Advice for last minute trip to Greece: Peloponnese, Crete, and Cylades
 

Hey :)

DH and I are moving back to the US from Belgium, and decided to stick 2 weeks in Greece in there in the middle. So we will be flying from Brussels in to Athens the afternoon of May 17th (Saturday), and then flying out of Athens the afternoon of May 31st (Saturday). So right at about 2 weeks.

My super rough idea was to rent a car the afternoon of the 17th and drive to Nafplio. Spend the night there, plus 3 more nights. Explore the nearby ruins (Epidavros, Mycenae), and depending on how manageable the roads are some of the stuff along the southern coast seemed neat (beaches and fishing villages, etc). Then, on the 21st, head back to Athens to turn in the car and catch a plane (not yet booked :/) to Crete. Spend 4 nights in Crete, focusing on Chania and the southwestern part of the island, exploring beaches, some ruins, do a little hiking? Then on the 25th take a ferry(?) to Santorini, spend 2 nights, leave on the 27th and head to another island, spend another 2 nights, head back to Athens (plane? ferry?) on the 29th, spend last 2 nights in Athens, which seems like a lot to me to just go see the acropolis, archaeological museum and stroll down the plaka, but since Im not sure how much of the first day we'd have, and our flight is at 1 I think on the 31st, so it may really only be one day.

Another option would be to visit the things we want to see in Athens in between Nafplio and going to Crete, that way we'd just need to get back to Athens by the end of the day on the 30th so we can get our flight on the 31st...then we could do Nafplio 4 nights, Athens 1 night, Crete 4 nights, Santorini 2 nights, other island 2 nights, Athens 1 night....

I'd be happy to hear any recommendations on adjusting travel. Overall, I want to go to amazing beautiful places, take great pictures, get a nice taste of Greek culture, go snorkeling and see some ruins. So if my time is split up improperly, I'd love to hear hints.

Oh and a little about "us"

We are in our early 30s, just me and my husband, and we are planning on having a small rolling suitcase plus a backpack each. (one backpack if we can squeeze it in; we're also spending a week in New Mexico, too, though, after this trip and before getting to our new home so we're having to balance the ease of packing light with practicalities (i.e. everything else we own will be packed into boxes and inaccessible for a little while when we get back :) ) We like to keep things cheap (anything over 120 euros is splurging bigtime for us, and we always love getting the odd 40 euro steal) but can afford to spend on things that make the trip special (snorkeling excursions, cool dining experiences, trying local wines/specialties, etc) Not at all into nightclubs; like seeing really unique things (whether natural, historical or cultural; I'm more into nature/culture but ya can't go to Greece and not get somewhat into the history :) ), soaking up the local feel, taking gorgeous pictures, relaxing. Not uber-active but we like snorkeling, swimming and a hike or two thrown in if it's really scenic and not too hard.

Normally I plan a lot more than we have for this trip but planning our move has taken up so much of my time, and from looking at old messages it seems like mid to late May it's not that hard to find accommodations at the last minute so I'm taking it as a lesson in spontaneity :) All the same, though, the planner in me is starting to panic.

Thanks in advance
Carrie

bump

We did a similar trip 2 years ago. I would do 2 nights in Athens before picking up the car to go to Napflion. Explore the Naplion area, the town is beautiful and then head back to Athens for your flight. We did not go to Crete, but we flew to Samos for 2 days (you can then take a day trip over to Turkey) and from Samos, we flew to Santorini. We only stayed 2 nights on Santorini, you may want to give Santorini more time - it is magical. We did not take any ferries, as the ride seemed too long for our itinerary. We flew on Olympic and they were cheap and on time. We drove all around the Peloponese and the roads were fine. We did not do any snorkeling. Have a great trip - we loved Greece.

This looks like a combination of our last trip and our upcoming trip. We are doing the Peloponnese this time- haven't been there before. We've done the Santorini/Crete trip before and while Santorini is a must see, I LOVED CHANIA! We spent two nights in Fira on Santorini and it's beautiful, but way too many tourists and way too expensive IMO. Chania is charming- the people were all very nice, views great and the food was wonderful. Take the bus to hike the Samaria Gorge. It's a long hike, but all down hill. We did that, then took the ferry from Agia Roumeli to Loutro- our hotel there was 20 euros a night- what a deal! Kostas and Maria were wonderful hosts. There's so much to see and do on Crete- don't miss out!

Thanks for the input!

What amount of time do you think we need to give Crete to do it justice?

I'm thinking of shaving off a day from the Peloponnese

I'm very torn about Santorini. It does seem really magical, but also way more expensive and crowded like spinch said. (Was thinking of basing in Oia) Will definitely go, but not sure how much time to spend there.

Any thoughts on Milos vs Naxos or Paros as a second island to stay at?

brennynp, why would you suggest doing Athens at the beginning? I had just thought that the archaeological museum might mean more if we'd already seen a few things "out there."

Thanks
Carrie

I understand your point, but from a convenience factor, I just thought do it first and not double back. Santorini is expensive, but check out hotels in Oia, (just gorgeous). Check our Esperas Traditional Houses in Oia, I thought their rates were very good, and the hotel is wonderful. Can't say enough of how beautiful we thought Santorini was.

While you are on your way to Naphlion stop at Ancient Corinth it is just near the turnoff from the National Highway to Naphlion.
Afterwards stop at Ancient Nemia. it is a sister city to Olympia complete with a museum and a temple ruin and a stadium. It is no more than 5 kilometers off the road at the turn off for Naphlion. Well worth your time.
While in Naphlion you might try a long day trip to Mystras which was the last of the Byzantine cities.
Naphlion alone takes a good two days.

If you push you can do all that in 4 days.
Personally I prefer to do less stops and really explore each location throughly.
You might want to consider dropping that last island and add another day or two on the Peloponnese or Crete. Chania is captivating and you can easily spend three days there just taking it all in.

I haven't been to Paros or Milos, but I managed to spend 10 days on Naxos without getting bored. Had a wonderful time there-plenty to do. Naxos has great beaches- it also has a great bus system. We had no problem getting from one town to another(or one beach to another). Lots of great restaurants-including a wonderful Mexican restaurant(Picasso) and a great Italian one(can't remember the name)if you are ready for something different. There was a flight to Athens every day.
I think that 3 or 4 days in Chania would be enough, but there are many other places in Crete that deserve a look.
It's so hard to choose- I'm fairly certain that you'll be happy with whatever you choice you make. It's not like there are any bad Greek islands!

one thing I kind of forgot about:

will the water be warm enough to go swimming and snorkeling?

A very inexpensive place to stay in Chania, Crete is Pension Nora (thanks again Stanbr). My husband and I just stayed there for 4 nights and loved it. It's simple but clean and the owners also run a cafe which is right across the street. We paid 30 euros a night. email address: [email protected]
In Oia, Santorini we stayed at Delfini
www.delfinivillas.com
We paid 60 euros a night for a simple clean room with a balcony and amazing view......great location too.

The water was too cold for me in September, but I'm used to warmer water. I did swim some, but didn't stay in long, although many people were in the water and seemed to enjoy themselves just fine. There's a bus that goes from Chania to a wonderful beach at Falasarna. Simply beautiful!

We just returned from a trip to Athens, Central Greece, the Peloponnese, and Santorini. I would suggest 2 days in Athens and at least 3 in Santorini, but don't stay in Fira. Delfini Villas is inexpensive and lovely-Oia is simply beautiful and shouldn't be skipped. do consider flying out to save time; the ferries take 7-8 hours, I believe, and flights are about an hour.

You could rent a car immediately upon landing in Athens. We rented a car from Economy Car Rentals. You don't need a big car. They will meet you at the airport and drive you out to their offices, away from the airport where it is easier to drive. We found them to be wonderful, inexpensive, gave lots of advice, and the cars were well maintained. It takes less than 2-2 1/2 hours to drive to Nafplion from Athens. 2-3 days there should be adequate, depending how much you want to see. The town is nice, but we found it expensive to eat there and other than the sites around it, didn't have too much to offer in the town itself. For sea views, I would prefer Santorini!

The other option is to stay in Athens after you land as the metros are easy to navigate from the airport. I would not consider driving in Athens, or having a car while you are there.

In Athens, we stayed at the Ada Istanbul, which is spartan and simple, but cheap and clean. It is a block from the metro station and so close to the acropolis and Arch. Museum.