For anyone who is planning a 14 day trip to Greece, this Itinerary showcases some great places on the islands of Crete, Naxos, Santorini and also the city of Athens. This was our third time traveling to Greece and the year was 2021. The trip had been planned for 2020 but we all know how that went, consequently, traveling to Greece in 2021 made it even more special.
Why We Chose These Areas
With so many wonderful places to travel to in Greece why did we choose Crete, Naxos, Santorini and the city of Athens? We had been to Crete, Santorini and Athens before and we so much wanted to explore more of each area, whereas Naxos was new for us. We felt there was so much more to see on Crete and also Santorini and Athens, as for Naxos, we had heard great things about this island.
Crete
Crete was our first choice as we had visited the island in 2019 and there was so much more we wanted to see and also a few places we wanted to return. We love to hike and were especially interested in exploring more hiking areas. We also wanted to return to Chania and Elounda. Crete is truly a beautiful island and also has a bit of everything. There are so many hikes, ruins, villages, beaches and history, we just had to explore more! We also love the hospitality and authenticity which we had found in Crete during our 2019 trip. We also wanted more of the wonderful Crete food and especially Cretan honey! Steve also found it easy to drive in Crete which is a real plus.
Naxos
We picked Naxos because we had heard the food was amazing, especially the potatoes! We also picked Naxos as it was not an island we had heard a lot about. From what I could research, it appeared to have a lot of what we were looking for. Naxos has many quaint villages, beaches, great hiking as well as the Kouros statues.
Santorini
Santorini was once again our choice as we love the island and felt there was also so much more to explore. For me, the feeling I get when in Santorini is so wonderful. Santorini is more than a place, it’s a feeling. We wanted to again hike the caldera and also wanted to rent a dune buggy again to explore more of Santorini’s not so famous spots. In addition, we really wanted to hike up to Ancient Thira to roam through the ruins and enjoy the views. And honestly, we wanted to eat more Santorini fava and also tomato fritters.
Athens
We choose Athens because we never get tired of this city and always find more places to discover. Another thing we love is the vibe of the Plaka district and also the energy of the city. We again stayed at The Electra Palace in the Plaka area. We love this hotel and in addition, it is a big part of our experience in Athens.
14 Day Greece Itinerary-Crete, Naxos, Santorini and Athens
I have added quite a few links in this 14 day Crete, Naxos, Santorini and Athens Itinerary. Many of the links are to other blog posts I have written to further expand on the information. Other links are for restaurants, hotels, tours, or places we visited. We are not affiliated with any of these and moreover we only recommend places we have been to and found to be good, clean, and friendly.
Fly Day
We flew Delta Airlines from Des Moines, Iowa to Atlanta, Georgia, and finally to Athens, Greece. 14 hours and 40 minutes total. We were happy to get this flight as it is the shortest one and we also only have one stop.
Day 1-Athens
We do like to start our trip in Athens. We like a bit of reprieve before flying again.
- Land at Athens International Airport.
- Transfer arranged through our hotel.
- Check in at Electra Palace Hotel in the Plaka area of Athens. As a matter of fact, this was our third year staying here. We absolutely love this hotel and you can check it out and book a room by clicking here.
- Lunch at Old Tavern of Stamatopoulus. Originally a grocery store back in 1882. This taverna was without a doubt delicious. We ate here in 2019 and vowed to return. It was as good as we remembered!
- Tour to Temple of Poseidon. The Temple of Poseidon is an ancient Greek temple believed to be dedicated to Poseidon, God of the Sea. This is a tour we really enjoyed, very informative and beautiful views of the temple and also the sea. However, the drive is a bit long but it is very scenic. It was a little over an hour from our hotel. We did do this as a tour and although we are not big fans of tours, this was a very good one and also nice not to have to drive.
- Dinner back at Athens. I did not write down where we ate because for the first time in Greece, the meal was not that good so I would not have recommended anyway.
- Gelato at DaVinci Gelato. We always stop here while in Athens. Love their gelato!
Day 2-Crete-Chania to Rethymno
This was a busy day but also a lot of fun.
- Early flight to Chania per Aegean Airlines.
- Vist Stavros Beach. Stavros Beach was on my list as this is where the famous film and also dance from Zorba the Greek was located. It was a lovely beach and we tried our own Zorba dance but can’t say we got it right.
- Coffee at Mama’s Place on Stavros Beach.
- Chania town. Before our trip, I mapped a walking tour of the places we wanted to visit and all in all it worked out well. We really enjoyed the knife shop, market, and also just roaming the streets. O Armenis, the knife shop is family owned for several generations.
- Breakfast at To Atropolion. This place was crowded and even though there was no tables left we still grabbed some goodies and found a out of the way spot on the sidewalk where we sat and ate our goodies and drank our coffee.
- Koutalas Beach and Sea Cave–This was a bit out of the way but definitely worth visiting. Very peaceful and beautiful. In addition, we were the only ones at the sea cave and saw just a few at the beach.
- We next drove to Georgeoupoli.
- Walk to St Nikolaus Chapel out to the sea. This was a spot I had been wanting to see and it did not disappoint. In spite of the rocks being difficult to walk on it was still fun.
- Drive to Rethymno.
- Check in at Avli Hotel. This was really a cool place to stay. Right in the middle of old town. Great hospitality and also friendly staff.
- Dinner at Avli Hotel. This was a sampling meal of locally sourced food with a twist. Absolutely wonderful. We also had our breakfasts here each morning.
Day 3-Crete-Martsarlos, Matala, and Rethymno
Although this day involved a lot of driving we also saw a lot and were pretty active.
- Breakfast at Avli. This was a wonderful breakfast as shown above.
- Drive to Martsalos Parking area in Southern Crete
- Hike to Martsalos Beach. This hike takes you through a monastery and also past a few Palm Trees. In addition, swimming was wonderful. This is definitely one of my favorite hikes.
- Drive to Matala.
- Explore Matala Beach Caves. This was amazing and had also been on our bucket list for awhile. Many hippies came here to live in the late 1960’s through early 1970’s. As a matter of fact, Joni Mitchell lived here in the caves for a few months. Being a Joni Mitchell fan I absolutely had to check it out!
- Drove back to Rethymno.
- Ate Loukoumades and explored the town at night.
Day 4 Crete, Rethymno-Elounda, Including Spiles Beach, Mylopotamos Beach, Dikteon Cave, and Lasithi Windmills.
Another day with plenty of driving and plenty of activity as well.
- Breakfast at Avli, Rethymno.
- Exploried Rethymno old town, harbor, and also the castle.
- Drove along the north shore line and explored Spiles Beach and Mylopotamos Beach. I would like to visit this area again when we have more time.
- Hiked up to Dikteon Cave, the birthplace of the god Zeus.
- Drove through the Lasithi Plateau to our hotel. We had driven this path in 2019 so did not stop as time was getting away from us. It is a lovely drive though and the famous windmills are wonderful to see.
- Check in Elounda Peninsula All Suites Hotel. This is without a doubt, one of our very favorite places we have stayed throughout the years. You can click here to book a room.
- Dinner Elounda Peninsula. The resort has many restaruants and they are all delicious and also unique.
Day 5 Crete-Hike and Hotel
Although we did some hiking this day we also spent some time relaxing.
- Sunrise and Breakfast Elounda Peninsula. The breakfast here is amazing as is the view.
- Hike to Aforemenos Lighthouse. Kind of creepy but I would definitely hike it again. Consequently, it did not help that the weather was a bit dismal!
- Lunch in Plaka, Crete
- Enjoyed time at Elounda Peninsula.
- Dinner Elounda Peninsula.
Day 6 Crete-Ancient Lato, Kritsa, Hotel
After getting some activity in early, we spent a good part of this day relaxing and also enjoying our hotel.
- Breakfast at Elounda Peninsula
- Visit Ancient Lato. This was a very non busy off the beaten trail site. This ancient city is one of my favorites.
- Roam the village of Kritsa. Loved this little village and stocked up on Olive Oil and Honey.
- Lunch at Elounda Peninsula. We usually don’t eat so many meals at our hotel, but the food is so spectacular here. There are also many restaurants which make for variety.
- Spa in the afternoon for me. I had a top notch massage and it was amazing.
- Golf in the afternoon for Steve.
- Swimming at the resort.
- Dinner at Elounda Peninsula.
Day 7 Crete to Naxos Island
A significant amount of this day was spent traveling but we were happy to be going to Naxos.
- Left very early for the ferry at Heraklion.
- Ferry to Naxos. We use SeaJets and have been happy with them.
- Transfer to hotel, Naxian on the Beach. This is on the Plaka Beach and a very nice hotel. It is adults only though.
- Rented a car through MotoNaxos they delivered to our hotel!
- Explored Chora in Naxos
- Late Lunch at Naxian Capriccio.
- Explored the Portara. This ancient site is a door for a temple. My understanding is that the temple was never completed.
Day 8-Naxos Island-Catamaran Trip
Nothing can compare to a day at sea on a catamaran!
- Breakfast at Naxian on the Beach
- Transfer to port.
- Catamaran tour of Naxos by Sea. This was a fun side trip and a day at sea is always wonderful.
- Transfer back to Chora.
- Sunset and Dinner at Chora. We ate at Taverna and loved it, as a matter of fact, we returned here the next night. Very lovely location, food, and service.
Day 9-Naxos Island-Kouros, Aerapathos-Temple of Demeter
This was a fun day exploring the island of Naxos which has so much to see.
- Breakfast at Naxian on the Beach
- This was also a bit of driving to do on this day but worth it.
- Drove to the Old Jesuit Monastery, Kalimitsia. Explored the monastery. This was a lot of fun to explore on our own and once again, we had this place to ourselves. It must have been beautiful in its day.
- Hiked the first and second Kouros. This was also a lot of fun and not to far from the Monastery. The Kouros are large marble statues of men that were unfinished for whatever reason.
- Lunch at Melanes at Arolithos. This is one of my most memorable lunch spots in Greece. The food was great, we enjoyed talking with our waiter and most of all the view was spectacular. It was such a peaceful place.
- Explored the village of Aperapathos.
- Temple of Demeter. We only could see this through the fence as unfortunately, we did not know it closed so early.
- Walked along Hawaii Beach.
- Dinner at Taverna in Chora. Again it was delicious.
- Portara at Night. This is so beautiful at night.
Day 10-Naxos Island-Mt Zas, Lionas Beach, Kouros
Another very busy day with a fair amount of driving. We have not learned yet how to relax on vacations.
- Breakfast at Naxian on the Beach
- Hike up Mt Zas and the Cave of Za. This was quite the hike! We were surprised at how difficult it was being that we were used to hiking in Colorado at much higher elevations. The rocks were slick!
- Drive to Lionas Beach. FYI: the end of this drive towards the beach is very narrow and curvy, very slow going.
- Lunch at on Lionas Beach. This was another memorable meal. It was a relaxing spot and the family that owned this taverna were so nice. They brought us the best grapes I ever had for dessert.
- We enjoyed exploring Lionas Beach. The shoreline is rocky but beautiful. There are many hiking paths around here and I wish we would have had the time to hike here.
- Check out the Kouros of Apollonas. This is the third Kouros site and the largest of the Kouros. There are steps up to this but it is a very short hike to see this marvel.
- Dinner at Tortuga Beach Restaurant. This restaurant is located at our hotel. The food was sensational and had a bit of spicy flare to it.
Day 10-Naxos Island to Santorini
Another day of traveling but not quite as far. All in all I do enjoy traveling on the ferry.
- Breakfast at Naxian on the Beach.
- Transfer to port.
- Ferry Ride to Santorini using SeaJets again.
- Transfer to hotel.
- Check in at Astra Suites in Imerovigli. We are creatures of habits and this was the third time we have stayed here. Beautiful view and nice accomodations. You can click here to book a room.
- We once again enjoyed dinner at the hotel at their Six Senses Restaurant. The view is phenomenal and we enjoyed our meal. I truly believe it is the best view for sunset on the island.
Day 11-Santorini-Dune Buggy Day
We discovered the dune buggy in 2019 and have rented one every year since. It is a blast!
- Breakfast at Astra Suites is always a treat and we look forward to it. Fresh food and gorgeous view.
- Dune Buggy rental. In 2019 we rented a Dune Buggy and had so much fun we rented a Dune Buggy again in 2021.
- Drive to Ancient Thera. The drive to Ancient Thera is quite fun. It is on a curvy road up the mountain with great views.
- Ancient Thera. We tried to go here in 2019 but found out, and important to note, this site is closed on Tuesdays. We really loved this site. Probably my favorite place on Santorini.
- Santorini Lighthouse. Next on our stop was the Akoritir Lighthouse. This is a great photo spot.
- Emporio Village is a nice spot to stop as we saw very few people there! The castle was fun to roam in.
- Late lunch at Foinikia. Although Foinikia was a bit of a drive, we were told it was a good spot for lunch. In addition, driving the backroads of Santorini was a lot of fun.
- Walk to Fira at night. This is an activity we enjoy each time we are in Santorini.
Day 12-Santorini-Oia visit
A hike to or from Oia has become a tradition for us as we do enjoy a good hike and also great views.
- Breakfast at Astra Suites.
- Transfer to Oia. We usually hike to Oia but decided to hike back from Oia to Imerovigli instead this year just to try something different.
- Wander through Oia, the fortress, blue domes, and enjoyed the views.
- Hike the 200 steps to Ammoudi Bay. This is a fun hike down, and also some amazing views.
- Lunch at Ammoudi Bay Fish Taverna. It is also ur favorite of the Amoudi Bay Taverna.
- Hike back up the Ammoudi Steps. This is not as bad as it sounds! Slow and steady!
- Hike back to Imerovigli. The hike back to Imerovigli is much harder than the hike to Oia as it is mostly uphill. As a matter of fact, probably won’t do it this way again!
- Room service dinner in our room. It was very cold out and this worked well for us. We had pizza and it was good. In addition the night views of our hotel were beautiful.
Day 13-Santorini-Athens
After a wonderful time in Santorini we once again returned to Athens to enjoy our last day.
- Breakfast at Astra Suites.
- Flight from Santorini to Athens.
- Transfer to Electra Palace Hotel in Athens arranged per hotel. We do love this hotel. As a matter of fact we stay here each time we are in Athens. You can click here to explore it more and book a room.
- Check in at our hotel. Our room was nice and in addition, we had a great view of the Acropolis.
- Lunch at Karamanlidika tou Fani. This was another great place to eat and also a great ambiance.
- Hike up Areopagus Hill. The views from here are spectacular. Although we found out hiking up this was ridiculous because on the other side there is a short staircase!
- Wandering through Anafiotika. We had such a fun time in this quaint little area in 2019 that we again wandered here this year.
- Dinner at Old Tavern of Stamatopoulus. We again ate here as we do like the food and atmosphere. Coincidently, I noticed in my photos that we ordered the exact same food as we did on our first day of this trip!
- Walk through the streets of Plaka at night. This is something we really enjoy and also end up with gelato from DaVinci Gelato!
Day 14-Athens to Home
- Breakfast at Electra Palace.
- Wandering around getting some last views of the city.
- Fly home via Delta Airlines. 18 hours and 58 minutes.
Conclusion
As you can see this was a busy active trip! We drove a bit more than we would have liked to but all in all would not have missed a thing! I hope you enjoyed this 14 day Itinerary of Crete, Santorini, Naxos and Athens. You can find more of my Itineraries below. I will be working on my next itinerary which includes the mainland area of Meteora and Delphi, the island of Corfu, and again more fun in Santorini and Athens.
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If you enjoyed my 14 day Itinerary of Crete, Santorini, Naxos, and Athens, you can find more Greece Itineraries in the links below:
2 Weeks in Greece-Delphi, Meteora, Corfu, Santorini, Athens, Sept 2022
14 Days in Greece-Crete,Naxos, Santorini Sept 2021
10 Day Greece Itinerary-Crete, Santorini, Athens, September 2019
8 Day Greece Itinerary-Athens, Milos, Santorini, September/October 2018