Greece itinerary, day by day

From Athens out to Crete by ferry, by way of Mykonos and Santorini: the map, what is worth booking, everything that costs nothing, and where to sleep at three budgets.

🗓️ 7, 10 or 14 days📍 4 stops☀️ Best time: May to June and September to October

Santorin · Photo David Iglesias / Pexels

Route map (numbers = order of the stops).

Greece in 7 days

3 stops · 18 things to do · ferry

1Athens

Days 1-2

Where democracy and philosophy were argued into shape. The Acropolis and its Parthenon, finished in 432 BC, still stand above the roofs.

🎟️ Worth booking

The Acropolis and its museum, skip the line3h · from €40
The Parthenon on the rock, then the museum below it, where the marbles are laid out in the order they once stood.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Athens food tour3h · from €55
Market stalls, a souvlaki counter and several things you would have walked straight past, eaten in the right order.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Plaka quarter · Lycabettus hill · The ancient Agora · Monastiraki market

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Athens Backpackers (€35 a night) · Mid-range: Coco-Mat Athens BC (€170 a night) · Luxury: Electra Palace Athens (€220 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

MIRONI Restaurant - Greek Kitchen ↗ ★ 4.8 · 5835 reviews · €€
Bandiera ↗ ★ 4.8 · 5308 reviews · €€
Yard restaurant ↗ ★ 4.8 · 4973 reviews · €€
GREEK STORIES ↗ ★ 4.8 · 3763 reviews · €€
Stone Athens ↗ ★ 4.8 · 3452 reviews · €€

Photo Zois Fotis / Pexels

⛴️ Ferry · 5h · or ✈️ 45 min

2Santorini

Days 3-5

What a volcano left when it blew its own centre out and flooded the crater. Oia clings to the rim, white and blue, facing the sunset.

🎟️ Worth booking

Caldera cruise and hot springsFull day · from €75
A day on the water inside the crater, with a stop to swim where the volcano still warms the sea.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Assyrtiko wine tasting2h · from €40
Vines trained into baskets on the ground to survive the wind, and a dry white that tastes of the ash it grows in.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Sunset at Oia · The village of Fira · The red beach · The clifftop path from Fira to Oia

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Fira Backpackers Place (€30 a night) · Mid-range: Keti Hotel (€140 a night) · Luxury: Aressana Spa Hotel & Suites (€250 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Blu Restaurant Santorini ↗ ★ 5 · 340 reviews
No Name Grill Restaurant Santorini ↗ ★ 4.9 · 3582 reviews · €€
Santo Athiri ↗ ★ 4.9 · 3382 reviews · €€
Veranda Restaurant ↗ ★ 4.9 · 1601 reviews
Misteli Restaurant ↗ ★ 4.9 · 1112 reviews · €€

Photo Tassos Giannouris / Pexels

⛴️ Ferry · 2h30 · Cyclades

3Mykonos

Days 6-7

A Cycladic island of windmills and whitewashed lanes, known for its beaches and for staying awake until dawn.

🎟️ Worth booking

Day trip to DelosHalf day · from €45
Half an hour by boat to an island that was a sanctuary and a trading port. Nobody has lived there since antiquity, and nobody may stay the night.
Book on GetYourGuide →
A night at a beach clubEvening · from €60
Music on the sand from late afternoon until well after dark, which is what Mykonos is known for.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Little Venice · The windmills · Paradise beach · The lanes of Chora

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Manto Hotel (€70 a night) · Mid-range: Poseidon Hotel Suites (€140 a night) · Luxury: Myconian Ambassador (€380 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Nosotros ↗ ★ 4.9 · 875 reviews
Phoebus Seafood Restaurant ↗ ★ 4.9 · 602 reviews
Il Mare Restaurant ↗ ★ 4.9 · 497 reviews
Sistina Mykonos ↗ ★ 4.9 · 409 reviews
Kavos Taverna ↗ ★ 4.8 · 4195 reviews

Photo Jo Kassis / Pexels

Greece in 10 days

4 stops · 23 things to do · ferry

1Athens

Days 1-2

Where democracy and philosophy were argued into shape. The Acropolis and its Parthenon, finished in 432 BC, still stand above the roofs.

🎟️ Worth booking

The Acropolis and its museum, skip the line3h · from €40
The Parthenon on the rock, then the museum below it, where the marbles are laid out in the order they once stood.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Athens food tour3h · from €55
Market stalls, a souvlaki counter and several things you would have walked straight past, eaten in the right order.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Plaka quarter · Lycabettus hill · The ancient Agora · Monastiraki market

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Athens Backpackers (€35 a night) · Mid-range: Coco-Mat Athens BC (€170 a night) · Luxury: Electra Palace Athens (€220 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Zois Fotis / Pexels

⛴️ Ferry · 2h30 · Cyclades

2Mykonos

Days 3-4

A Cycladic island of windmills and whitewashed lanes, known for its beaches and for staying awake until dawn.

🎟️ Worth booking

Day trip to DelosHalf day · from €45
Half an hour by boat to an island that was a sanctuary and a trading port. Nobody has lived there since antiquity, and nobody may stay the night.
Book on GetYourGuide →
A night at a beach clubEvening · from €60
Music on the sand from late afternoon until well after dark, which is what Mykonos is known for.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Little Venice · The windmills · Paradise beach · The lanes of Chora

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Manto Hotel (€70 a night) · Mid-range: Poseidon Hotel Suites (€140 a night) · Luxury: Myconian Ambassador (€380 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Jo Kassis / Pexels

⛴️ Ferry · 2h45 · Cyclades

3Santorini

Days 5-7

What a volcano left when it blew its own centre out and flooded the crater. Oia clings to the rim, white and blue, facing the sunset.

🎟️ Worth booking

Caldera cruise and hot springsFull day · from €75
A day on the water inside the crater, with a stop to swim where the volcano still warms the sea.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Assyrtiko wine tasting2h · from €40
Vines trained into baskets on the ground to survive the wind, and a dry white that tastes of the ash it grows in.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Sunset at Oia · The village of Fira · The red beach · The clifftop path from Fira to Oia

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Fira Backpackers Place (€30 a night) · Mid-range: Keti Hotel (€140 a night) · Luxury: Aressana Spa Hotel & Suites (€250 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Tassos Giannouris / Pexels

⛴️ Ferry · 2h · or ✈️ 50 min

4Crete · Chania

Days 8-10

The largest Greek island and the ground of Minoan civilisation, whose palace at Knossos dates to around 1900 BC. Gorges, beaches, and a kitchen of its own.

🎟️ Worth booking

Samaria Gorge, guided walkFull day · from €45
Sixteen kilometres downhill through a gorge that narrows to four metres wide, ending at the sea. It takes the whole day.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Balos beach by boatFull day · from €40
A shallow turquoise lagoon reached from Kissamos by boat, or by a rough track and a long walk down.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The old Venetian harbour of Chania · Elafonissi lagoon and its pink sand · The Cretan markets

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Cocoon City Hostel (€38 a night) · Mid-range: Casa Delfino (€220 a night) · Luxury: Domes Zeen Chania (€480 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Opera Chania ↗ ★ 5 · 101 reviews
Canale Restaurant Chania ↗ ★ 4.9 · 7723 reviews
Fourogatos ↗ ★ 4.9 · 1693 reviews · €€
Colombo Kitchen & Bar ↗ ★ 4.8 · 1727 reviews · €€
Κάπαρη - Ελληνική Κουζίνα | Kapari - Greek Restaurant ↗ ★ 4.8 · 1579 reviews · €€

Photo Francesco Ungaro / Pexels

Greece in 14 days

4 stops · 23 things to do · ferry

1Athens

Days 1-3

Where democracy and philosophy were argued into shape. The Acropolis and its Parthenon, finished in 432 BC, still stand above the roofs.

🎟️ Worth booking

The Acropolis and its museum, skip the line3h · from €40
The Parthenon on the rock, then the museum below it, where the marbles are laid out in the order they once stood.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Athens food tour3h · from €55
Market stalls, a souvlaki counter and several things you would have walked straight past, eaten in the right order.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Plaka quarter · Lycabettus hill · The ancient Agora · Monastiraki market

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Athens Backpackers (€35 a night) · Mid-range: Coco-Mat Athens BC (€170 a night) · Luxury: Electra Palace Athens (€220 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Zois Fotis / Pexels

⛴️ Ferry · 2h30 · Cyclades

2Mykonos

Days 4-6

A Cycladic island of windmills and whitewashed lanes, known for its beaches and for staying awake until dawn.

🎟️ Worth booking

Day trip to DelosHalf day · from €45
Half an hour by boat to an island that was a sanctuary and a trading port. Nobody has lived there since antiquity, and nobody may stay the night.
Book on GetYourGuide →
A night at a beach clubEvening · from €60
Music on the sand from late afternoon until well after dark, which is what Mykonos is known for.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Little Venice · The windmills · Paradise beach · The lanes of Chora

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Manto Hotel (€70 a night) · Mid-range: Poseidon Hotel Suites (€140 a night) · Luxury: Myconian Ambassador (€380 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Jo Kassis / Pexels

⛴️ Ferry · 2h45 · Cyclades

3Santorini

Days 7-9

What a volcano left when it blew its own centre out and flooded the crater. Oia clings to the rim, white and blue, facing the sunset.

🎟️ Worth booking

Caldera cruise and hot springsFull day · from €75
A day on the water inside the crater, with a stop to swim where the volcano still warms the sea.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Assyrtiko wine tasting2h · from €40
Vines trained into baskets on the ground to survive the wind, and a dry white that tastes of the ash it grows in.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Sunset at Oia · The village of Fira · The red beach · The clifftop path from Fira to Oia

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Fira Backpackers Place (€30 a night) · Mid-range: Keti Hotel (€140 a night) · Luxury: Aressana Spa Hotel & Suites (€250 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Tassos Giannouris / Pexels

⛴️ Ferry · 2h · Sea of Crete

4Crete · Chania

Days 10-14

The largest Greek island and the ground of Minoan civilisation, whose palace at Knossos dates to around 1900 BC. Gorges, beaches, and a kitchen of its own.

🎟️ Worth booking

Samaria Gorge, guided walkFull day · from €45
Sixteen kilometres downhill through a gorge that narrows to four metres wide, ending at the sea. It takes the whole day.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Balos beach by boatFull day · from €40
A shallow turquoise lagoon reached from Kissamos by boat, or by a rough track and a long walk down.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The old Venetian harbour of Chania · Elafonissi lagoon and its pink sand · The Cretan markets

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Cocoon City Hostel (€38 a night) · Mid-range: Casa Delfino (€220 a night) · Luxury: Domes Zeen Chania (€480 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Francesco Ungaro / Pexels

Hotel prices are per room per night, activity prices per person, checked when written. Some links are affiliate links (Booking, GetYourGuide): we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

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Good to know before you go

🍽️ What to eat

Souvlaki and gyros: grilled skewers and wrapped sandwiches, cheap and on every corner.
Moussaka: aubergine, minced meat and béchamel, baked and served warm rather than hot.
Greek salad: tomato, feta, olives and olive oil, and no lettuce in it.
Grilled octopus: eaten on the harbour with a glass of ouzo.
Baklava and loukoumades: layered pastry and fried dough, both soaked in honey.

⚠️ What to avoid

Tavernas with photographs on the menu and a man outside waving you in, near the Acropolis above all: overpriced.
Ask the price of fish by the kilo before you order. It is sold by weight, and the bill surprises people.
Book summer ferries early, and treat the timetable as an intention rather than a promise.
Carry cash. Small islands and village tavernas do not always take cards.

Plan this trip

📒 The free printable Greece guide→ 🗓️ Best time to visit Greece, month by month→ 🎟️ What to book before you go→

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