Italy
Amalfi Coast · Rome
The coast without the coach tours — small hotels, boat transfers between towns, tables held before you land.
Explore Italy
Europe
Greece
Caldera-view rooms, long dinners in Oia, and ferry timings that decide whether a day works or falls apart.
- Best months
- May, June, September, October
- Typical length
- 7–12 nights
- Flight time
- ~10h from the US East Coast
- Climate
- Mediterranean
The overview
Greece is really two trips in one. The islands deliver the view everyone came for — whitewashed villages stacked above a flooded volcanic caldera — while the mainland holds the archaeology and the food culture. Most first visits pair Athens with one or two islands, and the pairing you choose matters more than the hotel.
Why go
- Santorini's caldera is a genuinely rare piece of geography, and a west-facing room turns every evening into an event.
- Mykonos and Santorini feel nothing alike — one is nightlife and beach clubs, the other is scenery and quiet dinners.
- The ferry network makes island-hopping realistic, provided someone builds the schedule around real sailing times.
- Shoulder season is warm, swimmable and dramatically less crowded than August.
Worth your time
Caldera sunsets
Oia draws the crowd, but Imerovigli and Firostefani offer the same westward view with room to breathe.
Island-hopping by ferry
High-speed and conventional ferries run on very different schedules and cancel in high winds. Sequence matters.
Athens before the islands
The Acropolis and its museum are best early in the morning, and Athens has become a serious food city in its own right.
Sailing the caldera
Half-day catamaran trips reach the hot springs and swim stops you cannot get to from shore.
Where to base yourself
- Santorini
- Scenery and romance. Caldera-side villages for views; Kamari and Perissa for beach access.
- Mykonos
- Beach clubs, nightlife and a walkable old town. Livelier and generally pricier.
- Athens
- Two nights is usually enough to cover the classical sites and eat well.
- Crete
- Much larger and less crowded, with real Greek daily life and a longer season.
Where to stay
Property recommendations for Greece come from Shanair directly rather than from a list — which resort or hotel is right depends on your party, your dates and your budget. That is the first thing the consultation call covers.
Get Greece recommendationsThings worth knowing
- Santorini's cliffside villages involve a lot of steps. If mobility is a consideration, room location matters more than the hotel.
- Ferries can be cancelled for wind, so never schedule an international flight for the same day as an island crossing.
- The euro is the currency, and cards are widely accepted, though small tavernas may prefer cash.
- Confirm current passport validity and entry requirements before booking — rules change and are the traveler's responsibility.
Thinking about Greece?
Tell us your dates and who's coming, and you'll get honest advice on whether it's the right time to go — before you spend anything.