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

Halfway through the trip you are sitting at a taverna table on Naxos with a plate of grilled cheese, a saucer of olives and a small glass of ouzo clouding as the water goes in. The route runs from Athens through Delphi and Meteora on the mainland, then out into the Cyclades, one island at a time.

Is 14 Days enough for Greece?

Yes, for a first visit that wants the capital, two mainland landmarks and three Aegean islands, two weeks is enough, as long as you accept that it is a sampler and not the whole country. The plan gives each stop at least a couple of nights, so you unpack, find a favorite café and have a meal that is not rushed. What it leaves out is a great deal, and that is the point of leaving it out.

The mainland half of the trip is built on places where the landscape and the story are the same thing. Athens gives you the ancient city and the modern one side by side.

Delphi, which the ancient Greeks treated as the navel of the Earth and which held the most important oracle of antiquity, sits on the slope of Mount Parnassus. Meteora, with its monasteries on top of the rock towers, is the one place on the route that looks like nowhere else.

The island half is about contrast. Mykonos, nicknamed the island of the winds, is a place for lingering in the town and on the beaches.

Naxos is the largest island of the Cyclades, with villages, farmland and a mountain, so it feels like a place where people live and grow food.

What does not fit? Crete is the largest Greek island, with a coastline that would fill a trip of its own, and its cooking (dakos, gamopilafo, kalitsounia) deserves more than a quick pass. Lesbos and Rhodes, the third and fourth largest islands, also stay for another visit, as do Euboea, the Peloponnese and the Ionian islands. Trying to add any of them here means more time moving and less time arriving.

A good way to think about the fortnight is as three movements. The first week stays on the mainland, where you can change plans easily because the roads and the capital are around you. The second week hands you over to the sea, with each island a different mood. The last days are held loose, so a delay on the water does not cost you the flight home.

Each stage below has one sleeping area and one rhythm, and the moves are spaced out so no day is only transit. If you want more islands, the better answer is to cut one mainland stop, not to squeeze a fourth island between the others.

The itinerary stage by stage

Days 1 to 3: Athens

Athens is where you land and adjust, and the city rewards slow wandering as much as sightseeing. Stay in or near the Plaka, the old neighborhood of narrow streets, historic landmarks and lively shops. The Plaka is a top attraction in the city, and it gets crowded, so use it for an evening stroll and a meze dinner of dips, grilled vegetables, fried cheese and small plates shared across the table.

Spend one day on the ancient sites, with the Acropolis and the Parthenon as the anchor, and let the second day be looser: a market, a kafenio (a traditional coffeehouse) for Greek coffee, souvlaki or gyros from a counter, a walk through a neighborhood you picked at random. The Athens Metro runs from 5:30 a.m. to half past midnight, and on Friday and Saturday nights lines 2 and 3 stay open later, which makes a late dinner easy to get home from.

The tram leaves from Syntagma on Line 6 toward Pikrodafni, and Line 7 runs from Akti Poseidonos to Asklepieio Voulas. On city buses, passengers cannot use the front door to get on or off. On day three you move out of the city by road toward the mainland, with the sea still a week away.

Days 4 and 5: Delphi

Delphi lies on the southwestern slope of Mount Parnassus in Phocis, in central Greece, and it was a spiritual meeting place for the Greeks, home to the most important oracle of ancient Greece. The sacred precinct is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, designated in 1987. You walk uphill through the ruins, and the setting on the mountain is part of the visit.

The modern town lies very close to the archaeological site and spreads across two streets lined with traditional small houses, hotels and tavernas. That is where you sleep and eat, with a table on a terrace and a plate of grilled lamb, a village salad with a slab of feta and a pitcher of local wine. The second day can be spent at the museum, in the town, or simply on a longer lunch before you move on by road.

Days 6 and 7: Meteora and Kalabaka

Meteora is an area in Thessaly, in northwestern Greece, in the regional unit of Trikala, and what makes it so special is the monasteries standing on top of the rock towers. Six monasteries remain in the complex, which was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1988. Stand in front of the rocks and the scale of them takes a moment to absorb.

Base yourself in Kalabaka, a town built at the foothills of the Meteora rocks on the left bank of the Pinios river, or in the village of Kastraki nearby. Kalabaka is the gateway to the formation, and it has the restaurants and rooms. Dinner here might be a skillet of baked beans, a pie with greens and cheese, or grilled meats with a dish of yogurt dip.

Give the first day to the monasteries and the second to the viewpoints and the town. After this stage you return to Athens by road to prepare for the sea.

Days 8 and 9: Mykonos

Mykonos lies in the heart of the Cyclades, between Tinos, Syros, Paros and Naxos, and it is called the island of the winds. The wind is part of the experience, so expect your hair and your napkin to move. Stay in or near the main town, where the lanes loop back on themselves and you can find a table for grilled octopus, tomato fritters and a glass of something cold.

The island is small, with an area of about 33 square miles, and its highest point rises to 1,119 feet, so you can see most of it in two nights. Spend one day in the town and its harbor, and the other at a beach of your choice. The best time to visit is mid-May through June or September through mid-October, while July and August are extremely crowded.

Days 10 and 11: Naxos

Naxos is the largest and most fertile island of the Cyclades, with an area of 170 square miles, and Zas on the island is the highest mountain of the group. The port at Chora is too small for cruise ships, so the town keeps the feel of a harbor for locals and ferries. Sleep in Chora, and spend your evenings along the waterfront with a dish of fried potatoes, local cheese and grilled fish.

With a larger and greener island you can spend one day inland, among villages, olive groves and the foothills of Zas, and the other day on the coast. Naxos is the place where the trip slows down, a sensible mid-point before the last island. A taverna lunch that lasts all afternoon is a perfectly good plan.

Days 12 to 14: Santorini

Santorini is the southernmost of the Cyclades, the largest island of a small, circular archipelago formed by the caldera, and the island that the ancients called Thera. It has an active volcano, a wild natural wonder, and visitors can stay on the caldera rim. The island lies about 120 miles southeast of the mainland.

Choose a base on the caldera for your three nights, and use the first day to walk the rim and look across the water at the volcano. Santorini cooking leans on its tomatoes, fava (a yellow split pea purée), capers and local white wine, all of which turn up on a taverna table. The last day is for packing, a final meal and the trip home, so you finish on a route you already know.

Getting between stops

The mainland legs are road legs, and they are the ones where having a car or a seat on a bus matters. The islands are different, because you reach them across the water. Blue Star Ferries provides ferry services between the Greek mainland and the Aegean islands and serves more than 20 destinations, and Golden Star Ferries operates from the mainland to the Cyclades.

If you add Crete, ANEK Lines operates passenger ferries mainly on the Piraeus to Crete route. The island lies roughly 62 miles south of the Peloponnese, and Heraklion Airport, 3.1 miles east of the center of Heraklion, is the second busiest in Greece after Athens. Whichever way you travel, plan the final move toward your flight home with room to spare.

What to book before your 14 Days in Greece

Settle the sea crossings first, since the island half of the trip depends on them, then your rooms in Athens, Kalabaka, Mykonos, Naxos and Santorini. After that, look at the sites you most want to see, Athens, Delphi and the Meteora monasteries, and keep the rest of each stop free for wandering and long meals.

Adapting the route

Shorter or longer, the route bends in a few simple ways. With fewer days, drop Delphi and spend that time in Athens before heading straight to Meteora or the islands. With more, add a fourth island or Crete after Santorini. Keep the mainland and the islands in separate blocks, so a change on one side does not disturb the other.

By season

They show the shape of the year in the capital: cool and wetter in January, warm in April and October, and hot and almost dry in July.

In July, with an average high above 90°F in Athens, plan for sun protection and keep the city sightseeing to the hours when you feel up to it. In January, with seven or more days of rain, a rain jacket belongs in the bag, and the islands may suit the trip less than the mainland. April and October sit in between, and for Mykonos, September through mid-October is among the best times to visit.

For families and a slower trip

Families can keep the same route but cut the mainland to Athens and Meteora, where the rock towers and monasteries give children something striking to look at. That frees days to stay longer on Naxos, where the beaches and farm villages make a slower rhythm. Order plates for the table, such as fried cheese, tomato fritters and souvlaki, and let everyone pick.

A slower trip can drop one island altogether. Choose between Mykonos and Naxos, and give the extra nights to Santorini or Delphi. Fewer moves mean fewer packed bags, and you will see more of each place.

Good to know before you go

Prices in Greece are in euros, and your rooms, ferries and meals will all be settled that way. Mykonos is the island of the winds, so expect gusts as a normal part of the day there, and in hot months keep water with you on the ancient sites.

Sources

• Wikipedia, Ancient Greece (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece), checked October 12, 2026
• Wikipedia, ANEK Lines (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANEK_Lines), checked October 12, 2026
• Wikipedia, Blue Star Ferries (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Star_Ferries), checked October 12, 2026
• 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
• Athens Transport, public transport guide (https://www.athenstransport.com/english/), checked October 12, 2026
• This is Athens, the official Athens tourism site (https://www.thisisathens.org/), checked October 12, 2026
• Santorini official guide (https://www.santorini.gr/), checked October 12, 2026
• Visit Greece (GNTO), Santorini (https://www.visitgreece.gr/islands/cyclades/santorini/), checked October 12, 2026
• Wikipedia, Santorini (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santorini), checked October 12, 2026
• 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
• Wikivoyage, Mykonos (https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Mykonos), checked October 12, 2026
• Visit Greece (GNTO), Naxos (https://www.visitgreece.gr/islands/cyclades/naxos/), checked October 12, 2026
• Wikipedia, Naxos (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naxos), checked October 12, 2026
• Wikivoyage, Naxos (https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Naxos), checked October 12, 2026
• Heraklion airport information (https://www.heraklion-airport.info/), checked October 12, 2026
• Visit Greece (GNTO), Crete (https://www.visitgreece.gr/islands/crete/), checked October 12, 2026
• Wikipedia, Crete (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crete), checked October 12, 2026
• 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
• Wikivoyage, Delphi (https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Delphi), checked October 12, 2026
• 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