Honeymoon trip to Greece in September-repost

Sweden and Greece are both EU countries. Get your certificate at www.covidbevis.se

I didn't see your earlier thread so may be repeating comments you've already gotten.

The way you are presenting your itinerary is seriously overestimating the amount of sightseeing time you will have at each destination. You have a total of 14 nights on the ground in Greece, but the total days you list add up to 17. There's no way you can spend 14 nights in Greece and have 17 days there. You will have less time than you list in Athens, Mykonos, Santorini and Crete.

Crete is a very large island and I question the idea of traveling there for only 3 nights (which will give you about 2-1/2 days). It's more like a one-week destination to me. Especially on a honeymoon I'd prefer a more relaxing pace in Greece. Having to take ferries or flights between destinations eats up more time than you may be thinking.

You may not need as much time as you have planned (4 nights, about 3-1/2 days) on Santorini. It's a very small island. Many people seem satisfied with 3 nights there. On the other hand, I realize there may be some comparative hotel bargains on this, the most expensive, Greek island at the moment. There may not be a strong financial reason to keep that stay as short as possible. And I assume it will be a lot more pleasant on Santorini this fall, with the number of people traveling much lower than usual.

Naxos is an island many of us like a lot more than Mykonos. It's much less overrun by foreign tourists and there is more to see. But 2 nights there would be too short for me.

I'd suggest making one of these adjustments:

• Drop Mykonos and shift the time to Crete.

• Take one night away from Santorini and have 3 nights on Naxos; but I think that leaves you short of time on both Naxos and Crete.

• Drop Crete (and visit it on a later trip to Greece--it's a very interesting destination) and add that time to what you originally allocated to Mykonos to have a nice 5-day visit to Naxos. You could take a day-trip to Paros if you wanted a change of scenery.

Take two nights away from Santorini and add them to Crete. Stay in Chania.
You also can consider the islands of Paros or Naxos for a more real Greek experience as the two small islands you list, Santorini and Mykonos, are very touristic.

You have received some good advice already. My thinking will be similar to what others have suggested.

Experienced travellers suggest that you leave Athens to the end of the trip. Fly to Santorini immediately on arrival in Greece. It may be possible to book a direct flight from Sweden.

Three nights is a good amount of time in Santorini. Thats all my budget will tolerate. Four nights will also do if you can afford it.

I would suggest you drop Mykonos and perhaps a day in Athens and add those days to Crete. We love western Crete with Chania as a base.
Chania https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72157632117917828

Western Crete https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72157632115757899

Crete is a wonderful destination. Having said that it is huge and one should really plan on two weeks as a minimum. A few years ago we had three weeks in East Crete and didn't see it all.

A good option would be to go to Naxos from Santroini. Naxos is a great companion island with Santorini. It will give you an authentic Greek experience. It has a wonderful old town topped by a Venetian era Kastro. Great beaches, mountain villages where you will discover what Greece used to be like, hiking, lots of hotels in every price range, dining options and a population that is happy you have chosen to visit. The bonus is all of this will be cost half as much as you will be paying in Santorini. Naxos can be done quite nicely in a week.
Naxos town https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72157632094558042
Trip around Naxos https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72157634605629689

Naxos 2019 https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72157711294807761

Fly or ferry back to Athens for the end of the trip. 4 nights in Athens will give you sufficient time to fully explore the Acropolis and central area.
Athens https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72157632121475515

First of all congratulations! I would ditto stanbr & other great suggestions up thread. When we visited the islands it was after our RS Greece tour. We had added days to Athens and 10 nights to the Cyclades- Santorini 4 nights, and 6 nights to Naxos. We enjoyed the history & beauty of Santorini but felt 3 nights would have sufficed. Our best authentic Greek experience was in Naxos! If we had another week to 10 days we would have added Crete. We hope to return to explore more islands like Paros & less touristy places. We were there in the month of September and it was lovely.

Hi all,

Thanks for the useful information and reply! Since we want to avoid crowd, I think it will be wise to drop Mykonos and Crete this time and include Naxos and if have time also Paros since its less touristic and having more greek experiences. How many days will be enough for Naxos? and If I want to go to Paros, I should find a stay there right? Instead of staying at Naxos and visit Paros for day trip. How many days will be enough to explore it? Any suggestion which location/hotel to book at Naxos & Paros is much appreciated!

Besides, I have questions about Covid19 certificate. I understand that I can apply my EU certificate since I am getting my jab at Sweden. How about my wife as she get her jab at Singapore? She can use her covid certificate issued by Singapore government to enter Greece?

Thanks alot!

M
Naxos and Paros are similar. They make a good pairing however I would still suggest you spend your extra days in Naxos and take the time to really explore and experience the island. The blue star ferry has a schedule that goes from Naxos to Paros with a late night return around 11:30. That way you can have a taste of Paros for future planning.