We've gone back and revised our Greece itinerary for next June and would welcome any comments or further suggestions on what we have so far.

Fly to Athens - flight to Paros (2 nights)
Ferry to Naxos (3 nights)
Ferry to Santorini (3 nights)
Fly to Athens (3 nights)
Fly to Venice (4 nights)

My questions are:
Do these islands give us a nice mix for a 1st trip to Greece?

Are are 3 islands too much for 8 nights? Alternatively, should we do Santorini for 4 nights and then either Naxos or Paros for 4 nights?

Are we missing out by not seeing Mykonos?

Lastly, I really wanted to go to Folegandros, but the ferry schedule seems more limited than Paros, Naxos, and Santorini. Would Naxos, Folegandros, Santorini sound reasonable?

Any feedback from anyone?

Here's a thoughtL Consolidate your Paros time on Naxos and add a Delphi trip from there if interested.

I suggest that because Naxos is an incredibly diverse and is gives you a great sampling, but it takes a bit of time to explore and seems to get better each day as it unfolds. It makes a great pairing with Santorini, but then I've always thought the common Santorini-Mykonos pairing (which seems more common for U.S. travelers than others) is a bit hollow.

Mykonos is lovely but doesn't fall into the ``must-see" category that Sanotorini is in. It depends on your interests. It will have better night-life than your three current stops and it's postcard cute but doesn't fit my interests and is never high on my list.

Thanks Repete. We were thinking of doing that...more time on 2 islands vs. so much running. I liked Naxos (your comments and stanbr as well have sold me). The flights to Athens from US seem to get in about 10:15am or 10:50am (depending which flight.) At least according to current schedules, there is only 1 connecting flight to Naxos that leaves at 12:10 daily. We're worried that isn't enough time in between. The Paros flight is at 1:45, leaving a little more leeway.

Now, we're leaning towards Naxos (or Paros), Santorini, and Folegandros, and taking high speed ferry back to Athens from Folegandros.

Originally, we took out Venice and were just going to focus on Greece, but my husband has his heart set on it!

Does everyone have such a difficult time deciding which islands for a first trip??

I'm having a rough time deciding too. I change my mind every day. As of right now we are doing Athens, Naxos, and Santorini. We only have 8 days to spare.

Bubaruskie-how many days are you spending in each place? How did you decide on Naxos and Santorini?

I'm in the process of planning a trip for June/July 2007 and I understand your dilemma. I have been to mainland Greece twice, but no islands. I agree, it is hard to decide. Add to that the interesting challenge of traveling with other people...hard to come to consensus.

Tops on my list is Crete, at least a brief stay on Santorini (just because it is the image of a Greek Cycladic island that is imprinted in my brain), and then probably Paros (friend has timeshare option there). Also very interested in Folegandros.

Good to read the feedback on Mykonos here, too. Mykonos town sounds cute and fun, but it is moving down the list.

Then I start thinking about other islands, like the Ionian islands and those in the Northern and Eastern Aegean and I really drive myself nuts!

I will be interested to see what you decide!

(Not sure if I would combine Venice with this trip, but it is one of my favorite places in the world, so I understand your husband's wish to see it).

Thanks Annabelle. I know, good thing we're starting way ahead of time.

Really struggling with Folegandros...want to include it, but a little worried about the ferry situation, so may consider just Paros or Naxos along with Santorini.

Brotherleelove--4 nights Santorini and 4 nights in either Paros or Naxos? Would you try for Folegandros as well?

Stick with the islands with better connections... Folegandros involves a real "bucket" of a ship that takes a while to get there, can get rough. Naxos is tremendous --- on my first visit I came for 3 days that stretched to 6; now going back on my 6th trip, with 5 Islands in 3 weeks and Naxos is STILL on the list. Ruins, scenery, fab museum, statues in orchards, great food, sublime beaches. Above all, friendly people and a nontouristic atmosphere... which you can't say about Santorini with its daily cruise ships bringing throngs of whitehaired Big Spenders to buy jewelry. Query:why FOUR nights there? The view is divine, but the sunsets are just as good elsewhere... Santorini beaches are crushed lava (ick)... Its main site, Akrotiri (minoan dig) is closed indefinitely. if you really do 4 days, make it worthwhile and go up to Classic-era acropolis (take cab up to parking oval... another 30 minute STEEP climb to summit, but it's worth it.).

lhopp, I love both Naxos and Paros, and see no reason why you can't do both as planned. After all, they are only 30 min apart by highspeed ferry, so you won't waste much time getting between the two. If you plan to spend most of your time sightseeing, Paros (along with Antiparos) has much to offer. On the other hand, if your holiday will be mostly beach oriented, then you may as well consolidate your time on Naxos.

Should you decide to fly to Paros, be aware that seats fill up fast, so early booking is essential. The Dash 8 STOL aircraft that fly into Paros hold only about 30 passengers (fewer on the return to Athens) due to runway length.

Thanks for the replies. Travelerjan: that's what I was thinking about Folegandros. For the 1st trip, maybe we should stick with islands that have frequent connections. As far as why 4 nts for Santorini, I'm not sure--thinking we're really going to like the ambience, but that will probably be true of everywhere we go!

Heimdall-I think doing Naxos and Paros is the way to go. That way, we get to experience both. We'd like a mix of both sightseeing things to do and a little bit of beach (beaches are not the priority for us.)

Good to know about flight to Paros. Would we book this directly on the Olympic Airlines website? How far beforehand would you suggest booking the interisland flights? If we end in Santorini and eliminate Folegandros, we'd also want a flight from Santorini back to Athens.

If we eliminate Folegandros, we'd do 3 nights each in Paros, Naxos, Santorini, and Athens; then fly over to Venice for 4 nights. Does that make sense? Would 3 nights be needed in Athens, or should we take one out and add to islands or Venice?

Thanks for all your help.

llhop, re the flights, let me put it this way: I booked my flight to Paros for the end of August as soon as the summer schedule came out last month. Paros has a very short runway, and the Dash 8 holds only about 30 passengers for the Athens-Paros flight. Going back to Athens is even worse, as due to weight restrictions they can only take around 18 passengers on that leg.

You can book your flight directly on http://www.olympicairlines.com/. Your return flight to Athens should be easier to book, as both Olympic and Aegean fly larger aircraft to Santorini several times a day.

Should you not be able to get a seat on the Paros flight, don't dispair, as there are several highspeed ferry runs to Paros every day. Currently the Hellenic Highspeed 4 leaves Pireaus at 0715, and arrives at Paros around 1000. You can see it arriving on http://www.parosweb.com/paros-webcams/port.html if you look at the right time. The Blue Star Paros currently leaves Pireaus at 0725, and arrives at Paros about four hours later.

If you can't make the morning ferry, there is a second run in the afternoon around 1600-1630 of one of the Hellenic Highspeeds and either Blue Star Paros or Blue Star Naxos. The highspeeds take about 3hrs to reach Paros, and the Blue Stars about 4hrs. There are other ferries as well, but they are all older and slower.

As you have read before, ferry schedules change frequently as summer approaches, but for Paros there are always several ferries leaving between 0700 and 0730, and another batch in the afternoon around 1600-1630.

Enjoy your trip.

Hi

From Naxos (or Paros although less convenient) you can do a day trip to Mykonos and Delos.

Thanks very much Heimdall and Worldinabag. I will be sure to book our flights ahead of time, but good to know the ferry is available as a backup.

Yes, from Naxos, we could take a daytrip to Mykonos/Delos-good idea. I assume that there are tours available from Naxos, or we could just ferry over on our own?

Is 3 days each Paros, Naxos, and Santorini a good amount to get a little bit of a feel for each?

What are your thoughts about including Venice with this trip? My husband has his heart set on it, but I feel that we should stay only in Greece and can possibly add some time on the mainland in Pelopenesse if we saved Venice for another time.

Hi

Me again. I can understand your husband's desire to go to Venice. I would be inclined to leave it for a future trip in Italy. Instead I would use the time to do some of the sights Greece is famous for - Delphi, Olympia, Mycenae, Mystras, Meteora, Nafplio etc.

I do agree, but DH is sitting right here saying "we ARE going to Venice!"

Normally, I would agree. However, our next Italy trip will probably be to the South, so we thought this would be a good opportunity to fit Venice in (we missed Venice when we went to Rome, Tuscany and Umbria.)

If we wanted to fit a few days in on the mainland, would taking a tour be worthwhile, or is renting a car a better option? The driving distances seem long.

Since you are considering a tour on the mainland, you might be interested in my trip report from last year. I went to Athens for a few nights and then took a three night tour to Mycenae, Olympia, Delphi and the Meteora. Although I had reservations about booking a tour and hadn't been on one since I was in school many years ago, I (and my college student daughter) enjoyed it greatly.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34589254

Most tourists when they think of the Greek Islands, only seem to think of, Santorini, Naxos, Mykonos....its such a pity, as I should imagine these islands get loved to death by huge numebers of tourists. Have you thought about other greek islands, like Samos, Halki, Symi, the list goes on & on. Try to pick an island that is not too touristy, this can be hard, but there are little villages on various islands, and if you go just outside the high season, you should have a quiet peaceful rewarding time. We did at Ormos on the island of Samos, no crowds in October, we even had little bays & beaches to ourself. Bought bread, cheese, tomatoes, etc, (and oh yes a bottle of Samena wine)and cycled to some beautiful deserted beaches down the south western corner of the island to swim & eat. As they say, "Yamas"

Tropo, I agree completely about visiting other Greek islands, and, in fact, said so recently on another thread. In the OP's case, however, with limited time available, Paros, Naxos, and Santorini are a good mix. The Cyclades are easy to reach, islands close together with very good ferry connections, so ideal for a first visit. Subsequent visits are for broadening your horizons.

llhop, yes, I think three days each is enough to get a good taste of the three islands. Longer would obviously be better, but few of us have the luxury of unlimited holiday time.

Delos is an uninhabited island, and the only boats going there are to see the ruins. Recommend you take an excursion boat from Naxos directly to Delos. If it offers a few hours to stroll around Mykonos as well, so much the better. The archaeological site on Delos is simply outstanding. BTW, bring along some bottled water, and don't forget the sunscreen.

Thanks Tropo and Heimdall.
In thinking of something a little less touristed for a first trip, we thought of Folegandros. Still haven't ruled it out, but as Heimdall said, were looking for islands with frequent ferry or air connections that are close together for the 1st trip.

Symi looks wonderful, and I found some wonderful photos of Halki, but I thought for the first time, we'd do something a little more mainstream. If I fall in love with Greece as I expect I will, many more trips to other islands will be in order!

At the moment, we're leaning towards Paros, Naxos, and Santorini. Heimdall, very interested in doing an excursion to Mykonos and Delos as well.

Now we're going to start looking at places to stay on these islands--that I'm sure will take months!

Thanks everyone for your help. I look forward to reading the trip reports on Greece of those that are going this year.