Favorite Greek Islands?
 

I am just starting to think about a trip to a few of the Greek islands as I have never been. Santorini sounds like a must and my husband wants to revisit Corfu (the only island he has been to) as he was there many years ago.

We would likely go either in the spring or fall as we would like to miss the heat. We enjoy learning about different cultures, photography, history, museums, strolling, and local cuisine. We are not big "sit on the beach for hours" types but enjoy snorkeling. We are not club or resort goers or big shoppers.

I am guessing we would want to add one or two islands to our short list of Santorini and Corfu.

Which islands have you enjoyed and would recommend?

I would look up the logistics of getting from Corfu to Santorini...they are in different island groups and may be challenging to combine...I don't know though!

We have been to Naxos and lived it! I loved that big cruise ships weren't in the harbour, made it feel more authentic to us!

You can see our pics here https://www.flickr.com/photos/pug_gi...7627668851905/

You can paid it easily with Santorini because they are on the same ferry route.

Others recommend Paros as a good match as it is also on the same ferry line.

Enjoy your planning!

Thanks, jamikins. Good advice about the possible challenge of combining islands in different areas. I can see I have quite a bit of research to do.

Naxos and Paros sound wonderful. Thank you for sharing your photos. You looked like you were having a great time!

You are most welcome. If I wanted to combine the two I would look at flying from Corfu to Athens then flying onto Santorini...not sure if that works but it us likely easier than trying to use ferries...

We loved our trip to Greece in Oct 2012 where we flew to Athens and immediately on to Crete (which we would easily return to in a heartbeat), staying in Chania but with a rental car for a few days to explore other areas, ultimately dropping it in Heraklion where we stayed for an additional night in order to see Knossos and the Archeological Museum (both very much worth it).
From Heraklion we took the ferry to Santorini- deservedly famous because it is indeed jaw dropping- for a few days and then another ferry to Naxos (unlike Jamikins we did not love Naxos, although it would have been OK for a few days rather than the week we'd allotted it), before flying back to Athens for a few days (which surprisingly we loved despite all the bad press it sometimes receives). You could easily go to Mykonos from here too as they are all on the same ferry route.
We found Crete- Santorini- Naxos- Athens a good itinerary. Corfu is still on the bucket list! Not sure how you'd get from Corfu to the rest but imagine a flight into Athens...

Not only are Santorini and Corfu in different island groups they are in different seas, Aegean and Iionian, which are separated by mainland Greece. To travel to both of them you will have to include Athens and go by ferry or fly. If you opt for the ferry you will also need to take a bus from Athens to the west coast, to either Patras or Igoumenitsa, so you can catch the connecting ferry to Corfu. Flying, of course, is a lot faster and easier to accomplish if your budget will allow for it. If you want to travel by ferry, for the best use of your time and money it would be more advantageous for you to stick to one island group as suggested.

We especially enjoyed Paros and stayed in Naoussa. There were no cruise ships dropping off hordes tourists as in Santorini . There are some interesting villages in the mountains in addition to the beaches. You can also visit Antiparos. We took a ferry there from Mykonos.

Another vote for Paros. We returned there for a second visit in June. It's less touristy than some of the other islands, although off-season (end of May) there were very few tourists. Keep in mind that water temps were still pretty cool, so maybe not ideal for snorkeling.

If you go, I'd highly recommend getting a car. Driving is easy because there's not much traffic, and you'll be able to explore more of the island ( medieval city of Lefkes, beautiful beaches like Golden Beach and ParosPoros).

And yes, I'd choose Nauossa over Parikia, which is where the ferries arrive/depart. Much more beautiful!

We stayed in Nauossa on Paros and loved it. Our favorite island is Folegandros, which is quite close to Santorini, and we loved Anemomilos Suites there

If you decide to go to Naoussa, I'd highly recommend Stelia Mare, which is just behind town ( about a 5 minute walk). It's a lovely boutique hotel with beautiful rooms, great staff (!), excellent breakfast, small pool. Not much of a view, but you're within minutes of the waterfront, and if you have a car, you'll have access to some really gorgeous beaches.

We love the Greek islands but I've found the planning can be challenging! Santorini is indeed special, we stayed in Oia last time we were there and preferred it to Fira. It's only about 20 mins by bus between the two.

Folegandros is beautiful and quite dramatic with cliff views. When I say beautiful, be aware it's very barren like most Greek islands - don't expect grass and trees.

Naxos - we especially liked the Portara - doorway to Apollo's Temple and the Venetian Kastro area. Very atmospheric.

Mykonos - incredibly picturesque, you will want to take a photo at every corner. White sugar cube buildings, bright blue doors and vivid pink bougainvillea. This is making me want to book flights!!

Rhodes - especially good I think if you like history but may not be easy to combine with your other choices.

You can fly in to some of the islands which could save time. If you catch the ferry to Santorini you get incredible views from up on deck that you won't get if you fly in. Santorini, Naxos, Mykonos and Folegandros are in the same ferry groupings.

We've been to some other islands too but these would be the top of my list. I found this website pretty good for ferry times and fares:
http://www.go-ferry.com/

Kay

Paxos is gorgeous, and an easy waterbus/ferry ride from Corfu town.

Loggos is the smallest and most charming of the 3 towns on the island. You can rent a boat and discover your own secret beach along the coast.