Please tell me what beach hotels and islands you love in Greece!

[irritablehead1]

I'm in the rabbit warren of sorting holiday. I've lost all previous Mumsnset threads so can't find previous post about Greece.

Please can you hit me up for recommendations of hotels/islands with lovely beaches and great swimming. I've no idea about Greece.

Thanks so much

Santorini looks beautiful on Instagram but in reality is another level of hell.
There were just too many people!
Thousands and thousands of people on a tiny island all in the same place.
Never again!

Another vote for Skiathos! We have been several times already and it never gets old

We fly up Mykonos, then head off to Syros and Tinos for a week each. We want to add Andros into the mix next time. The main town in Syros, Ermoupoli, is stunning.

There is a beautiful little resort called Parga on the Greek mainland, not been for over 15 years but it was one of the most beautiful unspoilt places I've ever been.

Kefalonia … beautiful scenery, stunning beaches, friendly people. Fantastic local food at an amazing price … and as for the local wine 🥂 … 5 euros for a carafe!

My favourite island is Crete and love Chania region. Chania itself is fantastic to wander around on an evening. The beaches are beautiful and the mountains are close by.

Last October went to Kos. Daytime was around 25 degrees and beautiful but the evenings were cool so a jumper was needed.

I'd stay away from the all inclusive hotels OP. I'm not convinced you get a true Greek experience but more importantly, the Greeks don't seem to be financially benefiting from them...this was really evident in Kos.

I agree don’t go all inclusive … the tavernas are lovely.

You don't say when you're looking to go OP or whether its a family holiday.

Recommendations - Skiathos, Elounda on Crete, Agios Georgios on the NW coast of Corfu (not to the confused with the Southern one). My all time recommendation is Symi - oh my goodness, it is just stunning. We've done island hopping a few times, took the family (with teens / pre-teens) a few years ago, staying 3 or 4 nights on each island. Most places are so accessible with ferries etc that you don't spend much time travelling.

The only island I wouldn't go back to is Rhodes - Rhodes Old Town was lovely to explore for a couple of days and we stayed in Lindos which is picturesque but absolutely rammed in high season - they bus in thousands and thousands of day trippers - the rooftop restaurants are fab (once all the day trippers have gone home!).

As a pp has said, if you do choose a hotel, don't do HB or FB - a huge part of the enjoyment is exploring local tavernas in the evening and finding little bars down cobbled streets!

All inclusive is great with kids but otherwise self catering, agree the tavernas are lovely.

We go to Crete in late October and love it. We stay at Kiani Beach Resort. It is quiet but right on the beach but only 25/30 minutes from Chania.

@catblanket

Naxos is my favourite but it definitely does have an airport (contrary to what someone said above).

But only for internal flights I think. Likewise Paros.

We fly in and out of Santorini and get the ferry to Naxos. Mykonos is nearer than Santorini but flights are much more expensive. We've also flown into Athens and taken the ferry or an internal flight to Naxos. In Santorini we stay a night or two in Akrotiri - much quieter than Oia etc - and use the very good bus service.

We had a week at an AI hotel in Crete called Nana Beach . We usually go self catering but we were recommended by a friend. It was brilliant. The hotel had a private beach, loads of sunbathing terraces by the Rocky part of the coast, several pools, some for families, some adults only. Several restaurants, a couple of lovely villages a short walk away. The hotel has been upgrade and is now called Nana Golden Beach, but a good option if you fancy a change from selfself catering.

Agree with others. Definitely don't waste the potential for a truly authentic Greek experience by going all inclusive.

One of the gems of a Greek holiday is the local food and wine.. sitting next to the sea eating fish caught the same day, the freshest salad ingredients and meze, washed down with a carafe of ice cold Assyrtiko.

Is it still possible to book a place to stay on arrival when greek island hopping? That is what we did when we went 25 years ago, lots of hotel owners met the boat on arrival to sell rooms, don't know if that is still possible?

You definitely still can on Islands like Mykonos but I wouldn't recommend this for anyone over the age of 21

If you can afford the Ikos you can't really beat it.

Otherwise Blue Lagoon Village in Kos. Or anyone of the beach hotels in Rethymnon, Crete. I'm looking forward to trying the Portobello Royal this year that has been recommended on here.

Sani, Halkidiki

I lived in Skiathos for two years. Heavenly.

@whenthedoveslie

Thanks.

I don't kmow Greece at all and am thinking of going trying it out on the back of the this thread.

Can you recommend anywhere please, we already a few family but ate not find it resorts. I'd rather have self catering or b and b rather than large hotels etc.

And some where not with English brekkies on offer...

Wow, thank you all so much. Lots to choose from.

It's for a family holiday, us and our 11 year old DS. I was thinking summer, but I'm worried it's too hot? So half term summer term? Will that be warm? Early June.

I did look at Kefalonia, but I got so bogged down, I couldn't tell which beaches were the best and also had some life (I would go as quiet as possible without DS) for our DS

I dream of sandy beaches and warm swimming water!

Keffalonia with ds I would probably go lassi .
It's a nice walk to agostoli to look at the turtles and sit in the square.

I find it so overwhelming looking for suitable places, even with the filters on you still get totally unsuitable options and there's just too many of them. It took two days of DH searching to find Almirida in Crete, I gave up on day 1...

What sort of things does your DS like doing? If he enjoys swimming pools and swimming in the sea, most Greek islands will have somewhere that ticks your boxes. Kefalonia is lovely.

We love Corfu, but we like to hire a car and go to Aqualand, the donkey sanctuary, Corfu Town, old Perithia. We also have a day hiring a little boat to ourselves and chug down the coast to quiet coves and lovely tavernas for lunch. We'll have a quiet day locally snorkelling or reading on a beach, then a busier day with a bit more bustle. Some beaches have those inflatable assault course things on, vast majority have a few tavernas or other eating places on, and people come round in vans selling fresh fruit and the like.

It makes a difference what you want to do with your time. AI hotel will be lovely but you could be anywhere with nice beaches. Self catering in a villa or apartment and eating out in local restaurants, you're very much in Greece and supporting local economies. There's something to be said for both.

Greece is magical. The Greeks are a lovely people.

@atwhenthedoveslie ha ha that made me laugh...will maybe give that a miss then

Used to adore skopelos but this was long before mamma Mia was filmed there not sure what it's like now, I imagine it's very touristy. Adore santorini also.

I do really fancy Kefalonia. Is Lassi very overdeveloped? Any other areas there that are nice?

It has one main strip of restaurants and one bar and a few cafes .
A lovely beach and is a good base to explore.
You are near enough to the capital agostolli and can get the ferry over to have an explore.
We normally hire a car and find a secluded bay .

I want to go Greece with 2 teenagers in a villa but think they will freak about the toilet paper situation?
I've not been to Greece for 20 years. Loved it but found toilets in bars and restaurants were horrible with soiled toilet paper strewn about.
Is this everyone else's experience?