Anyone been to Greece?

unbeliever

I am seriously considering going to Greece for my next vacation. I have been looking at websites and they look like nothing but tourist traps. I plan to do the whole Athens tour but I want to check out some of the islands. I want to go where there is not a lot of tourists with a killer beach to spend the majority of my trip. Is that possible? I am not interested in any of the party islands like Mykonos or Ios. Any ideas??

greendawn

Unbeliever, I have been to Greece several times but as I understand it you are basically looking for an island that's not swamped by mass tourism every summer but has nice beaches.

There are quite a lot of islands but most of the ones I know (Crete, Rhodes, Santorini, Corfu, Mykonos, Zakynthos, Cos) are into mass tourism, except Thasos in the north which has a moderate number of tourists and nice beaches. There must be more but I don't know them.

In August I will be going to Samothraki a beautiful green unspoilt island but it has only a couple of beaches, just one accesible by road.

TooOpinionated

Well, my husband and I went there 10 years ago with a bunch of Witnesses, so that means I can't help you much since all we did was hit the tourist spots. Actually, we did enjoy it, and took the trip to Turkey to see Ephesus.

(Unless you want me to describe the meal we had at the Greek Bethal and the Watchtower study we did on the cruiseship. LOL )

LittleToe

I visited the Ionian sea, to the West (left ) of Greece.

I really enjoyed Zakynthos (Zante), but we're going back well over a decade, now. We stayed in Kalamaki, which was quieter, with Laganas further up the beach for when we fancied some nightlife or Scuba diving. We also saw Loggerhead turtles (an endangered species) on the beach
Car and bike rental is reasonable, allowing travel all over the island, but beware of the local wine which is refreshing but incredibly potent!!!

Kefalonia (the next island to the North) was even less commercialised, so may suit your tastes more. There are flights there from Athens.

Narkissos

I went in spring when it was not overcrowded. Keep wonderful memories of Athens, Corinth, Mykenes and especially Delphi. And many beautiful villages and havens at random. I'd like to visit the islands (we only got to Hydra which was close to the coast), especially Milos and Santorini, but not in summer!

scotsman

Try the Cyclades, they are lovely. I'd personally recommend Naxos and Milos as non touristy and full of Greeks. The blue of the Aegean is burned into my brain, it's as if the sea is full of indigo dye. I was on Zakynthos last year and although I enjoyed it, it is being overwhelmed by tourism. Kos is awful.

Mainland Greece is also lovely, Meteora is unlike anywhere else. And the Pelion peninsula is beautiful.

fairchild

I lived on the island Crete back in the mid eighties. Some parts were swamped with tourists, but other parts were beautiful and quiet. I've pretty much been around the world and lived in several countries on three different continents, but Greece beats it all. I loved everything about it. The friendliness of the people, the beauty, the food.... More and more people find their way to Greece, so it's tough to find quiet places, but even with tourists around, Greece will always remain my most favorite place. To me, no other place in the world can compare to it.