Greece is bigger than it looks on the map, and travel, especially between islands, takes time. Better to see fewer places calmly than to rush. Here are seven tried-and-tested itineraries.
1. Classical Greece in a week
The route of the great ancient sites, by car from Athens.
- Days 1-2Athens: Acropolis and museum, Agora, Plaka, National Archaeological Museum.
- Day 3The Corinth Canal, Ancient Corinth, Mycenae; night in Nafplio.
- Day 4Epidaurus and its theatre, Nafplio and the Palamidi fortress.
- Day 5Across Arcadia to Olympia.
- Day 6Rio-Antirrio bridge, Nafpaktos, Delphi.
- Day 7Delphi in the morning, then Hosios Loukas and back to Athens.
2. The grand mainland tour (two weeks)
Add the north and Epirus to the classical route: from Delphi go up to Meteora, with its monasteries on rock pinnacles, then cross the Pindus to Metsovo and lakeside Ioannina; explore the stone villages of Zagori and the Vikos Gorge; descend to Parga on the Ionian coast and return towards Athens, or take a ferry from Igoumenitsa to Italy.
3. Cyclades island hopping (two weeks)
| Days | Island | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1-2 | Athens | See the city |
| 3-5 | Paros | Villages, beaches, connections in every direction |
| 6-8 | Naxos | The greenest and most varied of the Cyclades |
| 9-10 | Amorgos or Folegandros | Authentic, spectacular islands |
| 11-13 | Santorini | The caldera, Akrotiri, sunsets |
| 14 | Back to Athens | By air or sea |
Variations: Milos and Sifnos for beaches and food; Mykonos and Delos for nightlife and archaeology.
4. Crete in ten days
Land at Heraklion and cross the island from east to west: Knossos and the Heraklion museum; the Lasithi plateau and Zeus's cave; Agios Nikolaos and Spinalonga; then Phaistos, Matala and the south coast; Rethymno with its Venetian old town; Chania, the loveliest harbour; the Samaria Gorge and the beaches of Balos and Elafonissi. See Crete.
5. The Ionian Islands by car
Arriving by ferry from Italy at Igoumenitsa with your own car: Corfu (3-4 days), then Paxos and Antipaxos by boat, Lefkada, joined to the mainland by a bridge, with the beaches of Porto Katsiki and Egremni; ferry to Kefalonia, with Myrtos and the Melissani cave; finally Zakynthos and Shipwreck Beach. See the Ionian Islands.
6. The north: Thessaloniki and Macedonia
Thessaloniki (2-3 days), with Byzantine monuments, the seafront and great food; Pella and Vergina, the cities of Alexander the Great; Mount Olympus and the site of Dion; the Chalkidiki peninsula with its beaches and, for men, Mount Athos; Kavala and the island of Thassos. See Thessaloniki and Macedonia.
7. Greece with children
A week of myths and beaches: Athens with the Acropolis and its museum, then a base in the Peloponnese (Nafplio or Tolo) for Mycenae, Epidaurus and swimming, and finally a few days on a quiet island such as Naxos or Paros, with sandy beaches and shallow water. Children love the myths: before leaving, read the mythology pages together.
See also when to go and island ferries.