10 nights / 11 days · Hellenic Republic

Mykonos, Santorini and Crete

Eleven days from Athens to Mykonos, Delos and Santorini, then Crete for Knossos, closing with the overnight ferry to Piraeus.

Plan this trip See the day-by-day

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Duration: 10 nights / 11 days
Where you stay: Athens → Mykonos → Santorini → Heraklion
Style: Multi-city

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About this trip

The long one, and the only package here that reaches Crete. Two nights in Athens, three on Mykonos with a boat tour to Delos, two on Santorini, then the ferry on down to Heraklion for the Minoan palace at Knossos and two nights in a city most island-hoppers never get to.

It ends the way Greek travel used to: a night crossing from Heraklion up to Piraeus, arriving in the morning with a car waiting on the dock. That is nine hotel nights and one at sea, and the ferry night is doing real work — it saves a day and a hotel.

What you go for

Delos by boat, uninhabited and left as it was found
Knossos with a guide, the Bronze Age palace of the Minoans
Three islands and the mainland without a single domestic flight
The overnight ferry from Heraklion to Piraeus

The route

Day by day

Times are the operator's planned schedule. They shift with the season, the light and the traffic on the day.

Day 1
Arrival in Athens
On arrival
Athens International Airport
Met after baggage reclaim and driven into the city privately. Check in at your four-star hotel; the evening is yours.
Day 2
Athens sightseeing
Morning
The ceremonial city, by coach
A half-day seat-in-coach tour with a guide. It opens at the Panathenaic Stadium, the marble horseshoe rebuilt in Pentelic marble for the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, then the Hellenic Parliament and the changing of the guard at the Monument to the Unknown Soldier, where the Evzones do the drill in full dress.
Seen from the coach
Passing sights rather than stops: the surviving columns of the Temple of Olympian Zeus, Hadrian's Arch on the old boundary between the Greek city and the Roman one, the neoclassical run of the Academy, the University and the National Library, and Syntagma Square.
Acropolis and Acropolis Museum
The two stops where you get out and walk. Up the rock for the Parthenon, the Propylaea, the Temple of Athena Nike and the Erechtheion, then down the hill to the museum built to hold what came off it, with the Parthenon gallery on the top floor aligned to the temple itself.
Afternoon
Free. Entrance fees are not in the package price and are paid on the day; the rest of the day is your own.
Day 3
Athens to Mykonos
Overnight: Mykonos
Morning
Breakfast, then a private transfer from the hotel to Piraeus.
The crossing
A shared ferry across to Mykonos, and a transfer to your three-star hotel on arrival. The rest of the day is free.
Day 4
Delos
Overnight: Mykonos
Full day
The island of Apollo
A shared boat across the strait to Delos, birthplace of Apollo and Artemis in the myth and, in fact, a sanctuary that grew into one of the busiest trading ports of the Aegean before it was abandoned. Nobody lives there now: it is a field of house foundations, floor mosaics and the terrace of lions, and the boat times are the shape of the day.
Day 5
Mykonos at leisure
Overnight: Mykonos
Full day
Nothing scheduled. Beaches on the south coast, the lanes and shops of Chora, and a long lunch of Mykonian cooking somewhere near the water.
Day 6
Mykonos to Santorini
Overnight: Santorini
Morning
Breakfast, then a transfer from your hotel to the port of Mykonos.
The crossing
A shared ferry south to Santorini and a transfer up to your three-star hotel. The evening is free.
Day 7
Santorini
Overnight: Santorini
Full day
A free day on the caldera. Oia at the northern tip, Fira along the rim, Pyrgos inland and above both of them, and the black and red beaches on the far coast. No tour or vehicle is held for the day, so plan it around the local buses or a car.
Day 8
Santorini to Heraklion
Overnight: Heraklion
Morning
Breakfast, then a transfer from your hotel to the port of Santorini.
South to Crete
A shared ferry down to Heraklion and a private transfer to your four-star hotel.
Evening
Free, and the old centre is the walk to take: the Venetian harbour and the Koules fortress at the end of the mole, the Morosini fountain with its lions, and the loggia.
Day 9
Knossos
Overnight: Heraklion
Morning
The palace of Knossos
A guided tour of the largest Bronze Age site on Crete, the seat of the Minoans and the labyrinth of the Minotaur story. Arthur Evans rebuilt sections of it in concrete a century ago, in red and black, which is either vandalism or the only reason a visitor can read the plan, depending on who is guiding you.
Afternoon
Back into Heraklion, and the rest of the day is your own.
Day 10
Heraklion, then the night ferry
Overnight: Overnight ferry, Heraklion to Piraeus
Full day
Heraklion at your own pace: the market street, the beaches east of the city, or the traditional villages inland.
Evening
The night crossing
A private transfer to the port of Heraklion and the overnight ferry north to Piraeus.
Day 11
Piraeus and departure
Morning
The ferry berths at Piraeus. Our assistant meets you at the dock with a private vehicle for the transfer to Athens International Airport and your flight home or onward.

Where you stay

Hotel options

Pick a line and the whole trip is costed against it, so you can see what the difference actually buys.

4★ and 3★
- President Hotel or similar, Athens (4★)
- New Aeolos Hotel or similar, Mykonos (3★)
- Amelie Hotel or similar, Santorini (3★)
- Castello City Hotel or similar, Heraklion (4★)
Quoted on enquiry

Per person, twin share. Land only — international flights are not included. Rates move with the season, the number of you travelling and the hotel line you choose, so we confirm the final figure against your dates before anything is booked.

The detail

What is included

Included

Two nights at a four-star hotel in Athens.
Three nights at a three-star hotel on Mykonos.
Two nights at a three-star hotel on Santorini.
Two nights at a four-star hotel in Heraklion.
Nine breakfasts.
Shared guided tours in Athens, on Delos and in Heraklion.
The Delos tour by boat.
Shared ferry tickets between the islands.
Private and shared transfers as set out above.
A 24-hour emergency contact number.

Not included

International flights.
Entrance fees to archaeological sites, unless specified.
Personal expenses and optional activities.
Travel insurance.
Meals and drinks, unless specified.
Tour leader.
City tax.
Gratuities.

Entry rules, tourism taxes and health requirements change without notice and depend on your passport. Everything above is confirmed by our operations desk before your booking is finalised.

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