Planning 1st trip to Greece
 

I am planning on starting in mid-September for at least 21 days.
Am in interested in a land tour, some island hopping, and finding the village my Grandfather was born in.
I would like to go from Athens to the northern part of Greece first:
Delphi to Kalambaka, the Meteora to Pella to Thermopylae and back to Athens. Then from Athens to the Peloponnese: Corinth, Mycenae, Nafplio, Olympia, Caves of Dyros.
Some island hopping: Crete, Mykanos, Santorini, Rhodes, Patmos.
Here are a couple of questions if you would be so kind to respond:
Would 10-11 days for the land tour and 8-9 days for those islands be a good mix?
Would a personal guide for the land tour be a good idea? Also, to assist in finding my Grandfather's village?
Any recommendations for a personal guide, and/or for a tour agency.
How about the island hopping. Should I just catch a plane to Crete, and then Hydrafoils to the other islands?
Also, my Grandfather was born in 1885, and I can't find his village on recent maps. Who could I contact for old villages and maps?
Thank you!

We've been to Greece twice & would go back many times more to experience more of it - particularly Rhodes which we haven't seen yet & really appeals to me. Greece is a wonderful country with warm & friendly people, which you well know since you're of Greek descent.

As I recall for our first trip (late May to early June & it was surprisingly chilly until our last days in Greece) we did a tour that comprised all the places you want to go. It was either Trafalgar or Globus (Globus, I think), & we took it despite the fact that we despise bus tours because we were concerned about trying to drive in a country where the alphabet wasn't in our favor. We also wanted to learn as much as possible & the trip gave us just what we hoped for. Given the same set of facts, I suppose we'd choose a land tour again for the education it gave us.

After the tour to all the places you want to go we hopped on a plane for a week in Crete & rented a car for a seat of our pants adventure. We loved it. The roads were scary but the scenery, food, & people were wonderful. We were based in Chania at an inn called the Dolphins - Dolphina?? Delfina?? - & it was very nice indeed. A week in Crete wasn't long enough for us to hydrofoil out even for a day in Santorini, so we can add that to our to-do list when we return to go to Rhodes. The islands are so neat - Crete in particular because it's so large - that they deserve to be taken slowly. BTW - avoid the noisy eastern end of Crete - full of big hotels & devoid of local color.

Have dinner in the Plaka in Athens & give yourself over to settling in there. I know you will love Greece. Have some feta cheese for me!

What is the name of your grandfather's village, and whereabouts is it (roughly)?

Carolena

Strongly recommend you do the island hopping first. Mid-September is a perfect time to visit the islands, but 1 Oct is the magic date when most hotels and restaurants close for the season.

The islands on your list fall within at least four different ferry routes. Getting from one island to another is easy if they are on the same route, but difficult otherwise. The Hellenic Seaways catamaran connecting Crete, Santorini, and Mykonos runs until 31 Oct, so you should be okay there. If I read the schedule correctly, from 2 Oct it runs only between Crete and Satorini, though. See http://www.ferries.gr/hfd/.

Rhodes and Patmos are in a completely different island chain, and don't fit in well with your 8-9 day plan. Rhodes is served by both Olympic and Aegean airlines, but Patmos doesn't have an airport, as far as I know. Either would involve a long ferry ride from Pireaus.

If you decide to island hop in September, you could fly to Crete, then take the FlyingCat4 to Santorini and Mykonos. Wait until October and it would be practical to do only Crete and Santorini. To get to Mykonos you would probably have to go back to the mainland first.

Broterleelove?

Carolina: The village name on the ship's Manifest is Siriamo or Siriamis, or Siriamio. The handwriting is hard to read. I understand that because the last name is Michalopoulos, the ending 'poulos' indicates the Peloponnese. Possibly around Valtesiniko, but don't know for sure.

Heimdall: I was going to do the islands last, but thanks very much for the info.

Marinos