Planning a trip to Greece: how many days, which islands, which month
The three questions people ask before they book anything, in the order they ask them, answered from Athens. Then the fourth question, the one about money.
How many days
Athens needs two full days: one for the Acropolis, its museum and the old center under the rock, one for the Agora, the markets, a neighborhood and a hill at sunset. The mainland loop to Delphi and Meteora is three days and two nights from Athens by road. Islands need two nights each at a minimum, because a ferry day is half a day gone, and Santorini is a night or two at the end, not a base.
So with a week, pick one: Athens and the mainland, or Athens and two islands. With 10 days you can do Athens, one of the two properly, and Santorini to finish. With two weeks you can have the mainland and the islands both, or give Crete a week of its own, which is what it takes.
Which islands fit together
Greek islands come in groups, and the ferries run inside a group far more than between groups. The Cyclades, in the middle of the Aegean, connect to each other and to Piraeus: Naxos to Paros is under an hour, Paros to Milos and Milos to Santorini about 2 hours each on the fast boats, Mykonos to Santorini 2 to 3. Crete connects to Piraeus overnight and, in summer, to Santorini in about 2 hours. The Ionian islands, Corfu and Kefalonia among them, are on the other side of the country, with no ferry to the Cyclades; you fly between them through Athens. The Dodecanese, Rhodes and Kos, are a flight away too.
The rule: one group per trip. Four Cyclades in 8 days works. Corfu and Santorini in the same week means two flights and a lost day.
Getting around
Athens airport to the center is about 40 minutes on the metro, with a flat-fare taxi as the alternative, day and night rates posted at the rank. Between Athens and the islands you have ferries from Piraeus and Rafina, or 45-minute flights to the bigger islands. Ferries sell out on summer weekends and around August 15, so book them when you book the hotels. On the mainland, a rental car or a driver beats the bus for Delphi and Meteora; the train to Kalambaka is the exception worth taking. Inside Athens, walk. The center is small and the metro covers the rest.
Which month
| Months | The sea | Crowds | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| April and May | Cool, swimmable by late May | Low, then rising | Wildflowers on the mainland, snow still on Parnassus in April. Orthodox Easter moves: May 2 in 2027. Island hotels open around Easter. |
| June | Warm | Medium | Long days, the full ferry schedule, before European schools let out. |
| July and August | Warmest | Highest | The meltemi wind in the Cyclades, 35°C afternoons in Athens, Greeks on vacation from mid-August. |
| September and October | Warm into October | Medium, then low | Our pick: warm sea, cooler days, ferries on the full schedule into October. |
| November to March | Cold | Low | Athens and the mainland work well. Islands are quiet, many hotels close, ferries thin out. |
What a trip to Greece costs
Two numbers to hold onto. The Bank of Greece puts the average spend of an American visitor in Greece in 2025 at a little over €1,000 per trip before the flight, roughly double what the average visitor spends. And organized small-group trips of 8 to 10 days in Greece, land only, were selling in 2026 at roughly US$2,300 to 2,900 per person at the median of the 23 operators we counted. Entrance tickets add up: the Acropolis is €30 year-round, Knossos €20, the Meteora monasteries a few euros each. Our own prices are published with each departure, with what’s in them listed line by line, and they go to the list first.
If you’re coming on your own
Pick islands with a town: a center you can walk, restaurants you can reach without a scooter, a ferry that connects to the next island. Naxos, Paros and Milos all pass that test, and Santorini does for the view. On a group trip this is solved for you, down to the ferry tickets; on your own, it’s the difference between a good week and a week of logistics. Our page on how our groups work for people who come alone is here.
Two shapes that work in 10 days
One: two days in Athens, the road north to Delphi and Meteora with a night at each, back to Athens, then Santorini for a night or two before the flight home. Two: a day in Athens, then Naxos, Paros and Milos by ferry, two nights each, and Santorini to finish. Give or take a couple of days, those are the shapes of the two trips we run. The program for each departure, with its dates, hotels and price, is published on the trip page.
The mistakes we see
Too many islands: four in a week means four ferry mornings and no island. Santorini as a base: the view is for a night or two, the crowds are for the whole week. Only Mykonos and Santorini: you’ll have seen the two islands everyone has, and none of the Cyclades that feed themselves. August everywhere: the hottest month, the fullest ferries, and the week Greece itself goes on vacation. And flying home from Athens when the trip ends on an island: check whether your island has a direct flight home, or add the hop back to Athens to the plan.
