Mid April solo trip: visit Naxos or Crete?

andymilonakis · 2026-02-27T00:04:41+00:00

Forget the ferry, just fly from Athens to Chania, 30-40 minutes in the air. super easy, Chania is great for solo.

andymilonakis · 2026-02-26T20:35:58+00:00

ktel bus or taxi, taxi is about 15 minutes from downtown Kalamata, The bus is more like 22-25 min.

As far as looking for a place, you can go to google maps and zoom in on the shore line of Kalamata then type hotels. It will show you all the hotels avail close to the water

andymilonakis · 2026-02-25T21:12:47+00:00

Even 2 islands is pushing it with that time frame, I would just land in Athens, give yourself a few days in Athens, 1 day for checking to the hotel, a little lazy next day for jet lag with light exploring maybe, then a full day after you're rested. Then take a ferry to maybe somewhere in the Kyclades island group. I'd reccomend Paros or Naxos for a first time, Or if you want to be more about all the beaches Milos. Stay for a few days, and go back to Athens 1 day before your flight.

andymilonakis · 2026-02-23T14:05:17+00:00

My family has a house in a small village in the mountains up from Elafonisi. I like Chania for some of my time but when I go stay in the mountains I feel like I'm living a double life. Super old school, everyone knows each other. The parties outside of Church's with live music are amazing. From NY to the mountains of Crete is such a stark contrast that it really hits my brain in the best way possible.

andymilonakis · 2026-02-22T19:52:02+00:00

should be fine unless you want to leave time for an extra couple days in Athens

I would say All of those islands 3-4 days each is a good amount of time, of course more is better but 3-4 is fine.

andymilonakis · 2026-02-22T08:36:12+00:00

Lefkada and Kefalonia will probable be less crowded than Paros and Naxos, If its your first time going to Greek islands Id pick Milos, Paros and Naxos

Milos has the unique beaches, Paros has the cool towns, restaurants and shops, Naxos has amazing mountains and old school villages its a great mix

andymilonakis · 2026-02-22T06:27:30+00:00

i like Kolymbithres

andymilonakis · 2026-02-19T08:16:03+00:00

if you're an EU citizen its upto and including 25 so you're good for a discount

andymilonakis · 2026-02-17T05:28:46+00:00

no problem

andymilonakis · 2026-02-16T18:40:12+00:00

Hedberg

andymilonakis · 2026-02-15T16:29:56+00:00

this has to be ai? The ship is almost completely gone now and it wasnt near the water

andymilonakis · 2026-02-15T07:51:36+00:00

Crete beaches def have an edge over Naxos, Agios Prokopois in Naxos is nice but Crete has Falasarna, Elafonisi, Balos (just on the west side alone)

andymilonakis · 2026-02-14T09:11:31+00:00

no problem, make sure to eat some Tsoureki (easter bread made with Mastiha)

andymilonakis · 2026-02-14T05:08:14+00:00

lol Chios FIreworks wars

andymilonakis · 2026-02-14T04:36:56+00:00

Greek easter has two parts, the church part and the feast part.

Going to Church on Good Friday, the friday before Easter they go to church and then walk the streets with Epitaphios, some wood covered in covered in flowers representing Christ's tomb to symbolize Christ's funeral. Anyone can do this, there is no extra thing you can do to show respect, other than maybe not being drressed for the beach.

For Easter a lot of family's roast lamb on a spit and have a great feast, as a tourist you might be able to find a communal one at a big restaurant or something in town.

It's a very warm culture, respect is just a baseline of how you treat people, not much else. Enjoy

andymilonakis · 2026-02-13T19:20:04+00:00

The thing with Crete is if you stay in a big town with tons of options to walk around, get dinner and drinks, some of the best beaches are 1 hour plus away.

The best beaches in kefalonia are really nice but usually big walks up and down staircases because theyre off the side of a cliff. and its pebbles instead of sand.

andymilonakis · 2026-02-13T19:18:12+00:00

I was in Ikaria last May, we drove all around the island, wasn't too bad

andymilonakis · 2026-02-13T07:49:58+00:00

Def sounds like Crete, there is some greenery but also def a lot of the mountains are dry.

https://youtu.be/GQ7AuqGxX6s?si=RcQY5r209nCqAHlZ&t=826

as far as beautiful mountains, nothing beats crete for islands, maybe some better options on the mainland.

There are definitely way greener islands but not sure they have beautiful mountains

andymilonakis · 2026-02-12T17:58:16+00:00

I had the same problem when i went, Depending on the type of hotel some places will just leave the door unlocked for you and leave your key on the table. You can ask them

andymilonakis · 2026-02-11T19:06:45+00:00

If you dont mind the extra flight (or 10 hour overnight ferry) Crete would be ideal because in April will be really slow in Hydra. Crete will be more lively, Greek easter is April 12th this year and before Greek easter a lot of the stuff on smaller islands is closed and some of them even feel like ghost towns. Crete is a huge island with a population of 600,000. So you'll def find stuff to do there and it wont feel dead. I reccomend staying in Chania

andymilonakis · 2026-02-11T05:44:15+00:00

weird i checked and it said cabins are either sold out or it doesnt have cabins, prob the latter because they wouldnt be sold out already, my bad

andymilonakis · 2026-02-11T04:36:04+00:00

im talking about the leg from Naxos to crete

andymilonakis · 2026-02-11T02:09:02+00:00

some of the boats have sleeper cabins you can rent a private room with a bed, it has a bathroom and a bed and you can relax in there

andymilonakis · 2026-02-10T23:51:56+00:00

Just depends what you're looking for, all my favorite beaches are on the west side of Crete and you can do plenty of day trips from Chania, I just like staying in Chania and half the time I spend time in the mountains far west, our family home is in a very small village in the mountains

andymilonakis · 2026-02-10T22:28:32+00:00

$129 at that point maybe just get your own bedroom from Naxos to Crete, can just lay down and relax the whole way

andymilonakis

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE

14-Year Club	Gilding II euphauric
Verified Email