And I need a little bit of help/advice. Let's see, I'm single woman, pretty adventurous with no real schedule, and I'll be on a strict budget since I'm trying to stay for 3-4 weeks. <BR><BR>Is that too long? Can I do it in 2-3 weeks?<BR>Should I go in April or May? <BR>Will it be warm enough to do the beaches? <BR>Which Islands should I do? How long on each? What sequence should I see them in (in terms of ease of ferry schedules and travel times) Where should I stay? --I'm open to youth hostels I guess.<BR><BR>Thanks! [email protected]

Have a look at Matt Barrett's site<BR>www.greecetravel.com You will get a lot of ideas re the various islands from there. As for hostels in Greece, they don't seem to be much less than a pension or basic hotel so I would check out the hotels first before settling on any hostels.<BR>You will easily fill in a week in Athens, including a day trip to Cape Sounion, Delphi on the mainland.<BR>May might be the better month for going to the islands, the boat schedules will be more prevalent and the weather is beautiful then. <BR>You should be able to get to Santorini from Mykonos in may, from Piraeus the route is Syros, Mykonos and Tinos. From Mykonos the boat stops at Paros. Check out ferry schedules nearer the time but 3 -4 weeks sounds marvellous. Consider including Crete as it is quite different from the Cyclades islands and much to see there.

Here are some more sites to research - <BR><BR>http://gogreece.about.com/mbody.htm (general info)<BR><BR>http://home.bredband.no/harhau/islandwalking/ (this one has a forum where you should be able to get good advice once you have more specific questions)<BR><BR>http://www.greekisland.co.uk/ (one man's &quot;warts'n'all&quot; descriptions of various islands and another forum for asking questions)<BR><BR>http://www.gtpnet.com/ (lots of maps, destination guides and ferry schedules)<BR><BR>If you go in May it should be warm enough to spend plenty of time on the beaches, although the sea will probably still be fairly chilly. As Kathy says, there will be more ferries up and running than in April and you should get people meeting you off the ferries offering you rooms to stay in, so cheap accommodation shouldn't be a problem at that time of year.<BR><BR>As for whether 3-4 weeks is too long, well, there are about 30 islands in the Cyclades group alone and Greece is much, much more than just the Cyclades, so in that time, you won't even skim the surface!

Malika, you don't say how old you are but I am guessing you are in your 20's since you are willing to do youth hostels. I would just start conversations with other travelers on the ferry and you can hang out with them to find accomodations when you arrive at each island. I went by myself last year but I am 40 so I wanted a little nicer hotel but I still had no advance reservations. Plenty of hotels available in April, May and June. There were lots of young people in Fira on Santorini but not as many on Rhodes. As far as sequence, I would probably start in Athens (one night was enough for me)and go to Mykonos from there and then just play it by ear. Asking others where they have been is a good way meet other people to hang out with as well as decide on your next stop. <BR>If you are wanting something different then head on over to Turkey, I thought it was much more interesting than Greece.

It is also nice to go to Greece for Greek Easter. A nice place to go is in the town of Arahova, right before Delphi. Good Friday evening weather permitting...go to St. Georges Chapel on the hill called Lykavytus in Athens. You can take the funicular up there and there you can watch multiple candlelit processions. Paros or Tinos are good islands to go to for easter. It is pretty cold to swim until June...unless you are use to the cold.

Greek Easter this year I think is April 27.

You can do it in two weeks, three weeks, four weeks, or however long you want to spend. I would wait until May - the weather is better, and more hotels and restaurants are open on the islands by then. Recommend you spend the first several days on the mainland. A couple of days in Athens is enough, but there is Delphi, Meteora, and lots of other things to see. Island hopping is easiest in the Cyclades, but don't spend all your time on Mykonos and Santorini - they are the most expensive and touristy islands in the group. Naxos and Paros are worth seeing, and if you go to the Matt Barrett website you will get lots of other ideas. As for planning your itinerary, if you can get hold of a copy of &quot;Greek Island Hopping&quot;, a Thomas Cook publication, it will be of great help.