Greece- overwhelmed by choice

[TheCanterburyWhales]

I've been to Greece a couple of times- Corfu when a teenager, Aegina after university and the mainland near Athens once.
Starting to browse for next summer and haven't excluded it as an option, but there are just so many choices.

Can anyone recommend:
beach, but also places to visit, not necessarily highbrow cultural classical Greece, but interesting nevertheless.
NOT Brits abroad- I'm not a snob (much) but my idea of holiday hell would be people getting drunk wearing football shirts and expat run pubs.

I'd want hotel not villa or s/c.
I see photos from friends of Mykonos, Kos etc etc and then again, hundreds of other places I've never heard of!

Thanks!

Mykonos is beautiful but I think it can be quite expensive.

Kos is lovely, we stayed in a small resort called Mastihari, which has a beautiful beach but not too commercialised. There is lots to see on the island.

Corfu is nice if you avoid the obvious touristy places, Roda on the North of the island is lovely.

We have also been to Kalives and Aghia Pelagia on Crete. They are both nice resorts and there is lots to see on the island.

I have been to lots of other islands and they are all nice but the above ones have been in the last five years, the others longer ago.

Oh great, thanks, at least a few names to start me off!

I saw a friend's holiday pics from Mykonos and it did look beautiful.

Lefkada is beautiful and although an island is connected by a bridge to the mainland giving more exploring opportunities

ihavent been, so I shouldn't really comment, but judging on pictures I am really keen to go to Paxos. The sea looks beautiful

Budget?

We stayed on Rhodes but the opposite side of the island to the AI hotels, very nice 5 star hotel but affordable, Rhodes town just 20 mins on the bus and rent a car to explore the island full of history

Kefalonia is stunning. Especially the north and east part of it which is quieter than nearer the airport and Skala. Fiskardo, Agia Efemia, Sami and Poros are lovely. You can also get the boat across to Ithaca.

Sivota (very north) is lovely.
Crete also beautiful
We liked Cyprus but very British in many ways

thank you!
Going to enjoy researching all of these, love looking at places almost as much as going!
budget is up to £3000 for a week for 2, which seems doable without spending money. Tend to do half board and usually opt for a Tui 4 star/platinum kind of quality.

I found Kos to have lots of litter
Mykonos and Santorini have lots of cruise ship tourists to be avoided

I very much like Lefkas, Samos and both the Pelion peninsular and the Peloponnese on the mainland.

Have been to a few more too but still many more to explore!

Lesvos. Only Thomas Cook fly direct from the UK so not many tourists. TC holidays are Molyvos/Petra/Anaxos area or Skala Kalloni. I also think Neilson have a place that use TC flights in the west of the island.
Plenty to do - coast and mountain villages, beaches, 2 towns, home of ouzo, hot springs for bathing, monasteries, hiking/mountain biking, and easy day trips to Turkey.
Love it!

I asked the same question earlier this year and got recommended a few places, and we ended up in Poros, which was lovely. There's a main town and then some beach places - the town has plenty of restaurants, and quite a few yachts come in, but it's not Brits Abroad at all.

It's only an hour from Athens by hydrofoil, so we did 3 nights in Athens to get our fix of culture and then lay around on Poros for the rest of the holiday. There are a couple of hotels, but some lovely airbnb properties too.

Kefalonia, beautiful

I found Kos to have lots of litter

We have returned from a delightful week in Kos and didn't see any litter. We stayed in Tigaki and used the local bus to go to Kos town. We also took a boat trip to the volcanic island of Nisyros. Kos is the only Greek island where I wish I had remembered my driving licence as the driving there looked pretty sane and sensible.

It was definitely not a Brits abroad holiday. The resort had visitors from all over Europe, including Greece, and the food was fabulous. We didn't have a bad meal anywhere.

I want to go back.

There was no litter when I stayed in Kos either.

I'd suggest Naxos. I love it so much I've been 7 times!
The quickest way to get there is to fly to Mykonos & then it's less than an hour on the ferry.

The beaches are amazing, there are a few historical sites, several beautiful inland villages to explore, and Naxos Town is bustling and authentically Greek. Not an English breakfast in sight

We're plebs and always go self-catering, but there are a few upmarket hotels in/near the town and a little further down the West coast which would probably be more like what you're used to.