Greek island hopping

[kidks]

I am looking to take 3 children to Greece ideally next Easter. I would like to travel around but don't know where to begin. Youngest will then be 4. Any recommendations?

Years ago I island hopped around the Cyclades - Santorini is amazing, and from there you can get ferries to Naxos and Paros, both lovely, and other islands. It does have an airport - but you could also go via Athens - Piraeus and then ferry.

which easter - ours or the Greek one? The latter may be one to avoid due to overcrowding.

are you aware of the weather then? Pleasant but possibly not hot. Also many things may not be open so early in the season.

which islands interest you? Do you know how much the fares are? (Island hopping is NOT cheap any more)

suggest a rough guide from the library and go from there.

Thanks. Was thinking uk Easter to avoid the heat in July/August has need to stick to school holidays and summer half term not an option. Maybe I am over worrying about the heat? Any ideas for family friendly accommodation on non-touristy island??

it will be hot in July and August, if that is not suitable then you need to avoid Greece at those times. Some places are better than others; for example, Lindos on Rhodes is very sheltered and a furnace in high summer.

there are 2000 greek islands and beyond avoiding the five or so kiddy-drunk resorts, I wouldn't worry about 'touristy', given that you are a tourist. Get some guidebooks, grab some brochures and see what appeals. Oh, and don't go AI!

Thanks for the posts. Following an afternoon of research I have decided Lefkada followed by 2 days in Athens. Very early July as I want some warmth but hoping that will miss most of the heat and cannot go in June. Can anyone recommend someone good to stay in or around Athens?

I would recommend Naxos a Paros-go in a day trip to antiparos

Lefkada! Why did I not think of that! Excellent idea. Have a recent recommendation for Nidri, take a trip to Vassiliki to watch the madness if the breeze is in, and many other places.

Fly to Preveza as you know, then transfer is about an hour and a quarter.

how are you getting to Athens - internal flight?

We were going to hire a car and drive up. Is that mad?? Not keen on small planes!!

7 hours or so, I think. And a massive one way hire charge?

Athens another time?

We go to Meganissi (a small island off Levkada) most years and love it. We usually go early July as the Scottish school finish at the end of June. We love it so much, we are prepared to factor in having to go to Manchester in order to get the flight to Preveza (no flights from Glasgow ).

Nidri is a bit of a strip town with lots of tat shops and British bars. But there are nice hotels on the outskirts. I can recommend Cafe Elidor on the waterfront for a nice breakfast (that's where we go if we've got the early ferry over from Meganissi - either to get money, as there are no ATMs on Meganissi or to hire bikes).

There's also a fun trip out on what we call the "pirate ship" - an old fashioned Greek Odyssey type boat (trireme?) complete with eye on the bow. It takes you to Meganissi and wee tour of an old olive oil factory in Spartahori, before taking you to the cave where the submarine apocryphally hid from the Nazis, and then down to an inaccessble beach on Levkada for a barbecue lunch and then back to Skorpios for a swim there. It's not cheap but it's good fun - and includes the lunch, snacks and some ouzo. (If you do it, get on the boat early to get good seats).

Lots of Athenians come to Levkada (and Meganissi) so it still feels like greece used to be (except Nidri which is more touristy).

is Nidri really that bad? I hope it's not gone kiddy-drunk, I know it does have some chippies and beer places but recent visitors said it really wasn't rowdy.

hope the news is good..

Not seen it at night (no ferries at night to get back to Meganissi). It has indeed improved in recent years - it's been obviously quieter since the recession.

The ferry to Meganissi is only c.2€ per adult, so not to expensive as island hopping goes . When we've hired cars in the past (going up to the mountain town of Keria was one highlight), we've left the car in a car park in Nidri most of the time, rather than pay the ferry fee.

aha - local ferries as opposed to catamarans and big boats. Real bargains, but sadly seem to be few and far between.

Early morning ferry over to Nidri