Complete Greece Travel Guide: Athens, Santorini, Mykonos & Crete

Greece unfolds in layers, from ancient cities and iconic islands to quiet coastlines few travellers discover. A capital city three thousand years deep. Whitewashed cliffs and black-sand beaches sit a short flight away, and beyond them waits a quieter southern coastline that most itineraries skip entirely. Most first-time visitors try to fit in everything and end up rushing through all of it. Picking fewer stops means seeing far more of each one.

Athens, Santorini, Mykonos and Crete cover most of Greece’s holiday bookings out of Ireland between them, and each one suits a genuinely different kind of trip. This guide breaks down where to go, how to get between islands, and what a realistic budget looks like.

Why Visit Greece?

Few countries mix ancient history and beach holidays quite well. The Acropolis still stands right in the middle of a modern capital. A short flight or ferry away, a different kind of day waits: dinner over a caldera, or an afternoon on a beach far quieter than anything in southern Europe’s big resort towns. Food makes its own case too: fresh seafood, local wine, and a slower pace at the table than most package holidays allow. Prices tend to run lower than in Italy or the south of France for a similar standard of hotel. That gap explains a good deal of why Greece holidays keep climbing the list of Irish summer bookings.

Best Places to Visit in Greece

Athens works best as a two- or three-day stop rather than a full week. The Acropolis and its museum anchor the visit. The Plaka district below it rewards a slow wander in its own right. Summer traffic and heat build through the afternoon, which makes mornings the better bet for sightseeing. The 24 hours in Athens itinerary maps out a single well-planned day here, and the history of ancient Greece guide covers the mythology behind the city.

Santorini’s caldera view sells the island before visitors even land. Oia gets most of the postcards. Fira and Imerovigli catch nearly the same sunset with fewer crowds and a shorter walk back to the hotels along the rim. The best time to visit Greece guide compares June against September for that exact view, and the best sunsets in Santorini post names the viewpoints beyond the obvious ones.

Mykonos runs on a different energy than Santorini: louder, with more nightlife, and beach clubs that fill by early afternoon. Little Venice and the windmills cover the postcard side of the island in under an hour. Paradise Beach and Psarou handle the beach side, each drawing its own distinct crowd. Mykonos has a quieter side too, and the things to do in Mykonos guide points toward the corners that stay off the usual Instagram feed.

Crete stands apart from the rest of this list, big enough to feel like its own country. Mountains, gorges and cities fill out an interior that stays largely unknown to most Cycladic-island visitors. Chania’s old harbour sits at one end of the island, the Samaria Gorge hike at the other. Picking one end over both makes a short trip far more workable.

Getting Around Greece

Athens connects to Santorini, Mykonos and Crete in under an hour by air, and flying beats the ferry for anyone short on time or prone to seasickness. A handful of ferry operators cover most of the popular islands too, with high-speed routes cutting a five-hour crossing down to two or fewer. Within Athens, a reliable metro reaches the airport and most major sites. Out on the islands, a hire car or scooter tends to beat local buses for flexibility, and a standard Irish driving licence already covers Greece. Seats, ferry spots and rental cars all run tight through peak season. Booking early pays off everywhere.

Suggested Greece Itineraries

Five days suits one island, or Athens paired with a single nearby island: two nights in the capital and three on Santorini balance history and beach at an easy pace. A week opens up real combinations. Athens, Santorini and Mykonos fit comfortably into seven days with two to three nights each, linked by a short flight or fast ferry. Crete alone fills the same week too, at a slower pace. Ten days covers the full set: Athens for history first, then island-hopping between Santorini, Mykonos and possibly Crete, with the extra days going toward slower mornings rather than squeezing in another destination.

Budgeting Your Greece Holiday

Flights from Ireland to Athens generally start around €150-€300 return outside peak season. Mid-range hotels run €80-€150 a night on the mainland, more on Santorini and Mykonos. Inter-island flights or ferries add €30-€100 per person, per leg, and package holidays that bundle flights and hotels together often undercut booking each piece separately. Card machines stay patchy on the smaller islands. Cash still earns its place in the budget alongside a card.

Conclusion

Greece rewards a trip built around fewer stops rather than more. A capital steeped in history, a caldera built for sunsets, a livelier island for nightlife, a mountainous outlier for hikers: each one earns more than a rushed afternoon. Travelodeal packages Greece holidays with flights and hotels together, turning a shortlist like this one into a booked trip in a few clicks.

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