where to start with Greece, its overwhelming trying to look for a holiday there.

[ihatethecold]

I get so confused when i start looking for Greek holidays.

We are a family of 4 with 2 teens.

Id really like to go to Greece next summer.

can anyone point me in the right direction?

The kids love swimming and snorkeling.

We want a sandy beach and a resort that isn't tacky.

Id also like to be able to walk somewhere to eat.

I do have a good budget so id rather get something lovely than scrimp.

We will also need separate rooms for the kids, They can share but not with us!

I always use Agni travel and hire a villa - Skala beach in Kefalonia might be worth looking at?

I generally start with identifying the islands I can easily get to from local airports - can you narrow it down that way?

High recommend Chania in Crete.

Great beaches
EasyJ and RyanAir (along with others) fly there
Accommodation at all price points
Genuinely friendly, warm locals
Enough cultural stuff to do if you want, and a great old town to explore
Fab food and restaurants

Excuse typos!

Kefalonia - beautiful beaches and food

Mainland (Parga) - as above, food amazing and very cultured with plenty to do for teens

We loved Parga - plenty of beautiful hotels / apartments and they just got it right.

Parga looks lovely but the flights when we looked for this past summer were so expensive.

We are near Stansted but can fly from any SE airport

would kefalonia and Chania be rammed in the summer or is that a stupid question?

Perissa in Santorini would be fantastic . Lovely sandy beaches with lots of bars and restaurants and near enough to travel to Oia or Fira and see the amazing caldera views and sunsets. We did a package and stayed in v basic accomodation but there are lots of lovely hotels and villas.

I always imagine Santorini to be full of cruising holiday makers.

I wouldn't do Chania in August as it'll be uncomfortably hot and busy - most of the locals f off elsewhere.

Somewhere a bit quieter in Crete won't be so busy - the South West coast, for example.

We have just come back from Corfu and some of the beaches were very busy, but we found that restaurants etc. ok.

Ryanair and Thomson fly from Stansted to Kefalonia. Skala will be busy but it is a big beach and loads of restaurants etc. They have a lot of hotels and villas in Skala, all in walking distance of beach and nightlife. Its not wholly traditional Greece, but certainly not a party town, so right mix for teens.

I would also recommend Corfu or Crete for a 1st trip to Greece, lots of resorts/accommodation to chose from depending on budget and preferences.
Chania is a large region in Crete as well as a city.

Tsilivi in Zante is a good choice with teens. Only 15 mins from the airport and lots of choice for flights/accomodation.

A good beach with water sports. Plenty going on but not too in your face.

Thanks everyone. Some lovely recommendations to investigate

Some great suggestions
Skiathos is lovely as well

Agree with Skiathis - any resort! Or Corfu, perhaps Roda as its a lovely resort with a sandy beach.

Chania is lovely. Freelance Holidays do fab villas. We didn't find last August too hot and the snorkeling was good. The other side of Crete gets very windy though at that time of year so you're better off on the Chania side. I'd go there again if I could. Loved it.

Oh yea! Crete, especially if you can drive, rent a car and off you go.

Chania is great for arriving and hanging out for a day or two.

There is so much to see and you can even get a day's trip to Santorini, which is amazing too.

Been going to both for years and going again soon

Anywhere in Greece is wonderful actually.... and fuck they need our tourist presence ....

So excited to hear the endorsements for Crete, because I'm off there in two weeks, to a villa near Chania

Come back and tell us about it Sealsong!

Will do

We got married in santorini - love it. We preferred Kamari to perissa but if it's a sandy beach you want, perissa is the one to go for. The cruises tend to go into the main town in Fira not the beach resorts so you can avoid them!

Skala in Kefalonia gets second vote from me - we loved it there when we went a few years ago and will definitely go back.

Also loves skiathos, we stayed in megali Amos but that was about 15 years ago now so might have changed!

Wasn't a fan of Corfu but we did stay in sidari which was a bit too tacky for us.

The Peloponnese is fabulous. Take a cheap flight into Athens then hire a car. Mythic sites galore and lovely beaches.

Give the kids a project! See where they come up with and compare to yours. My teens prefer swimming on Corfu than the parts of Crete and Kos they've been too as the sea is calmer/ beach sandier. They liked Stalis in the evening (Crete) but beach has hidden rocks and big waves at times. They also liked safety and independence of Roda on Corfu. Liked Subway and McDonald's 'restaurants' in resorts like Malia, Faliraki, Kardamena, Sidari (day trips) but were out off by the potential of the nightlife (thank god)! Also enjoyed the ancient history of various sites and great harbour towns. Both fancy a few days added on to a holiday in Corfu Town and enjoyed Kos Town. Book a flight that suits you then you can source accommodation. Book early and then look for 2 bedroom apartments. We usually stay in a cheap and cheerful place in Roda, Corfu every year and love it. Kids have independence (sometimes get asked to watch the bar if bar owner has to go for 5 mins etc which they love), dead basic but clean, AC pool table, pool and dart board and bar does food. Couple of mins walk to beach, bats, restaurants etc. we love it! 2 weeks there (was e540 for 2 weeks in a 2 bed apartment with 2 rooms with AC in peak season). Old fashioned decor, but we don't care. Then we go again in low season and try a different island and upgrade to 4-5 star. Holiday costs approx £2000 pa not inc spending money. That's for 1 adult, 2 teens to Greece.

midsomermurderess or fly onto Kalamata if it's cheaper.

Makemineacabsauv great idea, but my teens leave all that to me!

Looking at mainland or maybe Lefaka for next year.

I love Greece 😃😃😃

My favourite places have been:
Chania in Crete - beautiful but busy.
A very remote village in southern Crete with the most stunning empty beaches but nothing else apart from some yoga (can't remember the name)
Kastraki in Naxos - really quiet and walking distance to several lovely restaurants.
Symi - beautiful Venetian port.
Kos - stayed in a small complex some way outside kos town. I loved the way there were antiquities on every corner!

I went to santorini last year - it was heaving and hot. And randomly lots of Chinese getting married so the tiny streets of Oia and Fira were often blocked with incongruous wedding parties having elaborate portraits taken. Also I really wasn't impressed with the beaches. We stayed two nights in Perissa and I hated it - the beach was rammed with loungers right next to each other and the black sand was underwhelming. We then stayed for a week in a very quiet part of the caldera which was wonderful but not easy to get to restaurants - plus there are only thirty something cabs on the island and while the buses are cheap and go everywhere, they get incredibly busy.

I'm going to Greece next year - to Milos which is breathtaking. But I love a quiet beach and a small community... It's not for everyone.