Hi guys,

First of all, thank you all for your help last year with planning our trip to Naxos, Paros and Antiparos. We had an amazing time with our 3 year old and was made even better with all of your suggestions!

Now I have the difficult task of planning another trip. Are there other islands where we could do something similar? I have been looking at Crete but am looking at any suggestions that people can offer. We will be looking at travelling towards then end of May for around 2 weeks. We will have a 4 year old with us so will be looking at family friendly destinations.

Thank you in advance for your help!

there are more than 60 Greek Islands with touristic infrastructure which can easily be reached by ferry.
What about Rhodos, Symi, Tilos and Karpathos?
Crete can easily be combines with Kythira and Neapolis (southern Peloponnese).

Are you planning to fly to Athens again, or are you open to a direct flight from the UK? Within the Cyclades another good island hopping combination might be Sifnos and Milos (and/or a few other islands in the Western Cyclades). Ferries from Piraeus if you fly to Athens, or a flight from Athens to Milos.

The Dodecanese has good island hopping potential, as shown by neckervd in post #1. Another possibility would be the Sporades, with Skiathos, Skopelos and Alonnisos close together by ferry. Skiathos has many direct flights from UK airports.

Are you looking to visit a number of islands, as suggested by the title about island hoping, or are you willing to consider a longer stay on just one island, as would make sense for Crete?

I loved Crete and found it lovely in early May, but without knowing anything more, I can't imagine how I could be helpful.
If you want to learn more about my time on that wonderful island, take a look at my trip report -- you can click on my name to find it.

Thank you all for your replies.

I guess when I say Island hopping, we're probably looking at doing 2 or 3 islands altogether. I would ideally like to fly direct from the UK to the first island. That's why I was initially thinking Crete. We found that stopping in Athens the first and last night of the trip wasted 2 days that we would've liked to spend on the islands.

I'll take a look at all of your suggestions and try and see what fits so thanks for those!

There are only so many Greek Islands with airports. You need to find which ones have flights from the UK then go from there. Then you would have to find islands to combine with that one that are on the same ferry line and/or route.

Here's a link with islands with airports:
https://www.aia.gr/traveler/flight-i...ghts/domestic/

Bear in mind the link only shows flights from Athens but at least you'll know what islands have airports.

Here's a link showing islands that you can combine with ferries:
https://ferries.gtp.gr/greek-ferries/ferry-ports

Zoom in until you see an island and then click on it to see what other islands you can go to.

You seem to think you are "wasting" time by going to Athens. Have you not been to Athens before? If so why do you think you'll waste time?

Athens is a wonderful city that offers more than just the usual tourist sites.

Hi Guys,

Thanks again for all of your input so far. We've had a slight change of plan in that our duration has been cut down to about 11 days. This means that we won't be island hopping but will stay 11 days in Crete at the end of May 2020.

I was wondering if you could make any suggestions for where to stay on the island? As we will have our 4 year old with us, we'd like to stay somewhere picturesque with nice sandy beaches. What we loved about Naxos and Paros was the tranquility and how calm and blue the waters were. Are parts of Crete similar? We loved the endless winding streets with the lovely boutique shops as well.

I notice a lot of people suggest Chania or Heraklion? Are they quite touristy or will they posses a similar charm? We will have a car for exploring as well so it is an option for us to stay in Chania or Heraklion.

Thanks in advance

I stayed in Chania and it was lovely. One of Greece's nicest towns with the Old Town as good as it gets. Lovely Venetian architecture and other parts Ottoman. I stayed on Theotokopolou St., which is the heart of the Old Town and simply lovely. Lots of options for accommodations depending on budget and needs.

May will still be off-season so it shouldn't be that "touristy". You may get a lot of locals from the New Town just up the road but it won't be over run.

You can use Chania as a base to explore the entire west end of the island and if you want you can drive to Heraklion for the Knossos Site and musuems.

Chania has far more character and I would recommend staying there.

I enjoyed Heraklion, but don't think it sounds like a particularly good fit for your interests. In contrast, Chania is delightful, and Rethymno might be another option -- both sound more in line with what you are seeking. Cruise ships have, unfortunately, discovered Chania, so even in early May there was one day when that city was overrun, But I don't think ships come in every day, so although you might check the schedules (I'm sure you can find them with a google search) just to make sure, I don't think you need to worry about hordes for most of the time you would be there.

BTW, if you haven't sent it, you might find some useful information in my long (searchable) trip report -- the section on Crete is near the beginning.
With Gratitude for a Glorious Solo Month in Greece

For calm and a little less cold seawater, head to the south:
Paleochora, Agia Galini, Makri Gialos, etc.