Popular
Greek Islands and Athens for
1st Time Travelers to Greece
Most likely you
have a few ideas of what you want to see in Greece, from what you
have read or what friends who have visited Greece have done. You
may want to see Santorini
and one or two of these islands: Mykonos,
Paros,
Naxos,
Rhodes, Crete.
You will want 2 or 3 nights in Athens to see the Acropolis
and because you will most likely have to spend your first and last
nights in the city. If you want to visit Delphi
or Naphlion-Mycenae-Epidavros
you will need another night. My recommendation assuming Santorini
(and for some people Mykonos) is on the top of your list is visiting
that and one other island splitting 7 days between the two. For
Athens you want a hotel in or near the Plaka.
The easy way to put it together is with Fantasy
Travel's create-an-itinerary form since once you have an idea
of what you want to see and how much you can afford and you can
just check the boxes and put together a plan with the help of a
travel agent. Another option is to go to the Fantasy
Travel or Dolphin
Hellas websites and choose from the itineraries they offer that
suit your plans. Many people look at these pages and think they
are tours. They are not. They are just suggested plans that offer
value because they have been set up with hotels beforehand. Working
with an agency in Greece is the most efficient way to make use of
your time and in the end saves you money because there are fewer
chances of screw-ups since they are professionals and plan people's
Greece trips every day.
So assuming you
were coming to Greece for 10 days and doing a day trip on
the mainland a sample itinerary would look like:
Day
1: Arrive
in Athens. Visit the Acropolis in the late afternoon, walk around
the Plaka.
Day
2: Day-trip
to Delphi or Nafplio. (You need an overnight to see Meteora) You
can see these on Fantasy Travel's website by clicking on organized
land tours. Some people use George
the Famous Taxi Driver because it gives them more freedom and
if they are 4 people will cost about the same.
Day
3: Early
morning ferry or flight to Santorini
Day
4: Santorini
Day
5: Santorini
Day
6: Ferry
to Mykonos
Day
7: Excursion
to Delos.
Return that afternoon to Mykonos
Day
8: Mykonos
Day
9: Return
to Athens
Day
10: Fly
Home
You can just copy and paste this on to an e-mail and send it to a travel agent and they will love you because probably this is what they would suggest for you. You can also substitute these islands for the ones you want. Some travelers might do the mainland part after the islands. Other travelers with more time might do a Classical Tour of several days on the mainland that hits all the big spots (Myceneae, Corinth, Epidavros, Nafplion, Olympia, Delphi, Meteora). If you have more time you can add another island and if you have less time you take one off. Some people choose to do a 3, 4 or 7 day cruise with or without an island.
