40th Birthday Greece Trip!
 

Hi everyone,
I’m planning my 40th birthday in Greece for next July. We will probably be a large group. So I want to create and share an itinerary and people can join for any part of it.
I’m thinking of some islands with nice beaches and good nightlife for about 10 days.
Some might bring their kids, not sure if that will impact the itinerary. I have read good things about Santorini, Mykonos, Paros, Naxos, Crete, Ios (for younger crowds so maybe not ideal for us).
would these make for a nice itinerary?

Arrive in Athens fly to Santorini
Santorini 2 nights
Mykonos 2 nights (worth it to see or skip for another island with nightlife, party scene?)
Paros or Crete or Naxos 4 nights
Athens 2 nights
Fly out

I am open to suggestions and willing to skip Santorini and Mykonos if they are too touristy and expensive. I would also appreciate any city /area to stay at for each island. What is the means of commute in the islands? Taxis or renting a car is recommended?
Thank you!

Why not fly to Santorini from Athens upon arrival instead of taking the ferry? You would need to get to the port and the ferry takes longer so more time wasted.

Yes! Good point, I will update it :)

I would not choose Crete, because it is a very large island (although you could just stay in one place) and because it's a long way from your other destinations. You could potentially spend the whole of your time in Greece on Crete.

Santorini is wonderful approached by boat. Flying is certainly possible but you may find yourself hanging around Athens airport for a fair time (you need to allow for the possibility that your incoming flight is delayed). I'd prefer the ferry myself.

Ferry services tend to stick within a group of islands so check timetables to ensure that there are services between your chosen islands.

If you want friends to be able to slip in and out of the group, you may wish to lengthen the time in each place (and correspondingly reduce the number of stops). But only you know what will work best logistically.

Thank you dreamon.
I have decided to extend the trip to 2 weeks and wondering if it makes sense to do it the last 2 weeks of June instead to avoid crowds and heat.
I would love to do a night out and celebrate at a night club and that’s why I was considering Mykonos but now thinking Paros might make more sense.
Here’s my new itinerary:
Arrive in Athens, fly or ferry to Santorini
Santorini 3 nights
Paros 4 nights
Naxos 4 nights
Athens 3 nights
Fly home.

Do the order of the islands and the amounts spent in each make sense?
Do you recommend staying at an Airbnb or hotel?

Since you're in the Athens airport on arrival, it makes more sense to fly to Santorini. Make sure you put it all on one ticket so that if your flight to Athens is late and you miss your connection, they have to put you on a later flight to Santorini. If you do two separate tickets and arrive late in Athens, you will have to pay for a new ticket to Santorini.