We will be in Greece for nine days in early October, and we are a bit bewildered with the range of choice. There are four of us (parents and two teenagers) and we're interested in seeing some of Ancient Greece and maybe one or two of the islands of the Cyclades or the Dodecanese. If possible we would like to base ourselves in one or two places and take day trips to see the sights. Any recommendations about how we spend the time will be greatly appreciated.

There are lots of choices so you will have to narrow the scope. If you want to see antiquities, you can easily spend 3-4 days in Athens. A trip up to Delphi is also spectacular. If you had more time there is plenty to see on the mainland, but you also want to get out to islands. I'd recommend Paros as there is enough variety to please both parents and kids. Make sure you stay for at least 4 days on the island. If you try to go to too many stops, you'll spend all your time traveling between places. You'll need your last night in Athens before you fly home. Enjoy!

Hey HailtotheDuck..cute;-) Well, 9 'days' boils down to 8 nights! Depending on your style of travel..as well as wanting to 'base', don't think you'd have the time to take in more than 1 isle..and having said that, you may want to consider a flight directly out to an isle upon arrival..huge timesaver and no backtracking! Would look into Rhodes for at least 4 nights (3 full days) since it's a relatively large isle and loads to see here..The Old Town is magnificent;-) Would fly back to Athens and base there for the remaining 4 nights (again, that really gives you 3 full days)..and if you find you have time, you can certainly opt for a day trip out to Delphi..or down to the Peloponnese to see the sites..although your time is pretty limited..you can even rent a car when you arrive at the Athens airport when returning from Rhodes (or any isle you choose if it has an airport)..and head staight down to Nauphlion for a night..loads to see in vicinity..and return to Athens from there! Loads of options..happy planning and Enjoy'!

Thank you both for your thoughtful replies. Litsa I like your suggestion of flying straight to an island (Rhodes, Paros and Crete are the ones we've been considering...) and then returning to the mainland for the last few nights. As you suggest Parosblue, I think we need to pick a place and resist the temptation of trying to see EVERYTHING all at once.

Plan several in Napflion as a base to visit incredible antiquites nearby.

Delphi was my favorite.

I agree with HappyTrvlr. We just spent four days in Nafplion. Great town and wonderful surroundings. We (3 adults and 3 kids) took the bus there from Athens.

I've just googled Nafplion (hadn't heard of it before...) and it looks lovely. If we make it our base for a few days, is there transport available to travel around the area, or would we need to hire a car?

Nauplion is lovely and so near to many ancient sites including Mycenae, Epaudarus,Tyirns and Ancient Corinth and Ancient Nemia. The best way to be flexible is to rent a car at the Athens airport and drive stopping in Corinth on the way to Nauplion. You can easily spend a day or two just exploring Nauplion.
Here are some pictures of Nauplion and the area.
http://travel.webshots.com/album/551991579dJbWvh

There are buses that travel to the main sites. I believe there are buses, for example, at 10 am and 2 pm most days for Mycenae.

The bus stop in Nafplion is very easy to find. The lady behind the counter speaks good English. The taxi stand across the street also list set rates to take people to some of the sites (and wait for them). Four of you might be one too many to fit in one cab (just guessing).

You CAN fit 4 people into one Nafplion cab (they're all Mercedes). if they are "normal-sized". A big or hefty man could sit in front seat.

All of the suggestions you've received from this site are wonderful. Greece is wonderful. If you head towards Delphi, then Meteora is spectacular. The monasteries. We saw Athens for 3 full days and then rented a car and went to the Peloponese area (as described above), then Nafplion (we loved it) and then up and over to Delphi and Mteora. That trip was a total of 4 days. We liked driving the countrysde. Pick what you think you'd enjoy the most and go for it. We then came back to Athens and flew out that same day to Santorini for 4 nights. Spectacular island. We didn't do more than one island as we too wanted to enjoy the island and relax. It really is a personal preference. Whatever you decide, trust all of us, you will have a wonderful time.

"A big or hefty man could sit in front seat."

Where would a hefty woman sit?

On the trunk as a ballast.

Hey again..and you're welcome You've got loads of great reccs here..all wonderful! You certainly have some choices to make given your limited time..if you can 'add' a few days, would certainly be worthwhile;-) Keep enjoyin'!

Nauplion is wonderful and there are interesting historical sites nearby. You could drive there for 3-4 days, go out to an island for 3-4, but that leaves only 1-2 days for Athens. Can you add a couple more days? With nine days, I'd do Athens, Delphi, and one island for this trip. Then I'd save Naufplion for another vacation. You just must give Athens some time - there are so many places to see there. Or, skip the island trip this time and do Athens, Delphi, and Naufplion. Just a thought......

This is wonderful! You've all been giving such helpful and thoughtful advice, thank you. We're not particularly hefty, but the teenage boy is 6'5 and the girlie is somewhere over 6', so we'd need a car they can fold themselves into and still be able to walk at the other end. Three years ago we were all able to fit into a Mercedes cab from Positano to Pompeii, but they've put on a bit of height since then.

We've been able to find one extra night, so now we have nine nights, ten days. Still googling but your suggestions are giving me lots of good directions. Thank you again.

Since there are 4 of you, renting a car (i.e. Honda-accord size) for a 3-day jaunt to the Nafplio area would be cheaper by far than taking busses ... the round-trip fare for the intercity bus would be 24€ each -- then consider the taxi to your hotel, and the various taxi/bus costs to get to the sites ... not to mention the flexibility of driving vs public transport. And the drive from the airport to beyond the Corinth canal to the Nafplio turn-off is on probably Greece's best modern highway.

YOu could drive direct from airport to Nafplio area(3 days) then return car to Piraeus (get CAREFUL directions on correct turn-off inbound) to catch a ferry to Paros (3 days). Then ferry back to Athens (there's a good ferry at 7 pm, so you don't miss island daytime) for last 3 days.

A very small point - we were charged 21E for the return bus ticket to Nafplio from Athens - 12E out plus 9E return. The ticket seller did say it would be 24E if we bought the tickets separately.

Not that it will affect your decision. But I was surprised as I had read it would be 24E. Maybe she liked me.

If you like the idea of Nafplion (great place, wonderful antiquities nearby), have a look at the Saronic islands which are nearby and to some extent surround the Peloponnese. We took a ferry to Poros, spend a couple of nights there unwinding, then popped over to the mainland of the Peloponnese and picked up our rental car. We then based ourselves in Napflion, just great. Then we took the ferry back to Athens. Fast, only about 90 minutes, Aegina even closer. The popular Saronic islands are: Poros, Aegina, Hydra and Spetses.