Well ideally we would have more time but trying to make a plan for what we do have. What I am looking for is an itinerary of hopefully islands near Athens. We are coming from Atlanta so flights to any island would probably be 3 legs. So after getting to Athens, please suggest an nearby island (short ferry ride) for maybe 4 nights - it would be nice if from that island there could be a short day trip to another island. A location near a beach and waterside tavernas would be wonderful. We really do not want to rent a car altho I know many folks drive to the area around Napfilio? I have done some research (Matt Barrett) but more input would be appreciated. Thanks!

I would stay in Athens for two nights -- at the very least, see the Acropolis and the sites surrounding it including the Museum. Stay near the Plaka on the west side for great views. Then stay 4-5 nights on Mykonos. Either ferry or fly there, but it's the quintessential stunner in our opinion (having also enjoyed Santorini, Crete, Rhodes, Patmos). Perhaps you should fly up to EWR where you can get a n/s to Athens via United or Emirates (we took it last year for r/t of $550 -- yes, that's $550 on Emirate). People rave about Hydros. We took a full day tour of Napflio, Mycenae and Epidaurus, but really the 12-hour day with Tours by Locals was draining; we therefore cancelled the second scheduled one to Delphi and explored more of Athens which we loved (Mt. Lybettus, the National Archeological Museum, and the Acropolis Museum). With Tours by Locals, for a meager 10% additional cost you get 24-hour-cancellation-insurance which served us well. And check those flights!

It really depends on your interests, but FWIW, I found 4 full days barely sufficient for Athens itself, though I know many people give it much less. You might consider options near Athens rather than flying off to an island.

If you haven’t already seen it, you might get some ideas from my very long but searchable trip report (Athens starts with post # 181)
With Gratitude for a Glorious Solo Month in Greece

And if you haven’t yet gotten your guidebooks, I found the Michelin Green and Rough Guide particularly helpful.

A short ferry ride could mean a number of things. I think anything between 2-4 hours would be short which means islands closer to the mainland. A real short ferry ride would be Aegina, a very lovely and often over-looked Greek Island. Nice main town on the waterfront, lovely neo-classical architecture, archeological site right in town, a short distance away is an abandoned Byzantine Village and one of the best preserved temples in Greece. Nice beaches, hiking, great food. You can do a day trip to the nearby island of Angistri known for it's beaches and family atmosphere.

Another option would be one of the Cyclades like Sifnos, Paros, Naxos and a few others nearby.

Hello...

You could stay 2-3 days in Athens for basic sightseeing Acropolis Parthenon, Acropolis Museum, Plaka, Monastiraki Flee Market, Lycabetus Hill, Kallimarmaro Stadium, Temple of Apollo in Sounio.
Then you could spend the rest of your days in one of the following islands. Andros, Hydra, Spetses, Agistri, Poros, Kythnos, Kea/Tzia. Most of them are within 2 hours from Athens.

You could also decide to spend all your days in Athens and take day trips from there. Have in mind that you can find some nice beaches about an hour from Athens as well. You could check Porto Rafti (Avlaki Beach) and Schinias Beaches. You can find organised beach bars there as well.

Re AEGINA - here's a wonderful photo album https://www.flickr.com/photos/362647...646139/detail/ called DAYTRIP to AEGINA ... step-by-step what you'll see &do. A big part of the enjoyment is the short (60 min) trip on a "regular" ferry --one with wide-open decks to sit on. Do NOT take a hydrofoil; more frequent but u are stuck inside with salt-frosted windows, NO view! On a deck u enjoy the seascape of huge liners, freighters, fast motorboats, sailing yachts... Once there u can take a bus or rent car or scooter ... bus will get you to the mid-island high high hill with amazing temple ruin & 360° view of Saronic bay... then take a walking trail downhill to a beach for swim & lunch, then bus or taxi back to port town to wander its back streets.

OR if you want, you can spend an enjoyable 2-3 nights at a relaxing beach venue like this one on Marathona beach -- La Palma Marathonas A - AEGINAGREECE.com -- this cafe has accommodations right next door. (if you wanted to stay a few days, a car might be useful). NOTE -- because it's so nearby, Aegina is a favorite quick getaway for Athenians, so on summer weekends it gets very crowded ... the best time to go would be M-Th.

The other place suggested above that you can easily reach by intercity bus (2.5 hours) is NAFPLIO ... you get the "feel" of an island because it's on a peninsula surrounded by water. Gorgeous! Considered by Greeks to be Greeces' Most beautiful Old Town ... romantic, wonderful seafront row of cafes for THE most fab sunsets. Has its own cute pebbly beach, plus sandy beaches 15 mins away on local busses. THis website tells ALL (click on EVRY link) - http://www.visitnafplio.com -- Noncommercial website, top recommends (Note: Matt Barrett has lots of good info, but also plugs pllaces/services he has "arrangements" with). Again -- Nafplio is a favorite weekend destination for Athenians, so you'll have the best chance of gettting accommodations in season if you go Sunday night thru Thursday.

By the way, you want good advice, but you do not give us a KEY fact: WHEN is your trip??? It makes a BIG difference! Please share!

Thank you all! Travelerjan we have chatted before - it took me awhile but my daughter and I finally got to Naxos about 3 years ago and it was fantastic! Now I want to do another Greek trip - next year / end of May, early June. At the moment I am thinking either Aegina/Agistri or Sifnos.

Again, thanks all for the input and the pictures. Fingers crossed I can get a trip planned for next year.

Sue if you just have 7 nights, that's probably 6 days. If you choose Aegina, no problem... just strategize to visit there during weekdays and have Athens at beginning AND end of stay. IF you want to do a farther island, transportation is critical to your plan -- instead going to your farther destination on day 1, and saving Athens for the end. In that case, You may need to "bite the bullet" and pay a bit more to get one of the 3-4 airlines that go nonstop from N. America in late afternoon and arrive 9 - 9:30 - 10 am ATH. If you arrive noon or later, you have fewer options & your first day could be all transit... via plane or ferry.

Re SIFNOS
TRANSIT, you need to use the ferry-schedule website gtp.gr knowledgeably, and look at this year's schedule. Typically, Sifnos schedules are not as frequent or good as the central cyclades . This year, in late may, the best schedules aren't daily, but 3x a week. Many so-called "fast ferries" take as much as 4 hours, and the conventional ferries, with other stops, can take 5. The best run, a daily "cc" (car-carrying catamaran) at 3:30 - arr 6:50pm, only starts June 1. The better return ferries (under 3 hours) also only begin June 1. You can do this research yourself, and decide on the basis of transport and length of your trip, what makes most sense for you, then won't have to ask us to decide for you. In Greece planning, Logistics Rule!

LOCAL ACCOMS & TRANSIT - I've done SIfnos 3 x without driving, late may or early june... at that time, it's best to stay in the hill towns & take the local busses to the beaches... because at evening, the beach areas aren't really humming yet... the linked hill villages of Appollonia, Artemonas, Ano Petali are where you'll find the cafes, tavernas and nite life lively. I have a wonderful place I stay with view downhill to valleys and out to sea.Only 3 units, vine covered patios. Nikoleta's -- she also runs the place next door Pension Geronti (was her parents), about 8 units.

Re NAFPLIO
I've also visited this wonderful place without a car ... the Old Town itself, and nearby beaches can easily use up 3 days. It's super-easy to take KTEL bus (13€- 2.5 hrs) from Athens to Nafplio ...and the town itself and surroundings are worth a full day at least... I love the cute town beach. Also a local bus in 15 minutes gets u to Tolo beach or (a crossroads stop) darling little Asine/Kastraki beach PLUS ruin. If u wanted to see Mycenae/Epidaurus, you could rent a car locally for just 1 day & see both easily... and local traffic on country roads is sparse off-season.

we stayed 2 nights in Athens then took a 1 hour long ferry ride from the port of Athens to the charming and beautiful island of Hydra. It doesn't allow any cars on the island and it is traffic free, pollution free, and everything is walkable. The restaurants are lovely as are the many accommodations. For some reason my link is not showing up. But if you google and type in youtube video rick steves hydra greece you should be able to watch a video that will give you an idea of this island and can decide if it might be of interest to you.

sorry very strange i don't know what happened. when i typed in the link nothing showed up so i did it again nothing showed up - so logged off the europe board and came back and voila now three links to the youtube video. go figure.

Hydra is indeed lovely, but almost no beaches available unless you have some really upscale lodgings ... to swim you must mainly jump off rocks. Nanabee, maybe you did not go for the swims, but the OP did mention wanting to be near a beach. As for Aegina traffic, during the week (which I recommended) the island is not crowded at all and there is Very little car traffic ... Once in June I walked along a road for 15 minutes, not a single car. Angistri is also car-free... it's a tiny island I think 10 miles across at most, and bicycles are for rent, to go to beaches on the far side. I provided a link to an attractive beach place on Aegina -- and here's one on Angistri that people seem to love! Rosy's Little Village

I really liked Tolo, near Nafplio (already mentioned above). There, and Porto Heli a little further out, have a real "island" feel while still on the mainland and easily accessible from Athens.

traveljan, I didn't notice the part about a beach. While at Hydra we actually spent a day at a beach (a short motorboat ride) a few miles from the B & B where we stayed. It had a tavern/restaurant a lovely sandy beach - no jumping off rocks. I am a swimmer (and occasionally do open water swims) so for what it was worth I enjoyed the island and the beach.

AGISTRI looks equally lovely. But the beach (at least from the photos) are not sandy beaches but you have to climb down a ladder on the rocks to access the water.

But, having said that the island looks nice - so I am putting that on my list for my next trip to Greece!