saulmax

I on my own and now with my husband have traveled extensively. However I am starting to hit a wall in planning our trip to Greece.

I originally was thinking to do Santorini - Naxos- Athens. (4-4-3 days respectively.) But it has been exceedingly difficult to get hotel reservations on the islands for late August or early September.

This is what I think I can line up: 3 nights/Hotel Enplo in Santorini and 3 nights/Hotel Grotta in Naxos and 3 nights/New Hotel in Athens. I am very worried that Santorini is overrun with tourists and has become one big tourist trap. Hate that.

I have heard and read lovely reports about Peloponnese. I am starting to think about adding on 2 nights there. We have the time to do it since we have reduced the time on the islands. We would do the islands first and then work our way to Athens. Not sure how to get from islands to Peloponnese or from there to Athens.

I would appreciate Fodorites weighing in on this plan. Any recommendations would be welcome.

Many thanks.

HappyTrvlr

See if you can book a hotel in charming Napflio on the Peloponnesian Peninsula. It is only a few hours drive from Athens. August is high season as you've found out already.
As you're fearing, Santorini was our least favorite place in Greece due to being over run with tourists.

WWK

I would stick to your original plan since you already have it. As you've learned, August is prime vacation time in Europe, so it's likely that most places will be filled with tourists.

saulmax

HappyTrvlr -

Some questions.

Do we need to have a car in Napflio? Would a few nights be sufficient?

Would you mind sharing more about your experience in Santorini? When were you there? How long? Where did you stay?

Which islands would you recommend? I don't do well in places over run with tourists.

Thank you very much.

brotherleelove2004

The En Plo is in a quiet area. There won't be many tourists around it, even in August. You'll be about a mile from Oia on the far side of the northern end of the island in the area called Baxedes. There's a bus between Oia and Fira that passes through Baxedes 2-3 times day as it's not on the main route. Be prepared to walk uphill to reach Oia if you don't have a rental car or scooter.

jamikins

We spent four nights in Nafplio in 2011 and loved it but we did have a car. We visited Mycenae and epidavrou and Nemea which I highly recommend. It was super jot and we were there mid-sept.

Our pics are here https://www.flickr.com/photos/pug_gi...7627669385061/

We also spent a week on Naxos - fabulous island! We stayed at hotel Spiros. Would definitely stay there again.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pug_gi...7627668851905/