Hello, We are 6 adult friends travelling from Newark New Jersey to Athens in September. We leave on the first of the month, arrive in Athens on the second at 4:00P.M. We were thinking of doing Crete and Santorini and back to Athens . We leave Athens on the 11th at 5P.M. We wanted to fly right out of Athens to either Crete or Santorini as soon as we land and do Athens on the way back. We are not locked into anything other than our incoming flight and our outgoing flight. Any suggestions or any help at all would be greatly appreciated. We are also not locked into Santorini,after reading some posts Naxos or Paros is also a possibility. We are long lost friends just reconnecting again, so we are really open. One couple is in Greece until September 14th. Thank You
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Philadelphia, PA, USA
3317 posts
You cannot count arrival day, or really departure day either (u must be in line by 3 pm, it takes 1 hr to reach airport, so you'd have to be checked out & on taxi or bus by 2pm ... Thus, you really would have only 3 quick hours in AM (breakfast, pack, buy souvenirs, lunch). Thus you really have Sept 3 thru night of Sep 10; 8 days. In that case, I don't think it's wise to attempt Crete, unless that's ALL you do.
I'd suggest flying to Santorini - there's probably a 7 pm flight. Spend nights of Sept 2 & 3 (1.5 days), -- that is ALL you'll want (crowds!) Look at Firostefani hotels to avoid cruise throngs. Sept 4, get the 3:30 pm Blue Star ferry (2 hrs) To Naxos , 9/ 4-5-6-7 there (beaches, mountains, fall vneyard festivals, food, nightlife, NO crowds). Naxian highlights: https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72157656336387898
AM on Sept 8 (there's a 7:25 flight arr 8:10 ATH airport, you'd be in central Athens hotel by 9:30 am). Athens sightseeing, dining, famous landmarks 8-9-10. Your extra couple with 4 more days could rent a car or grab an express bus (2.5 hours) and visit the most beautiful Old town in Greece - Nafplio http://www.visitnafplio.com/ --Some photos of this amazing place & ancient sites nearby - http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/sets/72157632094108982/