I'm starting a new topic as we've done some more research and changed our minds based on some updated information, primarily availability of flights to Croatia.
As I said before, we have some things set in stone: Fly into Athens Feb. 17 and fly out of Zagreb April 9 (fantastic deal on flights).
We are also definitely starting the trip with a week in Athens as that gives us a cushion for flight delays which are not unusual leaving the East Coast of the US in February.
We've decided to drop the idea of spending much time in Croatia, it was too complicated and felt too rushed, we will save it for another trip. But our flight on April 9 cannot be changed.
Our new plan:
Athens: 6 nights
Fly to either Crete for about 11 nights or Rhodes for about 7 nights
Fly back to Athens and pick up a car for a road trip of about 3 weeks (definitely the Peloponnese and Thessaloniki being aware the car may limit our lodging choices) We are planning on taking it slow and staying multiple nights in places, this will be a relaxed trip.
Return the car to Athens and fly to the island we didn't go to at the start of the trip (so Crete or Rhodes). This will be partly over Easter weekend (not Greek Orthodox Easter)
We need to fly to Zagreb on April 6 and can book a flight from either island, have a couple of hours layover at the airport and fly onto Zagreb.
My new questions have to do with Crete and Rhodes. To start, we want to travel during low/shoulder season and don't mind that the weather is often not as great and some tourist spots may have limited hours. We're happy to find somewhere to sit and linger over food, coffee, drinks if the weather is bad. And we want to see an island, see the mainland and end our trip in a nice spot on the "other" island. Which one is better in late February to early March? Which one might be less crowded over Easter weekend (April 3-5)?
These are the options:
Crete first we'd arrive Feb 23 and depart March 6, mainland road trip for about 3 weeks, then Rhodes arriving March 30, departing April 6
Rhodes first we arrive Feb 23 and depart March 2, mainland road trip for about 3 weeks, then Crete arriving March 26, departing April 6
We’re not firm on the amount of time on Crete and Rhodes, they’re based on some research I’ve done and we might change the length of one or both based on new research & information.
I really appreciate the time people take to make suggestions, especially knowing that while I might not follow all of them there's a good chance someone else with learn something useful.