9 days in Greece

You may disagree but most of us "old hands" would reverse your sequence. With such a cruelly short visit, not only days, but HOURS become important, and you waste precious hours by going in to central athens twice -- the process takes HOURs by the time yo check in/check out take bus or metro or taxi. Instead, you should fly immediately to your first island and work your way back, and save Athens for the last. Also, in such a brief trip, taking a day ferry to a cyclades island eats up an entire day --you should fly instead. Yes, it costs more, but when you cannot spare the time, you must spare the money.

The critical thing is, you must act SOON -- if you dither too long, the flights are gone. Don't worry about hotels until you've figured out the logistics. One can always find another hotel, but if a fllight is gone, that's that. Now, if you go NOW to http://en.aegeanair.com -- you will see that there's a Santorini flight at 10:15 (too early to make) and 13:10 -- that's 1:10 pm. Arrives 1:55 ... u can be on your balcony by 3! It's only €79 if you are traveling quite light (just hand luggage 17 lbs or less) or €101 per, if you have the customary 15-20" rollaboard. From there the sequence I would suggest:
Day 1 (half day), Day 2, Day 3 morning - Santorini Book a hotel on the Caldera side for the view; the santorini beaches are black/gritty, and on May 6, water's still too cold anyway
Day 3 @ 3:15 PM -- sail on BLUE STAR ferry (open decks, big modern boat, wonderful!!) take pix of Santo as you depart ... arrive NAXOS 5:30. Stay in hotel on St. George (Ag. Giorgios) beach directly adjoining the port town -- most hotels will meet the ferry with car or shuttle, but it's also an easy 15-minute walk.
Day 3 evening, day 4, day 5 -- Enjoy Naxos! Ag. Giorgios is shallow beach but yay! that means it's swimmable by May 10 (Ive done it)... here's a look - http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/sets/72157632094558042/ also MUCH to do, enjoy all around Naxos http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/sets/72157634605629689/ including hill villagee https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/sets/72157632110674306/ Naxos has landscapes, beaches, ruins, history, a STUNNING tiny museum up in the Kastro heights ... you won't even get started on Naxos delights in 2 days -- you may decide to add a day to it
DAy 5 (OR day 6) evening -- take 6 PM BLUE STAR Ferry, get "reserved" ecoomy seats (lean-back, comfy just 4E more than reg economy). Sit out on deck for sunset, snack at a cafe, then snooze in your resrved seat, arrival around midnight. Taxi to an athens hotel doubles at midnight toabout €50+, but find another couple on board to go to ONE destination & you will just be charged the 1 taxi fare, to split.
DAY 6 - 7 - 8 (or just 7 & 8) -- ATHENS sightseeing. I myself wouldn't try to squeeze in Dellphi. But if you insist, then do not take a "tour" because a tour wastes hours picking up/dropping off... only gets to Dellphi by about 11, rushes you thru the ruins in 1+ hour, then 1 hour museum, then drags u for a taverna meal YOU buy, and stop-offs at souvenir shops (kickbacks??). Instead, on Day 8, get up at crack-o-dawn, get to Lission Bus Station for 7:30 KTEL (Intercity) bus -- arrive Delphi 10:30 ... and catch last bus back to Athens 6:30pm. Pack picnic lunch the night before and enjoy it sitting on a column on a high hill... much better than in a taverna w 30+ bus tourists. But As I said, I think another day on Naxos will yield more memories that a loong trip to/from Delphi just because you've heard about it. When you only have 8 days, you can't pour a quart into a pint bottle. You stat that you want a laid-back trip -- the only way to achieve that is to edit your "wish list" realistically.

YOu will notice I omitted Mykonos -- Santorini & Mykonos are the most ballyhooed overtouricized of all the isles -- but at Least Santorini has the Famous View. Mykonos has a lovely port town (but so does Naxos) ... and Mykonos town is overwhelmed almost daily by 6- 8,000 cruise throngs from MegaShips (which Naxos does NOT have).

HOtels & other details come later. That domestic flight cannot wait. PS: No need to buy ferry tix until day it sails. Good luck & good planning -- when you've committed to definite dates (AND that air ticket), will be glad to chip in some hotel suggestions. Good luck and congratulations -- May is the ideal time to see greece for the first time!

I'm so glad you replied, travelerjan. I have read a lot of your posts here and on other websites and you seem to be one of the most knowledgeable people about Greece. I also appreciate you taking time to write such a detailed reply with a nice solid plan. I have a couple of questions though.

1. I kept Santorini for the last because I wanted the trip to end on a nice relaxing note, as compared to the hustle-bustle of Athens. And I disagree with your reasoning when you say that we would lose precious time with my sequence. I would say it's the same. As per your plan, you want us to fly directly to Santorini from Athens airport after we land. You say that we would save time by not going into central Athens twice. I don't think we are doing that. On our last day, 15th, we would fly from Santorini to Athens on the 8.45am flight in the morning and then fly out from there without having to leave the airport. I feel we save more time this way because 15th morning would be a waste for us anyway. We won't have time to do anything or check out any place that morning since we'll have to be at the airport by 11am for a 1.30pm flight. Keeping that entire day for commuting seems to be the best use of our time.

2. My wife really wants to do Mykonos. I was a little confused between the two, but a little more inclined towards Naxos. You say we should go to Naxos, and possibly spend an extra day there. I looked at your album, beautiful pics I must say. But it looked like it had a more village feel to it. I would think of spending an extra day at Santorini rather than Naxos. Does Naxos really have 3 days worth of activites/sight seeing? How does the food and night life compare between Naxos and Mykonos? I don't mind skipping Mykonos, but why do most tourists end up with an itinerary of Athens-Mykonos-Santorini (from what I've read online) and not Naxos?

Thanks again, and I really look forward to your reply. I would also like to get the flight bookings done ASAP, so need to finalize on the plan soon.

SilverHawk - You've had some great advice from travelerjan which, as a veteran of many trips to the Cyclades, I wholeheartedly agree with and yet you seem set on your original plan.

You ask why most tourists end up with an Athens, Mykonos, Santorini itinerary. It's very simple. They are well known tourist package destinations that travel agents can easily promote. They are filled with large numbers of Americans, Japanese and Chinese who have visited a travel agent used to putting together itineraries for these places and who is fairly clueless about other (better) destinations in Greece.

Naxos is in my opinion the best of all Greek islands with something for everyone. It boasts some of the best beaches in Europe, a stunning Chora with an impressive Kastro and great boutiques, bars and restaurants and a scenic hinterland if you are of a mind to explore. It has weeks of activities/sight seeing (temple of Apollo by the harbour, giant Kouros at Apollon, amazing fish restaurants at Moutsouna, lovely mountain villages of Filoti and Apeiranthos). Three days is barely enough to scratch the surface. We have visited more than 50 different Greek islands over the past 35 years, many of them only once, but have returned to Naxos no less than 9 times and are planning another trip this September.

You ask about food and drink on Naxos - there are restaurants and bars just as good as those on Mykonos and Santorini and you will pay a fraction of the price. The most expensive small beer I have ever bought was on Mykonos waterfront.

You say you want some beach - in addition to the town beach the huge stretch of golden sand encompassing Agia Anna, Maragas and Plaka is easily reached by regular buses from Naxos town. Bear in mind that accommodation overlooking the caldera in Santorini is some distance from the beaches at the foot of the cliffs and they are, as travellerjan says, mostly black and gritty, not, in my opinion, great places to peg out for the day.

You say you want a relaxed trip and want to end on a nice relaxing note - Santorini, Mykonos and Athens are all busy frenetic tourist destinations. Naxos will give you a much more laid back, authentic experience.

Santorini is worth a couple of days and Mykonos the same if your wife really insists but you don't have time for more than two islands anyway so drop Mykonos. BTW, if you are determined to visit Mykonos, I'm not sure if you can still do this but we "did" Mykonos as a day trip by catamaran from Naxos. Plenty of time to explore the admittedly pretty town but we were thankful to be able to leave the throngs of tourists and overpriced bars/restaurants at the end of the day.

Do yourselves a favour and follow tj's advice.

Thanks for the reply, Olive_Farmer. I'm perfectly fine with going to Naxos instead of Mykonos. I wasn't questioning the choice of Island, I just wanted to get a little more comparison data. I'm sorry if my reply sounded rule. My basic questions were, 1. Isn't my original sequence/order of cities/islands good? 2. Is Naxos worth extra day or should I spend that in Santorini?

Silver, I've been to Greece 12 times ... 9 of them taking along a few Newbies like you, who've enjoyed our itineraries ... I've been to Santorini perhaps 8 times or more, Mykonos maybe 4 times-- and there IS a day-trip to Mykonos from Naxos, and also, the Mykonos party-life (dancing on tables at the beach)that you see on brochures, or in hotel promo sites is non-existent until at least July, and there are Few lively clubs either until later. But hey, what do I know?? You look at your smart-phone, click thru some sites, and learn all you need to know. So go for it. And do come back and tell us what you found.

PS: One reason we don't usually recommend flying back from an island To Athens with just a few hours to spare is that weather CAN throw a monkey-wrench into the plans. Last time I flew in to Santorini WIND delayed our plane for 3 hours -- and tht was not winter, it was May. But perhaps you have some kind of insurance that will compensate you if you miss your US-bound flight.

Point taken. I'm sorry because it looks like you were offended by my reply. I was just trying to have a healthy discussion.

I don't mind a discussion as long as it's based on experience or real research into a situation. It's not a healthy discussion when one person is making judgments based on "I heard" or "someone said" -- it becomes a waste of time. I'm not saying a person needs to have been to Greece before, in order to have a different opinion... just that the opinion should be based on SOME findings -- on having read any actual guidebook, or spent time with any major Noncommercial websites concerning these destinations..

I'm for all kinds of GReece experiences -- beaches, ruins, festive meals, museums, late-night parties, moonlight walks -- have done em all. My postings on this forum are an effort to help people maximize the time they have to enjoy each destination they choose, and minimize the time and hassle of transit logistics, and from what I've learned, help them avoid pitfalls. But in the end, it's up to what you want to do, not the contributions of this forum.

One of the best options to stay in Athens in May is the seaside town called Vouliagmeni. They have a really nice hotel there called Westin Astir. Athens seaside is really nice - here is some info: http://followmckinsey.com/varkiza-your-seaside-escape-from-athens/

There are several really nice towns on the coastline near Athens: Vouliagmeni, Varkiza and Glyfada. Varkiza has a more relaxed atmosphere.

Great! Thanks a lot, vmouravi. It looks like a fantastic hotel and not very expensive either. But it does seem a little far from the city center like Acropolis, Parthenon, Monastiraki, etc. Where would we spend most of our time in Athens? If it's city center, then would it make more sense to stay somewhere close?

I also need hotel suggestions for Santorini since they are filling up pretty fast. How good is Volcano View Hotel? I'd appreciate if you can give me some recommendations as well. Thanks.