Itinerary help: 2 weeks May 2019

Check skyscanner.com or your website of choice for flights between Athens and Paros. I don't see anything on May 19. There's nothing to Naxos, either. Perhaps all the flights for May just aren't loaded yet.

I strongly suggest that your mother have evacuation insurance. My mother (who did have an underlying lung condition) traveled to Greece at age 71 and ended up with a life-threatening case of pneumonia. She had to be airlifted from Chios (which didn't have a real hospital) to Athens. At that time, the airlift was provided free of charge by the Greek Air Force, but I would not expect that to happen now, and the cost would probably be exorbitant.

A doctor my mother consulted earlier in the trip, when it appeared that she just had bronchitis, told us that the volcanic soil on Santorini was a problem for a lot of travelers. I've never seen that in print anywhere, however.

Thanks, I did look at Aegean air today and saw flights that day to Paros on the 19th. And thanks for the advice about the insurance!! Does itinerary look ok?

For me, the pace looks good. However, I haven't been to Paros or Milos.

Milos does have some beautiful beaches but you really need a car to see the island. Some of those picturesque beaches are accessible only by boat, and many are surrounded by huge rocks which you must climb over to reach the sand.

I would switch Milos for Naxos. We stayed at Studios Kalergis on Naxos, literally right on St. George beach. It was about a dozen steps from our ground-floor patio to the sand. And yet our patio felt private, screened by landscaping. It was wonderful. It's an easy walk to town, where there are lots of restaurants and shops. I think she would enjoy it much more.

I'd also rearrange the trip a bit. Upon landing in Athens, fly directly to Santorini and stay 3 nights. Then ferry to Naxos for 4 nights, ferry to Paros for 3 nights, then fly or ferry back to Athens.

You can book your international flights whenever you'd like. For Athens>Santorini and Paros>Athens, you can wait and hope for a sale, or book whenever you have your plans solidified. In June, you can wait to book your outgoing ferry once you've arrived on each island. I think you should be able to book hotels now. I always use Booking.com and look for rooms that can be cancelled with no penalty, in case my plans change.

Agree w Charlene about Milos ... was there 1x without car, next time with ... and you really are limited if carless because local bus service is VERY limited. It's lovely, but if u go, stay 1-2 days. Specific advice re various options:

INSURANCE - It's VERY easy for peace of mind to have an inexpensive policy that covers ONLY medical (plus minor items like lost lugage, plane delay etc). . Go to INSURE MY TRIP https://www.insuremytrip.com/travel-insurance-plans-coverages/ and look for policies that provide ONLY emergency medical & evacuation,NOT insuring against cancellation of some tour or cruise. To get the right t ype, in form where it says "cost of trip" put Zero. Many plans offer $25K - $50K coverage for 2 weeks VERY low price. And best part is ... when you have found coverage that looks good you don't have to fill out a form - call the 800 # and a nice middle-aged lady will do all the work over the phone.

SANTORINI -- Limit your time here and if possible avoid T-W-Th-F because the greatest cruise ship crowding. To avoid crowds where u stay, book hotel in Firostephani -- this is north fringe of Fira Town, VERY walkable to Fira in 15+ minutes, on a flat flagstoned lane that parallels the N.S. Central road -- and has plenty of hotels with caldera views, but is totally bypassed by tour busses & crowds. Here's a good map of island http://mapsof.net/santorini/thira-island-santorini-map For affordable hotels that have balconies or shared open terraces w. caldera views... look at Sunset Hotel, Agnadema Apartments, Hotel Mylos, Gaby Apts, Villa Ilias. At inland side of hotels like this, just steps to BUS Stop to OIA.

NAXOS VS PAROS --Naxos has more to offer both of you.... I've been to both many many times ... NAXOS port town itself is fascinating, the "Kastro" (fortress) is up a winding stairstep lane but v doable, have done it myself at least 6x in my 70s. Late may is perfect beach weather. In Naxos u can do a half-day OR full-day tour of island highlights (take swimsuit; 90=minute stop at Appollonia you can picnic & swim vs. sit in a taverna)... after you see main stuff u can know if u want to rent a car to go back... If you STay (as advised) in St. George beach it's such an easy walk to the harborside cafes & restaurants, & the back-lane shops ... and stroll home by moonlight. In high seaon, St. G. can get overcrowded, but i May it is just pleasantly populated, Studios Kalergis is ideally situated, & has kitchenette in unit, so you can make own breakfast, next door is Hotel Asteria, has its one cafe on terrace, Another place (IF you can book it it's in high demand), Villa Naxia, farther along the beach, Also Look at Ippokampus -- SO many choices, impoortantly You can do very well in Naxos 5 days or so, renting a car only 1 day..

PAROS -- The bus system is a little different... the lines spread out from Parikia (port town) like fingers of a hand from palm -- but can't go from fingertip to fingertip, must go back to port town.... some beaches, you need a car or taxi. In Naxos, "beach bus" goes to 4 beaches in a row. Also, if u stay in Parikia, the beach there is mediocre. By contrast, Naoussa is a "postcard" village prettied up for tourists, lovely but no authenticity left. At least in Parikia, Fishermen are untangling their nets at portside after actually fishing. The inland scenery in Paros, compared to Naxos, is meh. IMHO, option for Paros - Antiparos would be to stay at the latter ... a quickie short ferry (either the 10 minute one or the 20 minute one)... it has a tiny port fun to stay right across from dock, at Mike's Place or Sunday Hotel. Walk easily to beaches, lovely to stroll the Island-crossing "Maze" lane (Agora) lit up at night. Then you can visit Parikia town by day, cathedral & Museum, back to Antiparos.

NAFPLIO -- I would definitely recommend as your add - on ... wll have to continue in new post; have reached word limit here.

NAFPLIO is a visual and historical delight -- the Old Town is considered the most beautiful in Greece. You can get there in 2.5 hours by bus. Enjoy the town for at least a day; then you can rent a car to explore the area. This wonderful noncommercial website (run by a Scandinavian ex-pat) http://www.visitnafplio.com/ is just a start... click EVERY LINK to see all the great sightseeing options.... and if you DO succumb to some shopping, THIS is the place; chic shops, Athenians love this place.

POSSIBLE SCENARIO -- I see you want to fly mainly, & big ferries...

MAY 19 - fly to Paros, go to AntiParos MAy 19-20
MAY 21 - Ferry to Naxos - stay May 21-22-23-24 til noon
MAY 24 - noon ferry to Santorini arr 2:30 May 24 & 25**
MAY 26 - Fly to ATH in AM; 2.5 hr bus to NAFPLIO, by 4 pm
MAY 26-27-28 - NAfplio, explore city; ?1 day car? for area?
MAY 29 - 9 or 10 AM bus to ATH -- aftrnoon in athens
MAY 29-30-31 -- ATHENS sightseeing≠≠≠.

My dear Friend "Stanbr" is actually in Greece riht now or he'd be dishing out this advice, so I shall do what I always do, and "steal" his fabulous photos to give your Mom some ideas ... BUT since you do have the time, send her off to the Library to get ROUGH GUIDE to GREECE, RICK STEVES Book (no islands but good on Nafplio & Athens), EYEWITNESS: The GReek Islands (and Athens) and FODOR'S Guide to GReece (a bit tame, but solid). And give her these "eye candy" links to look at:

NAFPLIO - http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/sets/72157632094108982/
ANTIPAROS - http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/sets/72157632126687570/
TRIP around NAXOS - http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/sets/72157634605629689/
NAXOS TOWN - http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/sets/72157632094558042/
A WEEK in NAXOS - https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/sets/72157645113682278/
SANTORINI - https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/sets/72157632154800782/
ATHENS ACROPOLIS AREA - https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/sets/72157632121475515/
PAROS - A candid description of Parikia, Naoussa & beaches - http://www.greekisland.co.uk/paros/paros.htm

** Best bet for Santorini -- Book hotel w nice view from room or common terrace -- Take bus to OIA ... EARLY AM (8 if possible) -- The "Thundering Herds" of Cruisers arrive by 10 AM -- Leave!!! Do NOT go to OIA for Sunset. (I recommend STANI Taverna in Fira; ask your hotel where it is) 36-48 hours is plenty for Santorini, it's not a beach island, and these days, the crowds are horrendous. The island govt. last month issued a LIMIT on Cruise passengers of 8,000 per day (!!!!). Go, see Caldera, leave.

≠≠≠ - ATHENS: I recommend staying on SOUTH SIDE of Acropolis area, Near the New Acropolis Museum. Hotels w. good view & or Roof terrace: Hotel Herodion, Hotel Phillipos, Hotel Hera. Do NOT do Intl Chain hotels Marriott etc... too far to walk. Use this "tiny URL" - http://tinyurl.com/heq6edp -- of a Booking.com filter (it lists hotels by how far from Acropolis -- don't look at any that are more than .8 of mile) -- go to top of Screen and click "Map View" and it will show all hotels clustered near Acropolis for your dates (PLUS, now has some pvt apts & rooms available in area for GOOD prices).

Charlene and Janet, I could seriously cry. How generous of you to put so much time into helping me and my mom. Mom is a widow, and seriously does deserve the best. I had seen many of your other posts, and was secretly hoping you would respond! I have a lot more peace of mind now. I wish I could repay the favor, but haven't traveled much yet. Someday I will pay this forward to someone else.

Just a couple follow-up questions: I WOULD be willing to rent a car for Milos, but it sounds like even with that, the beaches would be harder to get to for her (more climbing, or I know for the one you have to go by boat). If the water isn't that much different than what I can see at Paros/Naxos, I will skip it.

For the insurance, that is a GREAT tip! I haven't done much international travel, so do I want to take out insurance on the airfare or non-refundable things (I'm guessing at some point the hotels charge fee to change). Maybe the cost of the insurance isn't worth it for most people.

Again, my deepest thanks.

Exactly what to insure against is really a personal decision. I don't prebook much of anything except my roundtrip transatlantic flight, so I don't stand to lose much if I have to cancel a trip. Others have more on the line, but if you're not on a package tour, you might still decide to "self-insure" and just figure you can stand the loss.

If your mother has only Medicare A and Medicare B, she doesn't have medical coverage in Europe and probably will want some sort of travel medical benefits. Medical treatment in Europe is usually a lot cheaper than in the US, but a fall with a broken bone, an taxi/bus accident--things like that could run up medical bills in the thousands of dollars.

The big, scary potential cost, though, is medical evacuation. If a traveler has a serious medical problem and has to be moved to a better medical center, that can mean buying multiple last-minute seats on a flight (so the patient can lie flat), hiring a medical person to accompany you, etc. As I understand it, some medical-evacuation insurance policies cover transfer to a nearby suitable hospital, whereas more costly policies will fly you home if you cannot be treated where you are. The cost of a medical evacuation to the US can exceed $100,000--an amount most of us could not come up with absent remortgaging our homes. So that's something you'd want to insure against, especially considering your mom's age. And we really all should have such a policy, no matter what our ages.

A lot of folks have had good things to say about the websites insuremytrip.com and squaremouth.com.

Hi! Glad to help if I can ... I just hope you WILL take my advice based on experience .... I am a senior myself, blessed with good health (good genes) but I understand the energy limitations, and that governed my advice. If you choose Naxos, there are plenty of things for your Mother to do, see & enjoy while YOU run off for a hike, or do some windsurfing or kayaking, right on St. G beach. Tell her that a special attraction of that beach (since it is soft golden sand, and shallow at the edge, no "drop-off") in May is -- the Invasion of the Scandinavian Adorables!!! Dozens of Swedish, Norwegian families come in May with toddlers, and It's fun just to lie on a Sunlounger under an umbrella and watch the blonde tots staggering around naked with their sandpails -- Grannies never tire of the view.

MILOS -- actually the 2 best things in Milos are the Mining Museum for a 30-minute amazing video of aging male & female miners from the past ... and the round-the-island sails on sloops or catamarans... which actually are not rocky, but seasickness is also in the mind, so if you fear it, you'll have it. Thus, I do think Naxos & Antiparos will do it for you. The water is beautiful around all 3 isles ... in fact, all over the Cyclades. Theres's a mediterranean/Aegean thing called "Blue Flag Beaches" awarded to beaches with high levels of purity ... and most of the GReek Islands have Blue Flag awards. In Italy, not so much. BTW, before you go on and on about the Water in Milos, Please just give a look at those photo albums of Naxos, Antiparos etc.

INSURANCE - No no no, the ONLY insurance to get is what I described, and what A. Craven said -- emergency Medical & evac. That is all I've bought in my 12 trips -- at your mother's age, it cost me about $35-40 for 2 weeks. I got it at first mainly because some trips were solo, & my daughter worried, what if I fell off a cliff in Crete?? or got hit by a drunk American college boy on an ATV?? But don't start building up "what if" anxieties in your head. Greece is SAFE -- the islands I've recommended are SAFE (unless you seriously walk on top of a parapet WALL in Santorini!!). And don't go crazy seeking total security! . If you book hotels sensibly, not the rock-bottom price, you'll book the "flex" price, which allows change or cancellation without any penalty up to 2-3 weeks beforehand... And if Mom breaks something 3 weeks before your trip & you have to cancel flights as well -- well, most airlines will give you a voucher for a flight to that destination, or to one with the same $$ value, within 12 months. So relax, dear, and get ready to have fun! You are too young to be an old worry-wart.

Thanks acraven and janet, again, for the advice, I will gladly accept it and follow it!

My only two cents is think about how much you want to move. Janet's itinerary has you in five places. We did a similar trip this past May/June and went to four places. We found that to be a great balance between breadth and depth. Moving from place to place in Greece takes more time than in other countries I found. There are more wonderful places to visit than time. We spent 3 nights Santorini, four Naxos, four Nafplio, and three Athens. We would have loved another day in Naxos but we did spend most of a day hiking to the top of Mount Zas which I don't expect you will be doing. We loved every where we went for different reasons.

I would consider eliminating either AntiParos or Nafplio and add the days to your other destinations. Nafplio is the one which will take the most time traveling, although we did love it there. We took a late morning flight from Naxos, rented a car at the airport, stopped in Cornith, but didn't arrive in Nafplio until late afternoon. So really most of the day spent traveling. I do think there is an 8 am flight which would get you to Athens earlier but we had a group of 7 and I didn't want the stress of trying to move people that quickly. But that would be an option.

I also liked going to Santorini before Naxos. It is mostly the view in Santorini and we were totally wowed by it. It is a great place to get over jet lag. Everyone speaks English and everything is around tourists. That is both the good and the bad but made it an easy introduction to Greece.

Beth

Beth, thanks so much, I also agree that 5 places may be a bit much for mom. The hard part is what to cut out, Paros or Nafplio. I'm having trouble deciding between Naxos and Paros, so the idea of both sounds good, but the other advice by the wonderful posters has me convinced we would like Naxos equally as well, and maybe Nafplio is more different than doing both Naxos and Paros. Open to suggestions on that too.

So glad you had a great trip!

Your instincts are good ... I have taken newcomers to Greece many a time... and 2 of the surefire hits are Naxos & Nafplio. One thing that Naxos does have is a weekly concert up in the Kastro, in the open courtyard of a Venetian Mansion ... either jazz or traditional music with the add-on of Naxian dance performed by village teenagers. (Ask your hotel about the Easiest way, to get up to the Kastro, very gradual walk, going up the road on the South end of the portside promenade). It's a memorable evening.

If your criteria is experiencing different things, then I would keep nafplio. Santorini and Naxos are really different from each each other and from Nafplio. Nafplio is more of a place people live rather oriented totally to tourists. For example, the morning after we arrived I waited for grocery store to open at eight watching children going to the school across the street. Fewer people speak English even in the tourism industry as I think there are a lot of Greek tourists who frequent nafplio. It was never a problem but sometimes someone had to go get someone who spoke English for us. This is definite contrast to santorini where everyone spoke English fluently and I stopped even asking if they did.

We went to santorini, naxos, nafplio, and Athens and loved each one of them. I really enjoyed how different they were from each other.

Beth

On my 2013 trip, several companions blessed with curiosity had some enjoyable encounters with locals in Naxos AND Nafplio:
• NAXOS - 2 friends were keen to find the SMALL bathroom rugs I see only in Greece... about 2 ft square, "Greek-Key" border, so I sent them uphill on a lane leading to local residential/shopping area. They were gone for AGES, and trooped back to beach triumphantly carrying bathmats ... they'd been to 2 stores with non-English-speaking owners, who ran out to get a youngster who spoke English, and then they all had coffee and handwaving universal language, sharing family pictures etc.
• NAFPLIO - Often in May in Greece, I hear cheers & music coming from schoolyards -- the last day of school is a family party! I was elsewhere on this day but my 2 friends heard a schoolyard commotion, walked right in & sat on the "family bleachers" posing as grandmamas, clapping for student dances, songs and award-giving. The Greeks knew they were tourists but welcomed any granny applauding children's achievements. In late May 2019, in ANY Greek isle or town, ask your hotelier what day School ends, and if there's a local school celebration; I"m sure y ou'll be welcomed!

Wonderful - love the anecdotes. And yes, we are looking for different experiences, so I like the idea of the Santorini, Naxos, Nafplio, Athens itinerary. Thanks again!!