Greece...can Anyone Recommend???

I have never been but my parents took a small cruise in the Aegean Sea and actually went swimming. The boat only held maybe 15-20 people, no kids. They loved Greece.

I agree with staying in Athens for 2 days to see most everything there. Our family lives on Kefalonia and I just love it there. (It is the island Captian Correlis Mandalin was filmed.) Not too huge, but lareg enough. In August they have a few really fun festivals. Robola winery has a great festival where much traditional greek dancing takes place and all the wine you can drink and food you can eat. It is the opposite side of Greece than most of the post cards. Santorini is an Island I want to go our next trip. It is the one with white houses/blue roofs. You can't go wrong. Safe travels.

Hi N..
I am Greek and grew up spending summers in Greece. I love every bit of Greece. Here is what I would suggest...
Santorini, Crete, Rhodes, and Mykonos are all beautiful and very touristy islands. Great restaurants, bars, shopes, etc.
Athens gets very congested, but I still love it! Parthenon, tomb of the unknown soldier and fantastic museums. Also make sure you go to Sounio at night to catch what is said to be the "most beautiful sunset in the world". You can also take small day trips to the smaller islands near athens, like aegina and paros. If you have time you might also want to visit Olympia and see the original olympic stadium. As far as food goes, I am a huge fan of a true greek/village salad. Tomatoes, cucumbers, feta and vinegar and oil. The french fries with crumbled cheese are also great. Have a wonderful trip and send me a pm if you want more info!

Hi N.
I actually lived in greece for two years and hope I can be of help. You will most likely fly into Athens and if you are interested in site seeing plan to stay two days. That's really all you need to get adjusted to the time change and see the Acropolis. The Platka is the city center/tourist area. Great restaurants and shopping here. Then go out to one of the islands for the rest of the time. They are beautiful and really it doesn't matter which one you pick they are all wonderful. I don't know when your anniversary is but I would go in May or September. The summer can be pretty harsh and by that I mean hot, real hot. Also August is the Greeks holiday month and that's when everything shuts down and they all go out to the islands. Have a great trip!

Greece is lovely. I liked visiting Nauplion. But I agree regarding the islands. My favorite is Rhodes. (And if you can, even my Greek friends say to go to Turkey: Istanbul, Ephesus, Cappadoccia) Opa!

I just saw your question...I visited Greece about 5 years ago and planned the entire trip myself. My husband and I still say that it was the best vacation we ever took. Here's what we did (and a lot of my research came from virtualtourist.com and tripadvisor.com): We flew into Athens but then caught a flight to Rhodes and stayed in the town of Lindos (Lindos Sun Hotel). We rented a car there and explored a lot of the island. We stayed there for 4 nights, then we flew to Santorini, which was beautiful. We stayed at Esperas hotel in the town of Oia. We only rented a car for a day there to explore the island - visited some wineries, ruins, and beaches. We did an island day trip to Thira while in Santorini. We stayed 4 nights in Santorini, then took a fast ferry (2.5 hr trip) to Mykonos. There we vistited Delos Island (cool ruins), stayed for 3 nights, then we flew to Athens and stayed there just for a night. This gave us enough time to explore the major sites (Acropolis, Parthenon).

We went in the beginning of September, and stayed for 2 weeks. The weather was perfect, and it wasn't crowded there.

Santorini is the best! We stay at the Arresana(sp?). It comes with a wonderful breakfast,the french toast is to die for. It is located perfectly to get to shops restaurants and the bus to the other side of the island. You need at least 3-4 days there. We love a restaurant called Archapeligo . Ask at the desk of the hotel for directions, it's not far. You can do a tour of the black beach at Perissa and Akrotiri.
Athens is very air polluted. You need 2-3 days tops to see everything.
September is the perfect time to go. 80's in the daytime and cooler at night for good sleeping.
We stay on the island of Crete for most of our time . It's very laid back on quiet.
If you don't know the language even though most people speak English maybe you would enjoy a cruise of Greece and Italy . The rooms are very expensive in Greece now and getting from one island to the next can be difficult and frustrating if you are on a time limit. Italy is my favorite place in the world. If you can get a cruise with both I know you would be happy. You wouldn't have to pack and unpack . I bet it would be more relaxing.
Have fun!

I have been to corfu twice and crete once - crete has knossos palace and some other ruins which are incredibly interesting.

i have never been to the greek mainland, but i am sure it would be just as great.

the greek islands are all pretty tiny, you can drive around them in a couple of hours, so that may bore you and the mainland may be better for you.

greece is very hot and dry, it is not what i would call beautiful scenicly, but the beaches are nice for the most part, if you go inland away from the beaches life is stil very traditional, with donkeys everyhere and old ladies in their black robes (they must be boiling!)
in the summer the greek islands are chock a block full of european tourists ( i know this coz i was one of them lol), but you may not mind that.
baklava baklava baklava - eat it, a lot

Santorini is beautiful. we just lounged around by the pool for the most part but they do have a winery there which was cool to visit.