Moms and Daughters trip to Greece in early June

Unfortunately, Minneapolis is not an easy place to fly to Greece from. You can get into Amsterdam non-stop, however that's on one of two big legacy airlines at high prices. We have found more budget airline flights to be out of London-Gatwick Airport if you can find an inexpensive flight there.
We found the real bargain for travel to the Grecian Islands is on a cruise ship out of Rome/Civitavecchia. We no longer take beach vacations (too dull), and we saw Malta, Crete, Turkey, Athens and all of the most popular Greek islands on a 12 day cruise.

Forget the train. Not practical unless what you really want to do is see Bulgaria, etc., because by the time you finally get to Greece, you won't have much time left. It would be an interesting trip, but not at all what you are planning!

How many nights in Greece? Is this most people's first trip to Greece? It's an awfully long and costly trip if the main goal for many is "beach". There are beaches that are closer, prettier, and easier/cheaper to reach from the US.

For the sake of those (like me) to whom "beach" means "boring", I'd recommend that you look first at Crete--the western end. Though the eastern end is where a lot of the beach resorts are located, most places of tourist interest are much farther west. It's a large island, so staying in the east and visiting places like Chania will not be practical.

The city of Nafplio sounds/looks beautiful, but I don't know what the beach situation is.

I'm sure we have some posters who can suggest other islands that have enough to keep the sightseers busy for some days.

But I really think this is going to be difficult because of the mix of interests in your group. Greece's public transportation is not terribly fast, so renting a house and having everyone branch out from there may be more of a challenge than you're anticipating. You will probably need to rent multiple cars unless the house is within walking distance of a very good beach as well as of a well-equipped town.

Edited to add: David has mentioned cruises, and that might be a possibility. I am not a blitz traveler, so I have a hard time imagining myself enjoying a cruise. However, if you give me a choice between being stuck in a villa on one small island for 7 days or more, vs. a cruise, I'd take the cruise.

Greece is beautiful and a wonderful destination! We took the RS Greece tour and had an AMAZING time! But, laying on the beach is definitely not my thing and with all the history and scenery Greece has to offer it seems like a long way to go for a beach. I guess I would find out what everyone's expectations really are (if they really do want to lay on a beach for more than one day) and decide if that is something you are good with or if you could find somewhere that would also satisfy your interests or not. Then make the decision from there.

We found a flight for about $1200 out of Chicago through Paris several years ago.

I really want to go to Greece, but I'm not sure this is the way I'd like to do it! I'd be interested in people's ideas for other "beachy" locations, and I do think the young women want to do more than just beach. But for a few, I think they are anticipating some beautiful view looking out over the ocean with cocktail in hand.

The problem we've been having is that some of these girls are fairly well traveled. I would choose Costa Rica, but several have already been there. So feel free to suggest ideas of places with water, scenic views, history, cute villages. . . . It'd be nice if the logistics weren't complicated, too.

You do not say what "largish" means -- but I get a headache just contemplating this enterprise. It would be like herding cats. There are SO many decisions to make on a trip to Greece, so many islad options, many transportation challenges and decisions... and each option would require a different amount of time, AND a different cost.

Since this seems to be a cohesive group but with different perspectives and experiences -- would I be guessing right that these are sorority sisters? I foresee trouble because some of the girls may be much more traveled and privileged, while others, and their moms, need to budget strictly. I foresee real discord here -- different outlooks, different priorities, some pressured to choices they can't really afford, or conversely, high-fliers feeling constrained from their preferences. Aside from $$ difference, some will just want to beach it and party, others really want to hit museums or ruins, but may feel nerdy for saying so.

The flight situation alone can be a source of stress. From experience, with any size of group I would advise against a flight plan that involved changes in Europe -- too many things can go wrong. Just thinking about one group switching planes in Frankfurt, another in PAris, another in Rome makes me want to go lie down in a dark room. The safest way would be to use one of the 3-4 airlines that fly nonstop to Athens from Toronto/Montreal, or NY or PHL ... And on none of htem can u get anything under $1500 from MN. Recently UAE (United Arab Emirates) have been offering nonstops cheaper from Newark -- but Mpls - Newark, hmmm. You must also confront the time required; a US flight, a layover, and overseas nonstop will not be less than 16 hours (with 8-hrs clock change) -- thus over 1 full day just to get there. And even with 8 hr gianed back, your return will be 12+ hours. So you'd nee really 14 days to get 12 days "on the ground."

If this group were just going to a major European city -- London, Barcelona, -- or even a Caribbean island or Country, it would be far easier. Find a moderate hotel, book a bunch of triple or quad rooms, everyone does her own thing. It would also be different if a cohesive group with a common interest were involved, and the plans and rules were being set by adults with a common perspective, i.e., a college band or choir, with adult teachers running the show, or a group of Art History or Art Majors, as is done by the college where my daughter is an administrator. THis enterprise is very different -- sound a bit like a kind of "spring break" impulse, only involving a distant land that nobody involved knows much about, and a lot more money.

Your misgivings are well-founded. Contact some other likeminded mothers ... a smaller group, (say 4 girls, 4 moms) with similar interests and budgets... could well have a good time. This "largeish" approach bodes largeish trouble.

Yes, I've already decided that Greece though it sounds lovely can't be an option. I think the travel logistics are just too much.

No, decidedly not sorority girls. Rather the opposite I would say. They are mostly midwest girls attending a small liberal arts school in Iowa where the philosophy is "inclusion" thus no sororities even allowed. This is a very tight knit, supportive group that is feeling sentimental about the end of their college years and would like to enjoy some time before they all move on and want their moms to get to know each other. Probably upper middle class kids and below. The reason that most have traveled is that they have done the popular study abroads. Some families do those to give their students experiences that they don't feel they'd otherwise get. For our family, we planned an economical month in Europe and took them ourselves. From the midwest many families can get to Mexico fairly economically, so that won't be an option, plus though I've taken my own kids to Mexico, I'm not crazy about Mexico with a group of girls with the current crime problems. I don't feel they are as pervasive as the media would make it sound, but crime on tourists in Europe tends to be petty theft, the crime in Mexico can be much more dangerous.

Unless I can come up with a simpler and more economical option in Europe I'm trying to come up with options in the U.S.

How about Martha's Vineyard .... of course since it was "discovered" in the 1970s or so, it's become pricey... but maybe you could find a big big house in Vineyard Haven ... and you still can rent bicycles on MV. MV is now a haven of the affluent, but at least the New England ethos still prevails, so it's not so showy... maybe mid-June would be possible. BTW, I know yr college, Yay G ___ .

Hmmm, MV an interesting suggestion. Haven’t been there, tho I have been to Nantucket and loved it. 25 yrs ago. Wonder if it’s still so wonderful. I would guess rental cars would be necessary for both MV and Nantucket

For something a bit more exotic, you could consider Montreal/Quebec City, or Nova Scotia/New Brunswick, or Vancouver and surroundings (Gulf Islands, Victoria, etc.).

Consider a Mediterranean cruise to Europe. This can accommodate those who want to tour historic sites and those who want to have beach excursions as their interests dictate, but you will all be 'together' for some meals and activities on the ship.

IMHO, Vineyard more fun than Nantucket. Do some research ... I think there is some basic bus service between towns and then, as I said, there's bike rental, and these girls will never be fitter than they are at this moment in their lives. You could rent one car for the entire time for things like grocery runs and then only do rentals for limited days. It all depends on location ... less need for fulltime rental of multiple cars, if you're near a beach (I still dream sometimes of Edgartown's cute little "town beach") ... upisland, Chilmark etc, is far from beaches. I would advise to get started NOW, looking at AirBnB and VRBO ... those biggie houses go EARLY and some people rent the same pllace year after year afer year. Try to stay flexible, don't daydream & fantasize, castles in the air rarely are there ... meaning, you probably won't get a house that sleeps 10, be ready to search for TWO houses reasonbly near together. More available, more affordable.

I think that for your purpose a holiday in Santorini is the best. The island is incredibly beautiful. It is believed that here the most beautiful sunsets in the world. Look at the photos of the top 10 best beaches of Santorini. On the island there are beaches with red, white and black sand, many lagoons. I think that both mothers and daughters will be able to choose the right place for themselves. Come with a vacation with a beautiful tan! On Santorini goes ferry from Athens.

You may have already ruled out Greece as a destination; however, if still undecided I would consider the following options: a 4 or 7 day budget cruise with Celestyal Cruises (http://americas.celestyalcruises.com/en) and then a few days before or after on some lovely beaches near Athens (http://www.greece-is.com/athens-riviera-10-of-the-best-beaches-in-attica/). Celestyal uses mid-sized ships and the emphasis is on seeing what sights are at each port of call. While you won't have a rock-climbing wall or gourmet food on Celestyal, you will economically see a lot more of the Greek Islands than you would on a larger luxury ship. Port excursions are a mix of cultural and/or scenic- your choice.
If you want to focus on just one island and have cultural, beach and water sport options at a reasonable price with frequent ferry service, I would consider Naxos (https://www.greektravel.com/greekislands/naxos/). It's about a half day ferry ride from Piraeus (Athen's port) and lodging is less expensive than neighboring Santorini or Mykonos. It's the largest and greenest of the Cyclades islands and a little quieter with a number of cultural sites. It has nightlife but is not as crazy as Santorini or Mykonos. Crete or Rhodes are also good choices, but they are farther from Athens, so more time in transit, less time on the island.

A third option would be to fly into Rome and then ferry from Bari (Italy) to the Greek island of Corfu or to Dubrovnik, Croatia and choose one of the nearby islands. A similarity among many islands in the Aegean and Adriatic is that they were under Venetian control for quite some time and you see that influence in architecture etc.

Donegal, alas, Celestial Cruises follows the same well-trodden sea-path as all the other cruise liners, even if its ships are not quite as large. No, their 2 ships don't hve 3,000 passengers -- but they do have 1200 or 1664 passengers. It isn't well-known (or it's downplayed) that ANY cruise ships with more than about 200 passengers are limited to just a few Ports in the Aegean/ Med ... because these are the only ports DEEP enough to accommodate them. There are only 6 of these ports -- Patmos, Kusadasi (on the Turkey shore) Rhodes, Heraklion in Crete, Santorini & Mykonos. When you click on Celestial Cruises you find -- surprise! -- that these are the ports visited by its ships. My research on 4-5 day cruises like this shows that Rhodes is the only stop whre you get a full day. Patmos is usually 4 hours in a morning, en route to another island, Heraklion is about 6-7 hours, Santorini can be as short as 6 hours (with looong lines to get onto the island and up/down the cable car) .

I have sat SO many times, as the sun gets low, at a peaceful waterfront cafe, and watch the cruise ships sailing away --- its passengers unable to enjoy sunsets on an island but forced to re-board their ship & eat with 1500 others. Yes, I also have seen passengers come happily on shore at dusk from small vessels (50 people, on a motor yacht or a large sailing schooner) to enjoy dinner, sunset, and a late-evening club, returning to their boat for the night, then the next day swimming & sunning, staying a full 24 hours before moving on.... but these are pleasures for the affluent (or downright rich) travelers.

Donegal is right, that a visit to ONE island (Naxos is one of the best) would be a better experience ... the only question is, will this group want to spend $1500 each in overseas airfare alone, to spend 4-5 days on one Greek Isle? That's why I suggested the Vineyard, as a possible GRoup experience, about $1000 less to reach!

What about Mallorca? I don't know what European cities are easily reached by Minneapolis, but I'm guessing that whatever they are, cheap flights to Mallorca can be found.

It's got a great mix of wonderful beaches, but also amazing scenery, good food, old Spanish towns and even Roman ruins and the island is small enough that those who want to get off the beach and explore can do so and be back in time for dinner with the group. I also think the main city, Palma, is underrated - I prefer it to Barcelona for it's larger old town and beautiful views. I wouldn't go with an all-inclusive hotel in Mallorca - that's where you get the obnoxious British and German tourists the island is so famous for - but instead rent an apartment and a car for exploring. It's easy driving around the island.

I explored the island in early June this year and if I get a chance to go back I'm going to rent a house in the Bon Aire area not too far from the town of Alcudia. There's two brilliant beaches that are largely untouristed there.

Wile this may not be relevant to the OP situation I must point out that in addition to the ports mentioned by Janet Souda has a deep water port. Souda is the port for Chania Crete, Its about a 20 minute commute into Chania. While its not a common destination its an incredible city to visit.

In addition we have seen some cruise ships anchored just outside the Venetian walled breakwater and tendering people directly into Chainia old Venetian port which is at the old town center.
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