Originally Posted by
ghia74
Thank you for the tips as well as advice on the islands. I gave him a link to the thread and will see if it persuades him to alter his itin. Airfare is already set, he will be there for 2 weeks starting the second week of August. I know half the time will be spent in Crete and Athens and he wanted to fit in 2 other spots thus my questions. I start my trip planning at FT while he prefers travel books, will see what happens.
For alternative destinations, I recommend one of the following (in order of my personal preference):
1) Corfu. Right mix of history, culture, sea and fun. Lots of great hotels at very reasonable prices to choose from. It's directly opposite Epirus, which is a very interesting area, too (Ioannina in particular is a city definitely worth a visit, as is Metsovo).
2) Thessaloniki. It's the country's second biggest city, and has an awful lot of heritage from ancient as well as byzantine times. As said before, the nightlife is great, and the food is absolutely phenomenal. Not really a beach option, though there are some nice ones in Halkidiki about 80-100 km away.
3) Peloponnese. The nightlife and tourism infrastructure are somewhat lacking, but prices are very affordable and it's a place that combines ancient monuments with great beaches. Patra is the only big city, but it's in the North when the best beaches are in the South.
4) Lesvos and/or Chios. Big islands, rich traditions including a blossoming ouzo industry which is certainly interesting for some of us, fresh seafood, and very clean seas without too many tourists. You can take the boat across to Turkey as well.