A trip to Greece would not be complete without visiting Athens. However, after 2 days we were ready to move on. We stayed in the Plaka district, at the base of the Acropolis and there is no need to venture beyond this area.

The Plaka district is full of bars, restaurants, shops and markets. On our first day in Athens we visited the Acropolis and the Agora and by our 2nd day we were ready for the islands, our first being Crete. We booked an overnight ferry from Piraeus to Iraklio. I was not looking forward to this 9 hour trip but on arrival at the port I was reassured when I saw that the "ferry" is actually more like a huge cruise ship. I would recommend the overnight ferry for the longer trips as it is possible to sleep on the couches and it saves you the cost of one night's accommodation. We didn't pre-book any accommodation for the islands and this proved to be the best way to go as we got some great deals on arrival.

On our first day in Crete we got a local bus to the Ancient Palace of Knossos - worth the visit if you are interested in archaeological sites. The nightlife in Crete was nowhere near as good as the other islands but we did manage to find a few nice bars and restaurants - all much cheaper than Athens.

On our 2nd day in Crete we got the local bus to Rethymno. The bus ride took over an hour, but we got some great views driving around the cliffs on the coast. Rethymno is definitely worth a day trip, if you had the time I would suggest staying overnight. It is a quaint seaside town and very pretty.

After 2 nights in Crete, we got the ferry to Santorini. This would be my favourite island - it is spectacular, even on arrival at the port when you look up at the huge cliff and see the winding road going up.

We arrived in Santorini at midnight and were so exhausted that we took the first accommodation offered to us at the port. It was only 10 euros each for the 3 of us and included a lift there! It was a great place with a nice pool, however it was quite far out of the main town - so beware of this if finding accommodation in Santorini.

After one night there we moved into town. Again paying only 10 euros each, we stayed in a great hotel right in the middle of town called The Golden Sands. It also had a great pool, but I think this is quite common in Santorini.

We stayed in Santorini for 5 nights and went out every night! We found a great bar called Murphy's. Obviously, a lot of tourists were here but it was lots of fun and great bar staff! A fantastic thing we discovered on Santorini was hiring scooters. It only cost 10 euros for 24 hours and is a great way to explore the island. The only downside is that we were told females aren't allowed to hire the scooters but we later met 2 girls who had hired them with no problems, so I am not sure about that. Luckily, I was travelling with a male so we were fine.

The beaches on Santorini were a disappointment (as were the beaches on most of the islands). They are rocky and black, however the water was beautiful - blue and clear. A fantastic place on Santorini is Oia (pronounced e-ah). It is a beautiful town - very picturesque and is known for the amazing views of the sunset. So, along with all the other tourists we drove there one evening and sat in a café under a windmill on the cliff and watched the sunset! Another day in Santorini was spent doing a boat trip. This included a trip to the volcano which we were able to climb, we then went to the hot springs for a swim - if you do this, make sure you remove any silver jewellery as it turns it orange!!

After a brilliant few days on Santorini, we headed to Mykonos. Not too dissimilar to Santorini. Although, the town is a maze which apparently was purposely built like that to confuse the pirates. Again, we bargained well and stayed in a great resort with a fantastic pool overlooking the town. We also hired scooters here and went to Paradise Beach and Super Paradise Beach - both nice with bars along the beach! We had dinner overlooking the water and went out to the Scandinavian Bar both nights.

The first night we were the only people there and didn't stay very long at all, the second night it was absolutely packed and we had a great time!

From Mykonos we got the ferry to Paros. It is a pretty island, but was extremely quiet. Not sure if this is due to the time of year or whether it is always like that. We only stayed one night in Paros then moved onto Naxos - our final island.

Again, it was quiet but after our hectic 2 weeks we weren't too upset! We went to the Temple of Apollo (which is now just an archway) and once again hired scooters, as well as a dune buggy, which was lots of fun! If, like me, you are afraid to ride a scooter I would suggest one of the dune buggies as there is no balancing involved and is quite easy to drive! The beaches on both Naxos and Paros have sand and much nicer than the beaches on other islands.

Sadly, our holiday was coming to an end and we headed back to Athens for our final night before departing Greece.
I think we chose the right time of year to visit Greece - the weather was still hot, but cooled down a bit at night and the islands weren't so busy which meant we got great deals. However, things were starting to close down so I wouldn't leave it much later than the first week in October.

Greece was fantastic and you would definitely need at least 2 weeks to see a few of the islands - taking into account travelling time.

Samantha.