Greece Travel Guide

The oldest stories, still standing

The Parthenon on its rock, the oracle at Delphi, the theatre at Epidaurus where a whisper carries to the back row, the Minoan palace at Knossos and the lion gate at Mycenae. Almost nowhere else can you stand inside so much of what you were taught in school.

Islands enough for a lifetime

The whitewashed Cyclades, the green Ionians, the fortified Dodecanese and the wild Sporades — each group looks, cooks and feels different. Most people fall for one and go back to it every few years.

Food without pretension

Tomatoes that taste of something, grilled fish by the water, lamb slow-cooked in paper, feta that bears no relation to the supermarket version, and a habit of eating late, slowly and outdoors from May to October.

It is genuinely welcoming

Greek filoxenia — the hospitality owed to a stranger — is not a tourist-board slogan. English is widely spoken, visitors are treated well, and older travellers in particular are met with real courtesy.

Athens & the mainland

The classical capital, the oracle at Delphi, the monasteries of Meteora and the Peloponnese beyond.

• Athens Guild guide
• Thessaloniki
• Nafplio
• Kalambaka (Meteora)
• Delphi

The Cyclades

The whitewashed islands of the postcards — and several quieter ones beside them.

• Santorini Guild guide
• Mykonos Guild guide
• Naxos
• Paros
• Milos

Crete

A small country of its own — Venetian harbours, Minoan palaces, mountains and a long north coast of resorts.

• Crete — the full guide Guild guide
• Chania
• Rethymno
• Heraklion
• Agios Nikolaos

The Dodecanese & the east

Fortified medieval towns and long beaches, close enough to the Turkish coast to see it.

• Rhodes Guild guide
• Kos
• Symi
• Patmos

The Ionian islands

Green, mountainous and Venetian in feeling, off the west coast — a different Greece entirely.

• Corfu
• Kefalonia
• Zakynthos
• Lefkada

The Sporades & the north Aegean

Pine-covered islands and quiet harbours, best reached from Thessaloniki or Volos.

• Skiathos
• Skopelos
• Lesbos
• Samos

Athens and the mainland

Almost every trip begins in Athens, and it should. The Acropolis and its museum, the Ancient Agora, the National Archaeological Museum and the lanes of Plaka fill three unhurried days, and the historic core is compact enough to walk. Beyond it, Delphi sits on a mountainside above a sea of olive trees, Meteora lifts its monasteries onto pillars of rock, and the Peloponnese holds Mycenae, Epidaurus, Olympia and the pretty Venetian harbour town of Nafplio. Thessaloniki in the north is Greece’s second city and its best place to eat.

The Cyclades

These are the islands of the imagination — white cubes, blue domes, bare hillsides. Santorini is the spectacle, built around a flooded volcano; Mykonos is the sophisticated one, with the best restaurants and the loudest beaches. Both are crowded and expensive in summer, and both are quite different in late September. If you want the same light with a fraction of the fuss, Naxos, Paros and Milos are the names to look at, and all three are easier underfoot.

Crete and the Dodecanese

Crete is large enough to be a holiday on its own: the Venetian harbour at Chania, the Minoan palace at Knossos, the Samaria gorge, and a resort coast in the east around Elounda. Rhodes gives you a complete inhabited medieval city inside its walls, plus the hilltop acropolis at Lindos and beaches on both coasts. Both islands have full international airports, which makes them easy to combine with Athens without a long ferry.

The Ionians and the quieter north

On the west coast, Corfu, Kefalonia and Zakynthos are green, mountainous and Venetian in feeling, with more rain in winter and more shade in summer. North of them and east of the mainland, the Sporades and the big north Aegean islands see far fewer American visitors and reward anyone willing to slow down. None of these needs to be a first trip — but they are why people come back.

The Acropolis, early

Go at opening time or in the last two hours of the day. The climb is steep and uneven; there is a lift on the north side for visitors with limited mobility, and it is worth arranging in advance. Pair it with the Acropolis Museum below.

Delphi and Meteora

Two of the great sights of Europe and both easy day trips or a two-day loop from Athens. Delphi is a mountainside sanctuary above an olive valley; Meteora is a cluster of monasteries perched on rock pillars, reachable by road and steps.

A caldera sunset — away from the crush

Everyone crowds into Oia. Watch instead from Imerovigli, from a boat, or from your own terrace, and see Oia itself early in the morning when the lanes are empty and the light is better anyway.

Knossos and the Heraklion museum

The Minoan palace makes far more sense if you see it alongside the Archaeological Museum in Heraklion, which holds the frescoes and objects found there. Go early in summer; there is little shade.

The walled city of Rhodes

One of the best-preserved medieval towns in Europe, and still lived in. Walk the Street of the Knights in the morning before the cruise passengers arrive, and again after dinner when it is lit and almost empty.

A long Greek lunch

Not a joke. Find a taverna with a vine over the terrace, order more small plates than you think you want, and give it three hours. It is the single most Greek thing you can do, and it costs very little.

When to go

Late April to mid-June and mid-September to late October are the sweet spots: warm, bright, everything open and the crowds well below peak. July and August are hot and very busy, with island ferries full and prices at their highest. November to March is quiet and inexpensive on the mainland — Athens, Delphi, Meteora and Thessaloniki are all lovely in winter — but most island hotels close. Our month-by-month guide goes through it properly.

Getting there

Athens (ATH) is the main long-haul gateway, with direct flights from several North American cities in season and connections year-round. Thessaloniki (SKG), Heraklion (HER), Chania (CHQ), Rhodes (RHO), Corfu (CFU), Mykonos (JMK) and Santorini (JTR) take seasonal international and frequent domestic flights.

Ferries, honestly

Ferries are part of the romance and part of the difficulty. The big conventional ships are steady, comfortable and slow; the high-speed catamarans are quick, expensive and genuinely unpleasant in a swell — and the summer meltemi wind cancels them regularly in July and August. For most travellers over sixty, flying between Athens and the far islands and saving the ferries for short hops is the wiser plan.

Money and paperwork

The currency is the euro. Cards work almost everywhere, including contactless, but carry some cash for village tavernas, small islands and taxis. From 2026 the EU’s new entry system and, later, the ETIAS travel authorisation will apply to American and Canadian visitors — check the official requirements before you book, as the dates have moved more than once.

Which cities are genuinely walkable

Athens’ historic core, Chania’s harbour front, Rethymno and the New Town of Rhodes are all flat and easy. The Rhodes Old Town, Mykonos Chora and every caldera village on Santorini are cobbled, stepped or both. Marble paving in Plaka and whitewashed grout in the Cyclades both become slippery when wet — closed shoes with real grip matter more here than a guidebook will usually tell you.

Where flying beats the boat

Greece has no useful long-distance passenger rail, so the real choice is plane versus ferry. Fly Athens to Santorini, Mykonos, Crete or Rhodes: the flights are under an hour and cost little more than a fast ferry. Save the boats for short hops between neighbouring islands, and when you do sail, choose the large conventional ferry over a high-speed catamaran — it is far steadier, and the summer meltemi wind cancels the fast boats regularly.

Where summer crowds make spring or autumn the wiser trip

Santorini, Mykonos and the Rhodes Old Town are transformed by the season. In August they are hot, packed and expensive; in late September or early October the sea is still warm, the light is better, the rates fall by a third or more, and the same lanes are a pleasure. If your schedule allows any flexibility at all, use it here. Athens and Crete are more forgiving, but they too are better outside high summer.

Ask one question before booking any island hotel

“How many steps are there from the road or the car drop-off to my room, and does someone carry the luggage?” Good Greek hotels answer this precisely and without fuss. A hotel that gives you a vague answer is telling you something. This one question prevents more ruined holidays in the islands than any other piece of advice we know.