Help with Itinerary - 14 days (2 travel)
 

Hi everyone - thanks in advance for any assistance you can provide. I am a 33 year old male who will be travelling from Australia in June/July next year. I have about 16-17 days in total to be away and have always wanted to visit the Greek Islands. In conversations with a friend recently I discussed how I would be on my own, therefore, would lounging around the islands for a few weeks only become too boring. So I have looked at other options also such as: Amalfi Coast, Croatia and Spain. I thought I could try and combine the two - all advice points to not doing this due to travel time packing / unpacking etc. Greece and the islands are a must do. My original plans were:

Athens - 1 or 2 nights
Flight or Ferry to Mykonos 5 nights
Ferry to Santorini 4 nights
Athens 2 nights fly home.

However subsequent to my chats with friends I thought maybe I could shorten the time in the islands and combine 5 nights or so somewhere else (flying out of Santorini?).

So - I guess what i want to know is, in your opinion:

a) Would it be better to just 'do' Greece and the islands mentioned
b) If i were to cut them short and fly somewhere else before heading home, where?
c) are there any alternate suggestions - assuming you don't suggest to throw in another country to the planned Greece one listed above, its some very rough initial thoughts.

I enjoy: beaches, nightlife, eating, seeing sights (love to 'tick things off the list')....

Thanks in advance.

The more I think about it and read other posts the more I think just the Greek Islands with Athens would be sensible, also I think flying between Athens Islands etc the way to go.... keen for any and all feedback. Thx

Well there is a lot to do and see in Greece for sure but if you wanted to combine another country you could probably fly direct from Santorini to Barcelona and then return home from there. I think Barcelona might have most things you're looking for. Or maybe Naples or Milan, etc. I'm not sure how easy it would be to get to Croatia. But still, lots of possibilities.

I love Greece but I do like combining a couple of different countries when I'm on vacation --I like experiencing the contrasts in cultures, scenery, etc.

I can't imagine anyone getting bored with two weeks on the islands, but you could use those five days for the Greek mainland rather than a different country. Nafplio in the Peloponnese, for example, is only two hours by bus from Athens. It's a popular seaside weekend break for young Athenians, and has lots of ancient sites in the area.

For the record, I always travel solo, and find it easy to meet other people on the islands. If you are worried about being lonely, that shouldn't be a problem.

Thanks for this so it look like either option might be OK then. Decisions decisions. Perhaps my Itinerary could look something like this:

Day 1 - Arrive Athens - 2 nights

Day 2 - Athens

Day 3 - Athens - Mykonos 5 nights (Flight)

Day 4 - Mykonos

Day 5 - Mykonos

Day 6 - Mykonos

Day 7 - Mykonos

Day 8 - Mykonos - Santorini 4 nights (Flight)

Day 9 - Santorini

Day 10 - Santorini

Day 11 - Santorini - Barcelona 4 nights (Flight)

Day 12 - Barcelona

Day 13 - Barcelona

Day 14 - Barcelona

Day 15 - Barcelona - Home

The suggestion of Barcelona isn't a bad one as I have wanted to go there, a friend of mine has been and loved every minute of it. I quite also like the idea of mixing it up with another country, because as is noted in the second comment that can be fun.

I just don't know. I then look at that itinerary and think is it all a bit too rushed.... would I just be better off hanging on the islands for the two weeks and spending a little time in Athens on the way home too.

Ugh! so difficult.

If you fly from Mykonos to Santorini it will be via Athens with a layover between flights. Highspeed ferries between the two islands take only about 2 hrs, so are quicker than flying.

Awesome ok will go the ferry option between Mykonos and Santorini also thinking of cutting nights down on the islands as I think it'll be too long and maybe spend an extra day in both Athens and Barcelona