Hi All.Early planner here. This will be my 3rd trip back to Greece intended for Sept 2025. Want to end up in Athens for 2 nights to finish up the trip. Had initially thought about getting to Crete if possible or even staying on a boat for a couple of nights wondering if its possible to to do Paros, Naxos and Crete and end up in Athens. Been to Mykonos, Santorini. Suggestions appreciated! Thank you.

I cannot actually advise as I am planning my own trip to Greece in the next few years. But I have been reading trip reports which might be helpful to you as well.

I do not want to speak for kja, but I read her delightful trip report last night and I believe her trip began in Crete before moving on to Cyclades islands. Perhaps this might be an option for you: With Gratitude for a Glorious Solo Month in Greece

Thank you, Travel_Nerd! I'm glad you enjoyed my TR.

I thoroughly enjoyed Crete and Naxos; I didn't make it to Paros. With 11 nights (13 minus 2 for Athens), one MIGHT be able to visit all three of those islands, but Crete and one of the others would, I think, fit the time frame better. That said, it really depends on what you want to see and do.

Thank you guys for your reply. See and do? Nice beaches, food and scenery, not necessarily in that order .We have done the historical part in Athens and on some of the other smaller islands off Mykonos .Plus we can always climb the Parthenon again when we are in Athens and have been to some of the smaller city sites and have been to the lovely Acropolis museum previously. Hoping this to be a relaxing laid back take in the view etc in beginning of Sept when the crowds are less and beach weather is still good.

In the absence of anything helpful I have found this - which I thought was helpful to me

https://www.cntraveller.com/gallery/...slands-beaches

Wow.
Lots of guidebooks. Numerous trip reports. Many planning threads. But nothing helpful?
I'm glad you found SOMETHING of value, bhuty.

Kja, I think that bhuty meant he had little to offer the OP other than the article he linked. In reading his other thread: Your ultimate list of "Greek Islands" it looks like he has not yet done much research for his own trip (or daughters?) to Greece beyond that article. I may be off base, just trying to connect the dots.

@ Travel_Nerd. You could be correct, and if so, I trust that bhuty can (and will) say so, allowing me to respond directly to him / her / they.

@ bhuty: With my best wishes to you, your daughter, and her friend, please see my response to one of your other threads: Advice on Greek Island Cruise - which one?

Great Article Thanks!

I tend to agree with kja that with 11 nights set aside for the islands that visiting 2 islands would be a better fit for that amount of time. Especially if you want to visit Crete, which is huge. I have not been to Crete but we did spend 4 nights on Naxos in May 2022. We loved Naxos. I could easily see spending 5 or 6 nights here and that would give you a more relaxing trip with time for sightseeing and beach time. One of the highlights of our trip was the day we rented a car on Naxos to drive around the island. We visited some lovely mountain villages and a very pretty and peaceful fishing village where we had delicious fresh fish and shellfish for lunch, sitting right on the beach. I know there are nice hikes on Naxos, and we certainly didn't see all of it in 4 nights. So a possible itinerary could be 6 nights on Crete and 5 nights on Naxos.


Here is a link to my TR if you wish to read it. Includes photos. Naxos is our second destination (after Santorini) if you don't want to read the whole TR.
Our Amazing Grecian Odyssey

What I liked about that article was that it gave a quick introductory overview into 31 different islands and included an opinion on what was the unique offering for that island, as well as places to eat and stay and things to do as well as a view on what type of traveller will be best suited.

I will pause here and say that I abhor the notion that there is one right answer and one right way to look at travel destinations or how to experience them. So in referencing back to this article, it matters little to me if this article is right or wrong. I just liked it because for someone who is absolutely and openly clueless about the Greek islands I found it a useful jumping off point to start directing my research. I've travelled to a few places in my life and I almost always find the advice that I get to not suit me and not be good advice for me - but I still like getting advice based on what suits other people.

So this article was helpful to me because for starters it named 31 islands - something that I did not know previously. It helped me to (tentatively) rule out a couple of islands, it helped me to point my research into several islands - it gave me a starting point

@ bhuty: I can now see why you found that article so helpful! My apologies for responding so critically at first. Clearly, I misunderstood. Thanks for taking the time to clarify.

To make the most of your time, and visit places that you've not been, I would suggest the island of Cephalonia (or spelled Kefalonia, one of the Ionian Islands - south of Corfu), visiting Lixouri and staying at Terra Mare Resort ($35/night CDN for a 125-bed resort with an Olympic-size pool, set in an orange grove). The island offers the 2nd most photographed beach in the world (i.e. - Myrtos), horseback riding & an underground grotto (both near Sami), and a visit to the Venetian Castle near Assos is a must. So, if you'd like to see an abundance of sea turtles, taste some good cuisine, and visit some beaches that are not tourist traps, rent a car in Athens (from Kosmos), stay at the Royal Olympic Hotel (featuring the best rooftop breakfast in downtown Athens), drive to the ferry in Kyllini, get a Zante Ferry to Poros, and drive to the capital of Cephalonia (Argostoli) enroute to Lixouri - which should be your base of operations.