With another couple, we're planning a trip to the Greek Islands late next May. I've avoided taking a cruise in this area, imagining I'd be frustrated to only spend 6 hours on an island when I wanted to stay for days. So we've decided which islands we most want to see (figuring we may not make a return trip here due to other pressing travel interests): Rhodes, Naxos, Santorini and Crete.

We plan to fly in to Istanbul and spend 4 days. Fly to Dalaman, overnight in Marmaris and take the morning ferry to Rhodes (unless its less costly and eats up less time to fly to Athens and then back to Rhodes). Advise please.

We'll spend 4 days hanging out in Rhodes (with car). Then spend three days in Naxos, two in Santorini and six in Crete (divided between Chania anc ?). Then fly to Athens and home to Los Angeles.

Transport gets complicated once we get to Rhodes. Is flying Rhodes to Athens and Athens to Naxos the only way to get to Naxos from Rhodes in late May? I wanted to visit Naxos before Santorini so we would not back track. I know its easy to get a fast ferry/cat from Naxos to Santorini and Santorini to Crete. Is there another way to work the order, given our European arrival and departure cities?

Because the seasonal services are over, I can no longer check what additional options there may be for next spring. Hence my plea for help. I will not turn down any recommendations about hotels/desirable locations on the islands. We're there for sightseeing, soaking up the local culture, beach time, good food, relaxation. We're two couples between 65-72. We'd like to find characterful small hotels for under $200 a night.

www.skyexpress.gr is a small Cretan airlines that flies from Crete to both Rhodes and Santorini. Theoretically, assuming timely availability, you can first fly from Rhodes to Crete, then fly or take a highspeed ferry from Crete to Santorni, then take another ferry to Naxos and then to Athens. OR, you can take a ferry from Rhodes to Crete and then onward as described, although that's a particularly long ferry ride. OR you can ferry from Rhodes (Blue Star) to Santorini first, then fly or ferry to Crete, then reverse direction and take a ferry back to Santorini in time for the afternoon Blue Star ferry that will stop at Naxos on the way back to Athens. What you CAN'T do conveniently is get to Naxos first before Santorini and Crete.

Naxos has an airport and Olympic Air can fly you from there to Athens.

This ferry route chart should help clarify: http://www.greeceathensaegeaninfo.co...erry-chart.htm

Here's a list of hotels on Santorini separated by village: http://www.santorini.com/hotels-in-santorini/oia.htm

If you haven't done so already you should do some research so you know where on the island you would like to stay. May prices are still fairly low so as long as you mean $200 per couple you should be able to find something nice with a caldera view.

Another alternative would be Rhodes direct to Naxos with Blue Star Ferries' Diagoras. It sails that route only a couple times each week, and it's a long voyage. Currently on Tuesdays it leaves Rhodes at 7:15 pm and arrives on Naxos around 7 am the next morning. Book a cabin and you can sleep most of the way there.

Another ferry, Hellenic Seaways' Nissos Rodos, sails from Rhodes to Paros, the neighboring island to Naxos. It arrives on Paros just after midnight, so you would have to find a room on Parikia and take a morning ferry from there to Naxos.

A couple of points to bear in mind: getting from one island group to another is rarely easy, so inevitably compromises will have to be made; ferry timetables for next May won't be available until spring, and you won't be able to finalize your arrangements until then.

The big car ferries tend to sail their routes on a year-round basis, not just in the summer season, so what you see now is probably what will be sailing next May. These ferries are the lifeline between islands and mainland Greece, so don't stop when the tourist season is over. Nevertheless, ferry companies do change their routes from time to time, so it pays to be cautious.

If you don't mind the added expense, flying from Rhodes to Athens and then on to Naxos would be the quickest and easiest option. The flight from Rhodes to Athens takes an hour, and the flight from Athens to Naxos about 35 minutes. Most days there is only one flight to Naxos, leaving in the morning.

Once on Naxos the rest of your trip will be straightforward. There are daily ferries from Naxos to Santorini, and from Santorini to Crete.

We have been to Greece a few times now and love it there, but organising travel between the islands is not easy. We just came back from a trip to three islands and they were not the first three islands I thought we would visit. It just turned out they were three that were possible. Other islands required us to return to Piraeus first and then head back out. So just a word of warning, your first plan may not be the final plan.

Also if you book ferry tickets online, you have to exchange the voucher in Greece for a ticket. It's not an e-ticket like the airlines. I do think 2 days on Santorini is cutting it a bit short, could you steal a day from somewhere else? If your plans change a bit, you might want to utilise the overnight ferry from Chania to Piraeus, we did this a few years ago and had a cabin with bathroom. It was fine and saved a night's accommodation as well.

Here are some ideas for accommodation -

Chania - we stayed at Pandora Suites and loved the view, the owners were very hospitable.
http://www.greekhotel.com/crete/chania/pandora/home.htm
http://chania-pandorasuites.clickhere.gr/

Naxos - we liked the Grotta Hotel and again, the family who owned it were lovely. The only slight downside was the 15 min walk into town, somewhere very central would have suited us more.
http://www.hotelgrotta.gr/

Santorini - we have stayed in Thira but on this last visit we stayed in Oia at Filotera Suites and were really glad we did. Thira is fine but Oia is nicer in our opinion. Just be prepared for stairs as most accommodation on the island is built into the cliff and there are stairs everywhere. Filotera Villas was well located, nice room, amazing view and friendly owners.
http://www.filoteravillas.gr/home.html

Good luck with the planning and research.
Kay

Thanks for the added info Don. I somehow missed the direct Rhodes>Naxos Blue Star ferry.

Great info so far. Do keep the info flowing.
Thanx

Robbie, your post asked for ideas "given our European arrival and departure cities" -- I can't find a mention of them or does it matter? do u have a flight out of athens to another EU city?

I've been to all the isles you list, (see my web page) http://www.techforecast.com/janet.htm
.. in 2011 planning a late May trip similar to yours but omitting Crete, adding other spots; This will be my 10th trip, taking a few people along each time, also help some people plan trips when they get tangled up in transport (the chief challenge!), have some ideas that may help u but I tire of typing in these tiny boxes, tried to send you a PM but no provision for this ... Kay, Heimdall & brotherlee have given very sound experienced advice, a Greek-isle trip is seldom straightforward, in fact I don't consider it a journey, more a quest. As Kay says your first intinerary may not be your last. And also, you may have to either add a few days or make some compromises. Best wishes! You've been to many places, but Greece has a magic all its own..

The idea of flying directly from Rhodes to Crete on Sky Express and then Santorini, Nosox and Athens is a worthy alternative. I didn't like the idea of a 9 am flight from athens to Naxos, probably meaning overnighting in Athens.
We cut Santorini short because it sounded like there would be hoardes of tourists there in early June. If any of you think we should take a day from Crete (currently 2 days Herklion and 4 in/around Chania) to add to Santorini, please say why. Would you spend more time in Santorini or Naxos???
As far as our gateways, we fly LAX to Istanbul, spend 3 1/3 days there before flying to Dalaman to get to Marmaris to get to the short ferry to Rhodes. After our last island, either Crete or Naxos, we fly home from Athens. Its about 21 days on the ground.

Do be aware that Sky express has very small planes (18 passenger??) and are VERY limiting on baggage ... I think it's 12.5 Kg =27.5 pounds and that INCLUDES your carry-on, not just checked bag. Any overage, the charge is 3€ per kilogram (2.2 lbs) So if you have the typical US baggage of about 50 lbs, you'd pay 70€ or so in overweight charges.

SkyExpress planes hold 19 and 29 passengers, depending.

Jan is correct about the Sky Express 12.5 kg baggage limit, but I'm not sure whether the limit includes carry-on luggage as well. You can check for yourself at http://www.skyexpress.gr/terms.asp (the part about baggage is at the bottom of the page).

The thing to remember about Sky Express is it is not a major airline -- more of a mom & pop outfit. Their website is out of date, and they don't publish timetables very far in advance. The aircraft they use on the Rhodes - Crete route are 19 pax Jetsteams, more of a company aircraft than an airliner. As far as I know Sky Express is a reliable company, so I'm not discouraging you from using them -- just know what you are getting into.

Just beginning to think about a Greece trip but was wondering what an average plane trip on Sky express from Athens to Rhodes or Crete is and what prices I would be looking at for Ferry from those islands to the smaller ones like Naxos and Santorini heading back to Athens

To bornintheusa - there are a few different websites for ferry timetables and prices but I found www.goferry.gr to be one of the most user friendly. I booked our tickets direct via the ferry company websites though, and do check where you can collect your ticket in case it's not convenient.

As an example, a ferry from Santorini to Piraeus at the end of September costs 31 euro one way. You can pay more if you want a cabin.

Kay

born in US ---
If you are thinking of flying from Athens to Rhodes or Crete, it's a good idea if your trip time is limited, by the way, to go immediately to your farthest island by plane, and hop back by ferry. (or maybe 1-2 legs by fery and final leg, again, by plane, if your time is VERY short).

However, if flying to those 2 ises, NO need to use Sky Express, with small planes and very restrictive baggage limits. Both islands are served by Aegean Air and Olympic Air (which may be merged by 2011 summer), which have considerably larger planes. You need to do some transport homework. These sites show which islands are served by which airlines: http://www.aia.gr/scheduledFlights.a...d=2&airline=OA
http://www.aia.gr/scheduledFlights.a...d=2&airline=A3
and this shows available schedules, and you can compare prices for each day -- http://www.airtickets.gr/registration_en.asp

BE aware that Aegean also has "promotional fares" -- in early spring offering, say 10,000 seats to a list of islands at "19€ sale price" or "€29 sale price". Of course when taxes & airport fees etc are added on it's usually about 2x the sales price but still a BARGAIN. To get an e-mail alert for thse, go to Aegean air website and in left hand column click on "Newsletter-SubscribeNOW". You will get regular email alerts

It's not possible to tell you what an "average" plane fare will be because it varies as much as a US fare will... depending on time of day, busy seasons, etc, and if they have seats to fill. You have to keep checking and checking, no easy way.

For ferry prices, go to Blue Star Line website -- this is the most reliable, largest ferry line to the Cycladic islands. If they give a price for a conventional (non-hi speed) ferry from say Naxos to Piraeus, the price will be much the same for other ferry lines because the govt. regulates these prices. I ncidentally... the ferry prices are subsidized substantially by the Greek government because of its citizens needing to have the service (rather like US Govt building our Fedl Highway system), so whatever you pay, it's far short of the real cost, and is much less than ferry costs in many nations.

Thanks travelerjan and kayF for the great links to the websites. Am just in the beginning stages of thinking about this trip so these are invaluable resources. I am sure I will have a gazillion more question before I leave in June 2011

Thanks to all of you Greek Island experts, we've revised our itinerary and think it is much better for your advice. Let me know if this makes sense. If so, I'll delve into hotels

5/24 Depart Istanbul for Dalaman (after 3.5 days in Istanbul) on 7 pm flight. Get someone to drive us to Marmaris and stay overnight. Any recommended drivers?
5/25 take 9 am ferry from Marmaris to Rhodes
5/29 Sky Express Rhodes to Crete, 2 days Herklion
5/31 drive Herklion to Chania
6/3 fast boat Chania to Santorini
5/6 Santorini to Naxos
5/9 or 10 Naxos to Athens and USA

No, you will have to reverse your Crete Itinerary... from Airport drive immediately to Chania (the big highway bypasses the Heraklion traffic mess) ... then drive BACK to the Heraklion area at the end of your Crete visit, because the daily fast-ferry to Santorini leaves from Heraklion port.

travelerjan, does Sky Express fly from Rhodes to the airport near Chania or do you mean the airport near Heraklion? Do you happen to know if car rental agencies have drop off offices at the Heraklion port?

No, I forgot you only have sky express... it lands at Heraklion airport. My point was that you cannot get from Chania to Santorini.... there are no sailings on that route.

In Crete, you can rent in one place, drop in another. Pick up at Heraklion airport, drive wherever, drop at the Heraklion ferry port.

Personally --- why are you going to Dalaman and Marmaris... Is the only purpose to get to Rhodes??? The waste of a day unless there is some ancient site you MUST see in Dalaman (Marmaris is only a tourist market). Here's a scenario to consider & price out:

5/24 - Istanbul: FLY to ATHENS, then SWITCH to Flight 2 hrs later to CHANIA (if you watchdog Aegean Air after January, you can probably get tix for each leg at €50 or less)
5/24 -- 5/28 Adventures in Crete ... ending in Heraklion
5/30 -- IJ 8:15 am Super jet HERAKLION to NAXOS
6/3 -- Ferry to SANTORINI
6/5 -- (1 day earlier or later) Midnight BLUE STAR 1 to RHODES, arrive 7 am.
6/6 -- 6/9 RHODES fly back to AThens evening on AEGEAN
6/10 -- flight back to USA.

It's Wacky, but no more wacky than your schedule ... you could simplify your trip either of 2 ways (1) Drop either Crete or Rhodes or (2) add at least 3 more days to the trip.

travelerjan, we're flying in to Istanbul and spending 3.5 days there (second trip). If we fly Istanbul to Athens and then Rhodes we have to overnight in Athens. The only flights I saw to Rhodes left at 9 am. Unfortunately I'm checking after high season and next May's flights aren't posted yet.
We wanted to have diversity in our island choices, that is why we included Rhodes. If you think Rhodes will feel very similar to Crete (Heraklion and Chania) and Santorini, please give your thoughts. Our friends leave us after Santorini so we thought we'd spend our final 3-4 days on Naxos, hoping for a lux splurge at the end. It doesn't seem Naxos is the island for that. Any other islands to compliment our mix?