4 Greek islands- best way to hop?

Old Jul 23rd, 2017, 09:50 AM
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4 Greek islands- best way to hop?

Found a flight deal, so headed to Greek islands Friday for a week. 2nd time to Greece for me, its time for my husband. He wants to see Mykonos, I think its over rated. Not into the party scene. Like swimmable beaches, good food, a bit of culture/history, and exploring. (first time did athens, mykonos, delos and santorini) International flight in/out of Santorini Sat-Sat 5pm

Need help deciding which islands to "hop" to. Santorini, Milos, Paros or Naxos OR Santorini and Crete. Is there any other island aside from Santorini that has ferries to Crete?
Sat-Sun-Santorini
Mon/Tues-Milos via ferry
Wed-Fri Crete via ferry (history, food, beaches, gorges)
Sat-back to Santorini for 5pm international flight

OR
Sat-Sun-Santorini
MonTues-Milos via ferry
Wed/Thur/Fri- Paros, Naxos or Mykonos
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Old Jul 23rd, 2017, 01:33 PM
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Crete is delightful, but IMO, easily deserves a week or more. For the time it will take to get there and back, I'm not sure it makes much sense. YMMV.
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Old Jul 23rd, 2017, 06:05 PM
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Paros is one of my favorite islands. We're going back for the fifth time end of this week. It's got a much more relaxed vibe than either Mykonos or Santorini, and it's easier to escape summer crowds. There are gorgeous beaches all over the island, excellent tavernas, a beautiful seaside town ( Nauosa), and a medieval hillside town (Lefkes) to explore. Love it!
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Old Jul 23rd, 2017, 06:34 PM
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No there really isn't another ferry to Crete except from Santorini and/or PIraeus .... and altho you don't share, it seems as if you are flying IN to Santorini & have to fly out of there as well in order to get this international bargain flight you speak of. Is this the case?? We cannot help you devise a sequence if you omit key information such as What is your Arrival airport & Departure airport?
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Old Jul 23rd, 2017, 07:19 PM
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If you were to go to Rhodes first you can catch a ferry to Crete. It's the same one that goes to Santorini, but it's beginning it's return to Piraeus and stops at several islands before reaching Crete. This is an overnight journey so there won't be much to see except when the ship stops at the various island ports.
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Old Jul 23rd, 2017, 10:18 PM
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I should have written, "If you were to _FLY_ to Rhodes first..."
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Old Jul 23rd, 2017, 11:14 PM
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Sweetness, you left out one very important bit of information: when you are travelling. Do you mean this coming Friday, 28th July? If so, you need to get your accommodation sorted ASAP. I would keep it simple, Santorini and either Paros or Naxos.

Like Weadles, I prefer Paros and Antiparos to Naxos, but either is a good choice. Paros and Antiparos are two separate islands separated by a 1 mile strait. Ferries across the strait take 7 minutes and run every half-hour.
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Old Jul 23rd, 2017, 11:50 PM
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Sweetness, I'm tempted to recommend spending the whole week on Santorini.
Depending upon when your inbound flight arrives on Santorini, you may be too late for a ferry to another island that day, but if you can make it in time, there is a ferry to Naxos and Paros at 3:30 pm.

Whichever second island you choose, you will need to be back on Santorini for at least one night before your flight home. With a 5 pm departure, you should be at the Santorini Airport no later than 3 pm, and earlier would be better.

It may be necessary to split your time on Santorini, with at least one night after arrival and one night before departure home.
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Old Jul 24th, 2017, 01:34 PM
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Thanks. We arrive this Saturday, July 29th 5pm to Santorini. We leave to fly back to the USA on August 5th 5pm. Why would you suggest a week on santorini? We want to see some other greek islands, this isn't my first time to Santorini

We think our biggest question is our plan- Santorini, Milos or Paros and Mykonos OR Santorini,Milos and Crete? What do you all suggest for the best blend of food, culture, beach and scenery ? Help!!
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Old Jul 24th, 2017, 03:23 PM
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You only have ONE week. Santorini and either Milos or Paros. No Crete, no Mykonos. Be realistic & you will hve a better experiences.
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Old Jul 24th, 2017, 03:40 PM
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You don't even have a week, since you'll need to return to Athens for your flight home, so that last day's shot. And if you try to return to Athens on the same day as your flight home you're risking it all on the gamble that there won't be any delay or cancellation due to mechanical failure, which do happen in August because of the very strong winds.
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Old Jul 24th, 2017, 05:04 PM
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We fly home from Santorini. Not going to Athens at all. Have already been. How do we pick between Milos and Paros?
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Old Jul 24th, 2017, 09:58 PM
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Your choice, but my point was: according to what you wrote in the original post you will be going to Santorini twice—first on Sat & Sun, and then again when you return for the flight home. It would be extremely risky to try to return to Santorini the same day as your flight home for the same reason brotherleelove stated above, so you should plan to spend another night there before the flight.

If you go to another island you will have two travel days (to/from Santorini) which will take away time you can spend enjoying the islands. Even with nearby islands you lose nearly a day with check out/in hotels, transfer to the port, waiting for ferries which are sometimes late, and actual travel time.

If your heart is set on another island I would recommend Paros over Milos. The ferries that run daily between Milos and Santorini are catamarans, which often run late and sometimes are even cancelled when winds are strong. Paros has Blue Star and Hellenic Seaways conventional ferries that are much larger, and sail in all but the worst weather.

Whatever you decide to do, you need to make up your mind fast and book accommodation ASAP. Hotels are filled to capacity in late Jul/Aug, and some won't take bookings of less than a week during that period.
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Old Jul 26th, 2017, 08:58 AM
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THanks for all the good input. We plan to do Santorini and Paros. Heard a day trip Parosi to Antiparos may be a possibility? Regardless arriving in paros via ferry (from santorini) July 31 for 3-5 nights. What is the best area to stay? Assume we need a car to explore? Suggestions on car rentals please ..
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Old Jul 26th, 2017, 09:24 AM
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Local shuttle ferries from Paros to Antiparos are inexpensive and frequent. From Parikia the trip takes around 40 minutes. From Pounta it takes about 10 minutes.
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Old Jul 26th, 2017, 10:19 AM
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Sweetness, Paros has a huge variety of places to stay, something for everyone! Parikia is the island capital, main port, hub for buses, and where you will find the most shops, restaurants, etc. Naoussa is a former fishing village, and probably the most picturesque settlement on the island. Both will have great nightlife at the beginning of August. If you like long sandy beaches there are a number of resorts on the east coast of the island, including Piso Livadi and Drios. At the south of the island is Aliki, a little quieter and with nice sandy beaches. One advantage of Aliki is that being at the south of the island it is somewhat sheltered from the north winds (Meltemi) which are sometimes strong in August.
http://www.parosweb.com

I prefer to stay on Antiparos and take day trips to Paros for sightseeing. It gets very busy in August, so unless you are prepared for crowds I wouldn't recommend it at that time. A small correction to what brotherleelove wrote: there is a faster boat than the one when he visited Antiparos, so it now takes c. 20 minutes from Parikia. The boat runs about 6 times/day during high season.

If you rent a car you can take it on the landing craft ferry from Pounta, which costs just over €1 per passenger and about €6 for the car. The Pounta ferry runs every 30 minutes from about 6:30 am to after midnight. With a car you can drive to the south of the island where there are beautiful beaches, and maybe even see the villa that actor Tom Hanks owns.
Antiparos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfjnqbKWJgA
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Old Jul 27th, 2017, 03:31 AM
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Thanks - any hotel recommations?
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Old Jul 27th, 2017, 06:12 AM
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Not having made any hotel reservations until now, so close to your time in Greece, and for the middle of Peak Season, means you will be paying top dollar for sure. Use the filter system at www.booking.com to see what's available. Some hotels on Santorini won't even take a booking for one night then. I hope you find what you need!
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Old Jul 27th, 2017, 09:03 AM
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any hotel recommations?

Whatever you are able to find! All the more reason to keep it simple and limit yourself to one, or at the most, two islands. Use booking(dot)com as recommended by brotherleelove.

If you find somewhere to stay on Santorini, you could make a day trip to Thirasia, an island just across the caldera. It would also be possible to do a day trip to Ios, which has excellent beaches. Good luck!
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Old Jul 27th, 2017, 09:38 AM
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We have Santorini booked. on to book Paros. Debating between Parikia or Naoussa. Which is a better base for 3-5 days? Seem like Parkikia is closer to ferries (for Aniparos day trip and eventual ferry to Mykonos), but Naoussa seems "cutier"? Want to spend day exploring beaches, come back to hotel and then to dinner somewhere. Not sure where boat taxi's(if they exist) or boat day trips depart from ? Does UBER exist on greek islands?
Hotels we are considering are:
Mr and Mrs White
Saint Andreas Seaside Resort
Paros Agnati Resort
Kalypso Villas
Minois Village

I realize we can't have it all this late in the planning, but an ideal place would have some beach outside to enjoy breakfast, easy access to ferries, taxi, rental car/scooter, and within walking distance of dinner nightlife(no clubs)
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