Spend 10 Days at these Greek Islands

Thinking of visiting Greece?

This is a 10-day itinerary when visiting the Greek Islands. We went to Athens, Mykonos, Naxos, Santorini and Crete. I’ve outlined how long to stay in each place, a link to our affordable accommodation and reccommendations of places to see!

Athens – 2 nights

Accommodation: Rea’s Guest House

Places to see + recommendations

• Artemis Beach – this is a really nice beach but kind of out of the way (like 45 minutes away) if you’re staying in the main town.
• Acropolis & Parthenon – this is a must-see. The area has lots of pick-pocketers so just be more aware and cautious here. Bring good walking shoes cause you will be doing a lot of walking this day and pack water. It gets quite busy waiting in line to get into the acropolis so try to beat the crows by either going early – when it opens or later in the day when it’s not so hot and the tourist crowds have kind of died down.

Mykonos – 3 nights

Accommodation: Villas Eleftheria – Eparchiaki Odos Mikonou-Ano Merias 1422, Klouvas, 84600, Greece

Places to see:

• Panormos Beach *lots of nudity on this beach
• Agios Sostis Beach *favourite beach
• Little Venice (windmills) *super cute at sunset
• Paradise Beach (party beach vibes)
• Old town Mykonos – lots of aesthetic restaurants and corners – good photos here

 Recommendations

• Stay close to or in Mykonos Town – Super Paradise beach is a 15–20-minute cab ride from Mykonos Town. The cab ride is EUR$20 one way to the beach.

• Rent an ATV and explore – A good way to explore if you’re into ATV’ing. In busy season it is hard to get a cab and the cabs are so expensive / try to scam you. There are buses but they are packed with sweaty tourists and then you can’t go wherever you want. You rent ATVs / scooters in Mykonos Town. It may also be an option to rent via the hotel.

• 180 Sunset Bar – It is up on a hill with amazing views of Mykonos Town, and everyone goes to watch the sunset. You sit outside on little pillows and have drinks and some food with music playing.  It opens at 6pm I think and closes at 11:00pm.  Get there before 6pm to get a spot – or make a reservation! 

• If you want to party, go to Super Paradise or Paradise but if not, don’t bother. There are nicer beaches. If you do go to one of them, there is a bus from Mykonos Town directly to Paradise Beach but there wasn’t a bus to Super Paradise when we were there, but we were told there is one in high season.

• Agios Sostis Beach – this beach was so beautiful, not touristy. Parking is limited but you will need a car to get here.

• Platis Gialos beach – This beach was really nice and lots of restaurants around. You can take your ATV here, spend the day there on some sunbeds, then return the ATVs and go to Sunset Bay. 

Naxos – 2 Nights

Accommodation: Thymianos Apartments near Galini

Recommendations / places to see:

• Agios Prokopios Beach – we spent the day here and took a taxi from our accommodation (approximately 25 euros one way).

• Naxos old town – super cute town and less busy than Mykonos by very cute and beautiful. There are some nice shops around here.

• The food in Naxos was my favourite. We stayed away from town but I feel like we had the most authentic Greek dining experience here.

• Amitis Beach – Amitis is the beach of the nearby villages, Eggares and Galini. This beach was 2k from our accommodation. Amitis is a quiet, uncrowded even in high season and nice beach located north of Naxos Town. The sea is rough on north winds, and calm on south winds. It is more of a private beach that you would have to go out of your way to see.

Santorini – 3 nights

Accommodation: Paralia Perivolos!

It’s easier to explore the island from Fira which is more central and makes getting to other parts of the island easier and faster. This matters more if you’re getting around by bus as Fira is the hub for all bus routes on the island which means passengers taking a bus from Oia to the beaches will need to change buses in Fira (a bit of a hassle). Fira is also about 15 minutes closer than Oia to the beach towns.

Both Oia and Fira have good sunset views. In Fira most hotels on the caldera have a pretty direct view of the sunset over the caldera. In Oia, most hotels don’t have a direct view of the sunset, and you need to leave your hotel and take a short walk to see the sun set into the water. Hotels in Oia with sunset views do not face the caldera (Santorini’s half-moon-shaped bay is the center of the caldera (a cauldron-like volcanic depression).

Places to see / recommendations:

• Fira is the livelier village of the two with much more nightlife and shopping.

• Oia is the more luxurious village with romantic restaurants and high-end shopping.

• We took the ferry from Naxos to Santorini – When we arrived at the port in Santorini, we took a taxi to our accommodation which was further away from the main town than we expected. If you want to save some cash, you can also take regular bus from the port to your hotel (just might take longer). 

• Sunset / golden hour at Oia – We took the bus from Perivolos where we were staying and made it to Oia for sunset. It gets busy in town so ensure you leave yourself time to explore / see town before sunset and then pick a spot to watch the sunset.

• You can hike from Fira to Oia in one day – will take approx 3 hours which includes the detour to and up to the top of Skaros Rock. If you don’t like hiking / if it’s too hot, don’t bother. Nice views though.

• There’s a walk along the caldera cliff from Firostefani to Fira which is beautiful.

• Santo Winery – has an amazing view + if you want to do a wine tasting in Greece.

• Perívolos beach – This was the black-sand beach. There are a bunch of bars, eateries & hotels.

• Ruins in Akrotiri – If you go here, make sure you check the schedule to ensure they are open. Go early to avoid waiting in line.

Crete 3 nights

Accommodation: Sea View Aparthotel

Places to see:

• Rethimnon town
• Elafonisi Beach *best beach with pink sand
• Chania Old Town *really good food
• Aptera Beach

Recommendations/Information:

• We took a flight from Santorini to Crete (Heraklion). We rented a car and stopped in Rethymno and then drove to Chania.  The place we stayed at is called Sea View Aparthoel.  We picked accommodation near the beach and relaxed at the beach nearby.
• Balos Bay and Elafonissi are amazing – Elafonissi is one of the nicest beaches in Crete.  Both Balos Bay and Elafonissi are separate day trips but worth it. The best way to get here is to drive.  

We booked all of our ferries and accommodation in advance – we didn’t book car rentals in advance but it was still possible in peak time so you could always change your mind and rent a car if you realize you need it.

There is a lot of shopping – clothes, jewelry, etc.  So, if you can pack a little lighter so you can do some shopping, I’d recommend that.