We are planning to go on a 10 day trip at the end of May next year with our family of 5 (all 18+) flying into either Paris or Greece first and then the other home. Would like some days in Paris, some in Athens and some on at least one of islands (either Mykonos, Santorini, or other suggestions) but don't want to have to change hotels a lot. Any ideas for the best breakdown of days/nights and the optimal order?

It seems obvious that you need a 50/50 country split. Even though a lot of us would claim that Paris is "better," when you have a specific interest in a different place, it would be unwise to shortchange the other place. Of course, don't forget that you will lose most of the day that you use to fly between the cities. It would seem normal to me to start in Greece and finish in Paris, if only because Paris is much closer to home and it will b a shorter return flight (if you are, as I suspect, from the US).

The other factor to consider is whether your group is more attracted to tranquil beach holidays or busy cultural places; Both Athens and Paris are busy cultural places and will eat up quite a bit of energy. Ten days is definitely too short to do both countries justice, but you don't always have a choice...

What is your travel experience?

Welcome, lkafati1. IMO, kerouac is quite right. Two weeks would be better for a 50-50 split.

Do check to see if you can fly into one city and leave from the other! I like for the trip home to be the shortest!

Do the 10 days include the arrival and departure travel days? If so, and subtracting one day connecting between your two locations, you will have 7 days to split up. An island will take at least one day, so you will be left with 3 days in Athens, 3 days in Paris, and almost certainly will lose one of those days to jet lag recovery. Also, depending on what days of the week you will be travelling rather than sightseeing, you will likely hit hit at least one weekly closure day (usually Sunday and often Monday). I like closure days for travel, of course.

Now make a list of all the things you want to see and do in Paris and Athens and see how they will fit in the days you have left. Guidebooks will help here, especially for working out closure days, evening open days (always a help), and so on. Also, sometimes it rains in May, so some sites may be subpar in the rain. You may conclude that visiting only Paris or only Athens may be time better spent.

Do you speak French or Greek? Are you planning on hotels or apartments? What are your general interests?

Oh, and welcome to Fodors, where help is always freely given.

Watch out for May Day closures also.

I'm planning my trip for Greece next year, so please note I am no expert here.

I would, personally, if Mykonos or Santorini are a "must" then fly there first. From the island, then go to Athens and from Athens, head to Paris.

But this plan also requires A LOT of time in transit on an already fairly short trip. You will need to figure your transit to Athens will also eat up most of another day. And just like above, if your 10-day plan includes flights to/from home, you really only have 7 days for sightseeing.

If it were me, and Paris is a must along with Greece, I'd nix going to the Cyclades (Mykonos, Santorini) and perhaps instead spend time in the Peloponnese Peninsula OR the Saronic Gulf islands (if you absolutely must have an island for this trip), all of which you can get to/from Athens fairly easily and quickly - at least as I have noted from my research thus far.

Definitely think some time reviewing guidebooks will help you whittle down an itinerary as well.

And Greeks celebrate Orthodox Easter, which is also early May 2024 next year. There may be some closures around that as well.

Yes, welcome to Fodors. Please clarify if the trip is 10 days total (home to home). If so that is really only 7.5 day free on the ground in Europe. Then parts or all of two other days would be spent in transit from place to place so really only about 5 days for three destinations -- with is a LOT of money, plus time in transit to see very little

Now, IF the trip is actually 12 or 13 days, meaning 9 or 10 days free for seeing doing -- that is a bit better but still awfully rushed. No matter, with less than 2 full weeks - I'd limit the trip to JUST France or JUST Greece. Especially with a group of five where everything will take longer

Thanks all! We’ve been to Paris before so we were really only planning a few days there. However thinking through all your points, we will probably skip it all together this time around. While we’d love a full two weeks, that is just not doable for us. The most we are likely going to get is 12 days including travel. Still wondering how make the most of our time in Greece without changing hotels often.

That sounds like a wise plan.
I would recommend powering through to one of your destinations(Mykonos?) heading on to Santorini, ending in Athens.
Then you are well situated to fly home and are not backtracking. You will have a great time! Enjoy!

What hoping for? We can guess you're looking at beaches with you having picked some islands but is this a fly and flop type holiday? Or are you looking for something else.

If you don't want to change hotels too much don't. Stay in one destination. The problem is if you're coming from outside of Europe I doubt you'll find a direct flight to any of the islands. That means you're losing time on both arrival and departure.

If you are hoping for a beach holiday. Think about the sort of beach you're looking for. A busy commercial beach with people cheek to cheek? If you're expecting Blue Lagoon you've likely picked the wrong beaches.

What are your goals for this trip? Beaches? Archeological sites? Other? You could potentially do half your time on one of the islands and plan day trips to visit others, if you're inclined (watch out for ferry schedules changing due to weather or strikes, though) and the other half in Athens, necessitating only two hotel stays. This may depend on what your goals are in the end.

Although my trips to Greece have usually been to islands, I feel Athens and the Peloponnese will give you everything, including beaches, archaeological sites, and scenery. Nafplio in the Peloponnese would be a good secondary base along with Athens, and is only two hours by road from the city. There are islands in the Saronic Gulf, eg Aegina, easy to reach for a day trip from Athens/Piraeus.
http://www.visitnafplio.com/

Great idea to drop Paris as 10 days on the ground would be incredibly rushed even if you have already "done Paris".

It's more informative to know how many nights you have on the ground and if you have a long flight to start off with. For example, I would not spend the money to do this trip if I only had nine nights, flying from the US. I would cut back on the itinerary

Forget beaches in May, unless you go to Rhodos, Lykia, Pamphylia or Cyprus.
If you are interested in acheology, ancient and byzantine History, the greater Atthens area (up to Cape Sounion, and Korinthos/Argos/Mycenae/Nauplia) can keep you busy for a whole week.
A second hub could be Irraklio, with day trips to Paistos/Aya Triada/Matala, Rethymnon, Malia - Elounda, etc.

We were hoping to visit some historical/ancient sites, enjoy food and shopping, good scenery and maybe some beach/relaxing. The kids were wanting to see the white buildings, blue domes and nice sunsets.

Ikafati1, have you looked at my link in post #13? Athens and Nafplio would give you everything you are looking for except white buildings and blue domes, which are primarily found in the Cyclades Islands. You don’t need to go to the islands to find excellent sandy beaches, including some near Nafplio.

There are sites with biblical connections in Athens, and some near Corinth (Corinthians) on the way to Nafplio.
http://www.christian-pilgrimage-jour...tes-in-greece/

Listen to Heimdall - he knows of what he speaks! Nafplio is lovely and very convenient to Athens. The shots below are all from when I visited Nafplio in 2022. Try to be there on a Saturday. There’s a great farmers market!

Heimdall Yes, Thank you!! This really did seem to cover most everything.