One month in Greece
 

Hi!

My family is planning a trip to Europe next year, we think that Greece may be the best spot for us because we want to do a little sight seeing and exploring, but mainly want to enjoy some wonderful beaches. It is my husband and I traveling and we will have our daughters age 3 and 5 at the time of our trip. The trip will need to be laid back and fairly slow paced at my younger daughter will need to nap during the day. I really want to "island hop" and hopefully end up somewhere that we can stay for a week or so. I was thinking we could go down the Cyclades, and stay for a longer duration in Crete. Anyone have any suggestions about this itinerary, or any helpful pointers for traveling in Greece with little ones? Thanks in advance!

Greeks love kids so yours will be welcome wherever you go. You can search for hotels with "family rooms" and other amenities by using the filter system at www.booking.com. You'll find excellent beaches in the Cyclades chain of islands on Paros, Antiparos and Naxos. If you're planning to explore Athens or anywhere else on the mainland save it all for the end so you aren't scrambling back to the Athens at the last minute for your flight home. You can either fly or ferry out on the day you arrive to Crete, then catch a ferry to Santorini, Paros or Naxos, and from those islands back to Athens/Piraeus. Ferry schedules: www.gtp.gr Flights: https://tinyurl.com/yb4vte8z

Don't expect schedules for next year to be available until sometime around the first of January (Sometimes earlier).

Thank you so much! This is so helpful.

We were in Greece with a large group of kids (ranging from 1.5 to 10 years) and the kids had a blast. My 3.5 year old enjoyed it too. Of all the beaches, she liked Elafonisi beach the best because of its gentle, warm and shallow waters. She spent 3 hours in there (and napped like a champ on the way home).

Here are my Trip highlights, in case it helps you out - https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...crete-1655966/

We did Athens - Santorini - Crete and thought it was great. If you do Crete, keep in mind its really massive. So if you pick one town as a base (as we did), this will involve a LOT of driving to the various points of interest (not always fun with the kids). If you really want to do Crete right with the kids, I would recommend spending 2-3 nights in Chania, Rethymno (and Heraklion if interest to you). But that would mean moving every 3 days with kids (which is not always great either. So maybe spend 4 nights at each destination?). Or perhaps pick another "doable/convenient" island? I don't know much about Mykonos or Naxos but some things to look into. Santorini was wonderful.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

FWI, I found the Rough Guide and the Michelin Green Guide particularly useful for Greece.

Enjoy!

Thank you for your comment. I have that concern that Crete is so big that it might be difficult to get around. Did you rent a car? I am wondering if that is a feasible option.

I rented a car for part of my time on Crete, but there are buses that you can use for some purposes. For public transportation options, consult rome2rio.com, and be sure to click through to the source links because the main site is not sensitive to seasonal variation in schedules.

If you haven't already seen it, you might find some useful information in my trip report, despite the differences in our itineraries and preferences. It's long, but searchable; the sections on Crete and the Cyclades are nearest the start.
https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...reece-1460735/

My tips for traveling with kids the age -- based on helping quite a number of families plan -- include these:
• GO in MAY-JUNE! -- This is the LAST year the school year won't impact you, so take advantage!! Several good reasons (1) WEATHER is best -- 70s-low 80s, cool at night; July-Aug TOO hot for kids OR you to enjoy middle of day at all and (2) avoid huge July-August crowds of Europeans that pack the isles to overflowing. best timing of all May 15 - June 15.
• CHOOSE ISLANDS Carefully -- Santorini is NOT kid-friendly (tho u could do a day-excursion from Naxos), Crete is so big it feels like a country, not an island.... you can enjoy it for a week or more if you plan location strategically and rent a car from agency that supplies child seats. Best kid-friendly Cycladics with beaches u can walk to/stay on are NAXOS, ANTIPAROS, SERIFOS, SIFNOS
• DO LOGISTICS FIRST -- Don't fall for an island that is logistically difficult ... get a sequence that works, THEN book accommodations. Do NOT fall for a hotel that's inconvenient or you'll regret it every day.
• LEARN WHAT "WORKS" in ISLES -- Many people daydream about "a villa on the sands"... there are almost none. Most beaches young families like don't have villas near beaches... all the good beach property was built up with small family-run places with 1-3 room "Units". You can get sometimes a 2BR, most often a 1 BR w large main room w kitchenette & 2 daybeds, balcony or patio... Villas are newer, sometimes far from beaches, require loading evrything in car to go swim/sun. SO much easier to be right on the sand, no drives, no long walks lugging gear. Less Work for Mother.
• DONT GET TOO AMBITIOUS -- You can't travel more than about 3-4 hrs in any given day, or sightsee ditto. The rest of the day is beaching, napping, snacking. Feed kids on on their skeds... then u can go to a nearby taverna (restaurant) and the grownups can eat a real meal while the kids eat dessert & dig in the sand next to the place .... Island restaurateurs are great about kids.

FEASIBLE SEQUENCE: LAND in ATH and stay at a close-by B & B with a pool for dinner & 1st night -- shuttle back to airport early AM for first flight out to farthest island.
• CRETE for a WEEK+ -- IDEAL place for 3-4 days IF u can book (only 30 units) is just outside CHANIA -- AMMOS HOTEL; ON a beach, & local bus by door goes to Chania Old Town in 20 minutes.
• FERRY from HERAKLION to NAXOS (1 week+) -- Stay at St. George Beach, shallow, perfect for kids, studio/apt units as above... 15 minute walk to all the port town attractions
• ANTIPAROS (4-5 days) -- Again, beach places walkable everywhere, easy quick Daytrips to PAROS port town of Parikia.
• SERIFOS or SIFNOS -- Ferry goes from PAROS 2-3x per week. I have places to recommend... From either, daily ferries back to mainland.

Our first trip to Greece was for a month, two weeks of it were near Chania, Crete. We rented a car there and in the Peloponessean Pen. With children along, I highly recommend a car in Crete. We couldn’t have gotten to so many of the beautiful places we visited without a car.
A travel agency for Crete is www.diktynna-travel.gr. They were extremely helpful and we took advantage of their tecommdations. Spend a night in Luotro on southern coast. Drive to Chora Skafion and take a ferry there.

Response
 

Yes, we rented a car in Crete. I would highly advise it, especially with kids, so that you have the flexibility of leaving when you want, coming back when you want, naps/kids' moods/energy levels, etc. After 3-4 days of driving around, the drivers in our group got a bit tired (we had a massive group, so 3 vans and 3 drivers). So the last day (the day of the longest drive from Rethymno to Elfanoisi - around 2.5 hours one way), we actually rented a bus and driver. That was an option for us since we were a huge group. Not an option for you. But the only reason I mention it is that the driving can get tiresome. It totally depends on what kinds of things you want to do and what your interests are, but with kids, I would recommend making Chania a base and using that to explore things in/around Chania, Balos, Elafonisi, etc.

Also, on a side note, I found Greece to be a very family friendly place. Most folks were friendly to and friendly/sociable to the kids as well. There was a restaurant in Athens (Cactus 7) that actually went out of their way to suggest things to us that the kids might like that were not on the menu. We ordered it and it was delicious.

Happy travels!