Rhode to Crete

You can fly or take a ferry. Direct flights can be taken with either Cyprus Air or Sky Express. Olympic Air and Aegean Airlines require a return to Athens for a plane change. Ferry Schedules: http://www.gtp.gr Crete is huge. 6 nights would be the bare minimum necessary-BUT WITH A RENTAL CAR-to just scratch the surface of Crete.

Thanks, I appreciate your knowledge. We are traveling by ferry from Turkey to Rhodes and have never been to Greece before. One more question. Would you recommend heading to Santorini for a couple of nights or putting more nights on the Crete portion before heading to Athens?

Kathy - Last year we took an Olympic Air flight directly from Rhodes to Heraklion and a friend is scheduled to take the same flight in September. I checked the Olympic Air website and they still have it on the schedule. I think it ran about €70 - €80. Your question about Santorini just depends on your interests. We spent the same amount of time on Crete but only focused on a few areas and had a car. We did head to Santorini from Crete but we spent 3 nights and had 2.5 days there. We explored the entire island one day by car and spent much on a boat tour. We loved it (we stayed in Oia) but we loved Crete too... I want to go back soon and explore the rest of Crete as well as see the places we went again, but I'm not sorry we did a shorter trip and went to Santorini.

Julie, thanks! You really helped me out with planning this trip.

It's good to know Olympic has a direct flight between Rhodes and Crete. Santorini is very special but it takes more than a couple of days to explore it completely so I recommend adding those days to Crete to do it better justice.

Lee, Don't know who you are, but thanks! This trip is one of those leaps of faith.....we plan to visit 2 to 3 countries during our trip! Had no idea how to fly domestically! Our dates are tentative and at this point as we had not made our airline reservations yet (but will do so in the next day or so). If you are inclined, would you mind checking out our current itinerary? Otherwise, thanks for the input you have given! Kathy Sept. 6th, 2012-fly out of San Francisco to Istanbul, Turkey Sept. 7th-5 to 6 nights in Istanbul Sept. 13-3 to 4 nights in Izmir and Mogla Provinces Sept. 17-take ferry from Marmaris to Rhodes & spend 2 nights in Rhodes Sept. 19-fly out of Rhodes to Crete & spend 6 nights in Crete Sept. 25take ferry from Crete to Santorini & spend 2 nights Sept. 27fly out of Santorini to Athens and spends 3+ nights in Athens
Sept. 30fly out of Athens to San Francisco OR fly to Tel Aviv, Israel for a longer trip

I loved Istanbul but I think 5-6 nights is too long, so you could shave a couple of days off IST to add to Santorini. For that matter you could skip Izmir altogether unless your intention is to see Ephesus. If that's the case, then definitely do that. Otherwise I think your itinerary is a good one.

I'm not Lee, but here are my comments... ;-) 5 full days is a good amount of time in Istanbul, but you could cut one and add another night to Santorini as Lee suggested. You didn't mention how you were getting to Izmir and then to Marmaris. Are you flying and then making your way South to Marmaris? Can't comment on Izmir down to Marmaris as I've only been to Kusadasi and Pamukkale in that area. We spent a couple of nights in Kusadasi on the way back from Antalya. Ephesus will take a good part of the day - get there really early or late because the cruise ship crowds are like nothing you have ever seen. 2 nights in Rhodes is really a quick trip, but you have the entire day before the evening flight. The site at Lindos is interesting and the eateries down on the beach have amazing views. If you go, get your ticket in advance for the bus and get there early as people line up for the earliest buses. Don't try to go to Lindos on the day you leave for Crete as the buses can be delayed and lots of people will be trying to head back to Rhodes town as well. I think our favorite part of Rhodes was castle and wandering Rhodes Town.

Crete - The Olympic flight will get you into Heraklion in the evening. We just stayed in Heraklion that night, then took the bus to Knossos (most disappointing archeological site to me because of how it was 'reconstructed' but still interesting). Rented the car that afternoon and went to Chania. From there we went to the Gorge and the beaches on the south shore before heading back to Heraklion to drop off the car the night before the early ferry to Santorini. We didn't have time to go east of Heraklion. Santorini - 2 nights is a really quick trip but you will get a taste of the island. You can take the bus to Fira, rent a car for the day or take the caldera cruise. We had 3 nights. Rented a car one day and took a caldera boat cruise the next getting off the boat in Fira to explore. My favorite day was driving the island - Kamari black beach, the red beach, Akrotiri (I hear it's open now – we just drove by), ancient Thira (we drove up there), drive through the villages. Athens - Flying out of Santorini is a good choice. I think 3 nights in Athens giving 2 full days is a quick trip but enough time to do the must see sites - but I've been back several times while others can only stand it for a day or so. Enjoy your trip! Our trip last year to the Greek islands and the Peloponnese was the most amazing experience - PM me if you have any questions.