Which Greek Island?

[romney]

Hubby and I have five days in April next year to visit a Greek Island - but I am really struggling to narrow it down and decide which one! We will be travelling from Athens and returning back to Athens to connect with our flights home. This is our first trip to Greece, and to make things more interesting, the day we need to be back in Athens is the Greek Orthodox Easter Sunday. Travel to the island can be by plane or ferry.

I am looking for a bit of everything on our island! We like the beach, but live right near it at home, so while I love sea views, spending our holidays lying on the beach is not top of our priorities. We like good food, the more local the better (if in Asia I would have said "street food") and are happy just wandering around an area looking for the next meal. We love experiencing local culture and do not like big crowds if we can avoid it (I am hoping we are early enough in the season to miss the worst or the cruise ships) We are quite active and not afraid of walking long distances but extreme adventure sports are not really our thing. Do not need to have five star accommodation by any means, we actually prefer something like an AirBnB apartment. We are not after any nightlife - after a full day, a good dinner with wine and a stroll is about as much as I can handle

So - please give me your recommendations!

 

[samh004]

I've only been to Santorini, so that'd be my pick to go back to. Lots of local food, though can be quite busy, but as you say, you may be early enough to beat the crowds as it's not high season. Yes, there's a lot of sea views, but you're generally not that close to the beach... and if you do go to the beach, there are different sand colours to choose from.

We stayed at Enigma.

 

[Pushka]

April isn't peak cruise season - ships are somewhat based in the Caribbean over their winter and do a transatlantic during April and Santorini isn't on that itinerary. I've been to Corfu, and Santorini but not Mykonos.

Loved Santorini. We stayed there for a week post cruise. The days when ships arent in port are wonderful. It is simply glorious. And better than the pictures suggest.

 

[Pushka]

 

[JohnK]

Zakynthos would be a good choice. May not be as popular as the Aegean islands but would have most of what you want.

Also Kefalonia and Leukada could be interesting.

 

[vetrade]

If you can visit only one island then Santorini is your pick by far. Mykonos is only average in comparison.
We stayed at the Anastasis Apartments which was voted by TA as the most romantic hotel in the world a couple of years ago.............alanslegal did a trip report on it in AFF - suggest you read up on that and you wouldn't even consider going anywhere else. Despina and her staff go beyond expectations. Only trouble is it's often booked up to a year in advance so don't delay if you're interested.
Sunset at Oia - get there via a hair-raising bus trip, walks along the clifftops etc etc. If you want good pics and even better memories Santorini is the one !

 

[casanovawa]

Trip report of mine from a visit to Santorini...

Its one of the first Greek islands that comes to mind and did have some pretty parts to it... I stayed in Oia which is where some of the most iconic shots of Santorini are taken from...

I did find after a bit there wasn't a lot to do there but having a partner and prhaps enjoying just relaxing etc is a different experiences...

Anyway here it is...
Santorini - A slice of Greek Island culture Part 1 - Life's To Be Lived.com
Santorini – A slice of Greek Island culture Part 2 - Life's To Be Lived.com

I'd probably go to a different Greek island if i went back, maybe Mikonos or one of the others...

 

[RB]

An interesting thread so far. Santorini certainly was not the first island I thought of given the Op's outline. I was thinking more along the lines of what JohnK posted and just my experience of Greek islands would be to suggest a look at Paros & Antiparos. When we were planning, for background we found quite a few sites along the lines of Greek Islands Holiday Travel Guide, Greece Travel Guide: Greek Islands.

 

[Deleted member]

Zakynthos would be a good choice. May not be as popular as the Aegean islands but would have most of what you want.

Also Kefalonia and Leukada could be interesting.

Kefalonia gets my vote. Santorini was nice. But a bit too commercial for me.

 

[Cynicor]

Only been to Santorini, but I'm replying partly to subscribe.

I stayed in Oia at the Canaves Suites and they were magnificent.

Was there in late April this year and it was not crowded at all, in fact it was quite quiet. Very nice place.

 

[Cynicor]

Really nice place with private plunge pool.

Btw, obviously that's just the bedroom. There was a huge bathroom, walk-in robe room and lounge/dining room.

 

[Pushka]

Really nice place with private plunge pool.

Btw, obviously that's just the bedroom. There was a huge bathroom, walk-in robe room and lounge/dining room.

Is that this place we drooled over?

 

[Cynicor]

Is that this place we drooled over?
View attachment 57454

They all look quite similar, but no.

All those photos were from my Balcony/room! My TA managed to get me a decent upgrade as it was a virtuoso hotel.
mine was right at the start of the main strip, just before the hairdressers and pastry shop

 

[brickmark]

I did a few of the Islands as a backpacker about 15 years ago. They are all great. Santorini was the best but we also enjoyed Crete. Even as a backpacker we paid extra for a cliff hotel for a night in Santorini. If you are going to ride the donkeys get them going up the mountain not down, .... never down. Going down was worst than any roll coaster I have ever been on.

Agree not Mykonos.

 

[Anna]

I've been to Crete and Rhodes, both of which were great and I would go back. IIRC I picked them because it was easy to get
flights from Athens, and I had trouble getting reliable ferry info for other islands.

FWIW I hated Athens! Got asked to leave a cafe for reading a book while having a cup of tea! (No I had not been there for hours).

 

[Dr Ralph]

How about Lesbos?

 

[cgichard]

How about Lesbos?

Too many new arrivals.
How about Corfu? Here's a blog post about a recent visit; they stayed at the Corfu Imperial Hotel - see the previous post on that site.

 

[mandmshow]

Crete is the best by far in my opinion - I have been many times. It's the biggest, the best and the cheapest of the Greek islands for food and places to stay.
Santorini is beautiful but you can do it as a day trip from Crete and you only need one day to see it.
Crete has many archaeological sites and incredible history from the Minoans, a fantastic museum and the ruins of the Palace of Knossos as well as amazing WW2 history. In addition there is the Samaria Gorge walk and beautiful unspoilt beaches although the originator of this post wasn't particularly looking for those.

 

[Geoffm]

Paros - is certainly one of consideration

 

[vetrade]

How about Lesbos?

Standing room only apparently with all the boat arrivals - and the rubbish they have dumped all over the beaches etc have made it look like a tip. Might be one island to bypass for now.