I was born in northern Greece and grew up in the US. Since my father passed away over 9 years ago, I haven't felt the desire to go back...until just recently. My husband and I, both in our early 40's, no children, are planning a two week(including travel) trip to a couple islands early next September.

Back in 2005, during a Med cruise, we had stops in Mykonos and Santorini. We found both so incredibly touristy. We are thinking of splitting our time between two chill islands and finishing off with a day in Athens before flying back home. We are desiring beautiful, romantic islands to explore, relax, and enjoy each others company. After some basic research I've narrowed it down... It's currently between Milos & Folegandros or Naxos & Koufonissi.

I know I have plenty of time but I really enjoy the research... it's an enjoyable part of traveling. Can you provide me any advice? Should we plan to fly or ferry to Naxos or Milos? How much time should we spend on each island? Recommendations on places to stay? We'd like a lovely view.

Indeed, Myconos and Santorini are the most touristy and less "typically Greek" Islands among the more than 50 Greek Islands with good touristic infrastructure.

Koufonissi is really tiny: you can walk around the Island in less than half a day. If you like that, it's fine. If you prefer a bigger Island in the area, check Amorgos (Katapola and Aegiali).

Astypalea offers a postcard picture main village with a lot of white cubic houses and windmills and only few non Greek tourists.
http://www.greeka.com/dodecanese/astypalea/

The most relaxing manner to reach the Islands you mentioned is the slow ferry: you can sit on the sun deck, have a look at the "bypassing" Islands and the places where you stop (the ferry pier is often in the middle of the main village), eat in the board restaurant.....

While taking the ferry can be cost effective we always fly to Naxos or Milos to get the vacation started. Both airports are small and cannot take jet aircraft. The aircraft are Dash 8 turboprops and they fill up quickly. Once you make your decision don't wait to book the flight.

We love Milos. It has so many good beaches and unusual rock formations. If you stay in Plaka you will get Santorini like views but without the crowds. In fact Milos will be fairly quiet as Sept is shoulder season. You need a car in Milos as the bus system is not particularly convenient for tourists.

While we love Milos our first choice is Naxos. It has a beautiful main town wiht its waterfront promenade. Lots of shopping and dining options and it will still have enough tourists to give the place a nice buzz. Naxos is much larger and has more places to visit and the interior is full of little mountain villages and a handful of antiquities.

You can't go wrong with either choice.
Here are some images perhaps they will help you decide.

Naxos Mountains and Villages http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr5...7632110674306/

Naxos Town http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr5...7632094558042/

A week in Naxos https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr...7645113682278/

Trip around Naxos http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr5...7634605629689/

Milos 2011 http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr5...7632109429236/

Milos 2013 http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr5...7634779985764/

Have fun planning

Thank you for info and suggestions, neckervd. Astypalea looks beautiful.

stanbr, Your pictures are wonderful. Thank you for sharing. We are planning to fly to either milos or naxos and ferry to the smaller islands from there.

I wasn't too concerned about the island being too quiet. We sort of prefer being on our own and usually travel off season for that exact reason. But maybe I should take that all into consideration.

Do you think 2 islands over 1 1/2 weeks is good or not enough? Should we consider adding a third?

Bookmarking

For us Santorini is done in 4 days. OTHERS SPEND A MONTH THERE AND CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF IT. MY BUDGET SIMPLY CAN'T SURVIVE MORE THAN 4 NIGHTS THERE. Oops sorry for the caps just a keyboard error.
Naxos on the other had can easily take you a week to 10 days to really explore the island. So two islands are fine. If you just want a quick experience of the islands then by all means add another one. My travel style is less islands is more of a vacation.

Hi there! If you are seeking for beautiful, romantic islands to enjoy and relax Milos and Folegandros are the ideal destinations for your trip on September. Both islands have amazing beaches and lots of things to explore. Also, the best manner to reach the Islands you mentioned is the ferry because you can sit on the sun deck and enjoy the view.

As a factor to add to decision .... transportation. Milos & Folegandros have very sparse bus schedules, so you'd need to rent a car.
•MILOS - it pays to rent a car at the start, since a taxi from airport to a hotel in Adamas or Pollonia (beach area w. best amenities) would cost you over half what a days car rental would be. On last day, u might turn in car, depending on where hotel is, and spend the day on an edge-of-island sail: terrific!

•FOLEGANDROS - you might taxi to a hotel in Chora, spend a day or 2 exploring up there, hiking to to the church at the peak, chillin' by the pool, then rent a car for zipping around the island. 3 days on Foley is like 5 days on a busier isle.

*CRETE - to see some highlights, car is most efficient, but u might not need one from start. Fly into CHANIA, spend a day or 2 exploring glorious Old Town & vicinity and THEN rent car for day trip(s), then perhaps drive S.E. to Libyan sea, then N.E, to Heraklion area. Ferry from Heraklion-Naxos.

•NAXOS - In Sept, staying in St. George beach adjacent to Naxos Town is best call, because everything's still open, no "closing-down" feeling. You can easily spend 2-3 days exploring the fascinating town, and great bus service to far beaches. When ready to explore rest of island, u can rent a car for however long you have. As stanbr's excellent photos show, there's always more to discover on Naxos!

You guys are awesome! Thank you!

We have never before vacationed on an island so I am a bit afraid of boredom. But at the same time, we are both desiring a relaxing, no plans, romantic vacation. So, I think we'll keep it to two islands this time.

stanbr- I appreciate your way of vacationing.

Michael15- thank you for confirming my thoughts on Milos/Folegandros. As much as Naxos sounds awesome, unltimately, there is something about Milos that is drawing us in. Maybe it's the crazy rock beach formations.

travelerjan-thanks for all the details. There is so much we don't know yet. I think we'll plan on 3-4 days on Folegandros and the rest of the time on Milos? I'm currently going through looking at places to stay on each island.

We were thinking of renting an atv to explore the islands vs a car. Is one more expensive than the other? What about availability?

Hi,

My fiancée and I are planning to travel India to Greece in April 2016 for our honeymoon. We have about 20 days in all, 12 days in Greece and a week, mostly in Switzerland. So far we have the following planned :
Athens - 3 nights (Meteora, Acropoils/Delphi and one day of island hopping, Hydra and others)
Santorini - 4 nights (Oia & Fira)
This is where certainty ends. I think we can include another island(maybe 2?) but simply can't figure out which one of the following :
CRETE / NAXOS / SPETSES / LEFKADA / ZAKYNTHOS / MILOS / PAROS
The more I read about each the more confused I get.
Since Santorini covers all the commercial and touristy stuff I was hoping to hit some off-beat Island to absorb more of the Greek culture.

ddaga87, I think you'll get more relevant answers to your question if you post it as NEW query. Also, before you post, please look at a map of Greece!!!!! This one http://www.explorecrete.com/crete-ma...ges/greece.gif --click to enlarge -- should be a wake-up call. The list you give us does not involve planning, it's more like a daydream. Let/s consider some realities.

Your list implies that Athens is next-door to Delphi and Meteora. THey are hundreds of miles apart ... A trip to Delphi & Meteora involves THREE Days (Meteora is up around Trikala, Delphi is above Amfissa in the Fokida province on map) Hydra is a full day roundtrip (its below the "thumb" of the Peloponnese peninsula) -- and I'm not quite sure why you'd want to go there except its about the only island Rick Steves promotes ... and then what about Athens??? By contrast, for an island only 12 miles long, Santorini, you say you plan to spend FOUR nights.

The islands you list are scattered all over... crete is a COUNTRY, 165m/264km... deserves 4-5 days just to Sample it ... Milos, Paros and Naxos are all reachable from Santorini, and each deserves more time than Santorini. Lefkada/Zakynthos are in a whole nother sea, the Ionian.

With 12 days in Greece, assuming you fly from Switzerland to Athens, a Sane-but-rushed itinerary would be:
• ARRIVE AM, stay in airport, Fly immediately to SANTORINI (3 nights)
• Ferry to ONE other island (Milos-Paros-Naxos) for 3 nights
• Fly BACK to ATH airport, 1 night ATH
• 3 day tour to Delphi-Meteora (CHAT or KEY tours)
• 2-3 days Athens sightseeing -- depart for India

I realize that Guidebooks may be hard to come by in India, and it seems easier to research on your smartphone... but it's not smart to do that only. That way you can't get the big picture, and it tends to make people feel that they can zip from one place to another, a la flying carpet. I urge you to look at a reliable guidebook like Rough Guide to Greece or EYEWITNESS the Greek Islands for a pictorial overview. Also, if you want people to advise you on what isle to choose besides Santorini, they can't give you the best advice unless they know more about you ... AND you know what you are getting into. April is Waaay off season, you'll encounter rain, the seas are too cold for swimming. Of your 2nd island, perhaps only Naxos will have anything going on, due to its large permanent population.

Thankfully, you do have time to do some more to do research, so you'll be able to avoid pitfalls and plan an enjoyable honeymoon. Congratulations on your coming marriage, and good luck on your plans!