10 days itineary

Samaria Gorge is beautiful however it is closed when you will be there. It is open from May to October. Outside of Athens I think you will struggle to find hostels open at that time of the year. It is very low season I am sure you will manage to find some hotels but many on the islands close for winter.

First of all, give up your hostel fantasy; there are very few hostels in Greece, most of them close offseason, and may not take children under 6. Athens Backpackers DOES have a "Sister building" with studio units & free for kids under 2, VERY convenient to Athens sights... only 2 blocks from Acropolis -- VERY important when u probably will need to return for baby's needs. Google "Athens Studios Backpackers" (that's to avoid a DIFFERENT Ath studio/deluxe). But even in Nov, rate will be $65 or so per night for u 3. If you think that's too much, then better to wait awhile on this trip.

The only other place besides Athens I could suggest would be NAFPLIO, which is accessible by excellent intercity bus 2.5 miles away... gorgeous Venetian-style "old town" on peninsula surrounded by water, feel of an island, but lively year-round because a favorite weekend for Athenians. ALso, it has MORE ancient sites within 10-15 miles than any other place in Greece. This fab noncommercial website- http://www.visitnafplio.com - tells u everything about area that u need to know, except of course how to cope w. 6 mons old. However there's lots to do/see even when weather is inclement (Nov-Dec gets rainy, did u factor that in?). And again, lodgings will cost you more than when you were a bachelor In Belize.

Forget about Santorini, Meteora, Mystras -- man, you are way up in YOUR head. Life has changed. Back when I was a young parent, we took a 2.5 yr old to an island beach in Nov, it was lovely. Heartened by that, the next year we went again, with 5 mo. infant. TOTALLY different, even tho setup was ideal & we only had 3 hour flight & no time change. Babies don't deal well w. travel, food is off, sleeping is off, could not do most of planned things. YOU are proposing a trip of MINIMUM 10 hours flight if u get a nonstop PLUS 7 hours clock-time change ... it probably will take the whole 10 ten days for Baby to get his/her internal clock adjusted.

Forgive me for being candid, but I'm just trying to save you from a pitfall, which could result in wasting a great deal of $$ on a trip that doesn't go well, with hard feelings. I suggest that before you proceed, that you and the mother-to-be have a FRANK discussion with the pediatrician you have chosen. Don't put fingers in ears and try not to hear -- better to have a few days in Florida sunshine, on a beach just steps from a bungalow, where parents can sunbathe while the infant naps. Not as thrilling, but more realistic. You still have many years ahead for high adventure abroad -- right now you are embarking on an adventure just as exciting, only closer to home.

well that was the whole point of asking and posting here. Candid advice. My neighbor , who are Americans, my age couple and - so not from the culture who don't heed women's words by your judgment- went to Greece and did the trip with 6 month old last year. They loved it and gave me the idea. I was not sure so I was hoping more input from similar couples. Just don't understand where culture and your quick jumping to judgments comes from. May be your sort is the reason for Trump rise. Though I hope not.
You saw my previous travels. I was with my wife on most of them, so she plans mainly as she is way better at planning. Don't jump to judgments. don't let your pre notions and biases make you sound like you did with that statement. With all travel I was hoping you would be better
Anyways , as a fellow traveler appreciate you advice.
Cheers

No I'm not a trumpster ... bona fide Liberal (Quaker)... lifetime career in non-profit (do-good) communications .. plus long-time Budget traveler (12x to greece, taking 3-4 newbies on 9 of those trips). Sorry if I made a judgment about culture and your gender -- I just took my cue from all the me- me-I-my in your narrative, were u aware of it? You didn't mention once being with any companion, either in your original post, or in your previous inquiries re Belize, please re-read. It does sound more like a solo traveler. And while I'm not your age now, when I was your age I did have extensive experience on traveling w 2 youngster both w. spouse and managing solo. Have you had a full discussion w. your wife about how you both would handle this travel challenge? I hope so.

I am delighted to read that your neighbors had a good experience w. an infant last year. Did they also go in winter, or were they in Greece in the warm months, staying on/near beaches? Did they use hostels or lo-budget? Did they use public transit or rent cars on mainland? DId they take infant on all-day hikes such as Samaria? If so, their day-to-day advice will be very valuable on how to combine exploring with the child's needs. ALso, please ask where their various destinations were, how they got from 1 place to another, how many days/weeks they had for it. Greece is MUCH more challenging logistics-wise than most of Europe; no train networks, and of course the time required to get to/from Islands, unless one has a Magic Carpet. And driving, even on better highways is about 1/2 that of US.

Given your 10 day limit & time of year, I still would say, you need to x out most of your list. Have you studied a map? Your wish list of Meteora-Santorini-Samaria-Mystras are about as far apart as you can possibly imagine. It would be like saying I have 10 days in US, I'd like to see New York, Key West, NeW Orleans and oh yes Grand Canyon. You would need 5? hour drive from ATH to Meteora, ditto for Mystras in other direction, Flighs to rainy closed-down Santorini may often be iffy due to winds (I once had a 3-hour delay in May!!), and Samaria of course will be closed.Weather will be cloudy, showers. I suggested 3-4 days in Athens because much to do even in bad weather, same advice for Nafplio & area. You will notice that I did try to provide you with helpful budget lodging directions.

The best advice actually would be to put off this adventure until warm (not Hot) weather months, when child is old enough to walk or toddle, can sleep in a stroller. Highly recommended family-friendly island is Naxos; in May-June many of visitors are scandinavians with children aged 1 - 5, because of safe shallow sandy beach fronted by "studio" units, and walkable w. strollers along seafront to & from port town. Island also has mountains, hills, excellent hiking, ruins, vineyards, dramatic landscapes. PLUS (very handily) one of the few islands that (between May-Oct) offers DAY excursions on dedicated excursion-vessels to Santorini, also to Delos-Mykonos. Enables you to see these "Famous" destinations without the hassle of relocation or co$$t of staying in those places.

I have a lot of useful realistic information and insights such as the above, have helped many types from young Parents to Golden agers plan do-able budget-friendly trips to Greece, based on solid experience. IF I was misled into thinking you had not fully considered the challenges of travel with a child, it was from tone of original post and inadequate info provided. So be it.

I've noticed that some of the comments on this thread have turned personal - please keep things relevant and respectful.

Carinae

I don't have anything to offer in terms of recommendations on Greece (I'm here doing research myself for a trip with my two children who are currently 21/2 and 3 months), but you can take young children—depending on their disposition and yours, of course!—almost anywhere. We've traveled a good bit with our oldest son, including international trips involving long flights, when he was little (starting at 51/2 months up to now). Traveling with kids is definitely slower and different, but it's still great and worthwhile!

My advice in general is to stick to a handful of places so you're not moving around too much. Factor in times during the day for good solid naps at the hotel/apartment. We also often go to places, particularly restaurants, in off hours to avoid long waits with a baby. Take a small umbrella stroller and/or baby carrier so your child has a place they can fall asleep if they need to while you're out and that you can use in the airport. Additionally, we found we had the best experiences when we stayed in apartments that way you have a kitchen and possibly laundry facilities, which were so helpful when traveling with a small child.

We've found that the smaller they are, the easier it is to travel with them. Once our son started walking, we had to start factoring in playground time and play time at airports and such so he could work off all that energy!

Thanks Rachel. This was very helpful.

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