Visiting Greece

Kim, With only 15-days, I'm not sure you're going to have time to visit the four locations you mentioned. Does the 15-days include your flight days to and from Europe? You'll need to allow adequate time for travel between each place, which in some cases will be six hours or more. I haven't had a detailed look at the travel times, but my impression is that it would be a good idea to skip Crete on this occasion. As you mentioned "budget", another important point to keep in mind is that there will be a cost involved each time you change locations, both in time and money. You may find it helpful to have a look at Matt Barrett's website to get information on Hotels, Ferry routes, etc. When I travelled to some of the islands last year, I used one of the Travel Agencies mentioned on the website to arrange Hotels, Transportation and Transfers. I decided to try that method rather than making the arrangements myself just to see how well it worked. The travel agency was excellent and I wouldn't have any hesitation in using them again. Which order you visit the various locations and the method of transport will vary according to when you'll be travelling. What dates are you considering? I'd probably leave Santorini for last, as there are good flights from there to Athens to connect with your flight home. Good luck with your planning!

4 destinations in 15 days is too many. You will waste too much time in transit. Also, you will not have the time to relax and enjoy yourself, to get into the rhythm of your surroundings. Crete is huge. It takes a minimum of a week with a rental car just to scratch the surface. I strongly suggest you eliminate that island. If the timing is right, upon first arriving you can take the airport bus to the port of Rafina to catch a ferry to Mykonos. After Mykonos you can catch another ferry to Santorini, then another back to Athens. Saving Athens for the end of your trip gives you extra days to get back to the mainland in case of a mechanical breakdown or high winds causing a delay. Also, you won't be backtracking that way. As for hotels, you need to state your travel dates and your maximum daily room budget to receive the appropriate recommendations. That said, www.booking.com has filters you can use to sort through all the accomodations at each stop on your trip. From So. California you can expect to pay around $1100-$1300 for airfare to Athens, andd perhaps more if you want to go during high season. Check with expedia.com, orbitz.com and cheaptickets.com.

It really depends on what you want to see and the time it takes. The places you list are able to be done in the time, but to echo Lee, you can not expect to do much in Crete, or even do it justice. I alway figure, for Greece, that travel between any two destinations is a lost day. Travel always occurs close to middle of the day it seems, and takes longer than planned. That said, you have about 6 days of travel in that itinerary (3 between the destinations, plus back to Athens, then flight over and back) That leaves about two days at each stop; OK for all but Crete, unless you just do Heraklion or Chania, but not both. Once there, I agree, save Athens for last, except for maybe a night at the start to adjust. From there, Ferry to Mykonos, then Ferry to Santorini, then Ferry to Heraklion, then flight back to Athens. If you skip Crete, you could add nights in the other stops, or consider a stop mid point like Naxos or Paros fro maybe a less (by a little) touristy bit of Greece. Flying back from Santorini to Athens would be my preference. For budget, consider travel in May or September, Ferry tickets can be bought there, budget air tickets (Aegean Air) buy well ahead. I prefer to wait on hotels, even pick up rooms on the docks as I arrive, some may not tolerate that, personal preference.

I have to disagree with some of the replies. I think 15 days is plenty for the places you mention. That is because I don't think Athens needs more than 3 days maximum. Planes go from Athens to Crete and SanTorini and are same price as ferries which take too long. Mykonos in 2 days is fine as is San Torini. The best place on SanTorini is Oia. The rest of the island isn't that pretty or interesting in my opinion. The rest of the time would be enough to see a lot of Crete which is my opinion is the place to spend most of your time. It is too big to see all at once anyway. Concentate on the areas that interest you the most. Crete to SanTorini is just a short ferry trip.
You didn't say when you are going. Please don't go in July or August. The latest you should go in the fall is mid-October for the best weather chances.

You can easily spend 15 days just in Crete, so you might want to do that another time. Also keep in mind that this time of year a lot of hotels, bars, etc in tourist areas won't be open.

Kim, you didn't say when you would be traveling. May - Sept is the time when most hotels and restaurants are open. For 15 days I would either do Athens, Mykonos, and Santorini - or - Athens and Crete. Definitely fly from Athens to your next destination to save time. It can be only a little more expensive than a ferry ticket if you book far enough in advance with Aegean Air. It is hard to give number of days in each location not knowing what your interests are or age group. Personally, I wouldn't spend more than 2-3 nights in Athens, 2 nights in Mykonos (& that would include a daytrip to Delos), and 4 nights in Santorini. But then I'm not big shopper - or - a nite club partier (though drinking Raki at lunch while talking with locals or enjoying a local festival is superb) - or- into just hanging out at the beach all day every day (I could do that here in CA). I'm interested in ancient Greece and today's Greek people. Crete deserves at least 10 nights, but as others said, the whole trip can be just Crete. That is one huge island and it's my favorite out of all the mentioned destinations. It was the last I visited out of the group, and folks from other places in Greece always had a good word for the hospitality there.

You CAN do your itinerary if you plan very precisely. To get the best advice, please re-post to clarify is it 15 days total that you get off work? Then you really have only 13 days. Also it's helpful to share your priorities, i.e., famous landmarks & ruins and/or beaches, nightlife, etc PLUS, exactly when u hope to go; costs differ markedly (MUCH cheaper in June vs. late july/august which is HOT & costly). From Calif, if you start on Saturday 9 am, connect East coast to a nonstop @ 5-6pm, u can arrive ATH Sun 9-10 am. All cheaper routes (i.e., 2 changes) won't get u there until Sunday late in day. Based on last year, best u prob can do for RT flight from Cal is about $1500. Domestic flight can be as cheap as €50 if u sign up @AegeanAir & Olympus for online promotional fare alerts. A possible sked: Day 1 (Mon) early - fly to Chania Crete. Day 3, bus to So. Coast beach. Day 5, Bus to Heraklion, sightsee, Day 6 ferry to Santorini (arr. 12 noon). Day 8 ferry in pm to Mykonos Day 11 ferry to Athens Day 12-13 Athens sights. For budget travel, in Athens look at Backpacker Hostel. In Isles Santorini has good hostel in Oia;(u need to book both thse early).Elsewhere best bests = small rooms can book book as "walk up" in May or June, not in hi season. Food-shop for Brekkie/lunch; taverna dinners as cheap as 8-10€ in islands. On Trip Advisor GReece forum use search function for MANY entries on budget travel. Good luck!

Last September we flew SFO-LHR and then transferred to LGW to take a cheap easyJet flight to Rhodes (you might be able to find a non-stop flight from LHR as well). It was easier and much cheaper than flying into Athens connecting through the east coast and then catching a flight to the islands. As for our transportation around the island, we went for speed over budget. It saved a lot of time taking the faster ferries and a flight. We started in Rhodes (we had more time), but you could very easily start in Crete. With limited days, you won't get to see most of island. It would be best to focus on two areas with one of them being Chania. As another poster stated, a car is a must. We took a ferry from Heraklion to Santorini. We then spent 3 nights in Santorini, staying in Oia and renting a car for one day to explore the island. We also took one of the boat trips around the caldera and to the volcano. I would like to return because 3 nights was not enough for me. From Santorini we took a high speed ferry to Mykonos. Once again, with a quick trip you won't see much of the island if you decide to go to Delos. We spent 2 nights in Mykonos and would like to return to see more. From Mykonos we flew to Athens and spent 3 nights in the Plaka. I have been there several times, but my traveling companion had not. We were able to do pretty much everything in that time - Acropolis museum, Benaki museum, Acropolis, Agora, Acropolis museum, shopping, exporing neighborhoods, etc... If you don't want to at a fast pace, then either skip Crete or Mykonos. I loved Santorini, especially staying in Oia so for me that's a place not to skip. Cost is really going to depend on when you go... We went just at the end of high season and found some really great deals on flights and hotels. We also kept the budget down by staying at small places, with a little splurge in Oia.