Itinerary help

I assume your itinerary is planned for 2026.

Usually, I recommend staying more days on each island and not wanting to visit too many, but given the time you have available, for one, I would advise the opposite and suggest adding Amorgos, the island of the "Big Blue", to your itinerary.

This would mean removing a few nights (say 4 or 5 in total) from other locations, which is easily doable by shortening your stay in Naxos and Crete without being too inconvenient.

From a logistical perspective, Amorgos is a good option for this change, and from a tourist perspective, it will allow you to discover another Greek island, quieter and less crowded than Naxos and especially Santorini.

Since Greece is part of a 3-month trip to Europe, the place where your itinerary in Greece begins/ends may depend on flight connections and doesn't necessarily start/end in Athens. From May to October, Crete and Santorini are destinations with a lot of flights to/from many European cities.

In any case, from a travel perspective, adding Amorgos to your itinerary can only be done between Naxos and Santorini. Two options:

Santorini→Amorgos→Naxos

or

Naxos→Amorgos→Santorini

Have a look:

https://amorgos.gr/

I agree on Naxos vs Paros and on adding Amorgos. I’d take those three days from Naxos — I think six is good for that island.

When you begin organizing Crete, I highly recommend you allow some time for the southern coast … a string of little villages linked by ferries. My favorite is Sougia, a lovely little walkable town with fabulous restaurants. Loutro is another good stop. This can be a restful, rejuvenating part of your trip.

As usual, Jo-Lui's advice is Gold. We all can help you more if you can be as specific as possible. Importantlly, where in Greece do you arrive, and From where? NOTE: If you've first been elsewhere in Europe, youll be over jetlag... also most nonstops from N AMerica arrive ATH 9-12 AM, where flights from Europe Airports usually afternoon... both factors affect your first-day actions & possible onward flights. Also, is your homebound flight right after Greece? if so, important to be in ATH Day before.

Finally, our usual advice is -- isles FIRST ... to beat the heat AND crowds. After these, you can have a "glide path" toward 3+ final days for the world-famous Athens landmarks & museum treasures. The easing-in would be by doing 3+ days a short distance from Athens (2 hrs, via modern easy drive/bus over the Corinth Canal) to GReece's MOST beautiful Old Town, Nafplio. It's at the tip of a peninsula, surrounded by sea, gorgeous architecture, and ideal base for visits to the most famous Iliad-era ruins. http://www.visitnafplio.com

You'd have to study your calendar, but as Jo-Lui says, you could trim Crete by 5-6 days, & Naxos by 2, and fit everything in. My first trip to Greece, on retirement, was a month mostly solo ... at least 5 islands, but the greatest surprise (a tip from an artist in Mykonos was a final 3 days in Nafplio ... which along w Naxos, became my two most-beloved destinations on all trips following.

Thanks for the suggestions, look amazing and like an alternative to where all the masses go if possible

We will be coming from Croatia and was going to fly Crete from Crete to last stop of the trip being London, so no jet lag

We can add on a couple of nights to Greece which is tempting now reading this. My daughter will probably be working in Europe by then so plan was to meet in Crete or somewhere like that for maybe a week but its all pretty flexible

One thing as coming from Dubrovnik I thought as we have to go through Athens it would be better to do that first or we may waste a day overnighting before going to the islands. The suggestions on places near Athens make me think to add another 2 nights on so long as they are easy to get to as we don't want to drive there but may get a car in Crete

We will be coming from Croatia and were going to fly from Crete to
London, the last stop of the trip.

To start the trip to Greece, you can fly from Dubrovnik to Crete (Chania or Heraklion airports) via Athens with Aegean Airlines on a single ticket.
There are daily flights, at least this year, and it's unlikely to change much next year.

In this case, once in Crete, it will then be easy to take a ferry to Santorini, then Naxos (or Amorgos possibly before Naxos), and then reach Athens from Naxos.

This is the most logical and optimized itinerary in my opinion; it allows you to end in Athens, which is always better and recommended when there are islands on the trip. And if you follow Janet's excellent suggestion about Nafplio, it's the perfect option for the end of your trip before flying to London.

And from Athens you'll have more options for flights to London than from Crete.

Thanks for that, makes sense to do Athens last.
I was hoping to do Crete as the last island, mainly as its a better one to meet my daughter on, will that work?

Robyn, it's always good to look at a MAP, to see where the islands actually ARE ... And logically it's smartest to go to Farthest place first, When you say "We" I'm guessing that's you and your husband, not you & your daughter. You are unclear about her role and timing in this Greece Month .... is that still to be decided. I'm thinking that Greek "vets" will agree to you starting out with Crete, then working back... and you shouldn't pretzel an itinerary because of what you are guessing is better for her.

I really think if she just has one week,, she should meet you in NAXOS... in that amount of time, she can enjoy a beautiful and varied island thoroughly, whereas crete is HUGE and requires thought and planning to explore logically & efficiently. In Naxos, staying at a beach near the fascinating port town, then renting a car for a couple of days, you could discover dramatic landscapes, hillside villages, marble mountains (!) and endless sandy beaches.. In fact, some have described Naxos at a "littleCrete" because it offers such diversity. It's not a big deal; she flies into ATH, switches to a domestic flight of 40 mins, and the fun begins! Also good to know, Naxos is very popular with active young adults, without being crazytown.

To quote another Naxophile and top RS photo ace, Stanbr, "here are some reasons you and your daughter will love Naxos" -- and then he adds his pix -- here are just a few of his --
Trip Around Naxos -- http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/sets/72157634605629689/
Back to Naxos 2022 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72177720299940917
Naxos Town -- http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/sets/72157632094558042/

Thanks for all that. Have looked at the map, as far as my daughter goes its flexible but we want to allow a week in one place to meet her and not be moving around. It may not happen that she joins us but as we live in New Zealand and it's a long way to go we hope to catch up both in Greece and where she may be living.
I had read there was a lot to see in Crete which was why I originally had only 4 stops in Greece but will look at adding Amorgos based on what you all advise. We will start in Crete, end in Athens and spend time in Nafplio
Also we drive on the left and so driving on the right will be different, but we are used to windy, hilly and sometimes unsealed roads out of our cities though so think we will be ok if the traffic is not heavy.
So have now added a night and get below as new tentative plan, may still need a bit of tweaking re number of nights?

11 nights Crete
3 nights Santorini
5 nights Amorgos
7 nights Naxos
6 nights Athens/Nafplio

The plan is good in my opinion, but you're free to tweak it a little if necessary.

A few tips

Regarding flights: Sign up for the Aegean/Olympic newsletter, the Greek national airline (at the bottom of this page)

https://en.aegeanair.com/

There are regular discount offers on flights; you will be notified by email. For flights in June/July 2026, you can wait until March 2026 (I take advantage of them every time; this year I got a 50% discount on two flights).

Sky Express, the other Greek airline, also has some promotional offers: https://www.skyexpress.gr/en (also at the bottom of the page)

You can find ferry schedules on ferryhopper. Some ferry companies only publish them 2 or 3 months in advance. Don't worry, you'll always have seats available even if you book only a week in advance. Prices and schedules don't change (or hardly change) from year to year.
See an example of a Crete→Santorini route for this coming Sunday:

https://www.ferryhopper.com/en/#/results?itinerary=C00,JTR&dates=20250622

Another example for a Santorini→Amorgos route:

https://www.ferryhopper.com/en/#/results?itinerary=JTR,AMR&dates=20250629

The price difference depends on the type of ferry; Seajets' fast catamarans are always more (too) expensive.

A rental car is always the best option for getting around the islands. You are free to go wherever you want, whenever you want, without depending on bus routes and schedules. You don't have to rent a car for the entire duration of your stay on an island and
I don't think you should worry too much about driving on the right. I don't know the statistics for New Zealand, but about 350,000 Australians come to Greece each year, and I'm guessing quite a few of them rent a car.
Anyway, driving in Greece, even on the islands, isn't particularly difficult. Anyone on this forum can confirm this.

There are plenty of accommodation options, from basic hotel rooms to large luxury villas with private pools.
There are far more options in small, short-term rental properties (studios, apartments, houses) than in traditional hotels. Depending on how you're traveling and what means of transportation you'll have, there are three factors that determine whether a place to stay is the right choice for you:

• Location
• Location
• Location

Robyn, it always helps to give best advice if we at least know whatt Continent you are coming from ... a 3-month Europe visit is understandable from Australia ... v different if u r assumed to be from US (perhaps one of our hated billionaires? ha ha -- but then you would just use your yacht, right?).

We are from New Zealand. Will be coming via 2 months in Asia and will be in Europe 3 months including Italy, Croatia, Greece, Paris and London if that helps in the suggestions. We have not visited Europe before but have done a lot of Asia in short trips of 2 -3 weeks a time as we are working. This trip we will be leaving our jobs to do it so its a big one for us. Greece is our last stop aside from London.
Do wish we had a yacht!

Are the All Blacks coming with you?

No thankfully LOL