Please review the Greece part of our itinerary--Had to cancel

Very well thought-out .... except on day one, I see no reason to pay Zas to walk you around the charming maze of lanes in old town, when you can best do it yourself. Simply start in mid-morning by entering the "Old Agora" entry off the promenade, wind your way up to the top... Go into the Kastro if it's open, then cross the little square to the small & exquisite Museum (world's Best collection of mysterious Minoan-era statuettes), then find a different way out (just head downhil)... by the Cathedral (just up from the causeway) in its courtyard is a small outbuilding, which covers a Mycenean graveyard (!).

By then you'll be in the mood for both llunch AND a swim. Several choices
(1) stop nearby for lunch (Boulematsis has balcony looks down on the promenade & has nice fish & chips) then walk back to Ag G.
(20 Since you'd be right by the "bus circle" (at the foot of ferry pier) why not take a bus to PLaka beach, ask driver to let you off by Aegean Palace... it has nice sunloungers and a changing-room/restroom facility, and if you order lunch from beach attendant, no charge for the chairs (at least at my last visit). NOTE: you need to buy bus tix at kiosk by pier.

The Causeway & Arch Visit can be any day that's sunny ... there's always a crowd there AT sunset, but you can take photos from afar.

I don't really see what you could add or remove from your itinerary.

However, like Janet, I think it's pointless to take this organized sunset tour to wander the streets of Naxos town and go to the Temple of Apollo. Do it at your own pace and for free. Especially since, from what you've seen, the tour starts at 6 p.m. and sunset will be around 8:30 p.m. in mid-June.

In Naxos, on the 17th, you may have the opportunity to continue to the fishing village of Apollona, ​​and stop to see the Kouros along the way.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/3XYxzJmzzA4T9s5BA

I'm always happy to see someone renting a car in Naxos, the largest island in the Cyclades, to really enjoy the island and get out of the small Naxos Town/Plaka area. So on Wednesday the 18th, you'll be able to see lots of nice little spots and also the superb beaches further south. You can continue further south after Mikri Vigla to Alyko and Agiassos (splendid beaches)
Especially since you've spotted the Apolafsi restaurant (Book before you go! ).

You've also spotted a very nice, inexpensive, and well-located hotel in Athens, which is usually "off the radar" in an area where I hang out quite often. I can share some places to eat, not secret, but I'd say lesser-known, but it will be in a private message to keep them a little more "quiet."

On Saturday the 21st, if you have booked a tour to the Acropolis and the Agora, check if the entrance tickets to the Acropolis is included.
If not, you'll have to book a ticket with a time slot that matches your guided tour time. Do this well in advance.
For example, currently all morning time slots are sold out until Saturday the 17th.

https://hhticket.gr/tap_b2c_new/english/tap.exe?PM=P1P&place=000000002

The Psyri district is located just after the Ancient Agora, which, if I understand correctly, you will visit at the end of this tour. So, go there once the tour is over. Psyri is most interesting in the evening (especially on Saturdays) with its lively atmosphere and crowded bars and restaurants. Note that the Little Kook pastry shop is mainly a tourist trap with an original deco.

Janet and JoLui: Thank you so much for your suggestions. I've read and incorporated ideas from many of your posts helping others and was hoping to hear from you.

Like both of you, we usually just explore on our own, without taking tours. But I'm debating about the tour of Naxos town, because three excellent tours I've taken in the last 18 months have added a lot to my understanding of what I've seen (Lyon, Lucerne, and the Art Deco Architecture in Miami Beach). If we do decide to take the tour, I will be sure to review it when I do a trip report.

JoLui, please do pm me with suggestions of restaurants near our Athens hotel. Thank you!

Barbara, why not just go to your local library, Pull a good guide off the shelf, such as ROUGH GUIDE ( older editions are better) and read up on it. Take an armful of guidebooks home Photocopy pages of interest. This will deepen your understanding --- and you won't have to stand around while the guide answers dumb questions. (Frankly, I'm inclined to help much more, when an inquiirer says, I've read some ini guidebooks, and here are questions I have... don't people read any more?).

Janet, I'll try the Rough Guide. I took Lonely Planet Greek Islands out of the library a few weeks ago and it has very little information.

Here's a great website for Naxos (and all of Greece):

https://www.greektravel.com/greekislands/naxos/

The best guide book for the Aegean Islands including Naxos is the Blue Guide. It's very comprehensive and has more info than any other guide book.

https://www.blueguides.com/book/blue-guide-greece-the-aegean-islands/

Well I am very late on this thread. Perhaps I can add some photos as my contribution.
Naxos town 2022 https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72177720299959098
Naxos town 2024 https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72177720318203165/

Trip around Naxos https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72157634605629689

After reading the description of the Old Town and Portara sunset tour, maybe this one is worth it. I read in the reviews that there was a free glass of wine at the end of the tour. : - ) )

Janet and tommyk: I was able to check out the ebook of the Rough Guide and will be getting the Blue Guide through an interlibrary loan. I will look closely at both. And Janet, thanks for the details on Plaka Beach.

Stanbr: Your photos influenced my decision to choose Naxos for our short visit to Greece.

JoLui: I have to keep in mind that a guide might be more engaging to our daughter than listening to me and my husband. And she doesn't drink, so I can have her wine too!

Good luck on guides! I hope the Rough Guide is SOME help ... all of the well-known guides have gone in so heavily for color photos, that to make room & make budget, they have slashed SO much of their useful historical & background text! In the new edition of an (unnamed) guide I looked at recently in a bookstore, the pages on a famous and richly historic island were mainly about restaurants, excursions, spas, boat & car rentals... useless. I've tended to steer people to online back-issue sources, for editions from 2012 or so. ONe doesn't search published book guides for 2025 hotel & dining info anyway -- that's always best found thru forums & reviews. What you really need are texts that capture the Essence of a place, reveal some long-ago secrets, heroes, sorrows and works of art.

I remember a 2002 Lonely Planet that steered me to a tiny roofless, vine-covered 12th Century stone chapel on a Cretan Hillside, with a handpainted wall painting of St George & a Dragon still visible after 800 years. A 2005 Rough Guide to Crete explained the bronze busts near the medieval Frangokastello fortress, that they honored 14th Century General martyred by conquering armies. So many stories of heroism or tragedy, now untold, to make room for news of new luxury resorts or waterparks. Sigh.

We had to cancel our trip due to a sudden illness. I hope to be better soon, and to reschedule this trip for June 2026. Thank you for all of your suggestions.

I will report on our experience with travel insurance after I submit our claim, in hopes it will be helpful.

So disappointing, Barbara N. I'm glad you'll be able to revive this trip in the future!

Oh, I am sorry! Hopefully insurance is good to you, the illness passes quickly, and you can get it rescheduled easily!

Barbara, I hope you are better soon and your claim is paid promptly. Did you mean 2026?

Thanks, CW, TTM, and diveloonie. And yes, diveloonie, I did mean 2026. Edited above! I do seem to be improving. My husband and I are hoping for a trip for just the two of us in the fall, but this trip will have to wait given our daughter's work schedule.

We just returned from Athens (on the 14 day RS tour of the Peloponnese). Be prepared for a taxi strike (they seem to be sporadic). Luckily we had very clear instructions about taking the Metro to our Hotel.

Good restaurant: (recommended in the RS book) The Balcony. Very close to the Acropolis. Rooftop seating (if you want it), and good food. Nearby is the Peacock restaurant , on the top floor of the Hotel Hera. Amazing view of the Parthenon, and nice open air setting. Good place to see the unset.

Private tours always give more insight into what you are seeing, and you can ask questions. I'd recommend it.

Have fun!
Patricia

Barbara, I'm glad you're doing a bit better but so sorry you had to cancel. Thank you for keeping us posted about your travel insurance. Hopefully it will be a smooth and quick process.

Thank you all for your good wishes!

I reported on our generally positive experience with my husband's Chase Sapphire Card Cancellation Insurance here for those who are interested:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/budget-tips/recent-positive-chase-sapphire-card-trip-cancellation-experience