Good advice from Spiderdog about less being more. I would agree with the suggestion of removing an island too - make the most of where you are rather than spending valuable time and money getting there.

Would also suggest rethinking your 1st day/ night in Athens. Many find it’s better to get straight out to your first island to relax and recover there rather than trying to do it in a large noisy city. Keep Athens till the end. Hope you have a great trip.

Thanks for the replies - this is very helpful.

I understand the universal advice here is to save Athens for the end of the trip. The primary reason I have it scheduled at the beginning is because I was able to book into Athens using miles, but not departing Athens. My flight home leaves from Heathrow. The direct Santorini > Heathrow sets this up nicely, but we could reconsider. Other flights may become available, but this is what we have for now. Also, our 2:00 am arrival into Athens will probably see us just wanting to get to a hotel and rest ASAP, rather than board another plane. Finally, I know how hectic Athens is, and think that spending a couple days there on the end will kind of tarnish the afterglow a bit. We could of course skip Athens altogether, but I think it would be a shame for my wife to not be able to see it.

Now, back to the islands - all else aside (let's forget for a moment about my plan to fly Santorini > Heathrow), if we were to choose 3 of the 4 islands (Milos, Paros, Naxos, Santorini), which should I consider cutting out? Naxos I'm pretty set on going to. Paros/Antiparos seems like a pretty sweet setup, but possibly more negotiable than Naxos to me. My leading contenders to cut would be either Milos or Santorini. I really want to prioritize islands that distinguish themselves from one another, and have that "not ready to leave" feeling regardless of how long we stay. We also need to start and end on islands with airports.

What says the TA community?

Or…should we do maybe 4 days in the Peloponnese, scrapping a couple of islands? We could still have time for nearly a week on Naxos.

If you are happy to hire a car the Peloponnese would be a great option .A bit of variety is always good!

Have a look at Nafplio which as well as being beautiful provides easy access for a variety of day trips.

See attached guide;

https://www.greecetravel.com/nafplio/

Thanks for the help, Spiderdog. And great name - our mini Australian Shepherd has a spider costume for Halloween and it’s all I can think about, LOL. A welcome reminder of home while I’m on the road for business.

Okay, seriously considering this alternate plan to get more variety. Would the following be feasible, and feel any less (or more) rushed or too much: Athens 2 nights, Nafpilon 4 nights, drive back to ATH for afternoon fight to Naxos for 5 nights, Santorini for 3 nights, fly home.

Seems this will give us more variety and a taste of what Greece has to offer. A mezze platter, if you will.

The only downside I see is that we’ll have a lot of windshield time. But the trade off is that we will get to see so much, have freedom to explore (or not if we so choose) and not be so beholden to ferry schedules. On paper this looks good.

It sounds good to me but I haven't done it! We have been to all these places but over the years and as parts of other trips as you would probably expect being as we are only a short flight away.

I think you have a different perspective if you are doing a long haul trip as you are not likely to be revisiting anytime soon.

I'm currently working on a USA itinerary and it looks a bit too busy. Will definitely need to be refined.

I would probably go for the Greece itinerary you have arrived at as it gives you a varied and interesting trip.

Oh, & Spider was the name of our previous dog!

Having cycled through the Peloponnese 10 yes ago, I think it’s a lovely area to visit - especially if the history offered by the archeological sites interest you. We also enjoyed visiting the wineries in the Nemea area and Napflio is lovely.

Leaving 5 days for one of the islands would be a good idea.

Going back to your original question of which island to leave out from your early choices, I think it’s worth setting out what it is that interests you about each.

Leaving Santorini to one side as it’s a given if you plan to fly home from there ( apologies I missed that), it seems to be down to selecting 2 from the other 3.

This is also about what appeals for your holiday rather than what we prefer.

I note your comment about driving - there are good public transport systems in Naxos and Paris - much less so in Milos. The former are also close together, requiring a much shorter ferry hop.

You can get to Santorini pretty easily from all 3.

Milos is felt by many to require a hire car ( we didn’t and managed but we cycle). I do think it’s an island that’s been heavily promoted as the can’t miss place and I couldn’t see why when we visited.

What it does have is interesting coast line, rock formations and caves to explore.

The other two islands offer good access to other smaller islands as suggested.

All 3 are popular and will be busy.

I think there are good beaches on all 3, but accessibility is probably more difficult on Milos.

From the perspective of Greek character, good food choices, my vote would go to Paros and Naxos - but recognise that’s just personal preference.

Not sure what else to offer other than to say whatever you choice, I’m sure you’ll have a great time.

Hi all, I've needed to revise my itinerary a bit, and as such, it will make more sense to do Athens and Nafplion on the back end of the trip. I have 14 total nights in Greece, including the evening of my arrival.

Now looking at flying JFK-LHR-JMK (Mykonos), arriving at 5:50 pm on night 1. I have no real interest in Mykonos so plan to take the evening ferry to Naxos.

Tentatively, I have the following plan, but think I still need to cut something out:

Nights 1-5: Naxos

--Ferry to Paros--

Nights 6-7: Paros*

--Ferry to Santorini--

Nights 8-9: Santorini*

--Flight to Athens; drive to Nafplion--

Nights 10-12: Nafplion

--Drive to Athens--

Nights 13-14: Athens

--Fly back to the US--

I really like the idea of spending some time in the Peloponnese region for a bit of variety after seeing the islands. Not sure if it's wise to have only 2 nights in Paros and 2 in Santorini. If I cut out one of these, we could take a more leisurely pace getting to/from Nafplion, gaining an extra night there, and an extra night in Paros or Santorini.

Leaning towards skipping Santorini, which would enable the following:

Nights 1-5: Naxos

--Ferry to Paros--

Nights 6-8: Paros/Antiparos

--Flight to Athens; drive to Nafplion--

Nights 9-12: Nafplion

--Drive to Athens--

Nights 13-14: Athens

--Fly back to the US--

I guess my question is whether the first itinerary will feel too rushed. I understand that Paros and Santorini generally require fewer nights than Naxos, but I'm still not sure if getting only 2 nights in each place, plus the additional ferry transfer makes it worthwhile. Although Santorini looks stunning and very romantic (and yes, this is an anniversary trip), I think that Paros and a day in Antiparos looks more our speed, and possibly offers more to do than Santorini alone.

Any feedback is most welcome!

Brandon, it will be an extremely tight connection in Mykonos if it is the 19.10 Seajets you plan to catch. Have you got a plan B in case you don't make the connection? Is it not possible to fly to Santorini if you are connecting in London? Then go to Naxos, then Paros, then ferry or flight to Athens.

If you are flying into Mykonos it makes more sense to go Paros, Naxos , Santorini to avoid backtracking and reduce ferry times. Sounds a fab trip!