We will have 10.5 days in Greece in the beginning of September. Here are my preliminary iterinary:
Sunday - Ariving Athens
Monday - Athens
Tuesday - fly to Crete
Wednesday - Crete
Thursday - Crete
Friday - ferry to Santorini
Saturday - Santorini
Sunday - ferry to Mykonos
Monday - Mykonos
Tuesday (ferry or flight to Athens)
Wednesday - Athens (trip to Dephi)

Does this sound reasonable or too rushed?
We are mostly interested in history, explorations, and would like to spend about 2-3 hours a day on the beach.

Thank you very much in advance for all your help! I used this site to plan several my latest trip and it has been wonderful! I get totally addicted!

For the bits I know about,(Athens and Crete) it sound about right. Where will you stay in Crete?

It sounds a bit rushed to me, but still worth the effort. You won't get to see much in that short a time at any of those stops. I know many people have the idea that they MUST go to Mykonos, but truthfully I think you could forego it for the sake of staying longer somewhere else and really not miss much unless, of course, going to Delos is high on your list. Something to think about, anyway.

Sheila, I have not decided on hotels yet. I just wanted to finilized the iterinary first. I was going to read some other posts and see what the recommedations are. I am looking for clean budjet hotels (not too far from water) preferably under $100. Any recomendations? I would really appreciate it.

Brotherleelove2004, you are right, I thougth going to Mykonos/Delos is a must for first timer . Would you recommend staying longer on Santorini/Crete instead? Or visit another island?
Thank you!

Actually yes, I would, but only if you can "live" without Delos. As a first-timer you should try to do everything you've dreamed about but not at so fast a pace as to cause you to feel rushed. Everything slows down in Greece. You'll enjoy it more if you do too. Staying extra days on Santorini or Crete sounds like a good alternative to me

We did 10 days in Greece and split it 50/50 between Athens, Delphi, Meteora and the islands (we did only Santorini). When I go back, I will spend more time on the mainland (which we loved) and less on this islands (which I thought were OK). I think a 50/50 split with mainland and Crete would be perfect.

Thank you for the responses. I guess I need to do a little bit more reading, and make the decision.
Helen

helen63,

I went to Greece in June '03 and spent 5 days in Athens and 3 days in Mykonos.

I think 5 days in Athens was overkill and I always hold Mykonos dear to my heart, b/c I met my fiancee there!

Anyway, she said that Santorini was much nicer than Mykonos, so maybe you would want to spent more time there.

Have a great trip.

I have to agree with shahnm77. On my most recent trip to Greece I spent about the same amount of time in Athens and it was more than I needed or wanted.

See as many of the islands suggested here as possible. If you can make it to Delphi it's worth the time. Beautiful country. Mid to late September is my favorite time of year in Greece. You are going to find some fabulous beaches too!

I think your itinerary is reasonable given the amount of time you have. Lucky you, I love Greece.

Sesamee

Thank you, thank you for all responses!
What a great help!
Shahnm77, sounds like Mykonos was a great choice for you!!!
I've been to many other countries, but going to Greece was a dream from the childhood (fascination with ancient Greece), so I don't want to miss anything even on the first trip!

I can only add that having taken my wife and the kids to Europe once it was a tought job getting my wife to agree to go again but we did and visited Greece and the Islands plus Croatia and suffice to say it is the only places she would now agree to visit again in Europe. The scenary especially Santorini realy lives up to the postcard images, it is not that often that you go to a place and can really saw 'Wow...this is even better than I expected", we found everyone easy going, accommodation good value, and very different from Western Europe.

JamesA, thanks for your posting, I am getting more and more excited.
By the way, I read many of your wonderful postings and advices while planning my February trip to Thailand, and it was an amazing trip!
Thank you again!

Hi
I'd consolidate a little so as not to split the time in Athens.
I'd arrive Athens, change planes and fly to Crete, get that journey over with. Spend what remains of Sunday, plus Mon, Tues, Wed on Crete (how are you planning on getting around?)

Thurs morning, go to Santorini, Thurs and Fri on Santorini. Sat either stay on Santorini (eliminating Mykonos) or go to Mykonos. Monday am, fly to Athens. On the second day if you feel you don't want any more sightseeing in Athens, you could do a day trip to one or more of the Saronic Gulf islands (especially if you didn't go to Mykonos). Wed, keep daytrip to Delphi.

Elaine, unfortunalty my flight on Sunday comes to Athens pretty late, so I can only take the latest flight to Crete around 20:00, which means some additional time in airport. I don't think I can do that after two flights. But, I think I would take you advice and fly to Crete on Monday (a day earlier), so that way if I decide to go to Mykons, I'll be there on Sunday instead on Monday, so Delos would be open. I am not sure how we are going to get around Crete. I have not researched this yet, but I think I saw some posting suggesting to rent a car. So I guess we can rent a car, if there is no way to get around by public transportaion (not sure if they have automatic and how expensive it is).

greektravel.co is a great website with description of islands. I used when it when planning our trip. You mentioned enjoying archaelogy. We did spend 4-5 nights in Athens but we did side trips. Not sure who said it but I would do Santorin over Mykonos (spend more time there). It is very romantic. Delos was cool. I think you are doing too much in too little time to really enjoy it. The islands do have things to sightsee but mainly the best is just taking your leisurely time to enjoy the food, wine and ambience. The 1st day you get there you will be very tired. I flew between cities and I would recommend that if it is considerable short time since your time is limited.

We were in mainland Greece, Rhodes, Crete a few years back (only did a one day boat trip out of Athens instead of a cruise).

You will need to focus on what you most want to see/do...scenery or history or sunbathing or hiking, e.g. For me: Knossis in Crete plus museum in Iraklion but also over to Hania. Didn't bother with one day over to Santorini...rough seas. On mainland: Acropolis and National Museum at least in Athens (which is a big noisy city) and a day trip to Mycenae, Corinth, Delphi. I did a study on Delphi.
Greece is lovely indeed.

Ozarks Bill [email protected]

Thanks again for all your help. I used all the suggestions, and decided to split my time between mainland and the islands, and leave Crete for next time.
Here are my new plan:
Sunday - Ariving Athens
Monday - Athens
Tuesday - bus tour to Delphi/Meteora
Wednesday - Dephi/Meteora
Thursday - Delphi/Meteora
Friday - morning flight to Santorini
Saturday - Santorini
Sunday - Santorini
Monday - Fast Ferry to Mykonos (if see is not rough)
Tuesday - Mykonos/Delos (really would like to see Delos)
Wednesday - morning flight to Athens
Thursday - flight home
How does this sound?
I think it is not too rushed, because Santoriny and Mykonos are not large islands. I wish I could visit Crete, but I don't think I have enough time to enojoy it at this point.