Greek Island, beautiful, safe beaches,no large block of flat on beach which one?

[SpringisSpinning]

Please.. I've never explored the Greek island, we like South of France, nice etc Antibes.. characteful beaches.. safe water for children, also snorkeling, nice restaurant on sea.. people milling around at night like in Spain.. no package holiday places we can't afford And books pie own ab

I also agree, April is early, October might be too late it depends, I was near Nafplion last summer until mid September and it was absolutely amazing the weather went suddenly too cold for the beach around the 20th. A friend was in Leros mid October and it was still like summero we there

The North end of corfu is lovely.

We went to Crete Oct half term, it was lush. Sea warm enough for a dip.
Snorkeling great.
It is on our list to visit again.

Alykes/Alykanas in Zakinthos.
Gorgeous beach joining both resorts. Clear blue sea that's shallow for a good distance.
Everything you could want on a Greek island. Good nightlife but not too busy & still quiet.

Samos - my favourite place in the world. Very hot in July/August with quite strong winds (the Meltemi) so something to consider.

Another vote for Thassos, Makryamos is beautiful

Also Paleokastritsa in Crete, pink sand, shallow sea!

Absolutely 100% naxos! Agree with previous poster. It's great as you can only get to it by ferry from mykanos/ferry from Athens which means very few English....It's bliss!

Kefalonia

Skiathos. I've been visiting the island since 2002.

It gets better every visit.

The harbour in the town is beautiful with many lovely restaurants and bars.

The beaches are out of this world.

There is a bus that stops all along the island and almost each stop has a beach to explore.

Stay in Skiathos town - you won't regret it!

Kefalonia

images.app.goo.gl/N2U4BDVhQo8Z4f2c9

Sorry photo didn't attach

Kos

PLace marking

Spetses. Beautiful,.small and again not well known to the Brits.

www.edenbeachchania.gr for May half term ... heaven on earth. Beautiful weather, quiet, great restaurants nearby, beach, pool, Chania town nearby for boat trips etc ...

June or September is perfect

Yes Cyclades is probably best for island hopping as there are so many islands close together (though some islands have better links than others eg Naxos and Paros and Santorini have loads of ferries but Amorgos or Anafi not many) but there are also links between other groups of islands. For example Skiathos-Skopelos-Alonissos, this would make a great trip. Athens plus ferry to an island would also be a great combination.

Alykanas/alykes is stunning in Zakinthos- beaches are lovely and plenty to see and do. It's my fave place to go. Everything from sea turtles to walking in the most gorgeous landscape. The Greeks don't do high rise hotels so you would be fine on that front.

Skalla Eressos on Lesvos is my favourite place in Greece
Wonderful welcoming people, Greek holidaymakers, amazing food.
The island is so very beautiful and interesting.

@minipie

Thanks, would you suggest staying in on one and island hoping day trips? Or staying on all three?

Island hopping is fab but try to stay at least two or three nights on each as otherwise it is exhausting. And check ferry schedules very carefully out of peak season. I made the mistake of booking accommodation first then having to double back on crossings (and that was early September) which made for a long day travelling on one leg of our trip.

The Cyclades islands are also worth considering as they are very easy from Athens. For sandy beaches Naxos is lovely. None of the ones I've visited had high rise and each has its own flavour. Some of the islands are very quiet such as Amorgos.

For shorter ferry journeys (from Athens) the Saronic islands are easy though fewer sandy beaches. We loved Hydra which is car free but less a beach island.

I found Lonely Planet and the Rough Guide helpful in planning. Be prepared for things to happen to disrupt travel (such as delayed ferries/flights) and allow lots of time and some flexibility. Greece is a wonderful country and the people are (mainly) very welcoming.

Skopelos (in the Agean) Paxos (Ionian) and Meganisi (Ionian too) are all small islands without airports and just lovely. All very 'Greek' with a wonderful slow pace of life. We've (2DC 3 and 5 now) stayed in villas in all of them, flights to a bigger nearby island and then a ferry. In some ways very little to do, but that is why we love it! We love our own villa (last minute booing usually) to spend most of the day at by the pool / lunchtime naps and then we head out for 4pm beach adventures and onto somewhere for an 'early' (greek) time meal by a harbour at about 8. Then home as it starts getting busy around 10 or 11. You can generally hire boats, walk, beautiful hidden coves, little beach bars. All are predominantly pebble beaches which doesn't make for sandcastle time, but means the sea is so clear. Ionian and Agean Villa's is a great place to start getting an idea of the islands.

OP I agree that at least two or three nights per island is much nicer than day trips. To be honest the ferry schedules mostly wouldn’t allow for day trips anyway.

Greek islands do t have high rise hotels

Avoid certain parts of Crete

Naxos