greek island hopping

[noddyholder]

Has anyone done this recently and with kids We are thinking of going for a couple of weeks in august I travelled around greece 20 yrs ago but haven't been there for years We are thinking of flying to athens and then going to the cyclades by ferries

not with kids, and not by ferry.

i did work as a holiday rep in greece for five years so cook help.

the ferries are not world renowned for their health and safety record. having said that they are generally ok.

kida of course v. welcome everywhere.

the ferries often leave in dead of night or v. early in the morning. be ready with some blow up pillows and rugs for waiting around so the kids can sleep

cook ????

could

all part of the fun according to ds and dp I on the other hand like a bit of luxury !

Ferries are much better than they used to be. Can search timetables etc here Greek Ferries It might be better to get a flight direct to an island and do a circular route, because many charter flights come in late at night and would require an overnight stop in Athens. Where do you want to go? Are you thinking of booking accomodation in advance? Depending on where you want to go it may be necessary in August.

we are hoping to go to paros ios naxos and santorini I suppose we could fly to one of those then rather than athens although we don't mind

What a coincidence yesterday I worked out an itinery for gh to visit those exact islands next weekend. He's doing the 4 in 48 hours (work not pleasure!)

If you don't mind then go on the boats.There's very good links now from the airport to the port - bus and metro. Bus obviously cheaper. I would recommend booking accomodation though because they are all popular islands and all of greece is on holiday in August too. You can do lots over the internet these days. How old is ds ?

dh not gh !

flum - Sorry noddyholder to hijack your thread but flum, I too was a holiday rep in Greece, which Islands were you on, I was on Rhodes.

ds is 10 so very easy to take anywhere now He really wants to do the boats so boats it is!

Noddy, Why not start in Athens or Volos then to Skiathos and do Skopelos and Alonissos. You get to go on flying dolphins too (hydrofoils) which DD (2) loved.

I was on Rhodes too ! 97'98' and 99. Fairlycrappy Faliraki was my resort! before that Kefalonia. Then when I reached the dizzy heights of manager was Corfu side.

The ferry trips can take quite a while. Did Naxos to santorini. The trip back was overnight with no cabin, bed or even seat! Trip from athens to Nazos was about 10 hours with litlle or no facilities.

'hopping' is a bad way to descrive it,crawling is more like! Can be fun, can be a PITA, depends on your outlook and the weather!

Sorry noddyholder - I'm at it again but

Flum - I was there repping in 92 then worked in a hotel reception for 93, 94 and 95 in a really small village called Genadi.

and they are short hops too, so more time to enjoy the island delights.

I think the Lonely Planet guide for Greece has some suggested itineraries for island hopping depending on how long you want to hop for.

I will browse through my copy of LP tonight and report back.

aww, we missed each other. Genadi, name rings a bell.