Here's the story: 15-20 of my closest friends have booked a villa in Crete for next June 2-9. Some of us (6-8 people) want to travel before/after to see a few more places while we are in Europe. We've been batting around a few options and I thought I would ask the Fodorites which they would pick if they could.

Amsterdam is a must-visit for most people and I feel like we should go to Athens, since we are there. (I've been to Athens and thought it was OK, but that was 10+ years ago)

A little bit about us: We are all late 20's - late 30's city folk who like to be on the go just as much as we like to relax. (And like most Americans, we probably work too much and vacation too little)

Thanks for your help!

Option 1: Amsterdam, Athens and Crete (Total days off work: 9)
Friday, May 25: Fly to Amsterdam, 4 nights in Amsterdam
Wednesday, May 30: Fly to Athens, 2 nights in Athens
Friday, June 1: Overnight ferry to Crete
Saturday, June 9: Overnight ferry to Athens
Sunday, June 10: Fly out of Athens

Option 2: Amsterdam, Mykonos or Santorini, Crete and Athens (Total days off work: 11)
Friday, May 25: Fly to Amsterdam, 4 nights in Amsterdam
Wednesday, May 30: Fly to Mykonos or Santorini (no direct flights, so via Athens) spend 3 nights
Saturday, June 2: Ferry to Crete (2-5 hours ferry depending on which island)
Saturday, June 9: Overnight ferry to Athens, 2 nights in Athens
Tuesday, June 12: Fly out of Athens

Option 3: Amsterdam, Athens, Santorini and Crete (Total days off work: 10)
Thursday, May 24: Fly to Amsterdam, 3 nights in Amsterdam
Monday, May 28: Fly to Athens, 2 nights in Athens
Wednesday, May 30: Overnight ferry to Santorini, 2 nights in Santorini
Saturday, June 2: Ferry to Crete
Saturday, June 9: Overnight ferry to Athens
Sunday, June 10: Depart from Athens

Option 4: Amsterdam, Berlin or Copenhagen, Crete, Athens (Total days off work: 11)
Friday, May 25: Fly to Amsterdam, 4 nights in Amsterdam
Tuesday, May 29: Overnight train to Berlin or Copenhagen, 3 nights in Berlin or Copenhagen
Saturday, June 2: Fly to Crete
Saturday, June 9: Overnight ferry to Athens, 2 nights in Athens
Tuesday, June 12: Depart from Athens

Option 5: Amsterdam, Berlin, Santorini, Crete and Athens (Total days off work: 12) - this may be a little bit too crazy
Thursday, May 24: Fly to Amsterdam, 3 nights in Amsterdam
Monday, May 28: Overnight train to Berlin, 2 nights in Berlin
Thursday, May 31: Fly to Santorini, 2 nights in Santorini
Saturday, June 2: Ferry to Crete
Saturday, June 9: Overnight Ferry to Athens, 2 nights in Athens
Tuesday June 12: Depart from Athens

I would go w/option #2. I don't think Athens has changed much since your last visit. The Berlin & Copenhagen legs are way far out of the way. It seems like you are settled on Amsterdam (& 4 days is plenty) but for logistical purposes I would consider Rome instead. For the limited amount of time you have, I would look at each of these options & figure up your travel time, you may be surprised & it may make your decision much easier. Overnight trains & such are not great ideas either, particularly if you are trying to get some sleep.

Allthough every island close to Greece has its own character, Santorini or Mykonos and Crete sound a bit 'redundant' to me.

As you describe yourselves as young people liking to be on the go, I would organise a 'city part' of the trip, (Amsterdam, Berlin, or other) and a 'seaside part' (Crete) and keep the traveling to a minimum.

I think option 2 sounds pretty good, also. I've heard Santorini is really nice. I've only been to Rhodes and Mykonos and Patmos, but I really liked Rhodes. It was very different due to its history, and there was a lot of interest to see there. It has the walled old city and some buildings the knights left, I guess. IN any case, it was very interesting and different than the other kind of thing (beaches, etc.). Rhodes is near Crete, so maybe it would be a different combination of islands with Crete. Crete is the largest, and builtup and plenty of tourism, I think, but has a lot of Minoan archeological sites.

somehow that accidentally got published. I was going to say I know Santorini is supposed to be one of the most beautiful islands, so if you have to go to Crete, I think Santorini is a good add-on for variety.

Maybe that makes it your option 3, not 2, although Mykonos is closer to Athens. I'd rather go to Santorini.

From pricing, I suspect your option 3 may be cheaper due to flying out Thurs. rather than the Fri of a holiday weekend.

Hands down...option 2. Enjoy

I too like option2 but it would depend alot on what the travel times are for each option as you are doing alot in a short time.

i like both 2 and 3!

Thanks for all your replies/opinions.

I like the Rome idea, but have been there twice already (as opposed to Amsterdam, which I have only been to once and the rest of the group has never been to.)

Regarding Rhodes, I couldn't find any Ferry routes from Rhodes to Crete. Maybe I just wasn't looking the in the right place.

I guess we will just have to start looking at plane and ferry schedules/fares as it gets closer the time of the trip. A lot of the ferry operators and lower cost airlines don't seem to have their rates and schedules for May and June of 2007 published yet.