Honeymoon in Greece Oct 2025 - Rick Steves Travel Forum
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Honeymoon in Greece Oct 2025

Hi there. My fiance and I are planning our honeymoon this upcoming October (2025) and are leaning towards Greece as the destination. I've been doing some research, and I was hoping to get some feedback on how to narrow down locations.

We don't have anything booked, but we are tentatively looking at October 11th - 25th, 2025 (noting travel days in there as well). Based on some of my research, it sounds like we should visit max 2 islands and to really optimize our time, those islands should be within the same group based on the ferry system.

We are in our 30's, we are very open to what type of experience this should be, but mainly are hoping to still enjoy good warm beach weather that late into the year, eat delicious food, see unforgettable sites, and more!

What places are must sees? How should we structure the trip to really optimize the time?

Thank you!

Posted by
62 posts

We did Greece in June of this year. For your trip I'd recommend 4 nights in Athens staying near Syntagma square. Book a local guide to the Parthenon and the Acropolis Museum. Then fly to Santorini for 4 nights and stay in Oia. We were at Canavas Oia Suites and it was wonderful. Then fly back to Athens to change planes to go to Mykonos for 4 nights. Stay near one of the beaches where there are plenty of high end resorts. There is a tour boat company that will take you to all five beaches on one ticket. Greece is wonderful and the people are all very nice and friendly. Food fantastic.

Posted by
2427 posts

Since you have 2 weeks (14 nights) choosing 2 islands is what you should do. This is always the maximum I allow myself when I go to the Greek islands. 5 nights on island A, 5 nights on island B and 4 nights in Athens (with slight variations)
.

Given that there are at least 100 easily visitable islands in Greece you should specify which island group you are thinking of, although I suspect it is the Cyclades Islands and not the Dodecanese, or Sporades, or Ionian Islands.

Given that a large part of the forum members know Crete, and the Cyclades with Naxos and the (too) famous mass tourism destinations of Santorini and Mykonos, they will probably give you recommendations for these islands.

For my part, having visited most of the Cyclades islands, I can suggest other destinations such as for example Sifnos or Amorgos which are a little more preserved from mainstream tourism since they do not have an airport.

Sifnos is easily reachable from the port of Piraeus.

Amorgos, the island of the "Big Blue", is further away, but beauty comes at a price and I can guarantee you will not regret the time spent going there.

https://sifnos.gr/en/sifnos/

https://amorgos.gr/

Now I let the Naxos/Crete addicts speak! LOL

Posted by
1466 posts

I am guessing you are from North America. If that is the case experienced travellers to Greece often suggest you get out to your first island on day of arrival in Athens. Athens can be a bit overwhelming when you are jet lagged. Its best to do it on an island. It is also important that you are back in Athens at least a day before your return flight.
Santorini and Mykonos are famous Greek islands and many people choose them based on that. You will not get a true Greek experience from that combination of islands.
Depending on flights I would suggest you get to Santorini on day of arrival. It truly is stunning. It is getting to be a bit late in the season so the crowds staying in Oia will be somewhat reduced so you could look for a hotel there. To ensure to miss the crowds you could look for a hotel in Firastephani. It a 15 minute walk into Oia but will not be overly crowded. As an aside its a good idea to check out how many cruise ships will be at Santorini during your stay because that will factor in to crowds.

Santorini can be done in 3 nights. Thats about how long we can afford.

A great companion island with Santorini is Naxos. It has a lovely waterfront with the Venetian era buildings at the top of the city in the walled area. Naxos has great beaches, although that late in the season I would suggest you look for a hotel at St George beach. Its a 10 minute stroll along the headland from Naxos Town so you can easily get into town but the beach likely will be a highlight. Naxos also has several delightful mountain villages to visit. This island will give you a taste of authentic Greek hospitality. If Mykonos is a must you can check to see if the excursion boats are still running. They do a visit to the archaeological site at Delos and then continue on to Mykonos for a few hours.

This late in the season you will have to find out which ferries are on Santorini to Naxos route. The Blue Star conventional ferry is still on that route daily in December so it will be available for sure.

You can ferry or fly back to Athens from Naxos. Athens needs 3 days to explore the central historical area.

Here is why I suggest you consider Naxos
Naxos town 2024 https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72177720318203165/

Trip around Naxos https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72157634605629689
Hike around Chalki https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72157712247853233
Saint George Beach https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72157632113170279aaa
Naxos at night2024 https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72177720318406428/

Posted by
5117 posts

You don’t say much about what you want out of the trip other than island time. Do you want to see Athens or just pass through?
I’d consider Crete (for the entirety) because of the time of year, but maybe others can advise on weather issues in October on other islands.
How much sightseeing do you want versus enjoying nature/beauty?

Posted by
4 posts

Thank you for all of the recommendations thus far!

Yes, we are from North America and have never been to Greece before. We'd definitely want sightseeing and typically on past trips, we enjoy excursions and tours of where we are at. While we enjoy downtime, we do also want to be in areas that have things to offer outside of just quiet downtime. I know it's late in the season, but we'd be looking for places that not only offer the stunning beauty of the country (which I assume is everywhere) but also offer opportunities for us to sightsee and plan excursions.

Posted by
7 posts

From your posts, I would say stick to your plan, You will have a blast…with many activities on offer. I somewhat disagree with the “you will not have a real Greece experience”. Santorini and Mykonos are perfect for Honeymooners. I’d say stick to hotels …. they know totally take care of you. Expect to pay a minimum of $600/ night for perfect views.

Posted by
7 posts

Also, book hotels as early as possible. October is not “late” for the trip you describe.

Posted by
1235 posts

The weather will still be good during the time of your visit.

The Aegean will still be warm from the summer heat but temperature wise could vary.

I've been to Greece just about all of October and the weather was lovely, mild temperature, sunny blue skies.

Nearing the second half of the month it will cool off so that may determine how much beach time you'll have.

I agree with the time you have you can do two islands plus Athens with Athens at the end if possible to make sure you are back in time in case there are any delays with your flight.

What islands to pick is subjective depending on what your interests are.

If you want a more "Greek Experience" then avoid the Big Name and/or hyped ones like Santorini/Mykonos unless you like crowds and high prices.

Most any island will have it's own beauty, beaches, scenery, great food with October being out of the tourist season.

I would do more research on what you want for Greek Islands . . . either more traditional or tourist oriented.

For me traditional is what Greece is all about but every one has their own idea of what they want for a Greek Holiday.

Posted by
2427 posts

Expect to pay a minimum of $600/night for perfect views.

Wow! Congratulations ! $600 (€570) is usually roughly what we spend in total on accommodation for one week in the Cyclades, being connected to the essential: Greece

Follow Tommy's advice, do some research, you have plenty of time between now and October

Start at the beginning:

https://www.visitgreece.gr/

Posted by
246 posts

We've just recently booked our first trip to Greece (with a few days in Istanbul too) for the same time as you.

We fly out of Australia on October 10th and arrive in Athens on 11th October. We will spend four nights there, before flying to Naxos for four, ferry to Santorini for three nights, then finally onto Rhodes for a final five.

We are aware that Rhodes is in a different archipelago but my husband has his heart set on it and so we will go.

We have an extra couple of days to you, finishing in Rhodes on 27th, when we fly to Istanbul for a final five nights.

We already have our hotels booked, and also a couple of domestic flights as I got a reasonable deal with the Black Friday sale.

I will be following this post to get some ideas for us too.

From lots of research it sounds a pretty good time to go, particularly as I don't like crowds or very hot weather. We'll be coming home to a Melbourne summer, so heat will be the last thing I want!

Posted by
1466 posts

Deb you may get more feedback if you start your own thread. Sometimes posters do not return to an existing thread since they have said what they want to contribute and thus will miss your questions.

Posted by
4 posts

After doing some research, it seems like the Cyclades would be the most fitting for what we are looking for and since this is our first time in Greece. I'd love to hear feedback on the following locations: Santorini, Naxos, and Milos. Even though Santorini is touristy, I'd think we would still want to see it, considering this is our first time. But, how much time should we spend there? Also, could we (and should we) do both Naxos and Milos? I also think we'd want to spend maybe 2 days or so in Athens, likely on our way home.

Thank you!

Posted by
2191 posts

Stanbr gave you great advice earlier in this thread: fly directly to Santorini for 3 nights upon arrival in Greece, ferry to Naxos for 6 nights, ferry back to Athens for 3 nights.

Six nights is not too long for Naxos. It’s a large lovely island with lots to explore. Great food. Reasonable prices.

Milos is beautiful but save it for a future trip when you can also visit nearby islands like Sifnos and Paros.

Posted by
78 posts

We enjoyed 3 nights in Santorini and took a taxi from the airport to our hotel. We stayed in Oia at the Santorini Secret Suites in a Pure room with a hot tub and a caldera view. We loved it. We enjoyed the promenade in Oia and the castle ruins and windmills. For sunset views we made a dinner reservation for the terrace at Oia Gefsis restaurant.

There is a beautiful coastal walk from Imerovigli downhill to Firostefani and Fira with spectacular views. The architectural ruins at Akrotiri are worthwhile also.

We were able to take a bus to many places on Santorini. There are any iconic photo spots!

Posted by
2427 posts

Santorini - Naxos is the basic route to discover the Cyclades.

But...

Milos is located in the Western Cyclades and it will be more difficult to go from Naxos to Milos in the second half of October.
This intracycladic route is operated by small Seajets catamaran ferries (usually the Superjet or Superjet 2) which circle the islands daily until approximately October 15th - 20th.
After this date you may not have a ferry from Naxos to Milos on the desired day.

To do the basic sightseeing visit to Santorini 2 full days are enough.
But depending on how you want to discover the island you can add a day or two.
I, who don't like Santorini, survived several stays in Santorini, including one of 4 days. (I still have nightmares)

Then there is visiting Naxos and visiting Naxos.
If you are staying in Naxos town, the capital, and its surroundings without renting a car, I would say that 3 nights is enough.
To discover the island you need to rent a car, in this case allow a minimum of 5 nights to see some interesting places.

see map below:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1d7GZMjFODUlB8lf7EPSXQRwu-YXaKxw&usp=sharing

After Santorini and Naxos you can visit another island depending on the time you have left.
Paros would be the easiest and most convenient choice, but be aware that traveling from one island to another takes a good part of the day. It's a day you won't have for sightseeing.

Visiting 3 islands means 4 days dedicated to traveling

Posted by
4 posts

This is all super helpful, thank you all so much for the contributions and advice!

Posted by
1057 posts

Islands are 18% of the land area of Greece. The only Island I made time for was Crete. I only gave myself 2 nights and most of 3 days, which wasn't enough time to see much. Crete has the Samaria gorge. I hope it doesn't get ruined from overtourism; I didn't make time for it. Places on the mainland near the coast might be as good as an island without the need to take a ferry. The island Santorini looked appealing but I didn't make time for it. I would spend 3 nights there. Rhodes is another appealing Island. My interests are skewed toward ruins, museums, historic sites, preserved old neighborhoods of cities. On my first trip to Greece I probably would have been as happy if I had visited Olympia in Western Greece, site of ancient Olympic games, instead of Crete. I spent 3 nights in Nafplio in the Peloponnese, next to the coast and as good as an island; Nafplio has an archaeology museum with the dendra palapoly and a venetian fortress you can climb to the top of; I went to the sites of Epidavros and Mycenae in one day trip from Nafplio... Delphi is another good ancient site... Look up Monemvasia; the Museum of the Royal Tombs of Aigai (Vergina); Thessaloniki in Northern Greece, Olympia, some other less commonly visited towns, and so on; Check the Rough Guide to Crete and/or the Lonely Planet Guide to Crete. First timers often act like the islands are the only places worth going to in Greece. But if you mainly want beaches, maybe you could skip the historic sites and pay no attention to any of what I wrote and still have a good trip..

Posted by
935 posts

There is absolutely no need to spend $600 per night for a perfect view in Santorini. Our second honeymoon stay at Lithies Traditional Homes was perfect in every way and was considerably less money. On our trip we took the ferry from Santorini to Naxos, and then flew from Naxos back to Athens. Three or four nights in Santorini would be my recommendation. We enjoyed a lunch/snorkeling cruise around the caldera; another day was a wine tasting at Venetsanos. Dinner at Aktaion was terrific, and reservations are suggested, as the place is small. We thoroughly enjoyed our time on Naxos, as it was more laid back. Since there is not a cruise ship port in Naxos, it was far less crowded. Enjoy your honeymoon; Greece is amazing!