2 weeks/ 3 centre stay in Greece discovering culture, great food, history and beautiful beaches?

[OptingOutOfTheMadness]

Looking for recommendations for a 3 location, 2 week holiday to Greece.

I just spent a couple of days in Athens which we loved, and we want to take our 2 teens back there with us and add on a couple of other stops.

We are looking for history, culture, stunning beauty, great beaches, and wonderful food. I'd also like to include a boat hire as well to discover some secluded beaches.

I have always dreamt of going to Santorini, but not sure if this is overhyped?

Any ideas?

Avoid Santorini. There are so many other options. Not all have sandy beaches. With teens you may want the bigger islands. I’d def use a travel
agent who knows Greece really well. It’s an amazing place

Santorini is beautiful - yes it’s busy but it’s still stunning
Oia and Fira are deffo worth a visit
kamari beach is lovely to base yourself for a few days and then tour around the island

For beauty and stunning beaches, I’d definitely recommend Skiathos and Skopelos. You can fly from Athens to Skiathos, but Skopelos doesn’t have an airport so you can take a ferry from Skiathos. It makes it a bit more off the beaten track.

Crete is the biggest island and gives you the most options of things to do.

Yeah Crete has a bit of everything. Including a ferry to Santorini actually, so you could do a day trip. Not done it myself but I do know people who did and the ferry was fine. It's from Heraklion.

Have you thought of mainland Greece? Thessaloniki and the monasteries on the top of mountains and the Pelopponese are full of history. Lovely beaches in the Pelopponese as well

What do your teens think of the idea?

You can get a boat to Naxos and Paros from Athens. They’re both lovely islands. Santorini is very overhyped with swathes of made up girls in matching dresses having photoshoots which gets in the way of the views 😅