Will be staying in Athens 5 days in early April and then will want both Crete (for a week) the Peloponnese staying in Napflio for a week. Of course returning to, and departing from Athens on the back end. My question is sequencing after Athens...and best way to travel between the 3 locations. I'll be renting cars in both places after Athens. I've checked the weather in both Crete and Napflio and Crete appears to be much cooler so I'm thinking getting their last, but logistics may well trump the unpredictability of weather forecasting. We don't care about beach weather.
Posted by
585 posts
I have been on Crete in April, usually the days were very pleasant, warm and sunny - great sightseeing and hiking weather. Evenings and nights were cool and a light jacket was very useful.
Your choices for getting to Crete are to either fly, a ¾ hour flight from Athens by Aegean Airlines to either Heraklion or Chania. You can fly into one and out of the other depending on where you are visiting. Pick up and drop off car at the airport. Otherwise it’s a long ferry ride, overnight or most of the day from Athens…weather can be a factor for the ferry with storms and choppy seas at that time of the year.
Napflio is an easy drive on a good road from Athens, pick up a car at the airport to avoid driving in Athens.
As most flights to North America leave in the morning I think I would do Athens, Crete, Napflio, so you can return the car and stay at a hotel near the airport.
Posted by
Colorado Mountains, USA
7355 posts
We visited Athens/Peloponnese/Athens in April 2018, and only Crete in 2019. My question is, on your way to/from Greece, are you connecting somewhere in between, like London or Amsterdam? If so, you could fly to that connecting point, then take easyJet or Ryanair to Athens. Rent your car after Athens, and tour the Peloponnese. Afterwards, fly to Crete, unless you took a long ferry. Coming home, fly from Crete to your midway connecting point via easyJet or Ryanair.
This open-jaw approach would cut out backtracking to Athens for your return, but you’d have to see how the timing of flights home from Iraklio or Hania worked with your schedule.
Posted by
11156 posts
We have done this itinerary and flew Athens to Crete and after two weeks flew back to Athens where we rented a car and drove to Napflio.