Island Hopping

Buy a guidebook (or check one out from the library) for Greece. Read it, take notes, then come back with some specific questions as well as details related to your interests and budget. As to "the best use of our time" and "the best of the best," some might say the best use of your time would be to volunteer at an animal shelter while someone else might say you should drink yourselves into a coma on a beach somewhere. You want the "best" suggestions, don't you? Help us out!

Well gemdrops i don't think brotherleelove understands that you are just willing to listen to anyones hints and tips from their experiences of island hopping. There was really no need for his reply to sound so condescending. I apologise on the message boards behalf for him being such a TW%T to a newcomer like yourself. Anyway i'm sure someone out there will have some valued experience of this topic so hang about and don't ever feel that you're asking something stupid.

John

brotherleelove has a point.We need more specific information to give advice! And I am sure he is going to provide a lot of help when he's having these info. For a start gemdrops: When exactly next summer are you planning to come in Greece? Situation during early June is different than middle August for example. Which group of island you plan to visit? Island are Crete,Ionian island,south Aegean such as Lemnos,whatever. Be more specific! Would you like to spend your time lying on beach? Doing watersports?Visiting museums?Climbing mountains?Partying?Are you interested to interact with locals and get to know local life style, or hanging around with tourists? What is your budget?Are you planning to staying in hostels? Luxury hotel resorts? Do camping? Eating in tavernas?Restaurants?Preparing your own meals? Someone needs to start somewhere somehow!

Jmccal10 took it upon himself to "apologise on the message boards behalf" with his third ever post on Thorn Tree. How presumptuous!

Gemdrops, you are asking an impossible question. I could suggest an itinerary without knowing your interests or budget, but that wouldn't be doing you any favours. Brotherleelove, in his 1883 posts, has patiently answered many questions on the Greek Islands, but don't expect him, or anyone else (except maybe travelerjan) to act as your free travel agent on Thorn Tree. There are about 160 inhabited Greek islands, I have been told, and each one is different. Some are good for beaches, some for antiquities, and some for partying. Some are very expensive, and some are more economical. What are your interests? It would also be helpful to know what part of the summer you intend to travel.

May I suggest you pick up a copy of Greek Island Hopping, a Thomas Cook publication. It it you can find much information on the islands and ferry routes. Many island hoppers prefer the Cyclades for its excellent ferry connections.

All i'm saying is that there are nicer ways of saying things, but then maybe manners aren't important anymore.

#5, I don't think brotherleelove's answer is rude or insulting,just straightforward. Of course writing doesn't help to understand someone's motive or manners...
I guess if you explore a bit the forum you will realise he is a member providing people with lots of usefull information and advices...
Anyway,there is no point to continue this argument.
It's the OP who has to post some additional questions now to keep this topic running...

Amazing. jimcal apologises on behalf of us all but has absolutely no contribution to make. Why bother?

OP - start by telling us when in Summer you intend to go and roughly what your daily budget is likely to be. I island hop most years and don't bother to pre-book unless I'm going to one of the smaller islands in high season. You don't say where you're from and it would be useful to know that because if you're travelling half way round the world, you may want to plan your trip more thoroughly than us locals (UK that is) who are more inclined to wing it.

Gemdrops, this is your first post on Thorn Tree, so perhaps we should have been a little more patient with you. You have to understand, though, that in order to get good advice you need to give us something to go on. There are many regulars on this board including brotherleelove, grecophile and oldpro (haven't seen him lately - he must be travelling) who will be happy to guide you. Sometimes their responses are blunt (as with #2), but are always good intentioned. You can find out a lot about the character of different posters by doing an author search (click the Search icon at the top of the page). We do sometimes get impatient when someone asks broad questions without having attempted to do any research beforehand.

Please come back with more questions - no one is trying to discourage you.

Sorry, meant "(as with #1)". It was rather amusing to see #2 criticise #1 for his manners, then call him a 'TW%T'. The pot calling a kettle...?