My daughter & I will be in Greece at the end of July for almost 3 weeks. We have 3 days in Athens, and reservations on Santorini. What other islands would be recommended. We would like to find nice beaches. Is it necessary to have reservations ahead of time.
Posted by
Brighton, UK
1428 posts
Penny You might like to consider Sifnos. It's relatively unvisited, has some great beaches, and a good bus service for getting around. We wrote up our visit there in 2010, which will give you some idea. http://www.greekramblings.org.uk/Sifnos.html Serifos, which is about half an hour away by ferry, is also nice with a beautiful hilltop old town. (Although it is only half an hour it isn't easy to do day trips, due to the ferry schedule. We stopped off there on our way back to Athens.) We also like Syros, the capital of the Cyclades. Ermopolis, the main town, has only a town beach but there are several little beach resorts around the island. Matt Barrett's very useful site has a good overview. http://www.greektravel.com/greekislands/syros/information.htm Even in July you will be able to find rooms without booking. On the other hands some of the nicest ones will be likely to be full. If you want to be fairly flexible one possibility is to check for places you like on the internet before you go, take a list of phone numbers, and then ring the day before you move on. Cheers
Alan
Posted by
Camarillo, California
3149 posts
The two islands closest to Santorini with excellent beaches are Naxos and Paros. Either would be good in combination with Santorini. Both can be reached within 2 hours, Naxos by conventional car ferry and Paros by highspeed catamaran. The car ferry also stops at Paros (add another hour). If you get a copy of a good guidebook it will help you decide. T. Cook's "Greek Island Hopping" is one of the best. Yes, you DEFINITELY need hotel reservations in advance in July.
Posted by
103 posts
Last summer, my 15 year old daughter and I enjoyed 2 weeks in Greece.
We took the ferry from Athens to Naxos, spent 4 nights there and then the ferry to Santorini for 1 night. Next, we took the ferry to Crete and spent 5 nights in Rethymnon before flying to Budapest. On Naxos, we took a 1 day boat tour to Delos and Mykonos. On Crete, we took a 1 day bus tour to Phaestos/Gortys and Matala. The beach on Naxos was right next to our hotel. Additional beaches were a 20 minute bus ride away. The beach in Rethymnon was about 3 minutes walk from our hotel. Enjoy your trip! When people ask my daughter what she liked best about our 7 week trip, she always answers, "Greece".
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32393 posts
penny, I'd also suggest Naxos for another island to visit. If you want to have a look at a description of all the islands, you may find it helpful to have a look at This Website. Be sure to keep close watch on the credit cards when you're on Santorini. Once you and your daughter see some of the items in the shops there, it will be difficult to avoid making a few (possibly expensive) purchases. Happy travels!