Oct 1-15th Trip to Greece--Suggestions for 1st timers to the Islands

Monica, I was in Greece for the first time in June 2016. Wonderful country, people and experience. I went to the islands of Santorini, Naxos and Hydra. All were very nice, but Santorini and Hydra were very touristy. I think I most enjoyed Naxos, where there are relatively fewer foreign tourists, in part because there is no cruise port on the island, just arrivals by ferries and small planes. There is much of a sense of local community on Naxos. On both Santorini and Naxos, I spent a day traveling around the island, which in both cases were3 highlights of my visits. On Santorini I took a group bus tour, on Naxos I got a guide with car, for myself. Covered a lot of ground, towns and sites on those days. The dangers of trying to fit too many islands into you itinerary is that you spend an awful lot of your time getting to and from the islands, waiting for ferries, checking in and out, etc. and also that you really don't get to settle in and get a feel for the life of the island. I booked through booking.com, a small hotel in Firostefani on Santorini, and in a small apartment building on Naxos.

Don't worry too much about torusity issues , you are going at end of season , places will be cheaper and some places will have started to close down even .

We were in Naxos and Mykonos last two weeks in September last year and we found it was great , things were still open , weather was great , but just as we were leaving things were closing down in mykonos . Naxos has a year round population so it's not as noticeable.

If it's available ( doubt it will be super popular) try and get the two roof top suites at the Kymata in Naxos !! Amazing HUGE deck with views you won't believe , great staff , minute from beach , 5 minutes from town , great place . We've stayed there twice but only managed to get that suite once !!

In mykonos we stayed at Paranga Beach once and loved being out of town , but since it's your first time you should stay in town , I'll suggest the Poseidon! Lovely included breakfast buffet , big nice pool area overlooking the ocean ,most rooms have views , and it literally 2 minute easy walk into town ( careful some places say they are minutes from town but they don't mention it's a walk up a steep hill and that roads are narrow with no sidewalks and no lights ) .

Santorini and Mykonos will still be active in October particularly if there is a cruise ship in town. The weather can start to deteriorate a bit but it will still be warm. We were on Naxos in early October last year and the beach villages were pretty much closed down by the 4 th. Naxos town was still active as tourists flowed to St George beach and Naxos town. The weather was fine still nice and warm perfect for hiking and visiting mountain villages.
Trip around Naxos http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/sets/72157634605629689/
Naxos 2016 https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72157671589993576

Thank you so much for all the wonderful advice and beautiful photos...
Love to hear what you think about our possible travel plan. Fly out on the 1st arrive in Athens on the 2nd, fly from Athens same day to Santorini stay there 2-6th take a ferry to Naxos , stay Naxos 6th-9th then ferry to Mykonos stay from 9th -13th and take ferry to Athens and stay near Acropolis from 13th -15th fly out on the 15th.

Too much in such a short trip? Would it be better to stay longer on one of the islands and take ferry day trips to others? Does anyone have any website suggestions/rec for homes to rent while there, maybe too short on each island to do that?

Thanks again.
Monica

Your plan is fine. You have the right sequence of islands and no need to do day trips to other islands.
The only thing that I see is the number of days devoted to Mykonos and Santorini. I would drop a day on each of these islands and add those 2 days to Naxos. Santorini while amazingly beautiful is crowded and expensive. After the awe of the Caldera view wears off one can become a bit annoyed at all the crowds particularly cruise ships hoards.

Mykonos is very popular and is well deserved. It has branded itself as high end jet setter kind of place and is as expensive as Santorini but without the caldera views. Just my opinion but Naxos is equally pretty as Mykonos with better larger beaches and main town with the same white and blue buildings but all at twice the price of Naxos. You budget will thank me if you switch those two days to Naxos.

I agree with Stanbr about devoting more time on Naxos which is the largest of the Cyclades Islands and has something for everyone.
Since Mykonos & Santorini are two of the most expensive and heavily tourist of the Greek Islands why not drop Mykonos and spend more time on Naxos? It's really everything one would want for a Greek Island. Lots of options for day trips, archeological sites, mountain villages, beaches, relaxing and a wonderful Old Town in Naxos.

I was in Naxos in early October and everything in Naxos Town was still up and running with lots of options for shops, markets and tavernas. St. George Beach is a great place to base yourself because it's just a short walk to the waterfront and Old Town but a bit more quiet. Nice town square with more traditional shops if you don't want to walk to the waterfront.

Splitting your time with Athens, and the islands you mentioned can water down your experience, especially if you want to go to Crete which deserves days, if not weeks to fully enjoy.

Do Athens, Santorini and Naxos and I think you'll be less stressed about getting from Point A to Point B and get everything most want for a Greek Experience: from over-the-top Santorini, Naxos-for-everyone, and a few days in Athens, a city that deserves several days to explore and experience.

We had a similar itinerary as Larry last September. After our RS Tour we wanted "downtime" to relax and enjoy 2 islands. We chose to stay a week on lovely Naxos (St George Beach) and gorgeous Santorini (Firostefani) for 4 nights. Your plan looks great. Enough time to enjoy the ambiance of this exceptional area. We had great advice from Stanbr and Janet!

Santorini, Mykonos, Naxos and Crete can be easily combined for Greek island hopping.

Others island combinations could be
a) Paros, Naxos, Ios/Santorini
b) Ios, Amorgos, Santorini
c) Milos, Santorini/Folegandros, Sifnos
d) Mykonos, Santorini, Naxos/Paros
e) Crete, Santorini, Amorgos/Ios

If you go to Paros you can do daytrips around the island or get to Antirparos, Naxos, Small Cyclades, Delos.
If you go to Naxos you can do daytrips to Paros, Small Cyclades, Delos.
If you go to Mykonos you can do daytrips to Delos, Paros, Naxos, Tinos, Small Cyclades.
If you go to Milos you can do daytrips around the island, more than 70 beaches! You can also get to Kimolos island.
If you go to Milos you can do daytrips around the island.
If you go to Santorini you can do daytrips around the island- wine tour/sunset tour or get to Thirassia island. Ios is the closest island to Santorini.
If you go to Crete you could do a tour to Samaria Gorge, or to the Ancient Palace of Knossos. You can also find a Land Rover Safari tour or do the tour to Spinalonga Island with BBQ Lunch :)

Just decide on the islands and you'll have plenty of things to do... You'll discover that 2 weeks are not enough for such beauty ;)

You asked about day trips to other islands. If you do go to Mykonos, take a local boat out to Delos. Absolutely amazing place -- sometimes called the island of the gods or the birth place of the gods. Perhaps or perhaps not. But amazing none the less. Google it and see what you think.

Thanks so much for all the wonderful advice. We are now 3 couples and am finding it difficult to find apt and or homes to rent with 3 private bedrooms. Has anyone rented a home and or apt that they loved on Santorini,Naxos and Mykonos?

Thanks,
Monica

We have six people too. We are renting Grandma's house on Oia through Airbnb. We are going in a few weeks so haven't stayed there but owner has been very responsive and it is highly rated. It was a new listing when I reserved last year and I took a chance because there are so few larger rentals on Santorini and many of them are crazy expensive.

Naxos does not have larger rentals that are well located. I even tried to find multiple rentals in town but with no luck. We are staying in separate rooms at a Kymata Hotel on St. George which is beach area adjacent to old town.

We are not going to Mykonos so know nothing about what is available there. .

Beth

Thank you Beth, love to hear about your stay when you return, hope you have a wonderful time.

Monica

Monica, you had trouble finding the lodgings you describe, because you may be basing your hunt on past experiences in other parts of Europe, but Greece has a different history which has influenced its accommodations for tourists. Example: In Northern Italy, there was past affluence in many towns/ villages, and consequently large villas which in modern times are rented to tourists. By contrast, for centuries Greece was a country conquered & occupied (Turkey), and in the islands, no rich landed gentry thus no villas.

Long after WW II, when tourism finally came to Greece, it was a budget-minded tourism. Thus, many lovely beaches were bordered by modest family-run places (12 - 20 rooms), often "studio units" -- either one room with beds, bathroom, a "kitchenette niche" plus table/chairs & a balcony -- or a 1-BR unit where main room had kitchenette, day beds, etc + balcony. This is very typical of Naxos and Paros, Sifnos, Milos, Folegandros ... the list goes on. Then, when upscale tourism came along, where people wanted a large villa, the beachfront and even near-beachfront locations were all taken, so the new large villas, often with pools, had to be sited inland ... and thus one must rent a car for the whole stay, and even drive for cafe-sitting. Much better to book side-by-side units.

Thank you, very helpful info...