Greek Islands Guide Book

I like Lonely Planet. I usually check it out, along with other travel books, from the library. Then I buy the specific chapters I need online from Lonely Planet, and print them to bring along with me. There are a couple of online Greek sites that can be helpful: http://www.greek-islands.us/ http://www.greektravel.com (Matt Barrett's site) Which northern islands do you plan to visit?

Thanks for the recommendation! I didn't know you could buy chapters from Lonely Planet! That's pretty cool! We will be visiting: Patmos, Amorgos, Mykonos,and Monemvasia. Ever been to any of those? Recommendations?

Lonely Planet is very comprehensive, covers lots of towns, has budget hotels and restaurants...but short on sites and history. I like "Lets Go" for Greece, good mix of budget places plus a funky mix of info, sites, and history. Beware any websites that keep directing you to Travel Agents in Greece, warning of dire consequences of booking things yourself, and indicating that the only mode of transportation is a single taxi driver named George.

We really liked the book Greek Island Hopping. The 2012 edition is supposed to be coming out at the end of the month. The information for each island in the 2011 book was great. The tour of Delos (if you go there from Mykonos) had better information than what we overheard on the tours. It also took you in what seemed an opposite direction of the masses - which was very nice. We copied the info for each island we were going to as it's quite a large book. Rick's book has some good information on Monemvasia. We supplemented that with Lonely Planet as well as information from online travel sites.

The best one, and the only one I know that's specifically focused on the islands is T. Cook's "Greek Island Hopping".

But I like single cab drivers named George! ;-D

Thanks all for the tips! I'm going to hit the library and see what I can find! Try before I buy!

To simplify transportation between islands, it is usually best to stick with one island group. Of the locations you listed, Mykonos is in the Cyclades; Amorgos is in the Little Cyclades; Patmos is in the Dodecanese; and Monemvasia is just off the Peloponnese peninsula. It is going to be very complicated and time-consuming to get from place to place with this itinerary. I know it's hard to let go of an island you really want to see, but once you get the guidebooks, you'll get a better idea of the island groupings. The Thomas Cook Greek Island Hopping book is particularly good for this, with diagrams in the back showing which islands are connected with each other. Then think about which island is really most important to you, and build your trip with nearby islands. For instance, if you really want to see Patmos, then add Lipsi and Leros or Ikaria, or perhaps Samos (and from there you can visit Ephesus in Turkey). I have yet to find a "bad" Greek island, so I know you'll have a great trip whichever you choose.