mermaid2020

I'm starting to drive myself crazy so wondered if I could get some of the experienced Fodorites to weigh in. A planned trip in mid June will be our first time to Greece for a family of 4; our interests lie in a bit of beach and swimming time, beautiful scenery, good food, maybe a fair amount of young people (for the young adult children in this group!) although parents do not want to be surrounded by hoards of partiers either, nice walks, villages or old towns to wander through.
I was considering Crete as our island destination, but every time I see photos of Mykonos and Santorini, the lovely blue water and gorgeous views make me wonder if we should be headed there. Am I being unfair to Crete? - I know it's a fantastic island full of history -- just the photos of Crete make me think of our more familiar California landscape.
Opinions?

brotherleelove2004

You can stay on Santorini and avoid the crowds when you choose to do so or join them when the party mood strikes. Focus your search on Firostefani to avoid the crowds and so you can enjoy the caldera views and sunsets, but the young ones can easily walk into Fira for the bars, discos and clubs. Fira is the island's bus hub so if you don't have a rental car you can easily get a bus to the beach or to one of the other villages or archaeological sites.

jamikins

I would highly recommend Naxos! Off the cruise ship path and very easy to navigate and enjoy.

Beach, lovely villages, a great main town, lots of tavernas...something for everyone!

jamikins

Here are our photos http://www.flickr.com/photos/pug_gir...7627668851905/

dulciusexasperis

How long do you plan to go for? That to me is a major factor.

"our interests lie in a bit of beach and swimming time, beautiful scenery, good food, maybe a fair amount of young people (for the young adult children in this group!) although parents do not want to be surrounded by hoards of partiers either, nice walks, villages or old towns to wander through."

Santorini while it has lovely scenery is limited in size and attractions. I tend to think of it as comparable to visiting Carmel (to use an example in your area). But think of it as if Carmel were an island.

There's scenery, their nice restaurants, bars, nighlife, a beach, cute houses. But after day 3 or 4, then what?

Mykonos is most famous as a party island although it does have other attractions if you search for them hard enough. I still consider it limited in appeal and the party aspect tends to suggest giving it a miss. Think Pismo Beach but you could visit SLO and Hearst Castle as well.

Crete on the other hand is like thinking of San Francisco to LA and everything in between. A whole lot more of everything and enough to keep you busy for a fair amount of time.

I personally wouldn't want to spend more than 3/4 nights on Santorini maximum. Crete I could spend months on.

The lovely views and gorgeous blue water can be found on all of the islands. Santorini and Mykonos have no exclusive on that at all.

brotherleelove2004

There's plenty to keep you occupied for quite a while on Santorini: wine tasting, archaeological sites, diving, hiking, swimming, museums, fine dining, fishing, caldera/volcano excursions and a daytrip to Thirassia, no to mention the obvious nightlife, shopping and sunset/caldera view watching with a glass of wine and some bread & cheese.

mermaid2020

This is why I love Fodor's Forums and Fodorites! Thank you for all your opinions, photos and information. The analogies to Carmel, SF, etc. were helpful.

el13207

Depending on how long you have at your disposal, why not start in Crete and then take the ferry to Santorini for a couple of days? That is what we did- spent about 5 days in Crete (based in Chania and then moved to Iraklion for an overnight so we could see Knossos and the Archeological museum before taking the ferry to Santorini). Santorini is so iconic, but a couple of nights is enough to get the sense of the place ( and if you go, stay in Oia). You could then fly from Santorini to Athens and spend a few days that before flying home- and would get the best of quite a few worlds that way.

stevelyon

You cant go far wrong with Crete and there is more than enough to occupy yourself there. Santorini is always mentioned here as if its the 'bees knees' which completely overlooks what I think are the best islands (I have yet to go to Naxos) Corfu, Samos and especially beautiful Skiathos (where Mama Mia was partly filmed)the beaches on Skiathos are probably the best in Greece.

Tommmo

el13207 advice is spot-on I think. Crete is great (especially Chania and surrounding area. And you can zip across to Santorini to see how the other half live. I suggest Firostefani as most suitable, Oia is too upmarket and snooty .Mykonos is further, ,expensive, and not great for kids.

travelerjan

Mermaid, u have chosen the ideal time of year ... everything's open, not all that crowded yet. BUT I agree -- you need to tell us how many days you have (not counting arrival/dep days). Our advice would be quite different for an 8-day visit than for 16 or 20 days.

mermaid2020

Thank you everyone for your insight. We will be spending 5 full days on Crete and the last 2-1/2 days in Athens. I think I'm leaning more toward Crete b/c of the variety of things to do. With limited time, I am hesitant to spend more time traveling between islands.
I'd like to base ourselves near Chania to explore the city and do day trips from there. I'd love to hike either Imbros or Samaria Gorge as well. Besides Chania and a day of hiking, any other recommended day excursions?
Thanks in advance Fodorites!

travelerjan

For gorge walk, suggest Imbros mainly because of your short time in Greece -- everyone who's done Samaria tells me you're pretty much wiped out the day after ... Imbros gives a terrific Gorge experience, like samaria, v. narrow at one point (almost can touch sides, but very few people there in early June (we went in may only saw about 12 people), and only takes 4 hours vs. 7-8. NOTE: find a sturdy stick, helps u make time... helps balancing on large boulder-type rocks underfoot.

When u say u want a place "near Chania" , do you mean near or on a beach? There are several just to the West of Old town, but we don't know your budget -- Hotel Ammos is the Best, has beach + pool + gourmet Cretan chef cafe + right on local bus stop for 15-min ride to Old Town, next best, Corinna Mare/Corinna Star, same area, also on a beach/bus to Old Town ... nice budget place Lefka Apts, w pool 2 blocks off beach. Many recommend like Almirida & Khaiives, be aware tho they are "beach towns" lots of bldgs for package tourism.

mermaid2020

Thanks Travelerjan for suggestions re: Gorge hike.
I was actually looking into Ammos and Corinna Mare. While Ammos looks lovely, I think the rates at Corinna Mare are more to my liking. Looks like the latter is on a rocky beach, but within walking distance of a sandy beach. Is this accurate?

travelerjan

I believe so.

dulciusexasperis

And there you have it, a week including Athens.

Here's the thing. You cannot see much of Crete at all in 5 days. It's simply too big and there is too much to see/do. So what is likely to happen is you spend your totally inadequate 5 days there and then never return as there will always be somewhere else you haven't been yet.

This is your FIRST trip to Greece and I would not suggest you spend that time on ANY of the better known (as far as tourism goes) or larger islands with only 5 days available.

You simply won't have enough time to discover much outside of the main tourist areas and it is outside of those areas where you find the real Greece. Since you understood my connectionsn to Carmel, Pismo and the coast from SF to LA, let me continue with that comparison. You are suggesting visiting SF to LA for 5 days. How much could you take in in that time betweeen SF and LA? In 5 days how much could you take in if you visited the Carmel/Montery area instead? See my point?

If you spend your 5 days on a smaller island like Naxos, Paros, Skiathos, or many others, you CAN get a feel for one of those islands and Greek life and culture. On Crete it is unlikely you will get away from the main tourist spots in just 5 days unless you consciously choose to avoid the main places and stay in a small village on the southwest coast for your entire time.

In travel as in many things, less is more. The less you move the more time you spend IN places. The less area you try to cover the more IN DEPTH you experience a place.

To me, Crete for 5 days is simply biting off more than you can chew unless all you want to experience is a very superficial 'tourist resort' experience of beach, hotel, bar and tourist restaurants with a couple of 'visits' to the usual suspect sites like Knossos.

That's not Greece.

clausar

mermaid2020

If you want to see Crete just go for it, and try to see as much as you can in the 5 days that you'll have at disposal.
5 days should be enough for Western Crete if you plan carefully and rent a car.

travelerjan

I'm afraid I agree with dulcis ... I have been to Greece 11 times (and that includes 5x to Crete), and barely scratch surface of Crete, and no it does not feel like an island -- it's a Country. I modestly suggest a "do-able" island with a great variety of landscape, beaches, history, wonderful mountain villages, good authentic fare (it has brilliant local produce from inland farms) good bus network so that you need not rent a car except for a day or so -- Naxos. A good visual of highlights by forum regular Stanbr is called "A trip around Naxos" http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr5...7634605629689/

The lodging rates on Naxos are terrific, and the water will be splendid. Only downside is, just 1 flight per day on small modern plane, so one must book NOW. The UPside is, Naxos port does not accommodate huge cruise ships, airport doesn't accommodate jumbo jets, so Naxos is blessedly free of package tourism & ship-throngs.

TravelingSeeker

Crete and Mykonos are two different Islands. Crete is a huge island and it is full of things to do, even if you are planning an over month-length vacation.
Mykonos is way smaller and it is more about nightlife. It is not the most beautiful island in Aegean Seas but it has the most amazing nightlife in Greece!
Crete has some of the greatest beaches in Greece and fair enough nightlife, as there are many universities, especially in Heraklion.

So it's up to you what kind of vacations you like. Party all the time? Then Mykonos. Qualified places, unique beaches(for the greek standards)and more historical sights? Then Crete!