The best of Greece in 3 weeks

Most tourists head to Greece in search of the islands. They chase the romanticism of Santorini, the party spots in Mykonos or a combination of islands. Likewise, many fly to Athens to see the Acropolis and then head straight for the islands. (See my post on the best way to spend 3 days in Athens here.) However, I’m here to show you why you should consider an alternate approach and why I think this is the best way to spend 3 weeks in Greece!

This post is designed to show you how to plan a balanced 3 week trip to Greece. It includes the best of the mainland and your choice of islands. I’d highly recommend Hydra, Naxos & Santorini islands! It’s not possible to see all of the islands in 3 weeks but you can certainly see a few!

The Ultimate Mainland Greece Road Trip in 13 Days

The first part of the trip is detailed in my post The Ultimate Mainland Greece Road Trip! This showcases the best of mainland Greece in an itinerary traveling from Athens to Thessaloniki.

Highlights on the mainland include:

• Athens, the Acropolis and Lycabettus Hill
• Ancient Corinth
• Views from the Acrocorinth
• Epidaurus Great Theatre and museum
• Mycenae – The Lion’s Gate, Archaeological Site, Tomb of Agamemnon
• Nafplio port dinner and drinks and castles with a view
• Ancient Nemea
• Nemea winery tour
• Olympia, the birthplace of the Olympic Games
• Delphi Archaeological site – Temple of Apollo & Temple of Athena
• Mount Giona & Mount Parnassus
• Meteora Monasteries perched high on top of volcanic rocks
• Vikos Gorge hikes and the famous Vredeto Steps
• Lakeside views in Kastoria
• Views of Mt Olympus
• Trendy bars in Thessaloniki

Car Hire

I’d highly recommend hiring a car for your journey around the mainland. It provides much greater flexibility and will enhance your trip 100%! Click on the link below to find some great deals on a huge fleet of cars through Rentalcars.com. I’ve used this website frequently (for trips all over the world!) to find the best deals from many reputable car rental companies.

Greek Islands

If you follow the above mainland itinerary, your trip starts in Athens and concludes in Thessaloniki. Internal flights connect Thessaloniki to many of the Greek islands.

We chose to spend 2 nights on Naxos and 5 nights on Santorini but the choice of islands is yours!

In addition, the above mainland itinerary caters for an island hopping day trip from Athens to the small islands of Hydra, Aegina, Spetses and Poros. We chose just to spend our time with a full day on the laid back, no-cars-allowed, cobblestoned streets of Hydra. On this magical island we spent time drinking in the sunlight, visiting the beach and small shoreline bars and climbing to great heights!

Please see individual posts for logistical information including transport, accommodation, maps, money and language. We booked all our hotels (and sometimes quirky abodes) through Booking.com which is super easy to use and allows you to see all of your upcoming accommodation on a multi-stop holiday in one easy to view profile. (Check out its map function to show where hotels are based!) The below example is set up to browse for hotels in Plaka: the region I would highly recommend staying in Athens!

With a dedicated amount of time on the mainland and some time on the islands, this is definitely the best way to spend 3 weeks in Greece!