Where to go in Greece?

[TooManyPlatesInMotion]

So excited at the prospect of a summer holiday!

Looking for recommendations for Greece. We have 3 kids (11, 5 and 3). The key thing is that we really don't want to hire a car, so we'd like to be in walking distance of a decent beach, cafes, restaurants, shops etc.

Any recommendations? Been to Crete before and loved it, open to any ideas.

Thanks!

I’ve only been to Crete and Corfu. Corfu is my favourite and we’re booked it go back this year. It’s lovely and relaxed with beautiful scenery, friendly locals and very reasonably priced to eat out.

Crete is nice too, but I just prefer Corfu, I can’t even really say why. There are lots of resorts where you wouldn’t need a car, but exploring the island is a must. Corfu old town is just gorgeous and there are so many pretty coves to see.

We haven’t booked car hire this year, but will probably hire one, or some quads for a couple of days once in the resort.

The only downside is the mosquitos, they tend to be out in force in august and I am a magnet. But some decent mossie spray keeps them at bay.

Naxos is absolutely beautiful but it’s a bit of a trek

There are so many beautiful islands and mainland to go to in Greece. I would say it depends on how complex you want your journey to be. Corfu / Rhodes / Zante are easy to get to, but if you want something untouched and not too touristy some of the islands that can only be reached by boat are amazing.
Depends on how willing you are to travel with kids.
The Peloponnese on the mainland are beautiful. If you don't want to be surrounded by drunken teenagers, avoid Laganas in Zante, Faliraki in Rhodes!

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll crack on and look.

We went to Rhodes and it was a brilliant holiday. Lindos in particular was beautiful. We've got Corfu booked for August (postponed twice so hopefully we finally get there this year).

We went to Kefalonia with 3 kids a few years ago and stayed in one of the beach houses here. Our house had a pool which the kids loved - there is also a pool at the hotel which was a 2 min walk away, beach around 5 mins. The town was about 20 mins walk. The kids can learn to sail or wind surf at the beach club.

Pefkos is just along the coast from Lindos in Rhodes, very popular in the summer for weddings, but the beach is lovely and all cafes, bars and accommodation within walking distance. Very family friendly, and all sorts of hotels and self catering. You can get the bus to Lindos or a taxi. If you want to walk up to the acropolis, I’d advise getting there in the morning and walk up before 11am when it gets really hot. Although some of the route is shaded which helps when you come down.

Skiathos, pretty much one road with a good bus service and excellent beaches, or Parga, everything walkable plus boat trips to Paxos and Corfu.

F

@FanSpamTastic Sounds amazing Could you give more details about which resort you went to and whether you booked through a tour operator or not Thanks

We booked with this company - we arranged our own flights - think it was EasyJet? Trek adventures sorted out the airport transfer.

We went to Paliki beach and stayed in one of the villas - I can't remember the name but it was the middle one!

Crete is one of my favourite places. Have been to zante too which was nice.

I liked Rhodes, ixia is less of a party resort and there's a frequent bus service to Rhodes town nearby

I spent a good few hours yesterday eve salivating over pictures of gorgeous scenery and beautiful clear ocean. Thanks all.

Naxos is beautiful but it can be very very windy. Unless you like watertsports involving wind I would not recommend.

@FanSpamTastic thank you sounds great, we're into water sports so could be just right for us

We love going to Crete. It is such a big island that there is something for everyone. Our family loves hiking so we normally choose a base town and then try different trails nearby. This year we tried Kritsa - a very cosy traditional village in the mountains. We stayed here: www.booking.com/hotel/gr/cinnamon-house-in-kritsa.en-gb.html
It's not very close to the sea, so for those who prefer being next to the beach not the best option. Good luck!