Critique my winter trip to Greece
 

Jan. 14th fly to Istanbul
3 days Istanbul
3days along the Turkish coast
3 days on the Greek island of Lesvos (fly)
4 days Crete
3 days Santorini
3 days Naxos
6 days Peloponnese
3 days Athens
Fly back to Istanbul and fly home Feb. 12th

I don't like beaches or crowds. I want to take in as much culture as possible. Any flaws in my plan? Also, any of these places NEED a car? I was hoping to do without it. Can you rank the places that most need a car?

<i>I don't like beaches or crowds.</i>

No problem with that in January.

Island hopping in winter is not easy. How do you intend to get from Lesvos to Crete? Unless you have a lot of time, flying via Athens is the only practical way that time of year. For your leg from Crete to Santorini you will have to travel on Sunday, as there is only one ferry per week in January. Of course you could again fly back to Athens and take another flight to Santorini from there.

Thanks for your reply. I thought there was a flight from Lesvos to Crete. Am I wrong?

Sky Express is flying from Mytilini to Heraklion every Friday and Monday.
Lesvos, Crete and the Peloponnese will definitely need a car.
Busses on smaller islands will run on a reduced winter schedule, so if you want to see as much as possible, a rental car would be of help there as well.

January and February are both cold months, it gets dark around 17:30 hrs and archelogical sites are following a winter schedule, which means they close earlier compared to the summer.

I also don't find smaller islands such as Santorini and Naxos very attractive during this time of the year.
You could fly from Crete directly to Athens ( or take a boat)
and explore the Mainland, by including more areas than the Peloponnese. Delphi, Pelion, Meteora are places that you could add to your itinerary.

Thanks for your reply. Yeah, I don't mind the cold much, but the lack of light might be the only downside I can figure. Naxos sounds good for hiking and walking among villages. But I will consider more time around the areas you listed.

Clausar is correct about the flights between Lesvos(Mytlini) and Crete, which I had forgotten about. I just checked the Sky Express website, and all the flights around the period you wish to travel are showing "No Availability". Whether that means they are sold out, or if there is some glitch in the system, I do not know. Perhaps clausar, who is based in Greece, can check for you.

I share clausar's thoughts about small islands during winter. Certainly Crete, and possibly Lesvos, will give you enough to do, but were it me I would concentrate on Turkey and mainland Greece during this period.

I phoned Sky Express and there are seats available on the dates that would interest you, although the flight is showing as fully booked on their website.

They will look into it, as it is an error, but i was told that you can also email them at : [email protected] and make the booking this way. :)

Clausar saves the day again! I hope you will join me in thanking clausar for taking the trouble to phone the airline. Suggest you book those seats as soon as possible — the JetStream aircraft used by Sky Express carry a max of 30 passengers. :-)

Wow above and beyond!! I love Fodorites !!!

Well, what I see is what looks like 8 flights/ferries during your trip. That to me is simply too much time wasted moving around. It also seems clear that there will be more days of moving around even beyond that.

You say what you want is to experience the culture. A fine ambition but how realistic or how important that is to you is another question. What I see is a sightseeing trip pretty much with no stop in any one place lasting long enough to really expect to learn much about the culture.

I am an advocate of 'Slow Travel'. Basically that means spending a week or more 'living' in a place as much as possible. Buying groceries, having your morning coffee in the same place each day, exploring the village by foot, etc. It's more about a mindset than anything. When you 'live' somewhere you think differently.

http://www.theartofslowtravel.com/20...s-slow-travel/

The one thing I find lets you know when you are a 'slow traveller' is when you spend enough time to develop a routine. That doesn't happen in 3 days. So if you truly want to try and experience as much as possible about the culture as you say you do, consider slowing down.

For example, renting a studio apartment in a small village in Crete for 2 weeks will be a totally different experience from going around the entire island for 4 days. (and that 4 days is including the day you either arrive or leave the island as well)

http://www.slowmovement.com/slow_travel.php

I'm waiting for dulcius to "improvise" a new itinerary for the OP. ;-)

Yes!! Thank you so much for calling, Clausar. I wasn't expecting so much help, but I really appreciate it.

I do love slow travel. After all, I have been living in China for the last 2 years. Now that is very slow. I do have a month so maybe more time in the Peloponnese? and 1 less island? I can do Lesvos for 4 days, then Crete for 5 and then just fly to Athens...

You definitely need a car for the Peloponnese and Crete as well. To save backtracking could you perhaps fly into Istanbul but home from Athens?

I wish I could. But I already bought the tickets to/from Istanbul.

<i>I can do Lesvos for 4 days, then Crete for 5 and then just fly to Athens...</i>

That would be the answer. Your leg between Crete and Santorini is the weak point. You will have to wait for the sailing of the ANEK ferry to get to Santorini. There is a greater risk of storms in winter, like the one at the beginning of December that flooded Rhodes and stopped all the ferries. A flight from Lesvos to Crete, and another from Crete to Athens will save a lot of time and uncertainty.

The Peloponnese has more to offer than any island or other region in Greece. Although there will be snowcapped mountains, the coastal region in Laconia and Messenia has some of the warmest winter weather in Greece.