1

I'm like you: I love off-season places.
But.
Why a Greek island?
Honestly, why?
And in December...
Is it because you think Greece is mainly islands? (It's not)
Because everybody go to the islands when they visit Greece? (They do, but mainly (yes, I'm sure) because they don't know what Greece has to offer).

The Minoan palace, Knossos, is not authentic.
The gorge, I'm guessing it's the most famous one, Samaria, is closed during winter.

Ok, I know that I sound condescending here, sorry!

Would you like to try something else?

In Peloponnese, the prefecture of Argolis has the most historic sights in all of Greece (none of them destroyed like Knossos). You can do walks, maybe not very dramatic ones like the (closed) Samaria gorge, but the scenery is stunning anyway.
Nafplio (15.000 inhabitants), probably the most beautiful town in Greece, is the capitol of Argolis, Peloponnese, but there are also places where hardly anyone lives or goes in the winter, if that's what you prefer. That's OK if you rent a car, if you want a bus to take you to your day's destination, stay in the "capitol".

Anyway, if you want, check out this site, maybe you decide to try something different: http://www.visitnafplio.com

2

I live in England so the weather should be comparatively warmer and more comfortable,
Mainly this is true as a general statement, but doesn't make much sense when you plan a trip. You have to look closely in specific locations. for example Florina is in Greece but often temperatures reach -10 C on early January while London is in England and temperature is something around +10 C at this time of the year....

Crete will have a milder climate around the coast line but much colder with quite possibly snow on the mountain areas, so you have to check carefully on that one too.

I like history (monuments, ruins) and the natural world (hiking, walking in the mountains) almost equally. I am happy to go to a place where there are not many people. I don't need bars or anything like that although good food would be much enjoyed :)

I like your line of thinking because I prefer traveling off season too. I think that in order to find some accommodation etc you need to focus on places where some action is happening though. Also the nature part is very dependent on weather conditions.

What would people here suggest? Given it is only 10 days total, I would be happy with the following general structure:

a Main Island where I base myself (perhaps a larger one like Crete?)
2 to 3 smaller islands that I visit, perhaps using ferries.
Athens on the day I fly back. (I have lived enough time in London to not want to go to a big city again, although I would love to 'pass through' Athens just to get a whiff of it)

There is a reason that method for traveling on Greek Islands is the so called famous Island Hopping . Ferry system works that way that been based on one island and take day trips to other islands is not possibly. So have to spend some nights on each as you make your way to Athens. Ferry schedules are limited to the absolutely necessary to serve local population on winter, so this needs careful planning.Now, Crete is a huge and diverse island, covering around 8,336 km2 (3,219 sq mi) . If you choose Crete, forget about other islands and focus just on Crete.10 days is not a great amount of time. If your arrival point in Greece is Athens , get a connecting flight to Crete while you are at the airport, saving Athens for the end of your trip.
I very strongly disagree with your ideas of spending only 1 day in Athens. You can not get even a small idea of what Athens is about on one day. You mention you like history, monuments and ruins, so I can not see how you could ever skip Athens. This is your call of course, but personally I think it is plain stupid to ignore some of the most important sites and museums of Greece in order to go and see a very important and historically significant site but heavily reconstructed and with a theme park feel site that is Knossos. The Athens Archeological museum hosts many exhibits from various eras and locations in Greece, including Minoan stuff from Crete and Santorini anyway. I urge you to research more in depth on that one.

Regarding Crete: I watched a wonderful documentary about the Minoans and the palace of Knossos. I also read there is a Gorge there that people trek in. And the island seems big enough for a couple of days of hiring a motorcycle and riding around.

See above comments. The island is just too big to make it justice on "a couple of days riding around" .Please note that most documentaries are filmed on main or shoulder season, ambiance and weather will be completely different at your dates. I think a motorcycle is simply wrong for this time of the year and this island.

What do people think? Is all this do-able in December (I don't mind cold weather) ? Will there be enough places (restaurants, museums, motorcycle rentals) open in Crete this time of year? Is accommodation freely available given it is Christmas time? What about snow in the mountainous areas?

It is do-able to go on Crete, been based on a specific area (Hiraklion area for Knossos) or split your stay on two areas, and explore those particular areas, It is not possible to see all the island on only 8-10 days. You could always go to Heraklion (this is quite likely where you will fly into), see the archeological museum, go to Knossos, hung around the town, then move to an other island. (Note Heraklion is the 4rth largest city in Greece and a major port though). From Hiraklion you may reach Anafi some days of the week, Santorini and once per week Rhodes... Fast ferries do not run on winter, slow ferries are the way to go. Even slow ferries are canceled in case of 8b wind force or more. Even off season, 3 nights/2 full days are an absolute minimum on each tiny island, but given your time frame and travel logistics, you run the risk of spending more time traveling than seen places. I would stay put on Athens + Crete or Athens+ 2 smaller islands at most. Or even better, Athens+ 1 or 2 mainland areas*

*I agree with #1 that Greece is not only about the islands. There is a wide, interesting and very diverse mainland too! Less hassle to get around, plenty to see and do.

3

PS : On 25th & 26th December and 1rst January museums and archeological sites are closed .In theory those are bank holidays, so many shops etc will be closed,although this varies on location. Restaurants and bars will be open no matter what.

4

A word of warning. As has been said, the weather may be colder than UK and not much happening on the islands (I share someone's feeling above that "going to the islands" is overrated). With regard to Crete (which is great in pleasant weather), my friend married a Cretan who then lived with her in London for some years. Finally, they were in a position to move back to Crete to live. He went ahead, full of excitement, to find a house for them. It was wintertime. Pretty soon, he was 'phoning full of depression, saying he had forgotten how dismal Crete was in the winter with everything shut and awful weather and he did not fancy living there again after all. The upshot was that, on his insistence, they abandoned the whole plan and moved to Shropshire instead.

5

Dear All, thank you for your wonderful, detailed replies. (And no Humbla, I don't think you are being condescending at all - in fact I am happy you are counter-suggesting what are after ignorant ideas of mine, someone who has never visited the country!)

Many of your thoughts centre on the weather - clearly I have been optimistic thinking that meditteranean country = year round sunshine...! But my trip is booked for this time of year so I would still like to get the best ideas and make the most of it!

Over the next two days I will pore over your replies in detail and come up with alternate thoughts. And post them back here.

Thanks a lot for all your time!

6

Thank you, theroyale, for not finding me condescending ;-)

Coming from south-west Norway, weather not that different from Britain, I know that most Greek winters are far better than in my home town. Yes, it can rain, it can be cold, but quite often the sun is shining, and those days are not much colder than a summer in south-west Norway - sometimes actually better. The evenings are always quite cold, though.

The weather is another reason for me suggesting (in a non-condescending way) that you should pick your destination carefully. Windy islands are one thing, also places in high altitudes and the north of Greece are probably not what you want. Nobody can, of course, guarantee the weather in December, but Nafplio, and eastern Peloponnese, are usually blessed with higher temperatures than most places that time of the year.

7

Thanks for all your replies - I think I have a little more idea about my limitations on this trip: especially with the idea of taking ferries in winter, I might lose valuable time!

mariha2912, why do you say that "I think a motorcycle is simply wrong for this time of the year and this island." ? Is it that it is too mountainous (therefore cold) away from the coast, and therefore difficult to ride? Or just too cold in general? Or more like there would be no support structure (mechanics etc) in case I have a breakdown or other difficulties.

So the general advice seems to be to find an area of the mainland to explore, with perhaps a visit to 1 island. I would like to ask for more of your inputs on the Argolis region in the Peloponnese. Is there a possibility to rent a motorbike here? Are there nice walks - scenery/monuments and most importantly villages? I love the idea of spending two days in the main town (Nafplio in this case), walking and riding around a bit, then taking a bus or walking from village to village for the rest of my time. Is this reasonable?

Also how will Nafplio (and other bigger towns on the mainland) be during Christmas week? Will there be a lot of local holidayers from Athens?

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There is (or at least used to be, with this economy who knows who's still in business) a place called Motor Traffic in Nafplio (Sidiras Merarchias street) that lets motorbikes.

For hikes, I like the area behind the Agia Moni: http://www.visitnafplio.com/visitnafplio.com/Region/Entries/2010/3/16_Innlegg_1.html
Also, download a book with other suggestions here: http://hikingingreece.com

If you study the visitnafplio site you will see short descriptions of the major sights and some villages, there are of course many more villages.

Buy the Argolis map from Orama, it's the most detailed I've found: http://www.oramaeditions.gr/index/mapsEn.asp?id=126
This site also has some hiking guides,
Walking in Nafplio: http://www.oramaeditions.gr/index/mapsEn.asp?id=1046 - Not sure if you need this - but this one is probably very useful: http://www.oramaeditions.gr/index/mapsEn.asp?id=284

Nafplio always has visitors from Athens, and the Christmas week is lively enough for winter, except Christmas day, when people usually don't head into town before the evening. There's always open cafés, bars and tavernas.

9

Hi all

So I have changed my plans after taking the advice of people here.

I arrive in Athens and will spend my first two days there. After all I plan to take a bus or train into Peloponnese, and spend my week there. I've identified some places I want to see in this region: Epidaurus, the caves at Diros, napflio,Asini, the Mani peninsula in general. Apart from these I expect to identify a few classical sites to visit (I know the above is in no sensible order, obviously the plan is to visit these in an order that minimises travel).

Would like your suggestions on other things to see in this region. Natural or architectural. Also, I will be there on 24th to 31st - Christmas week! How empty will it all be (apart from Nafplio which Humbla has mentioned above)? I read that transport in Peloponnese is more geared to locals, so I should expect to find a near usual service of buses and trains in the off season. Or is hiring a vehicle the only sensible thing to do?

Edited by: theroyale