We are considering a trip to Greece in June 2006. We are thinking about 7-8 days to do Athens, Delphi, and Olympia and another week on a cruise of the islands. Our party consists of 2 adults in early 50's and 2 young adults around 20.
1) Can you recommend a reliable tour company? 2) What part/city should we not miss? 3) Which islands are the best to visit?

Don't miss the Plaka area of Athens. I loved it; it's a big shopping area, very fun and full of character. I hope you get some more advice to help you out and have a wonderful trip! Athens is one of my favorite cities!

www.homerictours.com I haven't used them but they have been around a long time.

We went to Greece in June/July 2004 with our two teenagers and had a great time.

Athens is a must-see, but you don't need more than a couple of nights. Acropolis, National Archeaological Museum, Plaka, and Syntagma Square Metro Stop (they have an amazing archaeological display!) were the highlights. We also went to Cape Sounion and saw the sunset, which was breathtaking.

Olympia--very nice. We were there before the Olympics , so it was extra meaningful.

Nafplion -- a GREAT place to stay in Greece. It's a very charming town, with a nearby beach at Tolo, which was nice. We stayed in an apt with Ilion Suites and loved it.

Santorini - Beautiful island! It's popular for a reason. We stayed at the Vedema and loved it.

Mykonos -- We also loved this island, and avoided the crowds and party scene by staying in Ornos Bay at the Santa Marina. It was gorgeous, even though the service sucked and the employees were rude.

Really wanted to go to Monomvassia (sp?), but didn't have enough time. Will try that next time, as well as Crete and possibly Keffalonia.

Fantasy Travel in Athens has an excellent reputation for reliability and superior communication practices. They will send someone to meet you at the airport and escort you to your hotel.

http://fantasytravelofgreece.com/english/

If your island cruist takes you to Santorini, be sure to take the time to see the most beautiful village of Oia.

Two of the biggest operators which have both been doing the so-called "Classical Tour" including Corinth, Delphi, Naphlion, and Olympia are still around (we used Chat 20 years ago and had an excellent experience)

www.chattours.com
www.keytours.com

Try Windmills Travel, Labrina was great.

Try not to miss Meteora while you're touring mainland Greece. It's beautiful.

There is so much to see and do in Greece that you need plenty of time! However, in my experience, you can do Athens in 2 - 3 days. Add an extra day to take a bus tour of the Peloponese area of the mainland (Corinth, Mycennae, Epidavros, etc...) It's a great tour offered by many operators and allows you to see lots of beautiful historical sites.

I don't know much about the mainland, but I've spent lots of time on the island of Samos - beautiful and not very touristy, if you want that.

Also, I hear that must-see islands include Santorini, Naxos, Paros and Crete.

Well, you have had lots of good advice so far, but 7 or 8 days are not enough to do everything. I'd suggest you choose one or two place to visit and take the time to experience them fully.
Our experience is limited to the Pelloponise and the islands.
We took a week and drove the Pelloponises this summer and I would suggest this gives you far more flexability than a tour company. Even with a car and a week we only managed to do half of the Pelloponise.

You should strongly consider spending a couple of days in Athens, particularly in the Plaka area. For a budget hotel look up the Attalos. Its very close to the Monastraki and Plaka, it's clean and inexpensive particularly if the 50 somethings need a separate room for privacy. Two rooms at the Attalos are cheaper than one room at many Athens hotels.
You can spend several days in Naphlion Mystras, Monemavasia and the Mani and you will have barely scratched the surface.
A cruise is a good way to experience the islands and will give you a sample, so you can decide where you would like to come back to in the future.
Santorini is a must see.
For a different more natural Greek experience I would suggest you consider two or three days in Naxos where tourismn isn't the basis of the economy so you will have the opprotunity to experience Greeks in their natural habitat.

DO NOT MISS MYSTRAS--it is totally amazing and nearly tourist-free. Daytrip from Athens or from Nauplio/Tolo

We were in Greece June/July 2004 and booked the whole trip through Dolphin Hellas http://www.dolphin-hellas.gr/ including hotels, ferries, transfers, internal flights. I highly recommend them, they tailored our tour to meet our requirements and everything went very smoothly. I could have maybe reduced the price a bit by doing it by myslef but it was wonderful not to have the hassle. We visited Athens, Naxos, Mykonos, Santorini and Crete. All were wonderful in their own ways.

Sherry: I know you didn't ask for advice on the cruise aspect of your trip, but I wanted to share that I had a 4-day cruise on Golden Star this summer and it really wasn't for me. It was crowded, smelly, uncomfortable and incredibly rushed. We had 3-4 hours per island, then were hearded back to the ship. Just use caution when you book your cruise - pay attention to the schedules (if you see you only have a few hours per island, watch out). And book your cabin well - we were promised rooms next to each other and they were not - we had to split up parents so kids were not alone. And our rooms were above the disco that was raging until 3 a.m. It was horrible.

If I could do it all over again, I would choose to stay on Myconos or Santorini for a few days. I saw these places, but it was a blur really.

So, just use caution when you book your cruise.

Also, please consider taking a hydrofoil to Hydra island - it's close to Athens - about an hour away - and just amazing.