Hi we booked our flights last night for a 16 day trip to Greece. We want to go around to some of the islands and I was wondering how many we will probably be able to get to? In travel books they have a 2 week itinerary like this and I was kind of surprised/wondering if it's really possible. Any suggestions/opinions would be great, thank you!
Itinerary:
Days 1-2: Mykonos
Days 3-4: Naxos
Days 5-7: Paros
Days 8-9 Folegandros
Days 10-12: Santorini
Days 13-14: Crete
That would be about as fast as you could possibly do the islands, basically taking a ferry every other day. That particular string works because that is pretty much the order the ferry goes and they are relatively short jumps, meaning you can leave in the morning from Mykonos and be eating Lunch in Naxos. If it were my itinerary, I would consider dropping either Paros or Naxos, adding time to another island. Also remember that you will want to arrive back in Athens a day or two ahead of your flight.
Paul is right. I would drop Naxos or Paros in favor of an additional day in Santorini and Crete. Day 15 in Athens and 16 to travel back. Enjoy the islands.
Thanks for the advice! I will definitely think about dropping Naxos or Paros so we can spend more time on Santorini or Crete.
Haven't made it to Crete yet, but Santorini is unimaginably beautiful.
I really enjoyed both Crete and Santorini. We did Knossos and then went to the south coast where we got a boat to the village at the bottom of the Samara Gorge. I hiked up it quite a ways and it was very nice walk. The bus ride to the village was a bit harrowing, but was off set by a local passenger where traditional costume complete with bobbles. Pam
Do not miss Folegandros! We just spent the most fantastic week there!
Beware that the North Wind or Meltemi could land you stranded on any of these islands in the summer, so try to keep your program flexible! The Aegean with its wind is very unpredictable when it comes to boats and planes.
Thanks! Is the weather normally bad at the end of August? We have already booked all of our hotels and ferries too ... I hope that something doesn't get messed up because of weather.
We've been island-hopping in Greece twice in early September, and each trip we were held up once on an island because bad weather halted all ferries for 24 hours. I don't know if this happens in late August as well but I'm sure it's possible.
It's not a huge emergency; you just need to make some phone calls. In one case, we skipped one island (where we had only planned 2 days) and added an extra day onto the next one.
The uncertainty of ferries is why it's extremely important to get back to Athens at least a day before your flight home. We usually plan our itinerary so we can fly from our last island into Athens the day before we leave, just to make sure to avoid the hassle of missing the flight.
