Greece with 3dd's

[itstheclimb39]

Hi
I have fab memories of Greece as a teenager, you know all the white gorgeous properties etc & greek salads. I now want to share this with dh & our 3 girls 5.8 & 11. Any advice on which island to visit or any good companies to go with?
Thanks xx

If you want to stay on an island with the classic Greek picture postcard white houses then you need to stay in the Cyclades (which is where that architecture is typical). So islands such as Mykonos, Santorini, Paros, Anti-Paros and Naxos.

Of the Cycladic islands, I have only been to Naxos which we all absolutely loved. Empty beaches (in August), dirt roads, tavernas where you have to try and speak a little greek as it is so untouristy there is often little English spoken. You can't fly direct from the UK. From Athens you can take a flight with Olympic (30 mins) or boat (2-4 hours) or from Mykonos is 1 hour.

Skiathos is great for direct flights (either package deal, a flight only through a tour operator - Thomson- or I believe Olympic are now flying again there too - they stopped for a year). Lots of sandy beaches and easy to get around the island on the local bus so no need for car hire. None of the resorts are a huge distance from the airport but there is no aircraft noise issues.

For mainland Greece, my favourites are Afitos in Halkidiki (fly to Thessaloniki) and Parga on the mainland (Preveza).

Many thanks ujjayi - v.informative

we do greece most may half terms and have done crete -, parga, lefkhada, paxos, aeghina, athens and corfu. All are lovely and all suitable for children (athens you need to pick area carefully). But my dh speaks greek so we are very lucky. Our first trip was crete and now we go anywhere that fits our budget! Tend now to use Olympic Holidays as they are cheap and reasonably good quality. We have used the allocation on arrival option for budget some years.we are a bit snooty about holidays but have always had a lovely time even in crowded places - in corfu for example, we used 'our family and other animals' to navigate around. All decent hotels have pools and pool bars are also great. We always make friends with fellow guests (and my dh picks up the locals on his way!)

We used to do it independently but wouldn't risk that now with greek economy the way it is.

All greek islands have beautiful places - you can easily find out online. Don't discount plane and ferry - it can be a wonderful way to see an island for the first time. Next year we hope to do more mainland - Peloponnese but I do love the ionian and the ones around rhodes (cant remember island group)

My friends and their 3 daughters (now 16,13 and 11) only go to Greek islands and always go to Greek islands. (tbh,we take the micky out of them a bit and ask them if they've not run out yet) I don't think they've had a bad experience yet!