Hi,

We're planning a family trip to Greece for late April. Right now we are thinking of spending a couple days in the Pelopponese, a few days in Santorini. a few days in Crete and a few days in Athens. (I know it's not exactly "slow travel" but life is a compromise). I know it won't be beach weather on the islands, and just the very start of the season, but I am hoping it will still be pleasant.

Right now the plan is to fly from Crete to Athens on Sat. or Sun. before our departure, but we realized that it's Easter weekend. From poking around old threads it sounds as though the general consensus is that it would be better to be on Crete than Athens for Easter, is that right? We fly out on Weds. so being on Crete for Easter would cut our time in Athens short, but if things will be closed Sun. and Mon. anyway in Athens maybe it makes sense.

Any thoughts on where we should try to be for Easter Sunday? I should note that we are not religious Christians but are respectful and happy to celebrate most any holiday. Should we consider flying on Easter Sunday, or try to avoid it. (Would it be the best of both worlds, or the worst-- sometimes in the US, Christmas day is actually an easy travel day, but if there are no taxis operating, etc., maybe that's not a good idea).

thanks for any advice!

Something that might impact your plans you may not have taken into account is the availability of hotels, ferries and planes for the days around Easter weekend. This is the busiest time of the year for Greeks going home for the holidays. It might be necessary to adapt your route to accomodate whatever hotel and transportation needs you have. Make some trial bookings on the ferry and plane websites to first see what's available then contact hotels to see if they have room for you then. Good Luck, I hope it all goes smoothly. Have a great time!

http://www.gtp.gr

http://en.aegeanair.com

http://www.olympicair.com/Home.aspx?a_id=549

Thanks!

The transportation options look fairly open-- I haven't checked the lodging options because I'm still trying to figure where we'd want to stay.

We're still thinking it makes more sense to travel on Sat. than Easter Sunday, especially if we're going to rent an apt. for our stay in Athens, but it does mean a little less time in Crete than I was hoping.

Just keep in mind that travel on the Saturday before Easter Sunday is probably the busiest travel day of the year, so don't wait too long to book planes, cars and ferries or you might find yourself scrambling to make it all work.