If you had 2 days, which Greek island(s) would you visit?
 

Planning a trip in June, and after touring the mainland, I figure we'll have a couple of days to see an island (or two.) Where would you go?

Also, assuming we fly to the island from Athens, should tickets be purchased in advance from the US?

Thanks.

we're flying from Athens to Santorini in late May. We booked our flights last month and the afternoon flight we wanted was full....we had to take an earlier flight. I would definitely book now for June.

If you're flying then yes definitely book in advance.

For two days I would suggest you go to only one island. If you're up for flying to an island then you have the option of going to any island you want to.

It depends on what you would like to do on the island as they all vary. Santorini is extremely beautiful, its a must see - the beaches are unique. Many are rock or pebble beaches though, including black, white and red beaches.

If you want cyrstal clear water and white or clear sand then there are other options for you to go to such as Paros, Mykonos, or Naxos etc (not that the water at Santorini isn't clean - but the waters not clear due to the black rock etc and its deep blue). Each island is special and therefore I would suggest you buy a tacky little travel guide about the Greek Islands, or get one from a library and read up about some of the islands. This way if you are interested in seeing sights etc on the island you can become a little informed about it and then ask further questions about particular islands here.

I guess the question would be - what would you ideally like to do on the island?

If you haven't been to Santorini, then I would suggest you go there, as its like no other.

Wow I see I didn't make much sense in the prior response lol.

What I meant to say - if you're flying you can go to any island you would like to (that has an airport of course) - because you won't have to worry about the time constraints that a ferry would impose on you for some of the islands.

I knew what you meant :.)
Thanks.

I used to live on Mykonos in the olden days so if I had 2 days that's where I would go but if that is not the case for you I would suggest Rhodes. But generally you can't go wrong. They are all beautiful.

Go to the most beautiful island of Santorini. Book online on Aegean Airlines and get etickets.


http://www.aegean-air.gr/aegeanen/home/

Another vote for Santorini. Although it's not my favorite island overall, it is a must-see for first-timers for good reason.

I took the ferry from Athens to Santorini in October. It stopped at Paros and Naxos. I'm glad I stayed on board until Santorini.

You're making the wrong assumption. If you are touring the mainland you will undoubtably go very near one of the mainland ports to some of the islands. Just one example is Patras which has ferries to Ithaki and Kefalonia. If you go near Kavala port there is Thassos or Samothraki islands. Santorini is not unique there are other greek islands similarly volcanic such as Milos and Nissyros.

Another vote for Santorini, preferrably arriving by boat, but with only 2 days it is probably better to fly.

Actually the poster said "assuming we fly out of Athens" hence we didn't make the wrong assumption.

Sure he could leave from other ports, but he would have to tow his car along with him (if he's using it to get around the mainland), get written consent to take it to an island, etc. In addition it also limits the islands he could go to out of those ports as well due to time constraints. Flying resolves that and doesn't limit which islands he could go to: the ionians, cyclades, dodecanse, north eastern aegean, etc. - If interested in saronic islands then a ferry could be taken etc. from Piraeus

And depending on which island, a car may not be required and therefore possibly taking one along and paying for it is a waste of money, not to mention with only 2 days going to a larger island may not be the best thing to do.


Once a general idea is adopted of which islands one is interested then it'd be efficient to figure out the best/fastest/and most productive way to get there.

Geez I can't write coherently for the life of me.


I can't be arsed to rephrase the prior post atm. :S

We are going to Greece for the first time and the only island we will be visiting is Skopelos --we will also be visiting Crete and central Greece. Any feedback on Skopelos--the tour bills it as beautiful. Thanks.

Barry K--

I would recommend that if you have only 2 days to visit an island, you should check out Hydra. I would take a ferry to Hydra from Pireaus. You will love it. We Always end our trips to Greece with a few days in Hydra. Check Web for Hydra. Sandy in Oregon

Santorini. Fly to make the most of your time.

Corfu

Another vote for Santorini.

I flew in and out of Santorini and had advanced purchased the tickets. If I recall correctly, the planes were small. This was 5 years ago though so things might have changed some.

For romance, Santorini
Gay, Mykonos
Into archology, Crete
Young Straight and single, Rhodes

Southern Crete is paradise.One day beach & one day gorge walk.Start in Chania & go south from there.

WARNING
Lying just to the North of Rhodes, reached best by local ferry,is the closest thing to a perfect Greek island imaginable. Population about 300, traditional life continuing but minimal tourist facillities available. No watersports, no noisy nightlife, next to no traffic. It is called Halki, a.k.a. Chalki or Chalkis. On no account go there for two days; it won't be enough. In fact, if you visit all, prepare yourself to spend most of the rest of the holidays of your life there, and to dream of retirng there; your soul will never really leave; the fruit of the lotus is served in extra large portions.

Santorini is the BEST! We booked trhough a Greek Travel agent, can't remember the name but found them on line and about 5 years ago, if you booked through a Greek agent you got a 25% discount on lodging....which was great. We stayed at the Oia Mare (They have a web site www.oiamare.gr in Oia which a smaller town at the tip of the island and is not as touristy as Thera but so lovely and quaint. You walk everywhere, delicious restaurants spectacular views of the culdera . From the airport we took a van to Oia and then a donkey met us and took our bags to the hotel....it was magical. Have fun.

"From the airport we took a van to Oia and then a donkey met us and took our bags to the hotel....it was magical."

Wow. I guess that was magical. Did the donkey introduce himelf too? How did he handle the bags? Did you tip him?


Sorry, couldn't resist.

I agree with Southern Crete, starting in Xania, hiking the GOrge, and great beaches. Having seen Paros, Naxos, Santorini, Eos (Ios?) ... I think that's all of them from which I can compare... I would give Eos the vote. There's a night life (it has the most bars of any island) but you don't have to go far to get away from it. It's fun to walk around the labrynth of a town, watching all the different party people. The beaches are very very good. There's one topless/nudie, too! Santorini, while very cool aesthetically, offers nothing in the way of beaches. But, it does offer THE CALDERA (see your guidebook- Santorini is the remnants of an old volcano)! If you can catch a tour boat out to it, you can jump from the boat and swim to the caldera, where there are hot springs... oooooh! Man, that is FUN! I think you can hike the calder, too. I'm pretty sure it's dormant (safe), not extinct. If I had two days, I'd do Eos. I hate bars, but love to people watch and it's all locals! Go to Eos!!! I think you have to get to Ios by ferry- check it out...

Yes, Patrick! LOL!

You guys are tough! Yes, we gave the donkey a carrot and he even came back and hauled our bags out when we left. The donkey driver never said a word so I felt much closer to the donkey....and it WAS magical darn it!!!