You have the makings of a good trip, and I agree with your itinerary. For days 2-7 I suggest you stop at Naxos, which is on the same ferry route as Santorini. It has an interesting main town, fine beaches, and picturesque inland villages. Another alternative would be Paros/Antiparos, also on the same ferry route.

You could check with the local marinas to see what yacht sailing trips are available.Yacht charters tend to be expensive, as you can see on http://www.yachts-sailing.com/yacht_charters/greece/cyclades/naxos. I'm sure you could find something cheaper, though. Antiparos has round-island cruises, which aren't quite the same thing, but fun nevertheless. and only about €40-50.

The island of Aigina (http://www.aeginagreece.com/aegina/pages/aegina_island_introduction.html) is a nice day trip from the harbor of Pireus (Sthens) and well worth a a visit. The above website gives you a lot of useful information. I took the slow boat over, that fast boat back.

Should be "Athens", "the fast boat back".

Thanks treplow. I will investigate.
Heimdall, I agree, they are VERY expensive. The yacht part of our trip is a bucket list thing for me. I want to sleep on a yacht, dive off the yacht and swim in a cove and sail into the sunset.Sounds daft to some, I know.Originally, when our husbands were going to be part of this trip, we were going to charter a yacht for 7 days,(very reasonable) but unfortunately,that is no longer on.2 days, 1 night is enough for me. I think on Santorini there is a co.offering something like that.

On Santorini check with www.santorini-yachts.com, www.santorinisailing.com, www.sailinginsantorini.com and www.sailingsantorini.com

I don't think I could do this, but you might be interested.

http://www.gadventures.com/trips/greek-islands-sailing-adventure-athens-to-mykonos/GVAM/2013/

There are quiet a few companies that offer these small yacht excursions (8-10 people). Quarters seem cramped, but they seem to put in at smaller islands. You can search for other companies.

kybourbon, thanks for your recommendation.
However,I have selected Captain Ted (www.santorini.com) for the sailing trip,Thanks for suggestion, brotherleelove2004. There are a lot of good reviews on his Dream Catcher, which sounds perfect for our needs.
Next question, should I make reservations for accommodation besides Santorini?

Next question, should I make reservations for accommodation besides Santorini?

That's entirely up to you, as there is plenty of excess accommodation on the islands in early June, even on Santorini. If you just want a clean, inexpensive room, there are lots of people waiting at the ferry docks with all sorts of accommodation, mainly rooms with twin beds and private wc/shower. You could also walk around and find a room yourself, but that would be time consuming.

My suggestion would be to book a room. You have plenty of time to decide, as hotel owners on most islands (Santorini an exception) don't even open their books for reservations until after the new year. You will find lots of suggestions for rooms on Paros and Naxos on this board and on Trip Advisor. Do some homework and first decide what part of the island you would like to stay, e.g. Parikia or Naoussa on Paros, and St George or Agios Prokopios on Naxos. Then check out the reviews, make a decision, and book the rooms yourself. Be aware that many hotel owners are slow to answer their emails this time of year, as they are still on break after working 7 days/week all summer.

I spent 2 & 1/2 weeks in Greece in Sept 2010 visiting Athens, Nafplio, Crete, and Santorini so a few suggestions for you.

As far as accommodations, there are times it's advantageous to be in a hotel for concierge services, etc. but you may also want to consider renting apartments to give you more space, a kitchen/living area - the daily cost is frequently equivalent or even less than hotel rooms. I have used the VRBO website successfully but there are also many other online rental sites that you could check out. Many rentals have a minimum night rental requirement so that's a factor as well.

Consider flying immediately to your first island, Naxos, Paros, or Santorini (whatever makes sense logistically) when you land in Athens and save Athens for the end of the trip - many on this Forum recommend doing
this with good reason given delays (weather, airline or ferry strikes, etc.) that can occur traveling from the islands back to Athens. It is better to be back in Athens (or nearby) the night before you fly home.

Consider splitting your first 10 days among Naxos, Paros, and Santorini. Or just choose 2 if you want to minimize time lost in transition. You could also decide to stay on either Naxos or Paros and visit the other island on a day trip since they are close by and on the same ferry system. We stayed 3 nights in Oia, Santorini and would have included Naxos and Paros in our itinerary if we had not done Crete. Suggest you read some Fodors Trip Reports on Naxos/Paros which will give you a good sense of these islands - they both sound so wonderful and relaxing to me. And a huge plus - no cruise ship crowds.

Santorini is lovely and we are very glad we went but during the day we encountered thousands of cruise ship passengers - to get away from the crowds we did a sailboat cruise one day and a wine tour the next. I have
heard positive reviews about Captain Ted's boat tour (we did not do that one.) I do recommend Santorini Wine Tour with sommelier Vaios Panagiotoulas, he is excellent, very knowledgeable and personable, read the Trip Advisor reviews. We really enjoyed the tour and you get a mini-history lesson of Santorini as well.
http://www.santoriniwinetour.com/index.php/en/

For day trips from Athens, consider hiring a private driver (especially since there are 4 of you to split the cost.) It will give you so much flexibility and the cost may not be much higher than what each of you would pay for a group tour. Were you planning to rent a car? Don't! We did and it was quite stressful - Greek people are lovely but not behind the wheel when many feel they can disregard traffic rules (as they say - "traffic signs are merely a suggestion") also driving on very narrow historic alleyways is quite a hair-raising experience! I have the name of a private driver if you are interested, very nice guy, recommended by a Fodors poster, we used him for airport transfers but in hindsight wish we had hired him for day or even overnight trips - it would have been more efficient since he knows the area so well and so much less stressful than driving ourselves. He is very flexible and can make suggestions and put together an itinerary based on your interests.
Takis Kandylas
email: takis-kandylas@hotmail.com
cell #: 30 6932539130

While in Athens, consider touring part of the Peloponnese, it has it all - historic sites, natural beauty, seaside towns, beautiful beaches, mountains, etc. We stayed in Nafplion - one of the most beautiful seaside towns you will ever see and a great base for day trips to tour historic sites Corinth Canal, Corinth, Acrocorinth, Mycenae, Epidauras Theater. Many additional sites to visit in the southern and western sections of the Peloponnese that we did not get to (Mystras, Monemvasia, Mani Peninsula, Dirou Caves, Ancient Olympia) and quaint seaside villages but you will probably not have time to include. Our next trip we plan to focus on the Peloponnese - we liked it that much.

Another possible day trip from Athens is the Oracle of Delphi. I highly recommend hiring this tour guide, Penny, to do a private tour - found her through Rick Steves. She is in the DVD "The True Story of Alexander the Great" and is one of the best historic tour guides I have ever had anywhere - quite knowledgeable, great sense of humor, tells wonderful stories that really bring the history to life. We hired her for 2 hours which was not long enough - would recommend at least 3 hours - her tour usually includes both the Delphi Museum and the site itself. She is delightful, worth the cost, I recall our 2 hour tour was approximately 100 euros total.
Pagona Kolomvotsou (nickname "Penny")
kpagona@hotmail.com
cell #: 6944 64 44 27

Our final night in Greece we stayed in Sounio (instead of Athens) 45 minutes south of Athens airport, in order to experience sunset at the Temple of Poseidon (another Fodors forum suggestion) - you could also
do it as a late afternoon/early evening trip and return to Athens to spend the night - it's breathtaking - and a awe-inspiring way to end your trip.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobesh14/1124529951/

Hope this was helpful. Happy to answer any questions. Have a wonderful time!

Nomadlass, Thanks soooo much for this. I can almost see Greece through you eyes. Never thought of hiring a driver, after driving in Naples in 2010, God forbid that I should ever have to do it again!!Will definately make use of "Penny" and Takis. Earmarked a couple of your suggestions.

Ewanique - you are welcome. Guess you can tell, I absolutely fell in love with Greece - so many wonderful experiences including seeing the Acropolis for the first time, and then lit up at night from our hotel's rooftop bar…priceless…if you have a chance to stay at a hotel with that view, it is worth it. If you do contact Takis, please tell him the mother and 24 year old son from Connecticut referred you (I think he'll remember us.) I recall he was quite concerned when he heard we were renting a car and rightly so! I wish you a safe and exciting adventure in Greece and if you get a chance, let us know about the trip when you return. Bon voyage.

Hi Ewanique,

Most of the historic area in Athens is pedestrianised, so a private driver won't be very useful there. Recenty there have been recommendations on Trip Advisor about a new Athens tour company, run by Athenians who have a local's knowledge of the city, and can take you to places most tourists never get to see. Next time I am in Athens I will try it myself, but you may want to check out http://www.athens-walks.com.

Agree you will not need a driver in Athens since the historic area is walkable. Private driver suggestion was for day trips outside Athens to the Peloponnese, Oracle at Delphi, Temple of Poseidon in Sounio, etc. The driver we used was very knowledgeable about Greek history especially the Peloponnese area where he grew up. But there are lots of tour options and
Heimdall's suggestion regarding "athens-walks" tour company looks like a good one - offering tours both inside Athens and outside the city.

What is actually a driver?
Just someone with a car? They are not allowed to guide you in any of Greece's official archaeological and other sites.
Only licensed Tour guides can give tours, and are allowed to enter the official sites.

What kind of vehicle had this driver? In case of an accident was there an insurance included?

In an older post from 2007, Marinos2006 wrote about Takis Kandylas and another private driver :

<<Please note that they can take you to the site and tell you about it, but they cannot go in with you and personally give you a tour. >>

As i said, this is a private person,without the license of a tour guide...

I don't know where you are travelling from or what time you will arrive at your Athens hotel, but I have found that I need at least a day to recover from travelling so I spend at least one full day in Athens after the arrival day. I also would recommend Naxos and in June, I would recommend Naxos town as a base as it is still off season. Good to see you are not focused on Mykonos. Naxos has much more to offer.If ferry timetables work, then Amorgos is another island to consider or Folegandros but with limited time it may be difficult to work one of them in. 3 nights in Santorini would be enough as it is a small island.

We are travelling from South Africa via Frankfurt, landing in Athens 12h50.(15.5 hours) This trip is to celebrate my 60th birthday. Santorini is my personal choice. Half day islandtour, including wineries, next day, half day sailing. Both will be afternoons till past sunset, which will lead to dinner. That will leave the mornings open to lounge around the pool and soak up some sun and ambiance of Santorini, if there is such a thing.
The choice of the other 1/2 islands was left to my friends to come up with their top 2 choices each and then we will decide.
I have passed on your suggestions and now they have to "google" and in about a weeks time we will make our decision.
There is still another option... Get on a ferrie, and see what grabs us.

Hi Clauser,
I take to heart your comments,In RSA we have what they call a Public Drivers Licence for "drivers" carrying passengers. I would like Nomadlass to give me feedback as to what extent the driver, Takis, was a "guide". Just driving around and giving general historical info as a family member would do for their visitors to their country or more in depth at historical sites. I have no intention of landing in trouble.
Does one pre-book for visits to historical sites?

Hi Ewanique,

There is still another option... Get on a ferrie, and see what grabs us.

That is indeed an option! If arriving in Athens at 1250 you have time to get to Piraeus for the 1730 ferry to Paros and Naxos, but this particular one doesn't go on to Santorini. There are also afternoon ferries leaving from Rafina (near the airport) to Tinos and Mykonos. These ferries don't arrive on the islands until late in the evening, so wouldn't be my choice after a long transcontinental flight.

Your other options are to do as Chania suggests and spend the first night in Athens, or to take a connecting flight directly to the islands. Everyone has their own preferences, and mine is to go directly to the islands if I can find a connecting flight with a reasonable layover time. My reasoning is this: a flight to the islands, e.g. Santorini, takes about the same time (45 minutes) as it takes to get from the airport to central Athens. You don't have to waste time checking in and out of an Athens hotel and returning to the airport the next day. You can recover from jet lag on a tranquil island rather than in a busy city.

There is another option if you wish to go to the islands by ferry: spend the night in Athens as Chania recommends, then take an early morning ferry to the islands. Blue Star has a ferry leaving Piraeus at 0725, stopping at Paros, Naxos, and Santorini. There is also a Blue Star to Mykonos leaving about the same time.

I agree with Heimdall that if you do not intend to stay a full day in Athens then a connecting flight would be the best option especially to Santorini if you can get it. I still think Naxos is the best other island option but Crete is also a possiblity. Crete is very big so it is a bit overwhelming for a short stay whereas Naxos is less formidable. I must say that I loved Amorgos and some how I will get back there. There you can get up and from your balcony see the locals working with their donkeys and heading out for the day. At night you can watch the donkeys eating the hotel flowers to the dismay of the hotel owners. A great little hiking island with nice beaches all on a small scale compared to Naxos.

Would making either Naxos or Paros our base for 7 day and day tripping to Mykanos, Delos, Antiparos, be do-able?

Either Naxos or Paros would work for day trips to Mykonos and Delos, which are done together the same day on excursion boats Alexander and Naxos Star. You spend about three hours on Delos in the morning, then go on to Mykonos for about three more hours before returning to Naxos or Paros. Paros would be the best base if you want a day trip to Antiparos, or to do the round-island cruise that leaves from both Pounta on Paros and from Antiparos itself.

A couple of questions again.
For no particular reason, I keep on being drawn to Antiparos for our base. Bad Idea?
I think that 7 days might just be too long for this part of the trip. arrive day 1 , day 2, around island cruise(Heimdall, have earmarked this for a "wanna do"), day 3, Delos & Mykonos. day 4&5 ,1 day each Naxos and Paros island tour. Will that be enough time for touring and taking in the sites?
Should you Fodorites agree, I could take day 6 & 7 pinch 1 day from Athens(leaving 4 days ( 3 full days)) and hop over to Hydra. Any other suggestions?

Hi Ewanique,

Antiparos is my home away from home, and I spend up to a month there every year. If you want somewhere with good beaches (maybe not as good as Naxos, though), a great selection of restaurants and tavernas, and a friendly laid-back atmosphere, Antiparos is hard to beat.

It is easy to get to Paros (only 30 minutes by direct boat to Parikia, or about the same length of time by ferry/bus combination from Pounta). I often go to Paros for a day of sightseeing myself. If you want to do the Delos/Mykonos excursion, the trip departs from Naoussa, which is another 20 minutes from Parikia. As the trip departs around 8:30am, you would need to leave Antiparos on the first ferry to Pounta and have a taxi waiting there to take you to Naoussa (you can arrange this through your hotel). If you find this too much of a hassle it would be better to stay on Paros.

Naxos is too good to see just as a day trip. It has great beaches, a nice chora (main town), and some beautiful inland villages. Naxos is on the ferry route from Paros to Santorini, so it would make sense to stop there on the way, rather than on a day trip from Paros/Antiparos. Were it me I would stay on Naxos at least two nights and spend one day touring the mountain villages. You can either hire a car & do it yourself, or sign up for a guided tour.

We spent 7 days on Naxos as a group of 6 last year. It was perfect - enough stuff to keep everyone interested for the 7 days, easy day trips to Delos/Mykonos, Santorini, Paros etc. We did a sailing day trip to a few smaller islands and had a great time. The beaches were great, we loved the day we spent touring the little villages around the islands.

Would highly recommend Naxos as a great base! (I am sure others are great too, but I only have personal experience with Naxos!)

Decisions, decisions!!! Jamikins, you mention a sailing trip. Could you please give me more detail or contact numbers.

Unfortunatley I cant - but you cant miss them. There are a number of different companies, but they are all docked in the main harbour. You can see the boats and the different itineraries offered and speak with the crew and then make your decisions. There are just a few so we went with the one that had the most professional brochures/sales pitch and the best looking boat - safety wise and comfort wise. And also the one that only took up to 6 people.

My hubby started doing a trip report but didnt quite finish. But the Naxos portion is done and you may find it helpful:

http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/jamikins-bikerscott-invade-greece.cfm#last-comment

Jamikins, George Fragiskos ring a bell?

No I am sorry it doesn't! I really have no idea who we went with - unless hubby mentions it in our trip report above...

Jamikins,
Love hubby's sense of humour.Lovely trip report. Captain Panos and Oreanthi it is. Tried to surf to find a website with rate, or at least a mail addres, no go. Any idea what the rates were?

Oh so glad he wrote it in there! Yes, that is definitely them and they were great. I highly doubt they have a website, just not the way they would do business

I dont know exactly, but it wasnt overly costly. I want to say maybe €40 a person for the day, including lunch. Just a guess, but I dont remember it being more than say €50 a person. Definitely worth it for the whole day and the lunch was decent too.

Hope this helps!

Suits my budget.5 hour trip with Capt Ted in Santorini costs 95 Euro. Granted, thats Santorini, but sailing is sailing and my "bucket list" says, " sailing in the Greek islands", not specifying which one.
There's a popular song in South Africa "Kaptein span die seile" roughly translates to " Captain, set sail" I am so looking forward to this part of our trip I can almost feel the seaspray in my face!!

So glad to help - please report back so we can all relive it with you!

Your views on this Apartment please

www.almyra-studios.gr/AlmyraApartmentsStudios/index.html

Granted, it is off the beaten track, but looks lovely and with good reviews.Seeing as we have an intransit period of 24 hours from OR Thambo-Frankfurt-Athens-Santorini, this looks like a lovely "unwinding" apartment. We will be renting a vehicle on Santorini
As I said previously, 3 full days on the island, 1 x half day wine tour, (sailing has now moved to Naxos), 1 x half day volcano tour and 1 full day.. well, sweet nothing!!! We will be going up to Ia for sundowners and dinner at least 2 of the 4 nights on Santorini.

My personal opinion is go for the caldera side with the great views.
Almyra is located in Koloumbos, on the flat site of the Santorini. Even though it is not far away from Oia, it doesn't have the great views over the volcano, on the contrary it is located on sea level.

Koloumbos is a nice pebble beach, 3-4 km away from Oia...

www.booking.com is a great website if you want to search for accommodation in Oia

I hear you clauser and I would rather be in Oia proper.

BTW we are now 3 ladies, no longer 4. My 1 friend is a person who would easily sit and read and now and then dip toes in sea. She is not realy into archeology and history whereas the other lady sees everything as an experience and wont miss out on a thing. They are both very dear to me and I would like to keep them both happy.(30 odd years of true friendship? you get the picture?)
Here are the points according to my perspective. Please feel free to critique, my shoulders are broad.
1 . 1/2 day wine tour, Will I sea caldera from this tour? yes. will I have lunch and see caldera.. yes. will I have sundowners & dinner and see caldera and spectacular sunsets.. yes. I go to bed .. do I see caldera even in Oia....no. I awake at Almyra and do I see a spectacular sunrise on the east coast.. hopefully,yes
2. 1/2 day volcano tour..same as above.
Do I want to pay an excess of 120E per day just to be able to view the caldera.... not sure.
3. all 3 ladies grew up close to the sea, with the result that walking down a beach dipping toes, quick dip is 2nd nature to us.

ttt

The flat side of Santorini, especially the part near to Oia ( Baxedes and Koloumbos) is not that nice.... The beach is not what you would expect from a Greek island, and Santorini is certainly not a typical island for beach vacations...

The nice beaches ( Perissa, Monolithos) are in the south of the island.

Santorini is about the caldera and the amazing view, i could sit for hours and watch the ships and boats coming and going, and the volcano and Thirasia island...