I am taking a graduation trip in early May, staying 4 days in London, 5 in Croatia, and then i have from Sunday night to Thursday afternoon in Greece. Currently, I'm scheduled to fly into Athens on Sunday evening around 6pm and i fly from Mykonos to London on Thursday afternoon. I think i'm going to get a one way flight from Athens to Santorini on Sunday night and then split Monday-Thursday between Santorini and Mykonos. I am looking for advice on a few questions:

1) how would you divide time between Santorini and Mykonos? Is Delos worth the trip from Mykonos?

2) Would it be worth a half-day or full day to check out the Acropolis and such in Athens? I was looking forward to a nice relaxing time in the last part of my trip, hence the islands, but I feel that it would be a shame to go all that way and not see the classical sites in Athens. Thanks!

What are you going to do with your luggage when you check out the Acropolis, in Athens?

Two nights at each Mykonos and Santorini is my recommendation. The Acropolis will still be there when you go back. You would have to go from the airport downtown and back to the airport.

Some of the answers depend on what you like to spend your time doing!

You really have three whole days to plan for, plus Sunday night and Thursday morning. That is really not a huge amount of time.

While I think that the Acropolis is an amazing site, and one that is very impressive, if you wanted to go to the Acropolis, you would have to overnight in Athens and then take an early afternoon flight to Santorini. This would leave you with two full days and two half days to divide between Santorini and Mykonos, which doesn't seem like enough to me.

Given your time constraints, you may want to either leave the Acropolis for your next trip to Greece (!), or if you decide to see the Acropolis, you may want to skip Santorini this time.

As for Delos, it is an amazing place, and for me worth the trip from Mykonos. The antiquities are incredible, and being able to just wander around such an ancient city is awe-inspiring. Perhaps going to Delos would make up for missing the Acropolis!!

As for how to divide your time, again it boils down to how you like to spend you time. Personally, I prefer Santorini which, to my taste, has much more charm and beauty than Mykonos. I also am past my partying days, so that aspect of Mykonos doesn't excite me. So I would weight the trip with more time in Santorini than Mykonos.

On the other hand, if you are more interested in beaches (although for me it is not really beach weather in early May), I think the beaches on Mykonos are much nicer than those on Santorini. And the party scene in Mykonos is more vigorous.

This is one of those happy decisions where, no matter what you decide, you will have a good time. And congratulations on your impending graduation!

Thanks a lot for the advice. I think i'll forgo the hassle of Athens this time and focus my time on santorini and mykonos. this will be at the end of about 16 days in europe with a lot of travelling so i'll probably keep things simple and enjoy santorini and hit mykonos for the last day and a half before going home. what part of the island is best to stay at on santorini?

So much of answering "where is the best place to stay" is personal preference. A lot of people like Oia because it is smaller and they think it is more traditional. Personally, I prefer Fira for Santorini visits in April/May and September/October.

I prefer Fira because it is more centrally located than Oia, and easier to use as a base for travelling around the island. I like being able to walk from my hotel to the museum, or to the shops and restaurants. I like being able to buy an English language newspaper and read it in the square. I don't like the winding road to Oia, and the tour buses dropping people off to see the sunset creeps me out and is too reminiscent of Disneyland.

But other people prefer Oia, brotherleelove probably being one of its biggest proponents. If you search for his name you will discover many, many, many, many, many posts touting Oia as the greatest thing since sliced bread. Don't get me wrong, Oia is lovely, but so is Fira.

I prefer unsliced bread!;-)

I am laughing brotherleelove but I must side with Eleni on this one. I loved Oia but in off season I need the busier Thira to keep me occupied. Thira is very picturesque but I know every turn is a Kodak moment in Oia. I prefer it as a day trip. In May there is more happenning in Thira. Check out the Australian run pub right on the cliff top in the centre of Thira town. What great music and an awesome view of the caldera.

We are considering greece and the islands in the last weekend of April through the first week of May. I don't understand this statement "loved Oia but in off season I need the busier Thira to keep me occupied" Can we expect most of the stores and restaurants to be closed at this time of year? Can anyone expand on what to expect this early in the season? Swimming is not a concern.

It's difficult to say exactly, but in general all the hotel, shop and restaurants begin opening their doors sometime in April or early May-some for the earlier April Easter weekend arrivals, some not until later. Oia will be quiet at the end of April, but not completely dormant. Nightlife in Oia is limited to the shops, restaurants and a few quiet bars. Fira's nightlife is more extensive and there are some very lively youth-oriented bars and discos.