Four of us (2 couples) will be visiting Greece for two weeks (may add a few days) in September 2027. I visited Greece at least 3 times between 1984 and 2004, but have not been back since. My husband has never been, and the couple we will be traveling with has been once or twice as part of cruise vacations. I’ve seen all the major sites I care to see on the mainland, but know Athens is a ‘must’ for any visitor so will spend 3 nights/two full days there. Other than that, our upcoming trip will likely be primarily focused on the islands, but we’d definitely consider Nafplion on the mainland coast. Islands we are considering visiting over an approximate 10 days period: Crete (Chania and/or Rethymno), Rhodes, Milos, Naxos, Folegandros, Zekynthos, Kefalonia, Serifos, Sifnos, Hydra, Santorini, Mykonos, Symi, Ikaria. With a first-time visitor in our group, we’ll have to visit, however briefly, Santorini and Mykonos. I was fortunate to visit both in 1984, and I keep up with travel news, so no need to tell me how much they’ve changed and gotten impossibly crowded & expensive. I visited Hydra in 2004 for just a few hours and loved it. I have never been to any of the other islands I mention above. I realize this list of islands is way, way too long for the limited time we have but desperately need help shortening it to something doable and enjoyable in about 10 days. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. One additional question, are car services like Grab or Uber available and reliable in the Athens/ Piraeus metro area and elsewhere on the mainland? We’re not planning on getting a rental car although ‘might’ consider if we make it to Crete.
Posted by
3693 posts
Ok, I will take a stab at this.
With the short time you have, you have to be efficient. That means going directly to an island in the day of arrival and having your three nights in Athens at the end. Otherwise, you will have to take one night from your too few already island days to spend near the airport before you fly out.
Second, you have to have a sensible grouping of islands that are on the same ferry route. Here are a couple of possible routes.
Fly into Santorini. Spend one night. Take taxi to caldera coast and spend the night. The next day after enjoying the view, take a ferry to Folegandros. Spend 2 nights, take ferry to Serifos. Spend 3 nights. Take ferry to Sifnos. Spend 4 nights. Take ferry to Athens. Spend 3 nights.
You also could fly into Santorini. Spend the night there and ferry to Crete and spend your 10 days there. It is a large and varied island. We spent 11 nights there and wished we had more time.
Posted by
Colorado Mountains, USA
9403 posts
When we stayed in Nafplio, we’d gone from Athens to Hydra, then arrived back on the mainland at Ermioni by ferry. We rented a car in Ermioni from Pop’s Car Rental, and drove to Nafplio. The car was really helpful for getting to historic archeological sights like Nemea, Mystras, and Epidaurus, but maybe those aren’t on your agenda.
We visited Crete in September 2019 (and weren’t in Athens at all that trip). Again, if you’re not considering ancient archeological sights, this might not apply, but an essential location on Crete for that is in Iraklio (aka Heraklion), with the Knossos Palace south of the city, and a stunning archaeological museum in the city. These are from the sophisticated Minoan civilization that predates Ancient Greeks by centuries. Rental car for Crete was picked up at the Iraklio airport and turned in at Hania (aka Chania).
Posted by
France Southwest - Occitanie
4345 posts
Haha! That is indeed quite a list of islands, even though more than 150 are missing!.
Crete is a good choice if you dedicate your entire 10 days to it.
Next, you forgot to consider island groups as BethFL pointed out, and you’ll need to make a choice:
Taking your list:
Rhodes is in the Dodecanese, you can get there by flight or via a 12-hour ferry ride. Once in the Dodecanese, there are 11 other visitable islands you can reach by ferry, but you only mentioned Symi which is actually more of a day-trip destination from Rhodes.
Looking at the rest of your list (Milos, Naxos, Folegandros, Zakynthos, Kefalonia, Serifos, Sifnos):
You should cross off Zakynthos and Kefalonia, as they are located in the Ionian Islands near Italy. There are no ferries from Athens to get there. you have to take a flight.
Serifos, Sifnos, Milos, and Folegandros in that order from Piraeus are all on a shared Western Cyclades ferry route. You could choose two of these.
Naxos is in the Central Cyclades and is accessible by ferry or flight. Once on Naxos, you can take a ferry to one of the Small Cyclades islands, or to Amorgos or Paros.
Hydra is in the Saronic Gulf and is only connected to the other Saronic Gulf islands, Piraeus and a few ports in the eastern Peloponnese.
Ikaria is in the North Aegean Sea, reachable by an 8-hour ferry ride from Piraeus or a flight from Athens. From Ikaria, you can take a ferry to a few other North Aegean or Dodecanese islands (but not Rhodes).
Santorini and Mykonos are targets for mass tourism and cruise ship crowds, they are expensive and overcrowded. While Santorini might still be worth visiting for its landscapes, Mykonos is essentially where all of Europe goes to party for a fortune.
For a 10-day trip, it's either:
Crete and Crete alone, or... 2 islands within the same island group.
Keep in mind that visiting 2 islands, even close ones, will cost you at least 3 full half-days in travel logistics and transfers. So in reality, you will only get 3 or 4 full days on each island at best.
Regarding taxis, only drivers with an official license are permitted in Greece. Uber-style drivers are therefore prohibited. However, you can still use Uber (or Freenow); an official taxi using the app will arrive to pick you up. In Athens, the metro, buses, and trams are more than sufficient, so there is no need for a taxi provided you stick to the main sights.
Posted by
Philadelphia, PA, USA
3844 posts
Everybody has done a swell job of explaining the challenges of a 2-week Greece adventure. A doable do-able visit of 14 days realistically could involve this: a "quick stop" at Santorini (2 nights), 4-5 nights in your "major island", maybe 3 nights in another destination, and 3 days in Athens at the end.
THe most strategic timing would be to arrive on a Friday before noon... and return on either the second Sunday or the day after This gives you 3 weekends (if any ofyou are still on job schedules - a fact you omit). Another reason -- if Santorini is first (brief) stop, weekends are when there are fewer of those horrible MegaCruis ships that on a weekday can jampack Santorini with 10,000 tourists (plus the other tourist on ferries & planes). If you land Athens before noon Friday & get a 2 pm plane to Santorini you'll arrive just as cruisers leave... hurrah!
Itinerary Id suggest: SANTORINI-- arrive on DAY 1; morning of DAY 3 take ferry to NAXOS for nights 3-8 (SO much to discover); fly 8 am Day 9 to ATH, rent car, drive on modern highway over Corinith canal (with sites enroute) to sttunning NAFPLIO, surrounded by the sea for nights 9 - 11, return to ATH aM Day 12 for 3 1/2 days of World-Famous landmarks & museums .
Posted by
69 posts
With a " first time visitor" I would think it would be your intention NOT to visit Santorini and certainly Mykonos knowing what you know and have read on travel forums. Suggest the first time visitor return on their own someday and visit places that the rest of the group have seen. Athens, Nafplion ( almost like visiting an island but with much less travel hassle), and a week on Crete would be my itinerary.... not necessarily in the order.
Posted by
France Southwest - Occitanie
4345 posts
we’ll have to visit, however briefly, Santorini and Mykonos
lewis98110 is right; while you might want to visit Santorini, you do NOT have to visit Mykonos unless this is what you’re looking for:
Or that:
If you’re after the whitewashed houses, blue domes, windmills, and that whole postcard look, you’ll find all of that throughout the Cyclades.
Posted by
Philadelphia, PA, USA
3844 posts
Thanks so much for those links Jo-Lui.... saves me all that keyboarding to explain about why skip Mykonos.
Posted by
France Southwest - Occitanie
4345 posts
That said, I forgot to mention the most important part just in case it interests gdferris: this summer, a few tourists came to enjoy the Mykonos 'local life', like Nicole Kidman, Matthew McConaughey, Sofía Vergara, Kevin Hart, Katy Perry, 50 Cent, Lewis Hamilton, etc.
On the flip side, Justin Bieber skipped Mykonos this year, he went to Kranidi in the Peloponnese instead.
Matt Damon and George Clooney, usually regulars, did not visit this year.
We don't have any info yet regarding September 2027. :-)
I would suggest going to Mykonos instead to meet Eirini, who feels that while Mykonos used to be poor, today it is nothing but luxury, and a very bad kind of luxury.
Posted by
Colorado Mountains, USA
9403 posts
JoLui, that’s hilarious! Many places are getting derided nowadays because of Mega-Cruise-Ship incursions, but Mykonos is flooded by a Hollywood crowd. Wonder if they get there by private plane (helicopter?), or Super Yacht? Do they take selfies, or have a camera crew to do that for them?
If they travel through any Back Door, there must be private security guards closing the door behind them. So, that would be Myko-No!
Posted by
OP
13 posts
Thank you all so much for your thorough and thoughtful comments. Very, very helpful. I’ve already made some adjustments to our Greece travel ‘wishlist’ and have even forwarded a couple of proposed itineraries to our friends in Sydney, Australia who we’ll be traveling to Greece with. I’ll likely post additional questions here regarding this trip as our plans firm up.
Posted by
France Southwest - Occitanie
4345 posts
I wonder if they get there by private plane (helicopter?) or
superyacht?
Most take a private jet or their own luxury yacht, anchoring in Psarou or Ornos Bay, and then head to the beach clubs via private speedboat; some use a combination of both. Helicopters are also quite popular.
There are a few restaurants that have been notorious for years for making you drop a fortune on just a salad and a beer, places like the DK Oyster. They have security staff made up of muscle-bound guys, just in case you decide to complain when you see the bill.
https://sallygolan.com/mykonos-prices-are-absolute-carnage/
Note that this particular one has changed its name; I believe it's called Eclipse now.
Welcome to Mykonos!
Posted by
10502 posts
Consider taking a cruise that visits several Greek Islands, it much better than taking ferries or flying.
Posted by
NC
808 posts
@geovagriffith raises a good point. So much depends on your style of travel and hopes for the trip. We have had three completely different experiences with traveling to the Greek isles…all wonderful. Our first trip we visited Delphi, Meteora, Sifnos (loved), Milos (meh) and finished in Athens. Next time we spent 10 days on Crete. Most recently, we did a family trip with two days in Athens and then a chartered catamaran cruise of the Cyclades and Saronics (https://www.yachtsailing.com/) which was awesome. Next time around, we would probably opt to return to Sifnos, though another catamaran cruise would be very tempting or perhaps more exploring on the mainland.
Whatever you decide, have a great trip!