We wanted our first big Greece trip to include the places everyone dreams about, but we didn’t want to spend the entire vacation bouncing between only the most famous—and most expensive—Greek islands.
Santorini was non-negotiable. Staying in a white cliffside hotel in Oia and eating breakfast on the terrace had been one of Cori’s travel dreams for years.
But we also wanted hiking, beaches, Greek food, ancient history, smaller villages and at least one island that felt slower.
So we spent 12 nights traveling through Crete, Santorini, Naxos and Athens.
Our route: Chania → Heraklion → Santorini → Naxos → Athens
We spent $5,695 total for two people during the Greece portion of our trip, excluding our Seattle-to-Athens flights because we booked those using points.
Greece ended up being a 10/10 trip for us. But after doing this route ourselves, there are definitely a few things we’d change. That’s exactly what this guide covers: what we did, what it cost, what was worth spending money on and how we’d plan it differently next time.
Transparent Travelers note: We traveled in October 2025. Any prices mentioned are what we personally paid and can change, cheaper in shoulder season!
Our 12-Day Greece Route
Would we follow exactly the same route again? Almost. We’d spend more time in Chania, probably reduce or eliminate our stay in Heraklion unless Knossos was a major priority (we love history so it was a priority), and happily spend four nights in Naxos instead of three. The pacing worked, but it was right on the edge of being too busy.
What Our Greece Trip Cost
One of the biggest reasons we created The Transparent Travelers is because we want to know what trips actually cost—not just see beautiful itineraries with no numbers attached.
| Category | Total |
|---|---|
| Transportation | $2,045 |
| Hotels + Airbnb | $1,650 |
| Food | $1,080 |
| Tours + experiences | $725 |
| Souvenirs | $195 |
| Total | $5,695 |
We used 70,000 Air France points for our flights from Seattle to Athens, and we also used Hilton points for our Athens hotel. We intentionally traveled in October, near the end of the main tourist season, which helped us find lower hotel prices than we were seeing for peak summer.
We were not trying to do Greece as cheaply as possible. Our philosophy is more about value. We paid $440 a night for our Santorini hotel—and also ate €13 dinners. We paid for a guided Acropolis experience but later found an incredible nighttime view of it for free. Some things were worth spending more on. Others weren’t.
Days 1–3: Chania, Crete
If we returned to Crete tomorrow, we’d base ourselves in Chania again. Crete is huge compared with many Greek islands, and we loved how much variety there was: beaches, hiking, history, cities, villages and great food. Crete needs to be on more people’s list!
Where we stayed
We stayed at Vilelmine Hotel right in Chania Old Town and paid just $180 total for three nights. We loved it. It was clean, safe, walking distance to basically everything in Old Town and much cheaper than we expected for such a convenient location. Staying directly in Old Town can cost more than staying outside the center, but on a short trip we think the location is worth it.
What we did
Our first day was mostly about exploring Chania. We walked through Old Town and along the harbor to the lighthouse, visited the Archaeological Museum and ate breakfast at Fresh Point Juice Bar, which we liked enough to return to the next morning.
For dinner we went to Pallas, a nicer rooftop restaurant where we spent about €60 on catch of the day and lamb shank. Pricey compared with many of our meals in Greece, but worth it for the food and setting.
The next day, we rented a car and drove about 80 minutes to Elafonisi Beach.
We arrived around 10:30 a.m. and it was surprisingly calm. By noon, the beach was packed. Our biggest Elafonisi advice: go early and don’t plan to eat there.
We thought the food near the beach was overpriced and not very good. Instead, we drove to Elos Village afterward and had baked goat, moussaka and dolmades for €22. That was a much better meal.
On our final Chania day, we drove toward Imbros Gorge and hiked about five miles before continuing to Heraklion. Loved this hike. Originally we planned to do the famous Samaria Gorge hike but the logistics of catching a ferry we didn’t want to deal with and we didn’t have extra time so we wanted to go somewhere we could drive. This was one of the biggest benefits of renting a car: our travel day became an actual adventure instead of just moving between hotels.
What we’d change
We’d stay another night. There was so much more of western Crete we could have explored, and Chania was one of the places we were most disappointed to leave.
Days 4–5: Heraklion, Crete
Heraklion wasn’t our favorite stop, but it served a specific purpose. We wanted to see Knossos Palace, one of the most important archaeological sites connected to the ancient Minoan civilization, birth place of European civilization.
We paid €20 per person to enter and downloaded an inexpensive audio guide. We’re glad we did because having context made the ruins much more interesting than simply walking through on our own.
Afterward, we went to the Kleanthi Olive Oil Museum for a tour and tasting. This ended up being one of our favorite smaller experiences of the entire trip. The tasting included olive oil, breads, cheese, olives, meat and tomatoes, and we bought several bottles to bring home.
We still make Greek salads with that olive oil during the summer, which is probably the best endorsement we can give it.
Would we stay in Heraklion again?
Probably not for two nights. We don’t regret going because we wanted to see Knossos and loved the olive oil experience. But if those things aren’t priorities for you, we’d stay longer in Chania and skip the hotel move. That one change would also make this entire itinerary feel more relaxed.
Days 6–7: Santorini
Santorini was easily the biggest splurge of the Greece portion of our trip. And we’re glad we did it.
Getting there
We took SEAJETS from Heraklion to Santorini, paying about $90 per person. The ferry took roughly 1 hour and 40 minutes.
One warning: Bags are organized by destination, and the boarding process can feel a little chaotic the first time.
Our Oia hotel splurge
We spent $880 for two nights at Armenaki Santorini. Could you stay in Santorini for much less? Absolutely.
But this particular splurge mattered to us because Cori had dreamed about staying in one of the white cliffside hotels in Oia and eating breakfast outside on a private terrace. Armenaki gave us exactly that.
Breakfast was delivered to our terrace, we had our own pool, and the hotel itself became one of the experiences of the trip. Expensive? Yes. Worth it to us? Also yes. We honestly spent a lot of time enjoying our beautiful room, got every dollar out of our stay!
That’s an important distinction with budget-luxury travel. We don’t think expensive experiences are automatically wasteful if they’re something you’ll genuinely remember.
How we handled Oia crowds
Our favorite time in Oia was early morning. We walked around, shopped and took photos before the cruise-ship crowds arrived. By midday, the main streets became much busier.
Instead of staying in the crowds, we walked down to Ammoudi Bay, had lunch, went cliff jumping and spent the whole afternoon near the water before returning to our hotel to get ready for dinner.
Explore early, leave during the busiest hours, then come back for sunset.
What we’d change
Two nights was enough for the specific trip we planned because we wanted to enjoy our hotel and experience Oia. If we wanted to explore more of Santorini, we’d stay three nights and add a boat day around the island.
Now that we’ve had our bucket-list Oia experience, though, we probably wouldn’t repeat the exact same Santorini trip. There are too many other Greek islands we still want to see.
Days 8–10: Naxos
Santorini was the bucket-list stop. Naxos was the place we wanted to stay longer.
It felt slower, easier and more like we were experiencing everyday Greek island life instead of primarily visiting a famous destination.
Where we stayed
We spent $281 for three nights at Hotel Grotta, and it was one of our favorite hotel values of the trip. It’s locally run, the staff were wonderful, the breakfast was huge and full of local foods, and we could easily walk into Naxos Town. They also provided a free ferry transfer and helped arrange our rental car. We’d absolutely stay again.
Explore the island by car
We rented a car for a day and drove inland to hike Mount Zas. The hike was around four miles and took us about three hours including time at the top. There’s very little shade, so bring plenty of water and sun protection.
Afterward, we stopped in Filoti for lunch at Amvrosia before driving to Plaka Beach for the afternoon. That was probably one of our favorite days of the trip because it had everything we like: hiking, a small town, good food and a beach.
Our Naxos sailing day
The next day we went sailing with Actionseaze Sailing. GetYourGuide had the tour listed around $130 per person, but we ended up paying the company €100 per person directly in cash.
There were only around eight other people on the boat, lunch was included and we stopped twice to swim. We loved it. This was one of the experiences where spending the extra money felt completely worth it.
What we’d change
We’d stay four nights instead of three. That’s probably the simplest recommendation in this entire itinerary.
Days 11–12: Athens
Athens was a major shift after the islands. It’s a big city, and different neighborhoods can feel completely different from each other.
Our hotel—Adia Aluma Athens, Curio Collection by Hilton—was modern and nice, and we booked it with points. But if we returned, we’d choose a different area. We loved Plaka and would stay there next time because it felt charming, lively and easy to walk around.
The Acropolis
We paid about €90 per person for a guided Acropolis and museum tour. For us, having a guide at the Acropolis itself was worth paying for. Understanding the history made the experience much more meaningful. The museum portion felt long to us personally. If you love museums and archaeology, you’ll probably feel differently, but we’d prioritize the guided Acropolis experience. (Ours was 2 hours outside seeing the ruins and 2 hours in the museum)
Afterward we explored Plaka and the Monastiraki Flea Market, ate Greek food and stopped at Krinos, which has been serving donuts since 1923.
That night, we went to Areopagus Hill for views of the illuminated Acropolis. There are plenty of rooftop restaurants selling the Acropolis view, but this one was free—and incredible.
How We Got Around Greece
| Route | Transportation | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle → Athens | Air France | 70,000 points |
| Athens → Chania | Aegean Airlines | $136/person |
| Crete rental car | Local company | $30/day |
| Heraklion → Santorini | SEAJETS | $120/person |
| Santorini → Naxos | SEAJETS | $85/person |
| Naxos → Athens | SEAJETS | $89/person |
One of our biggest Greece transportation lessons was: don’t automatically assume a ferry is better than flying.
For a short island hop, ferries are great. But if you’re looking at a four- to six-hour ferry, check flights too. We found some routes where flying cost close to the same amount and took a fraction of the time. When you only have 12 days, time has value too.
Where We Stayed
| Destination | Hotel | Nights | Cost | Would We Stay Again? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chania | Vilelmine Hotel | 3 | $180 | Yes |
| Heraklion | Airbnb | 2 | $165 | We’d stay longer in Chania |
| Santorini | Armenaki Santorini | 2 | $880 | Yes, for a splurge |
| Naxos | Hotel Grotta | 3 | $281 | Absolutely |
| Athens | Adia Aluma Athens | 2 | Points | Hotel yes; different area |
Best location: Vilelmine in Chania
Best splurge: Armenaki in Santorini
Best value: Hotel Grotta in Naxos
What we’d change: stay in Plaka in Athens
Transparent Traveler Tips
After 12 nights in Greece, we’d absolutely recommend this route—with a few small changes.
- Spend more time in Chania. If Knossos isn’t a priority, we’d skip staying in Heraklion and add that night to Chania.
- Give Naxos an extra night. Three nights was enough to hike, explore by car and sail, but it was the island where we most wanted to slow down.
- Two nights in Santorini worked for us. If you want a boat day or more island exploring you could make it three but we would say it is not worth the money.
- Don’t squeeze in another island. We loved the variety, but this itinerary was right on the edge of being too much.
- Compare ferries and flights. On longer routes, a short flight may be worth the extra cost.
- Go early to the famous spots. Early mornings made a huge difference in Oia and at Elafonisi—fewer crowds, better photos and a much calmer experience.
Overall, Crete → Santorini → Naxos → Athens was an incredible first Greece trip for us. We’d keep the same general route, just slow it down slightly in Chania and Naxos.
Final Thoughts
Greece gave us exactly what we wanted from this trip: iconic places, quieter moments, incredible food, history, beaches, hiking, and a few splurges that genuinely felt worth it.
Of all the countries we’ve traveled to, Greece is one we already know we want to come back to as soon as we can. The people were incredibly kind, the food was amazing—especially anything straight off the grill—the history is almost hard to wrap your head around, and the water is some of the most beautiful we’ve ever seen.
There is just so much to experience here, and 12 days only made us want more. From Athens, we flew to Istanbul to continue the trip with 8 days in Turkey, starting a completely different part of the adventure.
Leave a Reply