Santorini and Which Other Island?
 

Ok everyone, If you could visit Santorini and one other island which one would it be? I want to hear which ones are your favorites and why! We are going to visit Athens and Sanotrini but are having a hard time picking another island destination. Preferably something that is within easy reach of Santorini. We've heard Santorini doesn't have the best beaches so somewhere with a great beach would be a plus. Would love to stay in a cute little B&B and be "wowed" by the scenery.

Paros can easily be reached by ferry from Santorini and is a good choice. Much less touristy than Santorini. Stay in Naoussa.

Also forgot to ask which order you visit each in? Do Athens first or go straight from Athens airport to an island and save Athens for last? How many days are sufficient in each place. We can spend up to two weeks and Greece and then are headed to either Italy or France afterwards.

If you are flying into Athens, I would fly directly to Santorini and work my way back to Athens. You'd want to arrive in Athens at least a day before your flight out anyway and this requires fewer hotel changes and puts all of your Athens days together.

I would go directly to Santorini and save Athens for last. From Santorini you could visit either Paros or Naxos, the latter having many fans on this board. A slightly more difficult route would be Milos or Sifnos, which have connections with Santorini, but are on a different main ferry route.

For simplicity, Naxos would be your best choice. It is only two hours from Santorini, has great beaches, a beautiful chora (main town), and interesting inland villages.

Paros is another good choice, with Naoussa a popular island resort. Kolymbithres Beach, in Naoussa Bay, is famed for its unusual rock formations. A short distance from Naoussa are a string of sandy beaches on the east coast, the equal of those on Naxos. A bonus with Paros is the opportunity to visit Antiparos, a small, laid-back island only 30 minutes from Parikia, the Paros port. One popular activity is the Antiparos round-island boat cruises, which depart at 10 am each day. Passengers can be picked up and dropped off at Pounta port on Paros.
:-)

Another idea would be to visit the neighbouring island of Folegandros, that can be reached easily from Santorini.
On your way you will also see Sikinos, a small, not touristy but lovely island !
Folegandros is not touristy either if you avoid the high season, like most of the western Cyclades. ( Milos, Sifnos, Serifos, Kimolos)

Apart from Santorini, my favourite Greek island is Mykonos. It is just as beautiful (in a different way) and much easier to move around. Not sure if there is a direct ferry between the two islands. My trip report below has some photos.

Ronald
http://memories-of-greece.blogspot.com/

clausar, Folegandos is my favorite!! I rarely recommend here it as the ferry schedules are not as frequent those as to Naxos and Paros.

We visited Folegandros one year after Santorini and enjoyed the contrast....actually enjoyed Folegandros more.

I find the history of Rhodes fascinating. The ancient walled city is awe-inspiring. It's touristy, but no more so than Mykonos or Santorini. And souvies are cheaper than the other cruise ship islands.

I'm another big fan of Rhodes. The Old Town is like taking a step back in time and of course you must tour the castle and walk thorugh the moat. There's no water in the moat, just a lot of flowers and great views of the castle. Don't miss the harbor where the Colossus of Rhodes once stood. The town of Lindos is well worth a day trip, it has whitewashed houses set against the crystal blue sea. I am not usually much of a shopper but I loved buying gold jewellry in Rhodes.

Rhodes is a very nice island, that cannot be combined easily with Santorini, since there are no direct flights between the 2 islands.
OP should either fly through Athens, or ferry to Heraklion/Crete and fly to Rhodes from there.

There is a ferry between Santorini and Rhodes 3, sometimes 4 days/week depending on the time of year.

Brotherlee,as far as i can recall, it takes ages to arrive in Rhodos, as it stops in too many places...
Anafi, Heraklion, Sitia, Kasos, karpathos Chalki and Rhodos....
Sounds like the nightmare of the legendary Romilda....lol

The OP wrote: "...somewhere with a great beach would be a plus." Folegandros is a beautiful island and has a delightful chora. Hikers love it! I wouldn't consider it to have "great beaches", though, and that's why I didn't mention it in my previous post. :-)

Clausar, there is one ferry, Blue Star 1, that goes direct between Santorini and Rhodes/Kos, and that's the one Lee referred to. It's still a longish ferry ride, though, and leaves Santorini around 1 am. The awkward departure time is because it is an overnight ferry from Piraeus to the Dodecanese, and makes that one midnight stop at Santorini.

The two criteria stated by the OP, "within easy reach of Santorini" and "great beaches", shouts Naxos, and whispers Paros! ;-)

Also, during the tourist season there is a direct flight between Santorini and Rhodes on www.skyexpress.gr.