Hello,

I will be in Greece from the 8th to the 26th. We aren't sure whether we will spend a day or two in Athens. The thought may be to island hop. Perhaps, start in Crete and work our way back through Santorini, Ios and/or Mykonos. We understand ferry schedules are limited.

Does anyone have recommendations as to which islands we should focus, order in which to visit and what has the best beach/nightlife vibe during this offseason?

Thanks!

None of the islands will have much of a nightlife....
Perhaps Mykonos will be more active than other islands...
Not to mention the beaches....

October on Santorini is very quiet, the island is not famous for it's beaches anyway... and i am afraid that the weather won't be very warm...

Crete is an exception, there are bigger cities like Chania or Rethymno ( Heraklio is less attractive) where there will be many option in terms of nightlife, and the weather will be much warmer compared to other islands.

If you go during October to Greece for swimming and relaxing on the beach, you will be disappointed.....

October is the last month of season and Hotels are starting to close, the most of them are closing at the end of this month, for this reason we recommend to choose the most tourist islands where easily you will find many hotels to be opened and nightlife.
As clausar mention Crete is an exception with bigger cities than the other islands, so we suggest to start first with the smaller islands and let some more days for Crete at the end of your island hop before you go to Athens.

The weather is not so warm as summer but it is not cold,
for example last year there was not even one day with the less than 22 Celsius during the day time at any of the islands, the most of days the temperature was around 30 Celsius

Some of the islands have shorter seasons than Crete, Santorini and Mykonos, with hotels and restaurants beginning to close after the first week of September. On these most stay open until the end of the month, but from 1st October you will find virtually no nightlife and few choices for hotels and tavernas. Santorini and Mykonos have cruise ships calling even in November so there will be some things still open, and Crete has a large resident population.

Spend a few days in Athens at the end of the trip. There will be plenty to do in that vibrant city, including lots of nightlife. There may not be daily ferries between Mykonos and Santorini.

Thanks very much for your replies!

We will be there for our honeymoon. The nighlife is not essential. However, we certainly would like to be able to enjoy the area, restaurants and tavernas. So, we will keep this in mind as we start planning!

Most businesses on Santorini that cater to tourists remain open until sometime in October. September is still a busy time, although nowhere near as busy as July and August. Fira is busy well into October, so if you stay there you won't find yourself feeling isolated.

Start with Crete, move on to Santorini and then go to Paros or Naxos on the way back to Athens. Save Athens for the end of your trip so you don't have to stress about returning to the mainland at the last minute for your flight home.

Brotherleelove's suggestion of Paros or Naxos after Santorini is a good one. I would lean toward Naxos, as it has a larger permanent population and more things are likely to still be open. Paros and Naxos are on a daily ferry route from Santorini back to Athens (Piraeus), so either would be easy to reach.

The catamarans running between Santorini and Mykonos cease operating in September or early October, so it would be difficult to get from one to the other when you are travelling.

You will still find a little nightlife in fira santorinj

If you are interested in Crete, you will find nightlife in Chania and Heraklion because I've been there in late November and there was music in cafes, etc. I would spend 10 days on Crete and do the beach and see some historical sights. There are plenty of places to eat and drink and be entertained there. You can fly there directly from Athens and not worry about ferry schedules either. If you have never been to Athens, you could spend 3-4 days there and go to Naplio for a few days and see Epidaurus, Mycenae, Ancient Corinth, Nemea and Tiryns.