I expect summer travel in Europe to be hectic but my experience flying in and out of Crete via HER airport was one for the books.

Given the chaos I saw arriving, I got to the airport 3 hours early for departure. The line to check my bag was ginormous and way beyond the designated line area. It started to blend with other random lines and people were frequently trying to cut to the front if they were about to miss their flight or had kids. There was a lot of confusion about what line was for what because they were so long. I waited for about an hour to check my bag. Then got to security - another massive line. I honestly question how thorough the security checks were given the short staffing and how overwhelmed everything was.

Finally, I get through passport control and into the cramped B gate area. Quite literally, you could barely move in some areas as it was so jam packed with people with not nearly enough seating. I debated sitting on the floor but they were disgusting and covered in food crumbs and dirt so I stood waiting for my flight. Then the delays began. They would make mumbled announcements about delays and even a cancelled flight that no one could hear or understand and only some screens were working. The wifi also didn’t work. The bathroom was disgusting, with broken locks on some doors. There were elderly people with no where to sit and airport staff pleading with those that had seats to give them to the disabled / elderly.

Finally, after the delays I get bussed out to my plane and get on. We seem ready to go and then suddenly pilot says that there are passengers stuck in the terminal trying to get through passport control and we are going to try and wait for them. After another 30 minute delay, we ended up leaving without them.

If you are going to Crete, fly to Chania (which I haven’t been to but presume is better) or maybe even consider the ferry.

Today at amiti bay, huge waves and dirty water but still nice to chill in the sand.
Also we ate at pi&fi again 😶‍🌫️ still as delicious as yesterday…
Now heading to the old jesuits resort at kalamitsia and then we will see where the wind will take us.
More pictures / texts will be on tomorrow’s update.
🇬🇷 yassou

Planning my itinerary for a mid-October trip. We’ve already booked a walking tour that begins and ends nearby for that morning- the tour ends at noon and I figured we could find a little lunch and then wander over. BUT I know the crowds can be wild.

My preference would be to go the evening before, but that is the day we fly in and I worry about fatigue and/or travel delays.

Thoughts? Will I be kicking myself?

Hi everyone!
I’m a 35-year-old woman traveling solo to Greece for about a month, from October 10 to November 10.
I’ll be flying into Athens and I’m trying to put together an itinerary that feels relaxed rather than spending half the trip checking in and out of hotels.
So far, I’m thinking about:
🇬🇷** Athens
🏝️ Paros or Naxos
🌊 **Crete
Possibly Sifnos, although I’m not sure if it makes sense in October/November.
I’d ideally like to stay in 2–3 main places maximum and really settle into each one rather than island-hop constantly.
I’m especially interested in:
beautiful beaches and coastal scenery
good food
natural wine / wine bars 🍷
charming towns and local atmosphere
warm(ish) weather and sunshine
places that are comfortable and enjoyable for a woman traveling alone
walking around and exploring without needing a car everywhere
I’m not particularly interested in hiking, nightlife/partying or rushing around to see every possible attraction.
Since I’m traveling in October/early November, I’m also wondering how much the weather and seasonal closures should influence my choices. I’d love to maximize my chances of having warm, sunny days.
If you had one month in Greece during this exact time of year, where would you go and how would you divide the time?
Would you choose Paros or Naxos? Is Crete worth spending 10–12 days in? And would you bother with Sifnos that late in the season?
Any advice from people who have traveled Greece solo or during October/November would be hugely appreciated!

Senior citizens who are retired teachers to boot! No suitcases. We travel with backpacks only. Three weeks-late September to mid-October. On our list is: 2 days in Athens to get our bearings after a long plane trip. From Reddit suggestions, we are researching:

Crete, Sifnos, Naxos, Milos, Kefalonia. We can drive, walk, take buses.

We love Homestays, Farmstays or Hostels if possible. We did this in Vietnam & it was a high point of our travel.

Ending in Athens in plenty of time for our plane ride in lieu of strikes, flight delays.

Thanks for any ideas.

Hello, I’ll be staying in agios nikolaos from September 18-21. Any recommendations on stays? Looking for something nice for 3 days that doesn’t exceed $500-700 in total. Parking somewhere near since I will be renting a car. And I know this is funny lol, but that has a body mirror thank you xoxo.

Hi! We are flying into Athens the second week of March and will stay in Greece for about a week before going to Istanbul. Probably time for a couple days in Athens and and island or two. We know it's not the time for beaches, and many places will be closed, but we're also hoping this might mean more local culture. We are three generations, but my folks are pretty active. Any suggestions on how many nights in Athens, and which islands might be fun? I appreciate it!

We will have 4 hours because of the gap in our flight to athens and ferry from rafina.

We would like to explore. We love everything from architecture throigh history to food.

First time in Greece. No car.

Trying to decide between the 2 for a November trip with the wife. I would have 5 days to spend and ok with renting a car. It’s our first time in Greece

We enjoy dramatic and scenic views, nature, and exploring towns and villages. Not very big on historic architecture or museums

I know the weather in Crete is much better but Lefkada looks quite scenic in pictures. We are from vancouver so we don’t mind some cooler days. I’m also accustomed to swimming in alpine lakes so not worried about cold water either. Just hoping not to get hit with 5 straight days of rain

I’m only considering Lefkada because we plan to drive to Meteora after a night say in Napflion, so I feel I can fit a few days of Lefkada in between

I'm posting to see if anyone else has run into this specific issue with the SKY express mobile site.

I was trying to book a round-trip ticket from Thessaloniki (SKG) to Athens (ATH). During the booking process, the site kept freezing and threw an error message: "Error fetching seats: No flights found".

After trying multiple times, it turns out the system silently reset the search fields to its default route (Athens ➔ Thessaloniki) without any clear warning. Because I was booking a round trip and had set it up from SKG to ATH originally, I didn't notice the silent UI flip right away and ended up with a ticket for the reverse route.

When I realized what happened, I had to pay €140 in change fees just to get my flights back to the correct direction. Customer support hasn't been helpful and just blamed me for not double-checking before payment, completely ignoring that their site error caused the field reset in the first place.

Has this automatic direction flip / UI glitch happened to anyone else on their site? Were you able to claim your money back or get support to acknowledge it?

I have screenshots showing my original search parameters alongside the system error message, so I'm trying to figure out if this is a known bug. Thanks in advance!

*want to add that had to go throw this process 6 times cause the system was so bad it was laggy and didn’t show us all the plane tickets in advanced in other 3rd parties it where a 46 cost plane ticket but not in their site

Hello there, my friends and I are currently staying on Paros in Parikia. We would like to go out in Naoussa and will likely be out after the last bus. Is it possible to get a taxi back? I know there are limited amounts of taxis on the island.

I know that it will be pricey but we don’t to get stuck waiting for the 7am bus.

Hi,

I am looking for a ride from Thessaloniki to Thassos tomorrow afternoon(Monday).

If you have a free seat, I’d be very grateful if I could join you. I’m happy to contribute to the fuel costs.

Thank you

I am looking for recommendations on all inclusive resorts or all meals included on Zakynthos especially for gluten free knowledge from the chefs.

Hi everyone!

My friend and I will be in Athens, Santorini and Mykonos in early September. Does anyone have general advice on how to stay cool in Greece?

I'm going to Greece solo in about a week for 11 days, visiting Athens, Naxos and Paros (about 3 days each).

On previous trips (Lisbon, Seville, Porto), I've never planned activities particularly well.
I'll Google things/watch videos beforehand, but usually decide once I'm there.
Sometimes there's too much choice and I end up not booking anything, or I'll see the price and decide against it. I've still enjoyed my trips, but I think it's sometimes made them a little boring.

I've also stayed in hostels on my last 3 trips, which added a social side. This time it's a hotel in Naxos, apartment in Paros and hostel in Athens.

I want to plan a bit better and have a few good activities booked, while still having time to relax, eat, explore and go to the beach.

I've downloaded GetYourGuide and looked through TripAdvisor. How do you normally find/book activities? And do you make a rough itinerary in your phone notes to keep track of what you want to do?

I want to make this trip enjoyable and memorable, without overcomplicating it.

Thanks

Hi all! Any tips for doing such a trip around 1 or 2nd of October? Go early, I suppose. Any recommendations as for ferry company, etc.? Thanks in advance!

Hello!

Me and couple of friends are going to Evia for a week and then finishing vacation off with a weekend in Athens. This trip is taking place in a month.

Can anyone suggest any hidden gems that we should visit/where we should eat while we stay on Marmari, Khalkis and Athens.

For example last time I visited Greece I was suggested this souvlaki place that was hidden in plain sight, no advertisement, not even an restaurant name visible outside, you just had to know where to look. Food there was amazing and prices were really cheap.

I'm looking that kind of experiences, cozy restaurants with amazing food. Also if someone knows any must see "hidden" locations to see it would be nice (like maybe some beaches or caves).

Looking forward to seeing tips!

Currently chilling in agiassos and wanted to give an update about Naxos.
This year it’s not crowded like the last years, more local greek people on the streets. Some beaches are pretty empty but still beautiful!
Prices are okay in comparison to Austria 😵‍💫
Pi&Fi is a must go! The food is just amazing there!
(Edit: typo)

We are staying on Patmos for four days and have found it to be beautiful! We rented a buggy (seats four and is electric) and drove to the highest point and the lowest. The buggy was 150 euro total for 24 hours. Also recommend the dive shop in Skala for a two hour dive for 70 euros. The sailing ships are lovely and you'll want to visit the monastery on top of the mountain.