My husband & I will be in Athens on business & are taking a week to "island hop." I'm pretty sure we'll stay on Santorini and Naxos, but would like some opinions as to whether to also stay on Mykonos or if another island would be better. We're middle-aged, not into the bar/club scene and don't intend to spend our time sitting on a beach -- we can do that at home! If you have any tips on hotels, that would be great. Not "budget" hotels, but not lavish either. Thanks for the help!

For one week, two islands are all you can comfortably handle. In addition to Santorini, either Naxos or Mykonos would be a good choice. From Naxos you can take a day trip to Delos and Mykonos, staying a half day on each island.

If, as one of your other posts suggests, you are traveling in October, Mykonos might be a better choice than Naxos. By October Naxos will be very quiet, while the Mykonos season lasts a little longer. The party types will be long gone by then.

Thank you, Heimdall -- having done more reading (books and posts here), we're leaning toward Naxos and skipping Mikonos. Any recommendations for hotels in Naxos? As I've said before, we're economical, but not cheap. I'd like to stay below 140E a night, including breakfast.

In October in Naxos, it would be hard to find a hotel that comes NEAR to your top price!

Since it's October, best to stay in Naxos Town or adjacent, at St. George Beach. One idea is Hotel Glaros Top floor suite -- 2 rooms and you have a very large private balcony overlooking beach ... and I'll bet it goes for under 100E off-season. THe beach is for looking at -- and you can walk in 5 mins to the harborside crescent of tavernas, cafes and shops -- which is where the action will be at that season.

The Naxos Guru on this board, "stanbr" will doubtless chime in with his great suggestions, so I'll beat him to it with his ravishing slideshow of Naxos (which IMO outdoes Santorini in its diversity).
Here's the link to delight your eyes:

http://www.larios.gr/section116382.html

I went to the islands (Mykonos, Naxos, and Paros) in June of 2003, which is considered "off season" before the July-Sept crowd gets there. I bet your experience will be similar to mine. Even Mykonos was not crazy at all and there is tons of availability in terms of hotels. Actually, about 50 people will jump at your when you get off the ferry to offer you rooms. An pretty nice room will probably cost you no more than $50 per night. $140 is really high for October I think even if you book ahead.

Heimdall: I've seen you recommend the Argo Hotel in other postings, but I can't pull up their website. Have tried several times, Googled, etc. Maybe they're just having web problems, but thought I'd ask if you have any ideas. Thanks!

Gshlaw, the Argo website is: http://www.argo-hotel.com/.

Right next to it is Naxos Royal, which is new, and looked to me like a very luxurious hotel (I overlooked it from my balcony in Argo). Their website is: http://tinyurl.com/ynq4x4.

Look on the Rates & Contact page for their prices, but doubles in Oct range from €70 to €150. The most expensive room would cost €250 in high season. As travelerjan said, it is hard to find a hotel in Oct that comes near your price cap.

BTW, I paid only €26 for my single room in the Argo in June. That included breakfast - without breakfast it would have been only €20. How did I get such a cheap rate? I called Argo while waiting for the ferry from Paros to Naxos. An hour or so later, son-in-law was waiting for me at the port in the Argo van, and drove me straight to the hotel. When I left Naxos, the owner himself drove me to the airport for free. They really are nice people at Argo.

Thanks, Heimdall! Argos must have been having website trouble last night, as it popped right up this morning. I've e-mailed requesting rates & availability.

BTW: Naxos Royal's site says they have nothing available for the dates we'll be there in Oct.!

If you can't reach Argo, what's wrong with trying HOtel Glaros? Recommended by one of this forum's savviest Naxos experts, Stanbr. I've also stayed next door at Hotel Galini/Sophia L which has rooms with balconies and water views.

Here's the link I've found with the most complete listing of St. George HOtels with pictures and descriptions:
http://www.thegreektravel.com/naxos/hotels.html

You're sure to find something that suits you.

That's where I differ from some other posters. I don't spend much time during the day at my hotel, so sea views do nothing for me. I get the best sea view of all - from the beach. You can also get some spectacular views of the sea from the mountain villages.

I stayed at Naxos Royal last week. I had the same no availability issue until I emailed them directly. [email protected]. You will probably get a response from Despina. They probably will have availability. It is the nicest place to stay on the island with the exception of Hotel Maranda. (spelling?)Maranda is so far away from everything that you would need a car for sure!

Stanbr does recommend Hotel Glaros as well as Naxos Royal, so I went and checked it out. I did like it. It is more personal that Royal and is very well located. Royal is generic but nice. Good breakfast, good location and pool. The rooms are small and it is a little impersonal.

We loved the inland villages. Eating in Naxos town at night and exploring the beaches further out. Naxos Town is fun to get lost in and very pretty. The rest of the island is not spoilt by over developement. However, three star tourism is it's top end, so if you are a Four Seasons or Leading Hotles of the world type, this island is not for you.

Thanks, everyone! I've e-mailed Argo & am waiting for their reply; I had also e-mailed Glaros based on other posts and while I was reading your responses their reply came in! Superior double for 47E, including breakfast. We are far from the "4 Seasons" kind of travelers and won't be spending our days in the room for sure - we'll be walking the town or driving to the inland villages. Still, we'd rather not trip over each other in a tiny room or bathroom. Both of these hotels look like heaven from the pictures I've seen -- Which should I pick?!!?

Glaros if you want a sea view. Argo if you want a clean hotel run by very nice people, but that description probably fits Glaros as well. You can't go wrong either way.

I much preferred Rhodes to Mykonos. In both places I spent a lot of time standing around waiting while the women in our group ducked in and out of shops, but at least in Rhodes there were places to sit and more shops that interested this straight male (liquor stores, armor and military items, English guidebooks and a couple historic sites worth visiting). Mykonos was a little too pretentious and artsy-fartsy for me.

Zeus: LOL. My husband told me yesterday that he would leave it to me to pick between Mykonos and Naxos, and I've chosen Naxos -- for which I hope he'll be eternally grateful once he's read your comments!

Heimdall & travelerjan: Do I need to worry about reserving for the ferry from Santorini to Naxos before we get to Santorini on Oct. 11? Since this is my first trip to Greece, and there is only one ferry between those islands on the day we want to go to Naxos, part of me is worried that we won't be able to get on, while the rest of me says I'm being silly. To book before we leave will cost more to have the tickets delivered that the tickets themselves cost.

No, you don't need to book your ferry in advance. Blue Star Paros sails every day from Santorini at 1530, arriving Naxos around 1800. The ship holds over 1,400 passengers, and won't be full in October. There may be other ferries as well, but Blue Star is a modern, well maintained ship, very popular in the Cyclades. http://www.bluestarferries.com/ENGLISH/defaultmain.htm

Heimdall is right about the ferry. we were on the same one last week. Blue Star is much newer and cleaner looking than some of the others we saw as well.

We went from Santorini to Naxos as well. I think it would have been better to do it the opposite direction. Saving Santorini till last. It is so dramatic!

I don't know what happened to the reply I posted yesterday - maybe I hit the wrong key and deleted it . . . at any rate: Thank you EVERYONE for all the help. I figured the ferry didn't need to be booked in advance, but the reassurance is very welcome.

We're set at Hotel Anemomilos (Oia) on Santorini and waiting on a confirmation of our reservation from Hotel Glaros on Naxos. We are sailors, and my husband is never happier than when on or near the water, so we opted for Glaros (which has rave reviews, on TripAdvisor, BTW.)Besides, Argo hasn't responded to my e-mail, so I'm thinking they may be closed by mid-Oct.

I have only one more question (for now, anyway): Any thoughts/tips on a day trip to Melos from Naxos?

Again, thank you all very much for your time and consideration in helping me plan our trip. Please let me know if I can ever offer any similar assistance for a trip to New Orleans -- which is where we call home!

About that day trip -- do you mean Delos, the sacred isle, or Milos?

I think Heimdall's very first post said there are day trips to Delos -- they give you about 3 hours on that island, and that's all you'll want, unless you are a professional archeologist. Take a sun hat and plenty of water and a good map, and you'll have a good time! I met a wonderful couple from Austria there.

Afterwards you'll have time on Mykonos before the excursion ferry leaves but u can just sit in a cafe & recover (or if you wish, u can buy expensive jewelry).

Enjoy Naxos!! I always have!