A local tax lawyer takes retired teacher worldwide in the off season. these are small intimate tours at a nice price. What do you out there think of this itinerary- I am thinking of signing on for this trip in May of 2008.
1.Athens
2.Santoini
3.Sifnos
3.Naxos
4.Rhodes
5. Simi

A lot of time is given- 12 days at least. Thanks for your educated opinions.

The timing might be good. The temperatures in May are warm but not too hot, but for that many desinations, 12 days isn't really that long. If this is a cruise, I'd say this is a nice itinerary. If it's a tour where you have to hop on a ferry every other day, then I'd say it's way too taxing and I'd suggest you avoid it. You absolutely don't need to take a tour to enjoy the Greek islands. They're exceptionally easy to travel, and everyone in the tourism industry speaks English. A travel agent in Greece can help you put together any kind of itinerary you wish.

I agree w/our esteemd editor.

www.athensguide.com
is the website for Fantasy Travel who has aided Fodorites, myself included.
I tend to travel independently & used
his services to island hop after I
reached Athens. He arranged air,
hotel in Crete for a mere $35 (at the time) that was rated 2-star but we thought more of a 4.
So you might want to look into this.
They are situated right off Syntagma
(sp?) Square.

I'd be interested to see how this tax lawyer manages the transportation to this sequence of isles in 12 days -- I have heard that tax lawyers can do the seemingly impossible, but I crave insight!

Now I can understand the first 3, if the timing is right: ie. 2 days athens, fly/ferry to Santorini for 2 days, ferry to SIfnos for 2 days (tired yet?!?!?), but it's not that easy to hop from Sifnos to Naxos or I would have done it myself!

And then -- Naxos to Rhodes??? Looks like fly back to Athens airport, take anoth plan to Rhodes -- and that jacks up the cost from "nice price" especially since only co$$tly Olympic serves Naxos. After that, Rhodes 2 days? Simi (??) for 2 days -- but how do you get to Athens? I didn't think Simi had an airport. Maybe it's a day trip.

Tell me o maribeth, how doth this JD work his magic? Inquiring minds want to know !

travelerjan,
In Greece local tax lawers own motor yachts or know someone who owns a M/Y. Didn´t you know that?
G.

tax lawyers
G.

Ahhh, Ok. tax lawyers are not the most popular segment of society, are they???
I have only a sketchy and preliminary itinerary for this trip since it is many months away. As soon as I have more definitive information, I will file my return, I mean give more facts about the logistics.

Maribethp, the others are right. Unless this is a cruise, for 12 days you really need to pare down your island hopping itinerary - either the Cyclades or the Dodecanese, but not both. You may wish to save Athens for the end of the trip to give yourself a cushion just in case of delays.

Santorini to Sifnos shouldn't be a problem, but Sifnos to Naxos isn't that easy. In the past there has been a ferry going from Sifnos to Paros twice a week. Its next stop may be Naxos, for all I know. We will all have to wait another month or two for the May 2007 ferry timetables to appear - make that another year for the May 2008 timetables.

Of course if it is a cruise to which you are referring, ignore all the above.

Heimdall - No, the boat to Paros called at Serifos, Paros, Syros. It does indeed seem to be impossible to go directly from Sifnos to Naxos. It must be a cruise, but even so, the sequence of islands is rather puzzling - as travelerjan asks, what happens after Simi?

Thanks for that, Nikoletta - I guess the only way would be to get off at Paros and wait for the next ferry to Naxos.

Where, indeed, after Simi? My first thought was fly back to Athens, but then Simi doesn't have an airport. Would a cruise ship go from Naxos to Rhodes & Simi, then straight back to Piraeus without another stop? I don't know either.

Aside from the expressed concerns, what do you guys think of the choice of locales to visit as state?

Nothing wrong with the choice of islands individually. A good mix of quiet and busy, some with good beaches, some with good scenery.

update on greek trip
2 nighta athens
island hopping-staying at hotels on islands of
santorini, naxos,peros, sifnos

good ferry system
How does this sound?

Much more realistic than your original list. There are excellent ferry connections between Santorini, Naxos, and Paros. From Paros there should be a twice per week ferry to Sifnos, but check the ferry timetables later this spring for confirmation. From Sifnos it is easy to get back to Piraeus.