Mykonos or Crete
 

We are doing a short trip (9 days) staying in Athens for 2 and then flying to Santorini for three nights. Trying to decide if Mykonos or Crete would be the most interesting island. Any suggestions? thanks

It depends on what you want! I felt hard pressed to see my highest priorities on Crete with a week; I saw what I wanted to see of Mykonos in a a few hours. I'm sure other people would say very different things. And I think it also depends on when you are going -- I believe that Mykonos can be quite the party isle during high season.

Crete needs a minimum of a week with a rental car just to barely scratch the surface. Instead of Mykonos consider Naxos or Paros for a more diverse experience of the Greek islands.

You don't give enough information. Do the 9 days include travel to/from Greece? What time of year are you travelling? What are your interests?

Each time you change destinations within Greece you lose another day in travel, even to nearby locations. If you are leaving Greece from Athens you will have to return there again at the end of the trip. No need to do Athens twice with so little time. It would be more time efficient to fly out to your first island on a connecting flight upon arrival in Athens. All the flights to the islands are less than an hour, which coincidentally is about how long it takes to get from the airport to central Athens.

As for your choice of islands, I agree with brotherleelove's comments. Mykonos is a good choice if you want to see the archeological site on Delos — it has a beautiful chora (main town), organised sandy beaches, and lots of upmarket hotels, restaurants, nightlife, and shops. It is extremely crowded in July and August, but less so at other times of the year.

Crete would be a good choice if you had more time to spend there. Paros and Naxos are easier to absorb on a short trip, and Naxos has lots of fans on this board. I prefer Paros, which is very similar, but has the smaller island of Antiparos across a narrow strait, so you get two islands for the price of one.

We spent two weeks on Crete and barely touched the surface. We were in Mykonos for four nights which was about right, including a day on Delos.