Minoan culture. Very close by is a Museum of Ethnology in Vori which highlights traditional life and farming from not so long ago - we really enjoyed a quick visit there on our way south and had lunch at Alekos Taverna a couple of blocks away. Had traditional Cretan rusks for the first time there : ) We overnighted in Kamilari which is a trim, pretty hilltop village with several well-rated informal restaurants (google Taverna Loggia, where we were invited into the kitchen to pick out our meal). None of the items in this paragraph are must-sees but it makes for a nice excursion out of the cities and Phaestos is a very good site.

We visited Gortyn, Museum of Ethnology, Agia Triada and Phaestos in one longish day starting from Heraklio and ending in Kamilari. The first three are along an easy route driving toward Phaestos. Of those, Agia Triada is a minor sight and skippable IMO. I also thought Gortyn was just OK but I know others on this forum seem to like it very much. In Heraklio area you can visit the archeological museum and Knossos easily in a day or less, probably a half day for most people although we like to read the placards and linger so we take longer. So you do have time for other sites. Chania takes you in another direction both literally and historically. Chania seems most in touch with it's Venetian era, although the small museum there does have some Roman and Minoan as well. 2 1/2 days in Crete would not be enough time for Phaestos, sights in Herakio and Chania IMO.

In terms of must see's on the mainland, I really enjoyed Mycenae in the Peloponnese. Besides traversing the site of the ancient citadel, and seeing one of the best tholos tombs, there is a small but high quality museum which puts Mycenae's time in sharp perspective as contrasted with the later classical era.

From Naxos, there are daily EXCURSION boats to Delos/ Mykonos. Check to see that they are still runing when you visit --BTW, "in October" is too vague ... big difference between Oct 5 and Oct 25. Check this website - http://www.cycladicruises.gr/en/routes-delos-mykonos - If you want to make SURE about OCT dates. just click CONTACT, send email you will get a prompt answer -- If these boats are still going, choose MV Alexander, a much larger boat than Naxos Star, smoother ride if sea is windy. You gte to DELOC about 10:30 - stay for 2.5-3 hours, that's Plenty!, then it takes you to Mykonos to wander the port town, look at xpensive luxury shops, have an expensive drink, watch cruise people buying lots of stuff, then (happily) you get on excursion vessel and go back to an Authentic Greek isle, Naxos. It is a MUCH better experience than overpriced overpromoted Mykonos.

I like your itinerary. Yes, you are traveling quite a bit, but still, I think it can work nicely. I love that you included Meteora.

If this were my trip, I would take one day (or even 2) from Athens and give those to Crete.

Your trip looks good. Have fun!!

I can't comment on the islands, but I do wonder about your daytrip to Nafplio/Corinth. If you will already have a car from Meteora/Delphi, why not keep it and drive to Nafplio for a couple nights? That gives you a stop in Corinth on the way, a full day for Nafplio and Mycenae and a stop at Epidavros on your way to Athens. How would you do a daytrip from Athens without the car?

Now that limits your time someplace else, but one of your days in Athens was already taken for that. And it would be a looong day to do all those things and return to Athens.

Thanks everyone !! We will be renting cars. We love the idea of Naxos instead of Mykonos. THANKS. We will be traveling generally mid October. We arrive in Crete on October 8 and will arrive in Naxos October 16 and leave the 19th unless we stay longer in Crete. Although we spend 5 nights in Athens that only gives us 2 full days there. We arrive late the first evening, we will spend one day on a looong driving road trip - to mycenae and napthleon and we leave on the 5th day. We do have the option of a starting our trip 3 days earlier. If we spend a few extra days in crete how would you recommend we spend them. Or, if we were to add 3 days to this trip where would you add them. Thank you again so much for all your input.

I haven’t been to Crete so can’t comment on that. But I would not drive to nafplio and try to see Mycenae and drive back in one day. We spent about 2.5 hours at Mycenae and that was rushing because we wanted to go to Nemea too and had a reservation still at a winery for a tour. Those reading all the signs in our group were not happy. I am guessing you would want more time there than we spent. We didn’t even get to the museum.

We spent four nights in Nafplio but it was June and quite hot so spent a couple afternoons at the beach. But you could happily spend a couple nights there. It has a different feel than Athens and the islands. I think it gets a lot of Greek tourists-even in the tourist industry , people did not speak English.

I fully agree with those who recommend that you find a way to add time to Crete. As if your itinerary isn’t full enough (lol), you should know that if you are driving between Delphi and Athens, there is a medieval monastery, Oslos Lukas, where you should make a brief ( 1.5 -2 hour?) stop. It’s just off the highway, but you have to be watching for the turn-off sign. The church has wonderful mosaics. There is a snack bar where you can get a light lunch.
P.S. I love “piles of old rocks,” too.

Thank you so much for your input. We listened. We are extending our trip to spend 5 nights in Crete and also are adding a night in Nafpleon.

We are also staying on Naxos and will take a day trip to Mykonos instead of staying there.

Now I have more specific questions. Where to stay in Crete. Knossos, Phaistos and the Archaeological museum are highest on our list . I will probably want to spend more time in the museum and at the archaeological sites than the average person. We thought we would use our extra time to explore in a rental car and visit Chania and Rethymno and anywhere else that looks good. Where should we stay . I’ve read that Heraklion is a a somewhat charmless big city. I prefer a lovely setting, a feeling for local life and most of all a sense of history. I prefer old to new. The last thing I want is a luxury resort. We are looking at hotels as well as Airbnb and VRBO. Should we stay in Heraklion, should we stay in Rethymno and drive an hour to Knossos and the Museum. Or should we stay somewhere else. And if anyone knows of an old monastery or ancient mill that now offers tourist lodging that would be ideal.

Hopefully, Janet will respond, she’s an expert!
We make our first trip to Greece in October as well.... first RS tour.
Have a great time!

OK Sarah, I will make this brief (and candid), because am close to my own departure date. My basic advice:
• READ READ READ -- since you say you've been enthralled by Greek Art, legend, architecture for decades, PREPARE, to make the most of it! Library has ROUGH GUIDE, the BLUE GUIDE to CRETE & to GREECE, CADOGAN GUIDES (wonderful prose) more more more. Browse, photocopy, buy what speaks to you. Do NOT count on internet "eye candy" for your prep. Research pays dividends -- you'll be SO GLAD you invested the time.
• ATHENS INFO - Since time limited consider ATHENS-WALKS tours; also download FREE R Steves audio guides to Acropolis, Ancient AGORA (adds MUCH to experience), Nat. ARCH MUSEUM.

• CRETE ITINERARY -- SO glad u added days...after all Crete is a COUNTRY (160 miles long), while Santorini is TWELVE miles total (yet uninformed newbies stay longer there!). You want to avoid backtracking, so stay 3 places - here's a route that's worked for many and a SUPER map http://www.explorecrete.com/crete-maps/images/Crete-eot.png (click & it gets huuge)
• Day #1 Fly DIRECT in AM to CHANIA (maybe can get flight from london?) spend day exploring Old Town; FAB small museum
• Day #2 - Rental car, brief stop @ Rethymnon for Fortezza, then S on RED ROAD (#97) a SPILI stop for lunch, get to MATALA late afternoon (I recommend highly Dimitri Villa, lovely family & facilities & landscaping, just 500 yards back from beach)
• DAY #3 - Matala caves, PHAISTOS, maybe u can get access to Arch. dig @ KOMO. A swim?
• DAY #4 - Drive NE on Red Road... GORTYS? thru wine country at harvest time; research vineyard visit? DECISION TIME: where spend night #4? I recommend reserve seaview balcony room @ Hotel KRONOS Drive into Heraklion (nightmare of 1-way streets), leave car keys@ desk for agency pick- up(no extra charge). Enjoy sunset dinner @ good mezedes restaurant near causeway.
• DAY #5 - AM The MUSEUM, also the Causeway & Herak Fortezza (Fab). After 2 pm local bus to/from KNOSSOS - cruise crowds & bus tours will have gone; usually guides @ gate, late-afternoon atmosphere of site very enhancing & good photo shots
• DAY #6 - to pier by 9 for 9:45 fast-ferry to SANTORINI

I cannot advise further on your trip since your description of exact days for each segment is unclear. I do feel that 2.5 days in Santorini is sufficient to see Famous View & Akrotiri. Also agree with others that 1-day marathon drive for Mycenae/Epidaurus is undo-able and unsatisf ying. Of course, my priorities differ; I'd skip Meteora & just get a nice video of it from Library, and then have 4 days to do Dellphi + Mycenae, stay in Nafplio, catch Epidaurus on drive Back to Athens via coast road (look at a map to plan well). But lots of people resonate to monks living up on rock pinnacles, escaping temptation(women), so who am I to say? Enjoy your trip, leave room for changes, ALWAYS book hotels on refundable basis. Don't get "locked in" before doing homework.

Thank you so much. Your advice is golden. I have been reading everything I can get my hands on, but the guide books make EVERYTHING look so tempting. It is invaluable to have this kind of advice. Thank you so much. I'll let everyone know how it goes.

Your last comment resonates with me. I was blocked on our Greece/Crete planning for weeks, even after reading several guidebooks. Some guidebooks provide a huge amount of information but not so much evaluative content, leaving a bewildering amount of choice. I found Lonely Planet Crete to be by far the best in terms of building an itinerary for a first-time visit. Lonely Planet Crete (2016) is a fairly slim volume and at first I thought I'd wasted my money, but on the contrary it helped me narrow down our options. I started using their sample itineraries and highlights and that helped a lot. As well as the great advice on this forum.

Thanks so much for the guidebook advice.

Re flying to Chania from London, it's TWICE the cost of flying into Heraklion.

Janet, thank you so much for the advice. About Crete. We will be renting a car, do not mind driving and will skip wine tasting etc because we can do that anywhere. . We were thinking of staying in Rethymno for the entire time and driving visit to Chania, Heraklion and other sites. We figured the angst and time spent changing hotels would balance out the extra time spent driving. Is this a mistake. Any thoughts .

I think Janet is in Greece now so I will comment for her.

Rethymnon is a good choice to use as a base. It is centrally located between Heraklion and Chania. Stay in the old town area. Parking will be a bit hard to come by but there are free lots nearby.
Rethymnon https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/sets/72157654700502270

Here is what you will see in Chania and Heraklion.
Chania http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/sets/72157632117917828/
Heraklion https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/sets/72157655935354556

Rethymnon is also ideally situated for a drive to the south coast of the Libyan Sea. Plakias is a village with a two kilometer sand beach. There are several sites to visit on the way. If you are into ancient Minoen sites you can visit Phastos and even better the buried Roman city at Gortyz.
Plakias and nearby sites https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72157665045541263
Knossos, Phastos and Gortyz https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/sets/72157645085297380/

One thing you should remember you are arriving in Crete from Santorini you will arrive in Heraklion around 7:30. You might want to consider staying the night in Heraklion rather than driving in the dark, There is a ferry that does Santorini to Rethymnon but it only runs on Saturday and last year anyway on Tuesdays. Its a Seajet so if your schedule works that is a good option.

Just two suggestions:

1. Always go with the idea that you will be back and you can't see everything.

2. I always get to the archeological site and go to the museum first thing, have dinner, spend the night, then the next morning I'm at the gates when they open so I avoid the crowds that will come later. Delphi and Olympia have wonderful, small, concise museums that help explain the archeological site. Epidaurus is great but the museum is lacking.

You absolutely need to include Napflio to your itinerary! It is an easy two hour drive from Athens airport. The town is one of the most beautiful in Greece and is near the Mycenae, Nemea, Tiryns, , Epidavros, a real treasure trove of antiquities.
Crete- Chania is the other beautiful town in Greece after Nafplio. We spent two weeks there, huge island. I do not like Santorini except for visiting Akrotiri. The”beauty of the island” is the views of the Caldera, otheise, the island is very dry, a desert,. Tourist mobs, looks Greek but doesn’t feel Greek!