Three months on a Greek Island
 

My wife and I are hoping to go to Greece in 2010 for three months or so.
We want to spend the time on an island with plenty of life and things to see and do.
We are both in our early sixties and totally mobile, love walking, and seeing new places.
From the 80's till the mid 90's we always holiday'd on the greek islands with the kids, (all grown up and gone now) so want to do it all again.
Need to rent a place, so any advice?
We live in Spain so expect we will have to commute to the UK to get back to Athens, but from there on its all up for grabs.
Any helpful hints or ideas?

no brainer- Crete.

There are cheap flights to and from Barcelona, Granada, Madrid, Seville and Athens on Veuling. http://www.vueling.com/?language=EN

With your prior history of travelling in Greece, it would be very helpful if you first identified those islands that you have already ruled out so time isn't wasted on recommendations for those. Also, please tell us if you want to rent a house as a base for 3 months or if you plan to travel around some more, resettling as you go, and for which 3-month period. Either way, what are you willing to spend for your accomodations and on what basis: weekly, monthly or overall (cash in advance?).

I lived in Greece for 4 years.
I am partial to Santorini but for 3 months I agree with Crete. There are at least a dozen unique towns and areas to visit and some of the best beaches a few non-touristy. It's a happy medium of mountain and water. I travelled to many parts of Greece and truly experienced "Spring" in Crete. Later I learned it has 2000+ plant species, and an array of flowers, trees and wildlife due to climate and land terrain (including a 12km Gorge!) Crete is also a significant archeological center of 8-9 civilizations (known for Minoan civilization), also Roman/Byzantian, Venetian, Arab, Turkish. When you miss city life and need a metropolitan hub you can go to Crete's capital Hrakleio, which I believe is Greece's 4th-5th largest city with a population of 650,000. Lastly it's near some southern Cycladic islands (Santorini,Kythira, Elafonissi south-east of the Pelopponese) and has 2 international airports where you can do weekend trips to Greece, Arab or African destinations. There's also 2-3 key ports and a 48-hr ferry that takes you from Crete/Patra/Corfu/Venice in the Summer-Fall months. If not Crete I would also recommend Corfu (Ionian island with Italy nearby), or Rhodes (near Turkey).
Happy vacationing !
V

Your're living my dream! Please post a report along the way or when you return!