12 Days in Greece - Advice?

[Anonymous]

I just got a great deal on flights so booked a trip to Greece for spring break. Would love opinions/thoughts on what to do.

We are flying in and out of Athens (but not flying out of athens until 1pm in the afternoon on departure day so could hop a quick flight from Crete to athens the day of departure I think).

I have three kids, 6/8/10. The 10 yo is deeply deeply obsessed with greek mythology and percy jackson, this is kind of a surprise trip for her 10th birthday but mostly just serendipitous for her that I got such a good deal haha.

Relevant info:
- we are not traveling on a dirt cheap budget but we are also not looking to be in luxury hotels, want to spend enough to be comfortable and safe and enjoy the trip but we're not rolling in the dough either.
- youngest kid is not going to be up to walking nonstop for the whole trip, we will have to measure some relaxing time agains

Mostly wondering what places you would really prioritize. This is in April so it won't warm enough for a swimming/ocean type trip. We will def do athens to see parthenon/temple of poseidon etc.

Considering whether to go to Naxos/Crete after Athens or to go north to Mt Olympus/Corfu/Kefalonia.

We have 11 days of trip time I think (leave on a Wednesday and return Monday with a full week in the middle). We arrive at like 7am on Thursday morning so that day will be tiring but we do have the whole day.

[Anonymous]

We went to Greece for 12 days or so when my kids were 6 and 10. We had 4 days to sight see in Athens (including a day trip to Delphi). We then flew to Corfu for 3 nights, and then went to Mykonos for two nights. It was perfect. We (actually my Greek mythology / Percy Jackson fan 10 year old) chose Mykonos since it was the only way to get to Delos (birth place of Apollo and Artemis). Despite its reputation, it also has a lot to do that is not all the party scene in a few limited beach resorts that it's known for.
The 6 year old had just had enough walking and sight seeing in Corfu when we were going up to look at the old fort. My husband just sat with him in a cafe, and we took things at his speed for a bit.

Wish we were able to fit in Olympus!

[Anonymous]

Depends a little on how you like to travel but I think you have time for 3 areas— I’d say Athens, Crete and then up to you if you want to do another island or someplace else on tue mainland (Nafplio or further north and see Delphi?)

One thing I’ve always heard is be on the mainland the night before your flight— don’t plan to fly or ferry in from an island that morning because of the risk things can fall apart due to weather, strikes etc.

[Anonymous]

Airline/dates?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Airline/dates?

Air France, for second half of April 2025

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Depends a little on how you like to travel but I think you have time for 3 areas— I’d say Athens, Crete and then up to you if you want to do another island or someplace else on tue mainland (Nafplio or further north and see Delphi?)

One thing I’ve always heard is be on the mainland the night before your flight— don’t plan to fly or ferry in from an island that morning because of the risk things can fall apart due to weather, strikes etc.

I have a friend who is emphasizing that Crete is just too much to do a three location with. So either do just Athens/Crete or do Athens/smaller island/somewhere else.

I think other pp's comment about the one kid wanting Mykonos is important though because I think after I tell her we're going that what she personally wants to see could be a big factor!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends a little on how you like to travel but I think you have time for 3 areas— I’d say Athens, Crete and then up to you if you want to do another island or someplace else on tue mainland (Nafplio or further north and see Delphi?)

One thing I’ve always heard is be on the mainland the night before your flight— don’t plan to fly or ferry in from an island that morning because of the risk things can fall apart due to weather, strikes etc.

I have a friend who is emphasizing that Crete is just too much to do a three location with. So either do just Athens/Crete or do Athens/smaller island/somewhere else.

I think other pp's comment about the one kid wanting Mykonos is important though because I think after I tell her we're going that what she personally wants to see could be a big factor!

I have no idea why Crete would be “too much” unless the suggestion is to try and do all of Crete? Going to a smaller island because there is smaller (less to see?) doesn’t make that much sense to me.

Crete is good because it’s easy to fly there. Visit Knossos for a few hours and drive to Chania (or wherever you want to go). It’s about a 2 hour drive so to me that’s not too much to do for a few day visit but again your style of travel might be different.

[Anonymous]

Your money will go a long ways in Athens. Less so in places that are major tourist draws. Spend at least three days in Athens because the museums are great and it's actually a pleasant city if you stay in the historic / attractive areas of town.

Then pick your island.

We also loved checking out some of the sights on the Peloponnesian peninsula. A bus tour or a small group guided tour is your best option there.

[Anonymous]

We did Greece this summer for 5 weeks. I highly recommend Crete over Naxos. Way more to do & see in Crete to keep your kids entertained. Naxos is relaxing but there's not much going on- I was bored by day 4.

I don't know why you would want to do Mykonos with kids- yes there's more than just a party scene but it's more for a girls getaway or adults thing than families or anything your kids would appreciate. It's also just not that great in general.

Athens will be pleasant at that time but you don't need much time there. Check out the Athens Riviera from there- Airaeus harbor down to the southern tip. Check out Temple of Poseidon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your money will go a long ways in Athens. Less so in places that are major tourist draws. Spend at least three days in Athens because the museums are great and it's actually a pleasant city if you stay in the historic / attractive areas of town.

Then pick your island.

We also loved checking out some of the sights on the Peloponnesian peninsula. A bus tour or a small group guided tour is your best option there.

We drove around the Peloponnese and then up to Delphi— no need to do a tour if you don’t want to.

[Anonymous]

We also loved the Peloponnese- we stayed in Nafplio and visited Mycenae, Epidaurus, Acrocorinth, and a few other places from there. We also weren't there during beach season but my kids still liked going to the beaches anyway. It was really fun and easy and not far from Athens so we could just drive back to the airport the day of for our afternoon flight.

[Anonymous]

Athens is worth a few days, its surprisingly charming.

And Santorini is the stuff of bucket lists, it would be a shame to miss it! You can get sweet hotels with private hot tubs with a view for way cheaper than in the summer. Imerovigli is the place to stay. We were going to stay at Santoniri Mansion in Spring but had to reschedule for summer and I couldn't afford it. We started our trip in Santorini and it was a great place to shake off the jet lag.

[Anonymous]

Go to Thessoloniki. Athens is a shit hole.
And go to at least one or two islands close enough by a short ferry ride.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Go to Thessoloniki. Athens is a shit hole.
And go to at least one or two islands close enough by a short ferry ride.

Disagree. Maybe my expectations were just too low because Athens gets a lot of hate, but I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. And they already have flights in/out of Athens. I would either go to Athens + an island or Athens + a roadtrip circuit through the Peloponnese (could add Delphi too if that's of interest). FWIW we spent two full days in Athens and that felt about right.

[Anonymous]

I think you could do smaller island + Crete + a few days in Athens at the end. You'll just have to see which islands have direct ferry routes.

We rented a house in Crete through this site once and it was amazing and relatively affordable: https://www.luxuryvillasoncrete.com/.

I like Athens also, but you could stay south of the city near Vouliagmeni at one of the great hotels down there and then go into the city for a few hours in the morning. That area is also super close to the airport so it's an easy location for the end of your trip. Look at The Margi, Four Seasons, Roc Hotel, etc.