First time to Greece - Suggestion needed to complete itinerary
 

Hi there,
My wife and I will be in Greece for 8 nights in late Sep and we will be joined by two family members in Athens. I got accommodation for all of us for the first 3 nights and last 2 nights in Athens. I have left open 3 nights for an excursion somewhere outside Athens. We will have 4 full days for sightseeing in Athens, 2 full days before and 2 more days after the excursion. However, I am kind of lost in deciding on where to go for the 3 days as there are so many places to visit in Greece. My choices are:
1- Fly to Naxos for overnight stay and ferry to Santorini for 2 nights and fly back to Athens from there.
2- Visit Meteora (2N) and Delphi (1N) by way of train and bus.
3- Fly to Crete and make base at Chania for 3 nights. We will take day trips from there and then fly back to Athens.
Does it make sense to stay overnight in Naxos before ferrying to Santorini? Is flying out of Santorini a probem as I heard lines can be very long at the airport?
Also, still not sure how to go from Meteora to Delphi as I cannot find direct train nor bus for this route?
Based on what I have read, I think my wife and I would like Crete very much. We probably will need another 3 days to see the eastern part of the island so it might not be worth while for this short trip.
Welcome any feedback. Thanks.

With only 3 days to go somewhere I would recommend one island and stay there. Aegina is often overlooked because it's so close to the mainland but it has everything one would want for a Greek Island: archeological/historic sites, lovely main town, seaside villages, abandoned Byzantine village in the hills, ancient olive groves, walking, hiking and is known as the Pistachio Capital of Greece.

It's a short ferry ride from Piraeus and may be your best option.

Nafplio is also a good option but if you haven't been to a Greek Island then Aegina may be a wonderful choice.

Crete is Greece's largest island would take days if not weeks to fully experience. Save it for another time.

I think it's a waste of time to ferry to Naxos for one night then ferry to Santorini. I would recommend staying in Naxos, one of Greece's nicest islands with something for everyone. Remember, every time you go from Point A to Point B takes time and time is valuable on holiday, especially with only 3 days outside of Athens.

1. I agree that you should skip one or the other of these islands. Personally, I'd skip Santorini, but many (most?) would disagree with me.
2. Both excellent destinations, IMO!
3. Another vote to wait for Crete until you can give it more time.
I also agree that Nafplio is worth considering.
No bad choices, just difficult ones!

If you go to Nafplio you can visit Spetses or Hydra from Porto Heli or Ermioni and still get your island fix. These two little ports are very near Nafplio, and are at the end of the route for ferries from Piraeus. The ferries take only 25 minutes from Ermioni to Hydra, the island first made famous by the old "Boy on a Dolphin" film.

As for Santorini, that's not my favourite island either, but the views of the caldera are to die for, and it has Greece's version of Pompeii, the Minoan village buried during the volcanic eruption in 16th century BC. You can also visit Ancient Thera, the ruins high up on the mountain where you can look down on airplanes arriving at the airport. The crowds at Santorini Airport you've heard about are only for charter flights, not the domestic flights from Athens. I've been to Santorini twice, and am very glad I did!

Also, still not sure how to go from Meteora to Delphi as I cannot find direct train nor bus for this route?

There is no train to Delphi and no direct buses from Kalambaka(the small town by the Meteora monasteries). You'll have to change buses 2 times and the journey takes at least 6 hours.

It'd be easier to treat Meteora and Delphi as separate trips.

1) Take a train from Athens to Kalampaka, visit the the monasteries, return to Athens by train.

2) Take a bus from Athens to Delphi and return the next day.

Thank you for all your suggestions thus far.
For the Santorini option I meant to fly to Naxos for a night and then take the short (relative) ferry to Santorini for the approaching sight of the white cliff top island. Not sure if it is worth such trouble at all.
I found a car service that would transport you to Meteora with a 2-hr stop over at Delphi for extra fee. I am looking into this so I can spend two nights in Meteora and then return to Athens by train. This will give me the extra day to do a ferry day trip to Hydra or Aegina. Would it do justice with just a 2-hr stop over for Delphi ?
I still like to consider Chania as it is less touristy place where you can still experience local Greek culture and good seafood. Is Chania comparable to Aegina for local Greek culture and good seafood?
I seriously would opt for the Meteora and Delphi itinerary if this trip were just me and my wife as I can always plan for an exclusive island fix trip after this first visit.

For me, it would not be worth the time and effort -- not to mention the opportunity you would lose for enjoying Naxos; YMMV. Personally, I think choosing EITHER Santorini OR Naxos makes more sense.

I spent about 4 hours exploring Delphi's ruins plus about 1.5 hours at its excellent museum. I'm sure some people spend less time there.

Per Heimdal: If you go to Nafplio you can visit Spetses or Hydra from Porto Heli or Ermioni and still get your island fix.

If you're choosing between these 2 islands, pick Hydra. Spetses is infested by noisy vespas. Hydra has no vespas and uses donkeys to transfer goods. It's delightfully quiet and walkable. (See the windmill.)

If this trip were just me and my wife then I would not mind visiting places like Hydra, Vespas or Nafplion. But I wanted to take my two family members to somewhere unique that has a wow factor so they can write home about it. I think It will be a toss between Santorini and Meteora. Still thinking about going to Delphi first by bus and stay overnight and then going up to Kalabaka by car transfer for 2 nights and return to Athens by train in the PM. This will give me about one and a half days in Meteora. We can then do a day-trip to Aegina or Hyda in one of the remaining days in Athens. So much to see and my list includes Rhodes, Crete, Mykonos, Santorini, Corfu and the Peloponnese region....

If you've given up trying to see both Santorini and Naxos, you've got a toss-up IMO.

I'm confused. Nafplion is in the Peloponnese.

Hi!
For me going to Naxos for 1 night has no meaning. Naxos is famous for beaches and villages that you will not have time to visit. The town of Naxos has nothing beautiful to see.

Fly to Santorini from Athens and teh view is the same beautiful from everywhere. Just book tickets on time.
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Nafplio is beautiful and Delphi also. What I would for sure suggests you to do is along with monuments watch an Ancient Tragedy performance... Athinais theater, Epidaurus, Herodes...
This is sth unique

Do you not drive? I have driven from Athens to Meteora and then down to Delphi, stopped at Galaxidi and back to Athens.

I disagree that there's nothing beautiful in Naxos; I agree that going there for 1 night doesn't make much sense.

How much time was involved?
I was thinking about doing this and mentioned it on another thread and was discouraged from doing so.

@ starrs: If it helps you plan, I spent about 1.5 days in Meteora, which felt about right to me (although you could, of course, spend less time there). At Delphi, I spent about 4 hours on site and another 1.5 hours at its magnificent museum.

Thanks. A lot depends on how and how early we return to Santorini (or another island stop), but here are the distances/ drive time from Google Maps -
A to D = 2. 5 hours
D to M = 3 hours
M to A = 4 hours
So although the order may flipped (M before D or vice versa) , if we had an early am arrival via plane from Santorini, it seemed doable to drive to one of them (D for example) and sight-see on the first day. Spend the night. Drive to the other one and spend the day and night on Day 2. Day 3, finiish sight-seeing and return to Athens before dark. We have a flight out the next day (around noon). I got the impression the drive time was not doable (based on another post), but three full days seems to be "enough" time, understanding that some people may choose to stay longer.
Yes? No?

@ starrs: The tricky part would, I think, be closing hours. Can you get to Delphi in time to see what you want to see before the site and museum close? BTW, I'd add a bit of time to that driving estimate for reaching Delphi, not just for picking up your rental car and getting onto the road, but also because some of the roads near Delphi probably take a bit more time than Google estimates, at least IIRC -- and then you need to find parking and probably walk some distance to the site. I don't know what post you are referencing, but there's a frequent poster on Greece (t..j..) who often claims this trip is not feasible, apparently without having actually done it. From what I can tell, those of us who have done it generally think it is a possibility, depending on the exact timing, the time of year (which affects closing / opening hours), travel preferences, etc -- but I think you would need to reach Athens early. JMO.

It's very early morning. I need to look again but I think the flight was about 8am.

I drive but not while on vacation. As a rule I prefer public transportation as my first choice as you can appreciate the local culture and custom more. I only take taxi or car service for meeting early flight when it is too early for any public transportation. I probably will break this rule this time by going with a car service from Delphi to Meteora as this route is logistical challenging by public transportation. It will cost a bit but its four of us so it should be ok. Does anyone have experience with daytrip car service that can share?

Following with interest.
Although I may rent a car and drive it.
I took a private car service in Italy to see the Amalfi coast (recommended by a Fodorite) and it was pricey but lovely. My guess this day trip would be several hundred euros. Just a guess.

"We will have 4 full days for sightseeing in Athens"
In our experience, two full days would be plenty. Although it's usually required to spend nights in Athens before/after flights.

We just weren't impressed with Athens, though we were in a lovely hotel walking distance to the Acropolis. We were happier on Santorini for 5 nights.

MoBro, different opinions, different interests -- that's what it's all about. Perhaps you are more into scenery and luxury than history, but others' priorities may differ.

I think sharing our experiences and opinions is the point here, non?

"more into scenery and luxury than history"?? That's quite a leap, and rather patronizing.

My travel group kept changing their schedules and could not come to agreement until recently. My final itinerary is as follows:
- 3 nights in Athens
- 3 nights in Santorini (flying in and out)
- 2 nights in Athens.
We will not be able to go any day trip/s while in Athens due to different arrival/departure schedules. Our time will be mainly spent sightseeing in Athens. Our main focus is now turned to the Santorini trip as it seems to the only attraction to the group.
Many thanks to all comments made to this thread.

The good news is that there's a LOT to do in Athens. If you haven't seen it already, you might find some useful information in my trip report; the section on Athens starts with post # 181.
https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...reece-1460735/

I think this is the perfect itinerary for you! and If ever you can find time in Athens, or you have seen all you wanted to see at the beginning of your trip, you can always book a little day trip at the end. Have a wonderful time and enjoy Santorini!! It's magical! (in my humble experience)

Hi all, just a brief update on the trip made about ten days ago.

Greece is an unbelievable place to visit. Our trip worked out perfectly. Stayed at the O&B Boutique Hotel which is near the north west part of the Acropolis hill with easy access all around. We had really nice weather except on the first day at Santorini where it had overcast weather with blustery wind at hill top. But the rest of the time was fantastic - deep sea, blue sky and white washed hill side houses. Pictures taken were all came out beautifully. We stayed in an airbnb place with a roof top terrace near the south end of Fira, far away from the crowd. We really enjoyed the stay there. And we were lucky to have decided to fly/in of Santorini as there was a ferry strike to the islands during our stay. Santorini is really a special place.

List of places visited in Athens:
- Acropolis Hill
- Ancient Agora
- Roman Forum
- Areopagus Hill
- Hadrian's Arch
- Temple of Olympian Zeus
- National Park
- Aristotle Old School
- Night visit to Lycabettus Hill
- Acropolis Museum
- National Museum
In Santorini:
- Oia
- Volcano Island
- Skaros Hill
- Thirasia Island

We covered many grounds and are looking forward to explore the rest of Greece in my next visit.

Greece is wonderful, isn't it? Thanks for reporting back!

Sounds like you fell in love with Greece! Thanks for letting us know how it went!!