kcflodin

Hi all, we are a youthful couple in our early 60s planning a first-time trip to Greece this September (2023). We can spare about 10 days all told from our work. We live in NYC so we don't need tons of high-end shopping or raucus nightlife. We do love great food, cultural sites, beaches, some moderate intensity hiking, and poking around places on our own to discover a local, relaxing scene. Not against a cocktail or two in the evenings, but def not clubbing!

With that in mind, I *think* I've settled on:
3 sleeps in Athens (flying direct from NYC)
2 sleeps in Santorini (flying direct from Athens)
4 sleeps in Naxos (ferry from Santorini)
1 more sleep in Athens before we fly back home (flying from Naxos to Athens)

Questions:
* Does that look about right in how we're allocating our time? I don't want to pack/unpack more than this.
* I feel like we must *do* Santorini for a few nights since we've never been and it's so stunning, but since we don't need/love crowds/hyper-touristy feel, we'd do more nights on a smaller island, such as Naxos. Sound right?
* Was very torn between Paros and Naxos. Since Naxos seems a little more chill and we don't need high-end boutques and nightlife (got plenty of that at home in NYC), Naxos won me over. BUT I do have 2 concerns: 1) a day trip to Antiparos from Paros sounded intriguting. Will I regret giving up on that? 2) people say Naxos is very family-friendly. I don't want places over-run by kids...been there, done that. Will it not be like that? Am I overthinking/overreacting?
* I've been told to consider hotels over Airbnbs in Athens for their lovely breakfasts and central locations. Thinking of 360Degrees Pop Art Hotel. Any thoughts?
* We are avid Airbnb'ers. Once we're settled into the islands, I like the idea of waking up to my own kitchen to make a quick breakfast, etc. Should I explore Airbns in Santorini and Naxos or should we stick to hotels/resorts?

Thank you in advance! We are very excited!

Heimdall

That’s as good an itinerary as any, but recommend leaving Athens for the end of the trip. There are several daily flights from Athens to Santorini with the two Greek based airlines, Aegean Airlines (which includes Olympic Air) & Sky Express, and I would choose one of the two, not one of the foreign budget airlines that also fly that route. That way you gain an extra day on the islands, and get over jet lag in a more relaxed setting than Athens. It also insures you are back on the mainland in plenty of time before the flight home.

Actually Naxos is much larger than Santorini, in fact it’s the largest island in the Cyclades. Santorini is only about 10 or 12 miles long and 3 miles wide, in a crescent shape from Oia to Akrotiri, with the caldera on one side and black sand beaches on the other. Naxos is developed mainly in the southwest corner of the island, including Naxos Town and the western beaches. The rest of the island is mountainous with small picturesque villages, and good hiking trails.

There is lots to do on Naxos, and four nights will fly by. If you really want to, and have the time, you could take a day trip from Naxos to Paros, and maybe even squeeze a couple of hours on Antiparos, which you will find is the most chilled in September of the islands you plan to visit (August is another story).

I have mixed feelings on AirBnBs, but if you like them that’s up to you. I had a glorious two week stay in an AirBnB in a beach suburb of Cape Town, South Africa for my daughter’s wedding, but AirBnBs take away too much affordable housing on small Greek Islands. I’m told that some of the teachers who come to the islands for the start of the school year in September have nowhere to stay until after the tourist season, and end up sleeping wherever they can.

KarenWoo

Heimdall is right about leaving Athens for the end of your trip and flying straight to Santorini. We live in MA, and last May we flew on Swissair from Boston direct to Santorini with a layover in Zurich. This was all on one ticket. We did open-jaw (multi-city): Boston to Santorini with a layover in Zurich, and then Athens to Boston with a layover in Toronto. The benefit, IMO, to booking all on one ticket is that if we missed our flight from Zurich to Santorini, the airline would be responsible for booking us on another flight. And we didn't have to worry about our luggage. We don't see our luggage until we arrive in Santorini.

Santorini is touristy and crowded, but the caldera views are stunning and well worth it to visit at least once in your lifetime. We had 3 nights on Santorini, and one day we rented a car and drove around the island to visit the Akrotiri Archaeological site, the lighthouse, red sand beach, and black sand beach. There is more to Santorini than just the stunning caldera views!

We also spent 4 nights on Naxos, and that worked well for us. We rented a car for a day and toured around the island, visiting lovely mountain villages and fishing villages and had delicious fresh seafood at outdoor tavernas about a foot from the Aegean. It was one of our favorite days of our trip.

You can easily take the Blue Star Ferry from Santorini to Naxos. It's about a 2-hour trip. When it was time to depart Naxos, we flew on Aegean Airlines to Athens Airport where we picked up a rental car to visit the Peloponnese Peninsula. Then we ended with 4 nights in Athens.

Paros sounds wonderful, too. I was considering Paros in addition to Santorini and Naxos, but then decided to visit the Peloponnese Peninsula instead of 3 islands. (Our trip was longer than yours.) So I don't have firsthand knowledge of Paros, but I remember thinking it sounds wonderful from my research. I'm sure you will be happy with either Paros or Naxos.

kcflodin

ooh, that's interesting....Athens at the end. Also SO embarrassed for calling Naxos a small island. Santorini looms so large in the American mind as the "IT" island that I slipped with my language. I have to tinker with this idea and now my husband talked me into taking a few more days, so I have to also consider if I do antother destination or just add more days here and there to what we have.

KarenWoo

How many nights are you adding to your trip? You could add a night to Santorini and a night to Athens. Or if you are adding more than 2 nights to your trip, one possibility is to do what we did and spend at least 3 nights in Nafplio on the Peloponnese Peninsula. Nafplio is beautiful, located on the water, and you can visit many wonderful ancient ruins from Nafplio, such as Mycenae and Epidauros. We spent 5 nights in Nafplio and we were never bored. So much to see and do in this area.

Or you could spend the extra nights in Paros, and take the day trip to Antiparos. That sounded very intriguing to me, too. BTW, when we were on Naxos last May, it was not over-run with young families. Not at all. I don't think you will have that problem in September because school children will be back in school then.

Heimdall

Most of us recommend fewer islands than more, but if you add a few extra days, and since you expressed an interest in Antiparos, that would make a good case for adding Paros/Antiparos to your itinerary.

Santorini, Naxos and Paros are all on the same main ferry route back to Athens, and finishing on Paros will leave you one hour closer to Athens (Piraeus) if you return by ferry. Should you choose to return by air, Paros has a bigger airport than Naxos with more flights on larger aircraft. Naxos has probably the shortest runway in the Cyclades at only 900 meters in length. That ‘honor’ previously went to Paros until they built the new airport.

I hesitate to hype Antiparos, because it is in danger of overdevelopment, but that is another reason for going there now rather than later. Years ago I took a day trip from Paros to Antiparos and fell in love with the island at first sight. The next day I packed my bags, checked out of the Paros hotel, moved to Antiparos, and have been going there ever since. Now I take day trips to Paros from Antiparos. That’s easy to do, because the Antiparos-Pounta ferry leaves every 30 minutes throughout the day, and takes only 7 minutes to cross.

July and August are very busy, but September on Antiparos is sublime. Many couples of your age go to Antiparos in September when the kids are back in school and beaches uncrowded. I’ve never had to book a restaurant table in September, as there are many empty tables after high season.

Debbielynn

Welcome KC. I will write a Little about my experience going to several of the islands. My husband and I went to Greece in September 2016. He was 70, I was 59. (Added so you can see our activity level and likes). On the recommendations of fellow fodorites, we took the plane from Athens to Naxos. Best advice ever. We were told the hi speed ferry makes many nauseous and take 3 hrs and the regular ferry takes many more hours. The plane was so fast that we went up, had a snack and landed shortly afterwards! We rented a car for the days we were on Naxos. It was very easy to drive there. We spent 4 nights on Naxos. We drove up into the mountains and visited several different villages. We went to several beaches. One disappointment was the fact that the water was much colder than I expected and one of the beaches was very, very windy. I just assumed, perhaps incorrectly, that the water would be warmer after the heat of the whole summer. We walked around the town of Naxos and enjoyed several nice meals. They have a special cheese from Naxos that we ordered and enjoyed very much. We walked to the temple of Apollo and the Portera (gate) around sunset. We enjoyed the island very much. After 4 nights, we took the ferry to Santorini, which took about 3 hours and it was a very smooth sailing.

We arrived in the port of Fira, the main town, and took the local bus to Firostephani, where our hotel was. We stayed for 3 nights overlookingj the caldera. We walked along the trail back to Fira to have a look around. We did rent a car for one day, to visit the archeological site of Akrotiri and visit the black sand beach, which was nearby. I found the water warmer here, maybe because the beach was sheltered by mountains on the side. The black sand was burning hot. We also drove a little around several villages. I think there is more to see in Naxos and a more authentic environment. I also thought the food was better in Naxos. People in this country are more familiar with Santorini and Mykonos. Many more Europeans travel to Naxos.

I did get much good advice from everyone here . Many of the people that are answering are frequent Greece travelers. I will continue our trip on another note. I hope this is of some help to you.

Debbielynn

After our time in Santorini, we flew back to Athens and rented a car and drove to Nafplion. It’s a beautiful small city, the original capital of modern Greece, before Athens. Streets are narrow and parking took some time, but doable. Nice center square; everyone out and about at night. There are many nearby things to see. The beaches are very close, small, and the water was warm in September.
there is a lovely fortress above the city, built by the Venetians, with a stunning view. Nearby are several archeological sites. We visited the ancient city of Mycenae. It is very sunny and hot there, not much shade. Your can also go to the theater at Epidaurus, which we did not go to. We stayed several nights in Nafplion, can’t remember how many, but def worth a visit. Then we left and drove north to see family. If you are in central Greece, Meteora is a must see.