Rockyflats

My fiance and I are spending our honeymoon in Greece from August 28-September 8...Here's what we've got booked so far...
--we'll fly into Athens and take a short flight to Santorini where we'll spend the first 5 nights.
--the last 2 nights we'll spend in Athens.

We need help with the 4 nights following Santorini and we're open to all suggestions...is it worth flying through Athens and on to Rhodes, take a ferry to Crete, ferry to Naxos and/or Paros? Any other suggestions? Thanks so much!

mariha2912

I would not go on Rhodes on Crete for only 4 nights. Large islands and you have to cover long distances from Santorini and then to Athens. Paros/Antiparos and Naxos make more sense in terms od size and travel logistics, and on my opinion there is plenty to see and do for 4 nights, or nice enough hotels and great sandy beaches to simply not to anything at all : )
Of course it is up to each person, and you mention nothing about your interests or traveling style.

Heimdall

I agree with Mariha — Paros/Antiparos and Naxos are on the route back to Athens, and will break up a long ferry ride. Antiparos is a lovely island, and would be a good choice if you just want to relax in a quiet atmosphere after busy Santorini. It has good beaches and lots of great dining choices. Paros and Naxos have much more to see. If you choose Paros you can also make a day trip to Antiparos (30 minutes from Parikia) or choose one of the Antiparos round-island boat trips.

stanbr

Mariha and Heimdall are very experienced travellers and always give good advice. While you have not mentioned your budget, Naxos and Paros are perfect companion islands to Santorini because they are more authentic and more laid back. Both are considerabley less expensive than Santorini as well. As already noted they are on the direct ferry route back to Athens and are easy to get to less than three hours by conventional ferry.
While our favourite island is Naxos, if we couldn't go there our second choice would be Paros. Either way you can't go wrong with these two islands.
Just a hint of what Naxos is like
http://travel.webshots.com/album/552001505EYxVYT

dunia123

We did a fairly similar trip a couple years ago, and I'll just put in a plug for Crete, as I just loved it. (Now we started in Athens for 3 days, then I think 4-5 days in Crete and 4-5 days in Santorini, so the other direction than this trip.) The high-speed ferry between Santorini & Crete didn't take all that long IMO, and Crete is so different from the other islands that I'm glad we spent time there. (I loved the Italian & Turkish influences, and the distinctly Cretan cultural feeling.) We stayed in Chania, near the harbor. We also hiked the Samaria gorge, which was one of my all time favorite things to do. We flew to Crete from Athens, and flew back from Santorini to Athens which helped as it relates to time. The other islands mentioned by others are probably more practical from a travel perspective... Just need another trip!

Rubicund

Mykonos is close to Santorini and IMHO a much nicer place. There are lots of hotels in and around Mykonos town to suit all tastes and budgets.