Want to go to a Greek Island in late Sept...recommendations please?

[PavlovtheCat]

DH and I want to go for a week to a Greek Island, with DD who will be 2.

Anyone have any suggestions for a cheap holiday location, somewhere were we can chill out, enjoy some local scenary, do a bit of sightseeing perhaps, but not much needed, more about relaxing. Needs to be child friendly but would prefer not large resort.

pretty - oh I might have to buy the sunday times!

crete
tis lovely
western part of island very unspoiled

I agree with Polly - late September you'll often find that the weather 'breaks' in the Aegean/Ionian. Can be a bit more rainy/windy and less sunny.

I'd save up to go in May or early September next year, if you're lucky enough to be able to avoid school holidays!

policywonk - really? Oh shit dear! It is our wedding anniversary which is why we were going at that time...nice to get away as we did not do it when we got married, due to family being here from USA...

..oh well back to the drawing board...so early Sept next year would be good then? ok, we are thinking of doing it next year instead anyway, but not necessarily for wedding anniversary, just for holiday...does not need to be really hot, just nice, and not too windy!

We might do england this year instead!

... or you could just bookmark the site and keep an eye out for special deals!

They are very good at taking you to places "like Greece used to be". Friendly people, small villages, family run hotels.....

Meganisi only got water and electricity in the 70s/80s and has as many Greeks staying in the hotel as British.

The fact that most of Ionian's guests are multiple repeat guests are testament to their service.

The transfer to Meganisi is part of the holiday: you get met at Preveza Airport, put in a taxi, taken to a quay side in Periyali, met by a speedbaot, taken acorss to Meganisi, met by the hotel owner (or his dad) in his car and taken up to the hotel! You can imangine what a pleasant surprise that was the first time we went (having been delayed 30 hours and spent the firt night of our holiday in Croydon ) - although it was a wee bit worrying when we were left on the quayside (in the middle of nowhere) with the speedboat disappearing out to sea (with the first set of guests) and not really knowing waht was happening......

Trnasfers to other places do use (small) buses I beleive - but the sevice alwys seems to very slick.

I used to go to Paxos (near Corfu) a lot as a kid because my parents were hopelessly in love with the place, and that seemed to be the case up there anyway. Early September was usually still hot and sunny. (And yes, beaches in Corfu/Paxos are mostly pebbly I think.)

As Polly and Dee say, you could try Crete/Rhodes as they're further south.

Happy anniversary anyway!

Hi Pavlov, I can really recommend Kefalonia. It's quietish all year round but especially so in late sept which is when we go. I rarely find a place that I would return to again and again but Kefalonia is one of them. We love Skala on the south coast, it's very child friendly; nice shallow waters and sandy too. There's a playground for the kids, the restaurants range from typical tavernas to 1 or 2 English style restaurants but even the tavernas will rustle up some British fare for fussy children (like mine). It's a very pretty place too backed by pine forests, and although is well set up for tourists it's not actually a resort. Lots of locals live among the small hotels and apartments. The main strip of larger hotels runs along one end of Skala and the beaches here are a little busier but never crowded. The further away from these hotels towards the centre of Skala and then the other side is lovely and quiet.
There are 3 supermarkets selling everything you should need if you go self catering. There are also a couple of hire car places in town which are cheaper than booking with your travel agent. Car seats are provided for the littl'uns. I would definitely recommend hiring a car, the island is beautiful, and the roads aren't crowded at all. It's really easy to drive around.
Let me know if you're interested or want to know anything specific.

forevared sounds great!

I think the two places I am really interested in are Corfu - but perhaps at a different time of year, and Kefalonia. However, I really do like the look of a lot of the small Islands that the Ionian Island Holiday company seem to provide. They seem as prettybird has already shown, that they make the travel part of the trip where they can, so getting a hydrofoil or boat if it needs to be done, organised by them.

What I think we want, which I had not realised quite as much until I started this thread, is a holiday that is relaxing more than action packed, that is child friendly not but child oriented (DD is only 2, the child centred stuff can come later). We want somewhere that is scenic, so that when DD is asleep, we can eat, have a glass of wine on a terrace, soak in the peaceful view, rather than be stuck in a resort apartment looking at everyone at the pool/getting drunk/partying, or watching tele in our room.

So I think really we have decided that a resort is not for us. And perhaps we can afford a cheap resort deal this year, so we might just go somewhere nice in the UK for that money and wait until our main holiday next year and try a villa/cottage.

I am so pleased with the suggestions though, it had made us even more sure we are going to the right places, and we have narrowed down our locations significantly, we did not have a clue before!

Glad to be of assisitance.

Your description of what you are looking for sounds just like the sort of thing we look for too! The only challenge is that ds is now nearly 8!

Fortunately he loves the pool and is football mad, so is placated with lots of fun in the pool, trips up to the wee all weather pitch in Katomeri (the main "town" on Meganisi where the hotel is located) and trips on the ferry (cost 2? each way) to Nidir to buy cheap football strips and a trip on the "pirate ship" ( replica greek trireme) that is a really good value and surprsingly fun and untouristy day out. Last year we also hired a car and visited Nikopolis, the city that Caesur Augustus founded after he defeated Mark Anthony and Cleopatra, which ds found fascinating.

I've been tp Greece regualry in late Spetember (and Mum & Dad used to go regualrly in October) and although th eweather is maybe a wee bit more varaible - more thunderstroms for example - we've still had a wonderful time.

Agree with prettybird, the weather is not that bad.

We've been to Kefalonia twice in late September and last year we went middle of October and the weather has been perfect every time. Mid twenties every day, the odd rainshower/thunderstorm which lasts about an hour but I've never had what I call bad weather.

If you are thinking of Kefalonia, apart from Skala which I'd definitely recommend (as you can see from my previous post), I also love Assos. It's much quieter, in fact I don't think I saw a hotel there. I guess it must be all apartments. There's a lovely small beach there, although it is pebbly, my 2 year old just spent hours throwing pebbles in the water. Some great restaurants there too. In fact when we do head back out there it's where we're likely to stay.
Fiskardo is beautiful too but no beach that I'm aware of. If you do go just avoid Lassi, Sami and Agia Efemia. Very touristy and resorty, IYKWIM