Which Greek Island?

[pickupthismess]

Thinking of two weeks at the back end of August with two LOs (5&3). Don't want to be baking hot as it'll be no fun, just nice and warm with good swimming, tranquil but interesting for the children.

I know nothing about the Greek Islands so any advice/suggestions would be v welcome.

Rhodes is lovely. Very very child friendly. i will go back again and again. its also quite often reasonably priced.

Rhodes is THE BEST Greek Island .........but then I am slightly bias having lived there for 5yrs

Cephalonia is lovely - we have been twice, first time at the end of September (the odd cool/overcast day, but still hot) and the second time with a 10 month old, and even though it was late May, I'd say it was still too hot. I'd imagine August would be very, very hot - not sure you'd find anywhere in Greece that won't be, at that time of year

I've been to a fair few places in Greece, both mainland and islands - Athens, Thessaloniki, Halkidiki, Rhodes, Symi, Kastellorizo, Aegina, Poros, Skiathos, Skopelos, Alonissos, Lefkas, Meganisi, Corfu, Kefalonia... I agree that everywhere will be hot in August, however, the Dodecanese are very arid. I would look to the lusher Ionian islands. Corfu has something for everyone, Paxos and Anti-Paxos are stunning, Kefalonia is fab and Meganisi is teeny-tiny and very low-key. You can easily hop over to Lefkas from Meganisi if you wish to explore further.

The Sporades (Skopelos, Skiathos, Alonissos) have okay beaches, great food and there are boat trips to see the protected seals. Not the prettiest islands, although Skopelos Town is lovely.

Symi in the Dodecanese is amazingly pretty, but might be hard work for little legs as it is incredibly hilly/steep.

The last time I was in Greece was when I was pg six years ago. We stayed at Ekies Manor in Halkidiki and it was really lovely - I'd google it and have a look.

I've just looked it up and it looks posh and not really child-friendly but there were loads of little ones staying there when I was there.

Why not stay on two islands, and get one of the lovely ferries at the end of the first week?

BIG recommendation for Paxos and Naxos.

If you DO go to Crete you simply must d othe Samaria Gorge walk, from the top of the hills in the middle down to the south coast. Needs a bit of plannnig and will take most of the day , but it is one of the joys of Crete.

and yes anit-Paxos is fab. Take a boat trip and when you arrive you can jump straight off the side into clear, refreshing water.

Crete lovely - not too hot as it does get a fair bit of breeze (and can be downright windy as it was last week but doesn't last too long).

Paros is fantastic but a buggar to get too.
My favourite island because you don't get the standard English tourist there (think men wearing 3/4 trousers and Velcro sportswear)

just returned from Naxos and loved it. Although it takes some planning to get there (Flight to Athens and then either ferry - 2 hours - or 30 min flight to Naxos) it was worth it. The meltemi winds meant that the island was relatively cool for August but still plenty warm enough. It is as basic as a Greek island can be - dirt roads and 1 taverna "towns" :) which was perfect for us.

I wouldn't be doing the Samaria Gorge with a 5 yo and a 3yo!

And especially not in August.

Also try Samos - not that many tourists (there are mainly Greeks and other Germans) and not so developed as other islands.

I adore Crete!! its gorgeous and the food is fab. We stayed in Rethmynon but, noticed the families on the coach where going to smaller resorts futher on from it and, I can remember the name of them. Chania is gorgeous too.

PS, I wouldnt go to Santorini with young children. Its my favourite island but, not child friendly, its very steep!!

I've been to Crete, Corfu, Kefalonia, Rhodes and Zante. Visit Symi when we go to Rhodes. We loved them all except Zante, just didn't enjoy being there.

Last September we were in Kefalonia thinking it would be a comfortable mid 20's temp, and they had a freak heatwave where it was 38 degrees every day!

You can't rely on the weather to be as it should be any more in the Greek islands. When DS was little we used to go in May or October. If you want warm but not hot temperatures you would be better going at Autumn half-term if you can, or choose somewhere in the Canaries for August.

Santorini is absolutely beautiful but wouldn't bother with it with such young children as a) it's quite expensive and b) the beach is black sand and they won't be able to play or even walk on it comfortably. Save it for a child-free break!

Zante is okay if you go for one of the quieter spots. We went to Kalamaki a few years ago - nice beach, one reasonably quiet strip of family friendly bars and tarvernas and then another strip of louder ones, which we just avoided throughout. We've also been to Kos but I don't think I'd go back as the food wasn't great for vegetarians (much better in Zante).

Going to Kefalonia this time.

We went to the Galazio Kima hotel in the north west of Crete (the same place as smallorange went to). It was lovely and very friendly. You can book through Simpsons Travel and it's marketed as the GK hotel. We've been to Greek islands every year for the last 10 and it's always hot, but Crete and Paros were windy, which took the edge off. Crete is significantly cheaper than the other islands we've been to (Paros was expensive). Kefalonia and Samos caught fire while we were there - obvs very hot both before and during the forest fires. Parga wasn't very nice, I thought, although there were some lovely trips out from there, particularly to the River Acheron and to Paxos. Kos was horrible. Thassos was nice and quiet but had quite a lot of sports bars etc.

I love Crete and, although it's hot, you usually have a breeze. Kefalonia was also on fire while we were there last year; we got used to it! We're going back this year.
I love all the Greek islands-we've been to quite a few. However, my 18 year old son is going to Zante with 14 of his friends. I don't want to think about what they will get up to. Just be aware that there are a few resorts scattered around (e.g. Malia in Crete) that you may want to avoid.
If you go to Crete, the area around Hania (North West) is nice.

We love Corfu. Very lush/green, reasonable prices, not too hilly, child friendly.

Also been to Rhodes, Kefalonia. I didn't like Kefalonia though it could just have been the resort we were in, very unfriendly :( Agree Santorini is expensive, ditto Parga.

We're off to Crete at the end of this month for 2 weeks. Never been before so I'm wondering if anyone can tell me what I might expect from the breeze! Is it a chilly wind (need fleeces?) or just refreshing and we'll still be warm enough in shorts and t-shirts?
Staying tuned to this thread!

Not a cold wind. You may need to take a sweatshirt or light pullover out with you in the evening if you eat outside.

Me too knittingmum! We are off to Hersonissos, i am worried the pools will be cold? A poster on another thread said the pool would be a bit chilly.

Has anybody been to Crete in may?

I have never been to Crete in May, but expect it to be very warm in the day; cooler in the evening. It may be less windy too. I am not sure about the pool.