Two week Greek Island Itinerary

I would add your days to what you already have which is pretty rushed.

You also might consider starting with flying to an island upon arrival which will save you having to spend an extra day near the airport. Right now you have as I count

3 nights Athens at beginning and 1 at end.
3 nights Nafplio
3 nights Naxos
4 nights Crete

You can see the area around Nafplio with 3 nights but certainly not the whole of the Peloponnese.
I would add one night to Naxos and if you can "save" the night at the airport by rearranging your itinerary, 2 nights to Crete. There are reasonable choices near the airport for last night but better to spend last night in Athens.

This would mean:

6 nights Crete
4 nights Naxos
3 nights Nafplio
3 nights Athens

Crete is huge. We spent 11 nights there are barely touched it. You will want more than 4 nights in Naxos but can see a reasonable amount in that time. You can see highlights of Athens with 3 nights.

Thank you SO much. That is so helpful!! I just booked our flights directly to Chania (tickets were actully $200 cheaper than flying into Athens) and will change our itinerary as you suggested. You saved us two days worth of travel--and $400! Thank you again!

Either rent a car on Crete to see more of the island or split your time between Heraklion and Chania, which is full of history, charming shops and more.

Thank you! I think we will have enough days to split our time between the two towns and take a ferry out of Heraklian.

We flew directly into Crete in 2022. Took three flights but worked really well. Take a taxi (buses don’t run that frequently) when you get there but be forewarned that there are no cars in historical section so will be left out at edge of it.

My husband and I were just discussing last night how we would love to return to Crete!

PS if you want to rent a car for part of the time in Crete, this is a good company. Will deliver car to you. Can return in Heraklion.

https://autorentals-crete.gr/

Thanks to Beth, you now have a very do-able enjoyable itinerary plan. For the 6 nights in Crete I would suggest, if you're up for a nice "road trip", that you do 3 (4?) nights in Chania and just 2 nights Heraklion ... the "wiggle room" is if you want to "dip south" when goiing from 1 to the next . Tho u will use an online map driving (w papermap back-up), this map is great for browsing! https://www.explorecrete.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Crete-eot.png (click & it gets huuuge; navigate w side-slides) . You might consider driving S E on the "BIg Red Road" ... seeing Palace of PHaestos, staying on Seacoast (Matala?) and then driving N.E. thru wine country (it's harvest time!) toward Heraklion.

The big highlight(s) there are the magificent Museum, plus Palace of Knossos outside. the Big Challenge is driving within Heraklion itself. The museum can be enjoyed any time; Knossos on weekdays often has cruise-ship crowds between 10 am & - 2 pm. One strategy may be to enter Heraklion late-day, check into hotel/drop bags, then enjoy sunset/dinner. Next AM, visit Museum (many say that seeing its Minoan treasures helps you understand ruins afterward), then go to Knossos after lunch.

When we did this once, it even minimized hassle of Heraklion traffic, if choose handy hotel. In past I've enjoyed mod-price Hotel Kronos, right on seafront (ask for seaview). We arranged for rental agency to pick up car right by hotel, left keys at desk. Before dinner, walked along harbor promenade to causewaya of huuuuge Fortezza... great Mezedes dinner at Ippocampus. In AM, walked to Museum. Went to BUS Station at Port & took local bus to/from Knossos after lunch.

The other option is when approaching Herakldion, drive straight throuh on bypass to Knossos. There are sometimes Guides at entry that collect 5-6 people for a tour. If not, advance study and/or printout of links like this can help you do it DIY - http://campus.lakeforest.edu/academics/greece/KnosTour.html -- this is very easy until you must drive into Heraklion traffic to find your hotel; its up to you.

If you decide against a "dip south" and instead take the scenic Northern highway -- an easy quick detour after Rethymnon takes tp Melidoni Cave. Beautiful & tragic - http://www.crete-guide.info/melidoni_cave.htm Haunting & memorable ... I saw it 23 years ago & remember. There is a big granite monument at the site... but look for the humble pile of stones that was the original.

Beth, Janet, and Chani, I am so grateful for your advice. I was a bit overwhelmed yesterday trying to figure out how to schedule our days and you have been so helpful. I think we will rent a car for part of our time on Crete and knowing that we can rent a car on one end and return on the other is great.

And Janet, your resommended websites are incredible--thank you. They are just increasing my excitement and anticipation for this trip!!

Glad it is all coming together.

There is good bus transportation between Heraklion and Knossos so you might consider returning car to airport and not having car in Heraklion at all. )or maybe there is a different place more convenient-ask).

We did as Janet suggested-arrived at Knossos first thing in the morning and took a tour with guides at the entry to site. We waited about 30 minutes for another couple. They were from Norway and was fun to meet them and the guide was an expert at getting around all the groups of people. Well worth it.

We did museum after visiting Knossos and probably preferred it that way. So I would say do whatever order works best for say you arrange your schedule.

That's another good option, Beth.... drive on the Heraklion Bypass to Knossos, park your car (check carefully, there are many lots with fees, but also a FREE one. as long as your car has a closed trunk for luggage -- not a SUV with luggage visitible -- u r fine leaving it in lot. At Knossos Gate, perhaps a guide. Then afterwards, return car to airport, catch BUS (20 mins) to Bus station right by Port... Several hotels v isible from there on a bluff ...(such as Hotel Kronos)... about a €6 taxi.

This is great advice--I'm taking copius notes on how to manage our time n Crete. I like the idea of finding a guide once we arrive. Did you do that for most of the "must see" sites, even in Athens (like Acropolis, etc) or did you book tours and tickets well in advance? I'm fine with paying for a private tour, but we can stretch our budget (and therefore do more!) if we do small group tours.

We had a private guide when we were in Athens but there were 7 of us so cost effective. This was on our first trip to Greece which included our children and my brother in law.

In Crete, we did have a guide of olive oil factory outside Chania but we just showed up and had it. Same with tour of winery the same day.

We didn’t have a tour of Mycanae but would have been helpful as hard to imagine what you are seeing. There were no guides outside site as in Knossos.

Thank you again for the advice, Beth. I was researchig hotels and tours this weekend. I am trying to find boutique hotels, castles, etc to stay in. Any advice would be appreciated. We will probably do an airbnb in Athens, but in Naxos, Crete and Nafplio, we would love receommendations!

We really stayed in modest places-not what I would ever call boutique. I have relied on both booking.com and air Bnb to find places. They have a wide variety of listings so would think you could find something you like. We tend to stay in apartments when have a stay of three or more nights and in hotels otherwise.

We are definitely looking at modest accomodations as well. Thank you again!!

Another question--we are travelling from Naxos to Nafplio--it looks like we need to go to Athens, then drive. Do you recommend taking a ferry or flying?

we need to go to Athens, then drive. Do you recommend taking a ferry
or flying?

The driving time to Nafplio is approximately the same whether you are in Piraeus port or Athens airport.

By ferry, given their schedules, you will not be at the port of Piraeus before 3 p.m. Which means around 6 p.m. or so in Nafplio.

With a morning flight you can be at Athens airport around 11am (for example with Olympic flight OA015), and in Nafplio before 2pm.

The main difference will be the price: 50€ by ferry with Blue Star Ferries vs at least 100€ by flight with cabin baggage

We will probably do an airbnb in Athens

I'm afraid most of them are already booked for mid-September but can send you a list of Airbnbs that I have selected over the years in Athens where we often stay 4 or 5 days. These are mainly apartments or studios for 2/3 people run by individuals.
the average price ranges from around €100 to €150 / night mid-September.
A large part of them are within a reasonable walking distance from the Acropolis or less than 15 minutes by bus or metro. When I don't know the Airbnb itself I know the building/house where it is located ( there is a Street View photo of the building / house )

We flew to Athens, taking the morning flight that Jo Lui suggests. In my view, it is well worth the $100 you would spend over the ferry for a short trip.

We rented a car at the airport and returned it there before going to Athens a few days later. We took the bus into Athens and then a taxi to our air Bnb. We were staying on south side of Acropolis which was convenient generally but not that close to bus stop. There was a metro strike when we arrived in Athens and the taxi line was extremely long. We had actually planned to take the metro but the bus at that point was our best option.

We ended up taking a taxi arranged by our air Bnb back to the airport for our flight. We didn't want to deal with public transportation that day.

Jo Lui,

I appreciate your recommendation and would welcome the information about places you have stayed. We love guesthouses, especially those that have been referred to us by people who have stayed there. Thank you so much.

Kim

Beth,

I think flying will be the best way to get between islands. It would only be two flights (Crete to Naxos, Naxos to Athens) so the money spent is well worth the time saved! Thank you so much. I really do love all the help you provide--anything at all that you want to receommed--tours, tips, I am all ears! You're a wealth of information and I appreciate it so much!

Kim

Kim,

I think flying will be the best way to get between islands. It would
only be two flights (Crete to Naxos)

There is no flight between Crete and Naxos, and let me remind you that you had planned to take a ferry. :))

I will send a list of Airbnbs by private message

JoLui,

Thank you so much! I will look for your lodging recommendations! And if there are any tours your would recommend, I would be open to anything you are willing and have time to share!

Kim

Kim sorry, we are not tour guys, we always do our own homemade tours. :((

And it's very easy to plan your own tour in Athens whatever the type of tour.

I think Alternative Athens has some cool things to offer:

https://www.alternativeathens.com/team/

Thank you so much! I will check out this website. We are trying to do a combination of planned and unplanned days.