Hello friends,
We are a family of 4 with 2 teens. we are flying into Santorini and flying out of Athens. Our trip is for 12 nights. This is our first trip to Greece. Would love ideas on where to travel, where to stay(hotels/air bnb) and places to eat. Thank you!

There are too many wonderful places to go. Where ever you go stay in a hotel with a pool. It is very hot that time of year. In Athens we stay at the electra place. Roof top pool with a view of the acropolis. In santorini we stay at the katikies which is now way too expensive. Try the esperas in oia.

have fun

Be aware that Esperas has many steep steps. We did not like it there at all and do not recommend it. Other guests we met felt the same way. There were no Greek employees , at least none interacting with the guests and did not feel like we were in Greece and we had been traveling in the country two weeks at that time. We couldn’t wait to leave there and Santorini.

You’ve given no indication of what your main interests are, whether it be beaches, water sports, boat trips, ancient sites, hiking, picturesque villages or whatever. If your flights are fixed, that narrows down the options, but between Santorini and Athens are the islands of Naxos and Paros, both with a remnant of traditional Greek culture.

If you want good beaches, move on from Santorini after a couple of nights, and spend four or five on either Naxos or Paros. Both have excellent beaches, and Naxos has good hiking and traditional villages in its mountainous interior. Naxos and Paros both have small airports with flights back to Athens.

It seems to me Naxos has been overhyped in recent years, with the Naxos fans jumping in on posts like this. It’s the largest island in the Cyclades, but nearly everyone stays in the overcrowded western corner of the island in either Naxos Town or the string of beaches between Agios Prokopios and Plaka.

Paros will be crowded too, but more spread out with seaside resorts all around the island. Parikia and Naoussa will be busiest, but other resorts, including Aliki, Piso Livadi and Drios less so. Antiparos is another option of where to stay, but this small island gets very busy in August.

Another route back from Santorini to Athens includes the islands of Milos and Sifnos. Milos, in particular, is noted for its picturesque beaches, and a hint from its name indicates where the Venus de Milo statue was rediscovered. The statue, by the way, was carved from Parian (Paros) marble. The only drawback with this route is the small ferries you need to take from Santorini, but Milos has an airport with flights to Athens.

We spent 14 days in Greece (not including travel days) in 2016. Had a great time, wonderful people, fascinating history. You haven't given us your interests so here's our itinerary and what we liked:

Athens 3 days - Hotel "Inn Athens" was good, well located. Acropolis, surroundings, and Archeological Museum. Lots of restaurants, all of them seemed very good.
Island of Hydra 2 days - Quiet (no cars allowed), walking, few swimming beaches.
Car tour, picked up rental in Pireas, 5 days - Delphi, old Olympia, Nafplion (don't recommend), Mycenae. Off the main highways some road signs are not repeated in English.
Santorini 3 days - Too much time for us but a beautiful place.
Get back to Athens, 1 day - Stayed at the Holiday Inn one bus stop from the airport. Very convenient.

Our interests were archeological and we looked at a lot of ruins. Loved it. If you want more swimming, beaches, and parties you should spend more time on the islands. We took a ferry from Pireas to Santorini and that was fun.