10 Days in Greece: Itinerary with Athens, Meteora, Mykonos, Naxos and Santorini

Halfway through the trip, the stone of Delphi is still on your shoes and a ferry horn is sounding across a Cycladic harbor. This itinerary links the mainland sights of Athens, Delphi and Meteora with three islands in the Cyclades: Mykonos, Naxos and Santorini. It is written for a first visit that wants ancient sites, monasteries and island time in one loop.

Is 10 Days enough for Greece?

Ten days is enough for one well-chosen loop, and not enough for the whole country. This route takes in the capital, two mainland landmarks and three Cycladic islands. It leaves out the large islands and the far corners, which are better kept for another trip.

The mainland half is about stone and altitude. Athens has the Plaka neighborhood, which is described as a top attraction with its streets, historic landmarks and shops. Delphi was considered the navel of the Earth in antiquity and housed the most important oracle of ancient Greece. Meteora is where monasteries sit on top of rock towers, and that is the thing that makes the area so special.

The island half is about contrast. Mykonos is nicknamed the island of the winds. Naxos is the largest and most fertile island of the Cyclades, and Zas on Naxos is the highest mountain of the group. Santorini is the southernmost member of the Cyclades, built around a caldera, with an active volcano.

What stays out is Crete, the largest Greek island by both area and population, with dishes such as dakos (barley rusks with tomato), gamopilafo (a rich wedding rice) and kalitsounia (small cheese pastries). Rhodes, Lesbos and Evia, the next largest islands, also wait for a longer stay. Packing in one more island would mean more days spent in ports and fewer on the ground, so the plan here keeps to a few places and gives each a full stay.

One point on timing: Mykonos has its best stretch from mid-May through June and from September through mid-October, while July and August are extremely crowded there. The loop works in other months too, and the section on adapting the route says what changes.

The itinerary stage by stage

Days 1 to 2: Athens

Start in Athens and let the city set the pace. The Plaka neighborhood is where most visitors head first, with its lanes, historic landmarks and small shops, and it gets crowded, so a wander there is about the atmosphere rather than ticking off sights. Sleep in or near Plaka if you want to step out of your door into that scene.

The Athens Metro and the tram make it possible to cover the city without a car. The tram’s two routes run from Syntagma, one to Pikrodafni and the other from Akti Poseidonos to Asklepieio Voulas.

Eat a long lunch at a taverna, order meze (small shared plates) and finish with a coffee at a kafenio. The second day is for the ancient sites you most want to see and for a slow evening before the road trip.

Days 3 to 5: Delphi and Meteora

Day 3 goes to Delphi, an ancient sacred precinct on the southwestern slope of Mount Parnassus in Phocis, in central Greece. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The modern town sits very close to the archaeological site and spreads across two streets lined with small traditional houses, hotels and tavernas, so you can sleep there and dine in a taverna after the walk among the ruins.

Days 4 and 5 belong to Meteora, in Thessaly, with Kalabaka as your base. The town is built at the foothills of the rocks, on the left bank of the Pinios river, and serves as a gateway to the monasteries. Six monasteries are still standing, and the complex has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1988. You walk and look up at the rock towers, and you visit the monasteries themselves.

The village of Kastraki is also near, and it gives you a second place to stay if Kalabaka is full. After Meteora the trip turns toward the sea, with a return by road to Athens and the Aegean ports.

Days 6 to 7: Mykonos

Mykonos lies between Tinos, Syros, Paros and Naxos, in the heart of the Cyclades. The island is small, with a highest point of 1,119 feet, so two days are enough to feel it. Its nickname, the island of the winds, is a reminder that the weather outdoors can be breezy.

Stay in the main town (the chora, as Greek islanders call their principal village) and spend the first day on foot among its lanes, with a seafood lunch by the water. Keep the second day open for a beach, a drive around the island or simply a long café stop. If you travel at the right time, mid-May to June or September to mid-October, the island is far less packed than in midsummer.

Day 8: Naxos

Naxos is the largest island in the Cyclades, with an area of 170 square miles, and it is also the most fertile. That fertility shows on the table: potatoes, cheeses and vegetables are the stars of local tavernas, and a lunch of grilled meat, salad and local cheese suits the island well.

You arrive at the port of Chora, which is too small for cruise ships, so it keeps the feel of a working island harbor. With one day you can stay in Chora, wander its old quarter and eat by the water. Zas, the highest mountain of the Cyclades, rises on the island, and you can look up at it even if you do not plan a hike.

Days 9 to 10: Santorini

The final stage is Santorini, the largest island of a small circular archipelago formed by the caldera. In ancient times it was known as Thera. It has an active volcano, a wild natural wonder, and visitors can stay on the caldera rim, so choose a room along the rim if you want the view from your own balcony.

Spend the first day walking the caldera edge and the second looking at the volcano and the island’s villages. Dinner is a taverna meal with a glass of local wine. The trip ends here, with the return home from the island or via Athens.

Getting between stops

Two ferry companies are described as linking the mainland with the Aegean. Blue Star Ferries serves more than 20 destinations in Greece, with a fleet of 12 ferries. Golden Star Ferries, founded in 2011 and headquartered on Andros, runs from the mainland to the Cyclades.

For the islands, think of the sea legs as the backbone of the middle of the trip. Santorini lies about 120 miles southeast of the mainland. The Heraklion Airport on Crete, the second busiest in Greece after Athens, is outside this loop, but it is the entry point if you add the big island.

In Athens, the metro operates from 5:30 a.m. to 00:30 a.m., and on Friday and Saturday nights lines 2 and 3 stay open later. Bus passengers cannot use the front door to get on or off. The mainland legs to Delphi and Meteora are made by road.

What to book before your 10 Days in Greece

Settle three things first: the ferries that carry you between Athens and the Cyclades, the lodging in each stage (a room in Plaka, a base in Delphi, Kalabaka or Kastraki, a place in the chora of Mykonos and Naxos, and a room on the caldera of Santorini), and the sites you most want to see. Everything else, from taverna lunches to beach days, can stay open. Leave the second day on Mykonos free and the afternoon on Naxos loose, so that the route has some give.

Adapting the route

The weather in Athens changes the feel of the first days. Here are the figures for four months in the capital.

In July the Athens highs are in the low 90s, so sun protection and a slow pace in the capital make sense. In January, with the most rain days of the four, a rain jacket and warm layers belong in the bag. April and October sit between the two extremes.

For a shorter trip, drop Naxos and keep Athens, one mainland stop and two islands. For a longer one, add days to Meteora or Santorini rather than another island. Mykonos is the stage where the season matters most: the best windows are mid-May to June and September to mid-October.

For a slower trip, cut Delphi and give Athens a third day. A family can lean on the stages with the most room to roam, such as Naxos with its large area. The wind on Mykonos, the island of the winds, is a good reason to keep the plan flexible.

Good to know before you go

Plaka gets crowded, and Mykonos is extremely crowded in July and August, so those are the places where patience pays. In Athens, the metro makes it easy to leave the center. Keep the days loose enough to follow the sea and the weather, and end the trip at the caldera of Santorini.

Sources

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• Wikipedia, Fast Ferries (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_Ferries), checked October 12, 2026
• Wikipedia, Golden Star Ferries (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Star_Ferries), checked October 12, 2026
• Wikipedia, Greek islands (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_islands), checked October 12, 2026
• OASA, Athens urban transport (https://www.oasa.gr/en/), checked October 12, 2026
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• Visit Greece (GNTO), Mykonos (https://www.visitgreece.gr/islands/cyclades/mykonos/), checked October 12, 2026
• Wikipedia, Mykonos (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mykonos), checked October 12, 2026
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• Visit Greece (GNTO), Naxos (https://www.visitgreece.gr/islands/cyclades/naxos/), checked October 12, 2026
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• Meteora, official information (https://www.meteora-greece.com/), checked October 12, 2026
• Visit Greece (GNTO), Meteora (https://www.visitgreece.gr/mainland/thessaly/kalabaka/), checked October 12, 2026
• Wikipedia, Meteora (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meteora), checked October 12, 2026
• Visit Greece (GNTO), Delphi (https://www.visitgreece.gr/mainland/central-greece/delphi/), checked October 12, 2026
• Wikipedia, Delphi (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delphi), checked October 12, 2026
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• Wikipedia, Island hopping (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_hopping), checked October 12, 2026
• Wikipedia, Transport in Greece (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport_in_Greece), checked October 12, 2026
• Hellenic National Meteorological Service (HNMS), climatological normals 1991-2020 for Elliniko station (https://www.emy.gr/climatic-data), monthly mean daily maximum and minimum; rain from the ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis, 1991-2020, grid cell of Athens (Open-Meteo), checked October 12, 2026
• ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis 1991-2020, grid cell of Athens (Open-Meteo), checked October 12, 2026
• Plan de the (duree choisie by the redaction)

To plan your stay

• Best Time to Visit Greece: September and Late May to Early June
• Arachova: Parnassus Mountain Town, Formaela Cheese, Ski Season and Saint George's Day
• American Airlines Flights to Greece: U.S. Cities, Athens Arrivals and Onward Island Flights
• Greece on a Budget: Cash Machines, Cards, Beaches and Ferries