NorahGreece is easily one of the most magical places in the world. Between the beautiful islands, spectacular history, and lovely culture, the country has something for everyone and should be at the top of your bucket list. I had the great pleasure of planning a 14 day trip to Greece, and this is the ultimate itinerary for a perfect mix of fun, adventure, night life, and history. This is an epic two week itinerary for Greece!
Note: This route highlights a bit of everything the country is famous for-you will visit three distinct islands, each with different features and highlights. If you want to see a little bit of everything the country has to offer, then this is the itinerary for you!
Day 1-Fly into Athens, then to Santorini.
Many people start their trip in Athens, but saving Athens for the end allows for more wiggle room in case there are flight delays on the islands. Fly into Athens, then give yourself one night (or a couple hours, like we did) in case of flight delays. Do not worry about missing time in Athens-you will hit it on the way back!
Day 2-4-Santorini
I recommend three full days in Santorini. Beyond the beautiful scenery, there is actually so much to do on the island. Santorini will be your “adventure stop” of the trip.
There are two main cities in Santorini-Oia and Fira. Oia is home to the famous white and blue buildings, and is just breathtaking. When you picture classic Greek islands, you probably picture Oia.
Fira is a slightly larger city, and significantly cheaper than Oia. I chose to stay there and just go into Oia at night-there are several buses that are efficient and run back and forth between the two cities daily. This epic two week itinerary will work in either area-Santorini is small enough that you will be able to navigate around the island easily.
For your first day in Santorini, I recommend renting an ATV and exploring the whole island. Santorini is not big, and it is actually quite easy to navigate around. Renting an ATV will allow you to really get a feel for the whole island and highlight potential places or beaches you would like to revisit.
Renting an ATV is very common on the island, and your lodging should be able to help you coordinate your ride.
The next day, I would recommend having a beach day, then going on a sunset sail. This was my favorite experience of the whole trip. Most of the pictures of Santorini highlight the beautiful city of Oia while totally missing the fact that the island itself is a caldera, and is stunning. The sunset sail allows you to navigate around the whole island and have a fantastic meal in one of the most beautiful places on Earth.
The price points for the sunset sails vary, but I would recommend thinking about what your top priorities are (food, unlimited drinks, longer amount of time on the boat, etc.) and then booking your trip from there.
For your final day in Santorini, I would recommend either spending time exploring Oia and the many little shops on the island, or I would recommend hiking from Fira to Oia. The hike is about 6 miles, and traverses right along the edge of the caldera. It takes about half a day, and is just spectacular. I recommend checking out this blog for more information on the hike!
Once you get to Oia, there is an absolutely beautiful spot for cliff jumping. You will have to swim out to a small island and do some minor climbing, but multiple people jumped while we were there, and when I jumped I felt completely safe. Cliff jumping is a crucial part of what makes this itinerary so epic!
I would recommend staying in Oia and enjoying the beautiful sights on your last night in Santorini!
Days 5-6-Myknonos
From Santorini, I would recommend taking a ferry to Mykonos. The ferries are easy to navigate, and are cheap, efficient ways to navigate from island to island.
For your first afternoon in Mykonos, I recommend exploring the Myknonos old town area. It is a beautiful little city with winding streets, adorable shops, and lots of gyro stops. We had so much fun getting lost in the city and taking pictures at all the different street corners.
The windmills are also an iconic part of Mykonos, so be sure to explore those as well as the Little Venice area. They are both gorgeous, and right by each other!
While in town, I would recommend having dinner at any one of the lovely restaurants in the area. Once you have had dinner, explore the many clubs, bars, and fun nightlife options in the area.
The next day will be your only full day in Mykonos, and to get the full experience I would recommend going to a beach club. Even if drinking and partying is not your favorite thing, the clubs are very fun and have an overall good vibe at them. There are countless beach clubs in Mykonos, with a variety of price points.
No epic two week Greece itinerary is complete without at least one night dancing until the morning!
Days 7-9-Ikaria
From Mykonos, take a short ferry over to Ikaria. At this point in the trip, you will have been around lots and lots of people, so Ikaria will be a nice break.
Ikaria is a decently rural Greek island that is most famous for being a blue zone, which is an area of the Earth where an above average percentage of people live to be over 100. Ikaria being a blue zone is what initially caught my eye, but it is really a lovely island.
I would recommend renting a car for Ikaria, as it is a larger, decently remote island. Having a car to get around will make everything much easier.
Things to do in Ikaria
During your two full days in Ikaria, I recommend doing several different things. There are plenty of beaches surrounding the island, so picking a gorgeous spot to spend the day or watch sunset is a necessity. Two I recommend are Naxos Beach and Seychelles beach.
Naxos is on the more populated side of the island, and has a beautiful lookout point. We watched sunset from that point every single night during our time in Ikaria, and it was spectacular. The beach itself is gentle and never truly crowded, which makes it such a fun spot to explore.
Seychelles beach is a bit more of an all day adventure, but is absolutely worth the effort. The beach is about one hour from the main city in town, and involves driving over the mountainous middle of the island (the rental cars can handle it!) to the extremely remote side of the island.
An easy trail and a bit of light mountain climbing will lead you to Seychelles beach, named after its similarities to the African country of the same name. Flat, large rocks dot the shoreline, but the remoteness is what really makes this beach so special. Given the fact that this is an epic two week Greece itinerary, you must travel off the common path at least once!
I recommend swimming out about fifty yards to see the completely remote, not a building in sight wild coastline. Few places like that still exist in this world.
Other recommendations for your time in Ikaria include wineries. Ikaria has a connection to Dionysis, the Greek god of wine, so the wineries in the area take special pride in their services and do an excellent job of interweaving the history of the region and the science of wine into a very immersive experience.
Exploring a lesser known island is part of what makes this two week Greece itinerary so epic-you are able to get off the common path and see a more authentic area!
Days 10-13-Athens
I recommend ending your time in Athens, as it will allow you to have stretch room in case there are delays in your island transport. Athens is a beautiful city that does an amazing job of interweaving the present and the past. Right in the middle of the city lies the Acropolis, and I recommend at LEAST one full day to enjoy the history surrounding that area. There are really so many different historical sights to see, and you can purchase an Acropolis pass that gives you access to many of them for a set number of days. This epic two week Greece itinerary involves only spending two days in Athens, but if you are a history enthusiast, you might enjoy staying longer!
You can also explore the original Olympic stadium, as well as many other different types of historical markers spread throughout the city, not just near the Acropolis.
You can truly spend multiple days exploring the history of the area, but if you want something slightly different on the second day there, then I would recommend exploring the mini town of Plaka, which sits right below the Acropolis and is a very fun area. There is a fun variety of restaurants and bars in the area, and plenty of small shops to explore.
There are also several hikes in the city that lead to viewpoints and lookouts with spectacular views of both the city and the Acropolis. Using the word hikes is extremely liberal-these are just glorified walks. The views, however, are spectacular.
Enjoy my Youtube video I made about my time in Santorini!
Thank you so much for reading this epic itinerary for two full weeks in Greece, and good luck with your trip planning!
