Nafplion? Paros? Naxos?
 

Here's our current itinerary:

Day 1/2/3 Santorini
Day 4/5 Mykonos
Day 6/7/8/ ??
Day 9/10 Athens, fly home

We had originally planned on traveling from Mykonos back to Athens to meet up with friends, rent a car, head to Nafplion for a night or two. However, our friends bailed. We've already booked Santorini and Mykonos and I don't want to change those up.

I'm still leaning towards our original itinerary-taking a boat from Mykonos back to Athens and renting a car to Nafplion for a few days to check out the peninsula, etc. Or should we stay island-bound and go to Paros or Naxos? We're traveling at the end of May.

Thoughts?

Would be able to put Paros or Naxos in the day 4/5 and end the island part of your island trip in Mykonos? You could then take a short flight into Athens rather than the ferry giving you a little more time on the island. Same for Paros, depending on flight times you would like.

I think there is a fast cat between Santorini to Paros that is just over 2 hours. Then about the same travel time by fast cat from Paros or Naxos to Mykonos. We took it from Mykonos to Naxos last year and it was very nice and short.

www.gtp.gr

If you want to see more of Greece, then i would recommend spending these days on the Mainland.
Otherwise no matter how beautiful the other Cyclades islands are, you will see something similar to Mykonos.
Having 3 days on the Mainland, would allow you to see Nafplion, Ancient Corinth, Epidaurus, Mycenae and Tiryns and you could also visit the island of Spetses.

If you've already booked Santorini and Mykonos and don't want to change, Paros or Naxos would mean a little backtracking, but not much (45 minutes on the flying cat or sea jet).

My inclination would be to keep plans the same, and go to Nafplion. Greece is much more than just islands, and the area around Nafplion one of the richest in historical sites in the country. You would also have an extra buffer on the mainland in case strikes or weather delay return from the islands. Just last week was a seaman's strike that halted ferries for 48 hours.

Instead of a ferry from Mykonos to Athens, consider flying back and picking up your rental car at Athens Airport. It's also possible to take a ferry from Mykonos to Rafina, which is only 20 minutes from the airport. :-)

i totally agree with clausar on your issue - Nafplion (especially Nafplion, if i recall correctly, that was the first modern capitol of Greece after liberation from Ottoman Empire; besides that, it's genuinely beautiful city), Corinth, Epidaurus (that acoustics are amazing and they built that like thousands years ago! :O), Myceanae and Tiryns are worth seeing. Myceanae was a bit disappointing for me, though

Not that you need to read one more person with the same advice, but we went to Nafplion last year and really enjoyed the sites on the mainland. Nafplion was an easy drive from Piraeus (and probably easier from the airport)and was a charming city.

>>>Not that you need to read one more person with the same advice<<<

Make that 2 more! Spend the time in Nafplion and surrounding sites like Tiryns, Mycenae and Epidaurus. There is more to Greece than islands ... much more.

Based on MY point of view I agree with Nafplion. Based on YOUR point of view, I have no idea because you do not mention your interests or traveling style. For example only 2 days on an island feel far too rushed on me -even if it's Mykonos and I am not very fond of Mykonos-. Plus I would spend much more time in Athens. Then maybe your sole aim for going to Mykonos is to visit Delos and to Athens to see the Acropolis and nothing else.. How could we know...I never get why people do not share a bit about their selves and aim of their trip. Advice differs according to each persons likes/dislikes, traveling style, specific requirements and so on!

I would stick with 3 locations in 10 days - keep in mind your transit is going to eat up at least 1/2 a day when you move so your schedule looks like this:

Day 1 - arrive in Santorini (what time?)
Day 2- Santorini
Day 3 Santorini
Day 4 - Travel to Mykonos
Day 5 - Mykonos
Day 6 - Travel ?
Day 7 - ?
Day 8 - ?
Day 9 - Travel to Athens
Day 10 - Athens
Day 11 - fly home

I would do:

Day 1 - arrive in Santorini (what time?)
Day 2- Santorini
Day 3 Santorini
Day 4 - Santorini
Day 5 - Travel to Mykonos
Day 6 - Mykonos
Day 7 - Mykonos (day trip to Delos)
Day 8 - Travel to Athens
Day 9 - Athens
Day 10 - Athens
Day 11 - fly home

I put the extra day on Santorini assuming you are going to have jetlag when you arrive.

This way you can enjoy some relaxation and not just spend most time in transit.

Enjoy!