Hi there Showtime (ha ha),
-- if y ou take that JFK delta flight late afternoon friday, you arrive Athens about 9:30 am Sat ... costs more than flights that change in Europe, but its a question of time vs money isn't it?? If you do arrive in the AM (only the nonstops will; the Euro connections don't arrive til mid-afternoon ) What you could do would be to have a couple of cups of strong coffee, then pick up a car to Nafplio & get over y our jet-lag there, in a beautiful setting. After 3 days, say, drive back & drop car at seaport in time for Blue Star 5:30 sailing, get to Paros 9:30, Naxos 10:30pm. Late arrival for kiddies, but they can sleep in & wake up on a beach!

After Island time, you could again ferry back -- the daytime ferry eats up a whole beach day, but I have used another strategy. At noon check-out time at small beach hotel (usually family-run, very flexible), I arrange to leave luggage in their back room... then have a final beach afternoon... at 4 pm, return and by arrangement, use an unrented "powder room" to wash up & change to travel duds, then get to pier by 5:30 for 6pm BLUE STAR. I call it the "Sunset Sail" because you can sit in the unreserved economy deck seats (make the boys run up the stairs to snag them!) to enjoy view until dark, then move inside to "reserved economy" seats -- (also called Aircraft seating but nothing like the modern awful planet seats -- these are lean-back, upholstered, foot-rest, lots of leg room); buy tix at an island agency & specific SIDE compartment). You can eat in onboard cafe or at yr seat then read, snooze until arrival at 11:45 pm or so. 5 is too many to go legally in a taxi, so you'd need to book a car service with mini-van in advance (Welcome Pick-ups has a good reputation). You'd be at your central-Athens accommodation by 12:30 or so, ready to sightsee next day.

IMO, travelerjan often provides excellent suggestions, but this is terrible advice! Although many people are not aware of it, there is mounting evidence that driving with jet lag is just as dangerous -- to yourself and others -- as driving drunk, and nothing you can do will prevent the microsleeps (which you might not even notice) that are the apparent culprit. Seriously -- NOT a good idea, no matter your other constraints and no matter your prior experience no matter whether you sleep on the plane no matter how much coffee you drink. Driving any distance with jet leg is seriously bad idea, let alone a two hour trip.

Kja's advice taken on board -- if y ou would not feel comfortable attemptng to drive after long journey, you would have to change your sequence OR modify it. You could get a FREE shuttle to a hotel on a beach, 25 minutes away (Hotel Avra, in Rafina)... collapse on beach while kids play, eat early dinner & tuck into bed, get up early AM return to Aiport, get a car and then follow my itinerary suggestion.

The other options would be:
• Do Athens FIRST - (perhaps nap in afternoon, then go to Acropolis at 5 pm; then next day do more landmarks), THEN return to airport & get car & do Nafplio for 3 days ... Followed by NAXOS (fly?) for 3-4 days, then return to Athens AREA, the day before departure. Easiest start, least efficient sequence.
• Do Island first - Upon Arrival, Fly out immediately to Island (Naxos? Chania in Crete?) spend 3-4 days. If you did CHANIA, you could take a cabin on an overnight ferry, land piraeus in AM, pick up car & drive to Nafplio for 3 days, return car to Airport (u can return to different place in Athens with most rental agencies) then bus x95 to central athens hotel for final 2- 3 days.

Can one not fly to Naxos or Chania without going through Athens? I know I got to Chania without doing so, and I believe (but can't swear) that one can also fly to Naxos without going through Athens. I'm not saying one can necessarily go by direct flight, but forcing the routing through Athens limits one's choices, means that one bears the responsibility for the cost of a new ticket if the initial flight is delayed, may mean extra charges for luggage, etc. AND it forces some of these logistic difficulties associated with access to a car.

No one c annot get to Naxos except fdrom Athens, via Aegean Air or Sky Express. In order to get to Chania without changing at athens, people need to have a flight from a European airport ... and you'd have to work with airlines that allow an "open-Jaw" ticket (I.e., fly to Europe, change at London/Frankfurt/CdeG/Rome etc for direct flight to Chania... ) then your airline would have to permit a homebound ticket that starts at Athens. Many airlines don't offer that. Anyway, it sounds as if they've got their tickets already (altho they do not share the arrival/departure times, which is important if they want the best advice).

Naxos has only a 900 meter runway, which eliminates the possibility of international flights, and no other Greek domestic airport has flights to Naxos. Chania has a very long runway shared by the military, and there are many flights from airports throughout Europe.

Travelerjan, who doesn’t drive, should be careful with advice for those who do. There are Express buses from Athens to Nafplio, which although less convenient than a rental car, would be safer for someone wishing to get there the same day after arriving on a long haul flight. You can rent a car in Nafplio after a day or two there.

Thanks, Heimdall!

Heimdall, KJA, I did post an amended itinerary suggestion after kja's comments about jet-lag; although I don't drive, I have been shotgun-navigator on at least 5 rental-car trips from Athens to Nafplio, and have taken the bus another 5 times, often with rental once arriving to Nafplio, so am familiar with both options.

We've been to Naxos three straight summers with our kids (who are now 6 and 8). I'm probably going back. You could easily spend a week or more there and not be bored. In addition to the beach, it has old-school villages and it's island. I have stayed at Villa Naxia three times and will probably stay there again if he has availability (he books up in advance).

Have you booked your trip yet? I'd try to fly one stop from NYC to Santorini or another island international flights and do Athens/mainland on the way back. Two straight years, we flew into Santorini and out of Athens and it was heavenly. This year we flew in and out of Athens and I wouldn't do that again. But I guess if you get a straight flight to Athens then you have more options (we don't have that luxury).

Sorry I didn't reply. Good job, travelerjan