9 Day Greece Itinerary: Athens, Mykonos, Santorini and Crete, Day by Day

A 9 day Greece itinerary of Athens, Mykonos, Santorini and Crete gives each stop two nights and spends three days on the move. Find more trip ideas on Greece Tours. Below we plan every day hour by hour. We add the ferry and flight legs, the months, the hotel areas, the tours to book and the booking rules.

What is a 9 day Greece itinerary with Athens, Mykonos, Santorini and Crete?

The route runs from Athens to Mykonos, then Santorini, then Heraklion on Crete, with two nights in each place. This 9 day Greece itinerary uses eight nights and three travel days, and it ends in Heraklion instead of Athens.

Think of this 9 day Greece itinerary as four blocks of two nights. The hub page for Greece VIP packages lists the private tours, cruises and transfers that attach to such a route. Here is the route in one list.

• Athens, nights 1 and 2: the capital and largest city of Greece. You arrive on day 1 and leave on day 3.
• Mykonos, nights 3 and 4: a Cyclades island of 85.5 square kilometres. You arrive on day 3 and leave on day 5.
• Santorini, nights 5 and 6: the largest island of a circular group formed by a caldera. You arrive on day 5 and leave on day 7.
• Heraklion on Crete, nights 7 and 8: the largest city on the largest island of Greece. You arrive on day 7 and depart on day 9.

In numbers, the route is nine days, eight nights, four places and three legs. Days 3, 5 and 7 each carry one leg. That leaves five days without a leg: days 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8. Day 9 is departure day.

The four places differ in scale. The urban area of Athens holds over 3.6 million people.

Heraklion has a municipal population of 179,302, Santorini 15,480 and Mykonos 10,704. The 9 day Greece itinerary steps from a capital to two small islands, then to a city. Mykonos town, also called Chora, lies on the west coast of its island.

This 9 day Greece itinerary suits a first visit. It gives you a capital, a small Cyclades island, a caldera island and a large island. It also suits travellers who accept four hotels in nine days. A trip on one base needs fewer bags to move, but it shows one place only.

A plan shorter than the 9 day Greece itinerary keeps two nights per place and drops a stop. Six nights fit three places, and eight nights fit four. The two extra days in this route buy exactly one more stop, and that stop is Crete.

The route also never returns to Athens. The planning site kimkim lists 34 trips of nine days in Greece. One through Athens, Mykonos and Santorini loops back to the capital. This 9 day Greece itinerary puts Crete where that loop sits.

Travellers who book every leg alone can read the guide to self-guided Greece itinerary planning. It covers trip-wide checks, such as tickets and documents. This page stays on the one route.

How does the 9 day Greece itinerary split its nine days between four stops?

The eight nights divide into four blocks of two. In the 9 day Greece itinerary, a leg sits on day 3, day 5 and day 7. Every place gets one full day, plus part of a travel day at each end.

Count the days by their job.

• Day 1 and day 9: arrival in Athens and departure from Heraklion.
• Day 3, day 5 and day 7: one leg each, from one place to the next.
• Day 2, day 4, day 6 and day 8: one full day in Athens, Mykonos, Santorini and Crete.

In a 9 day Greece itinerary, two nights is the least that makes a stop worth the move. A one-night stop holds only the end of one travel day and the start of the next. The planner A Passion and a Passport calls a ferry day “more about transportation than sightseeing”. She tells readers to plan for it.

Athens gets two nights for the same reason. A Tripoto trip report on Athens, Santorini and Mykonos states that exploring the city takes at least 2 days. Here Athens gets day 2 in full, the end of day 1 and the morning of day 3.

The kimkim trip through Athens and the Cyclades also gives the capital one full day before the ferry to Mykonos.

Santorini gets two nights as well. A travel blogger who spent nine days in Greece wrote the same split: “Ferry to Santorini for 2 nights”. Mykonos and Crete follow the same block, so no stop has a different rhythm from the next.

The islands differ in size, so one full day buys different things. Mykonos covers 85.5 square kilometres and Santorini about 73. Crete covers 8,450 square kilometres, nearly 100 times the area of Mykonos, and stretches 260 kilometres from west to east.

Two nights on Crete in this 9 day Greece itinerary therefore cover one area only. Heraklion is the largest city on the island and the fourth largest in Greece, which makes it the base. The rest of the island waits for another trip.

The order of the stops follows a line that runs south. Athens is already the southernmost capital on the European mainland. Mykonos lies among Tinos, Syros, Paros and Naxos. Santorini is the southernmost member of the Cyclades, about 200 kilometres southeast of the mainland. Crete bounds the southern edge of the Aegean Sea.

Each leg of this 9 day Greece itinerary moves away from Athens and never doubles back.

The same travel blogger wrote that nine days “wasn’t enough time for everything we wanted to do”. A fixed split is a choice of what to leave out. The day sections below follow this grid from day 1 to day 9. Each one names the booking that fits its day.

Which months suit a 9 day Greece itinerary across Athens, Mykonos, Santorini and Crete?

Daily boats between Mykonos and Santorini run from April to September, so those six months fit this route. The 9 day Greece itinerary needs that crossing on Day 5. The link is seasonal and runs from March to November.

The Mykonos to Santorini link sits in the middle of the 9 day Greece itinerary. Its season sets the dates. Ferryhopper lists Seajets sailing every day from April through September. Ferries in Greece reports that in winter there is no direct ferry between the two islands.

The meltemi is the wind that matters in summer. Wikipedia says it blows periodically from late spring to mid-September, and it can reach Beaufort force 7 or 8. It is strongest in the afternoon, and it can die down at night. The same article says the majority of inter-island ferries cannot sail in such conditions.

A 9 day Greece itinerary therefore keeps spare time on every crossing day in those months. Leave no tight connection behind a boat. A cancelled morning sailing then moves to the evening, and the next hotel night still counts.

Heat changes from stop to stop. Downtown Athens has a mean daily maximum of 34.3 degrees Celsius in July, according to the climate table on Wikipedia. The Heraklion port table gives 28.3 degrees for both July and August. Wikipedia adds that northerly winds temper the fierce summer heat of the region.

Use these month bands to date your 9 day Greece itinerary:

• April: Seajets already sails every day between Mykonos and Santorini, and the meltemi season has not started.
• Late spring to mid-September: the meltemi season, with the hottest days in Athens in July.
• September: the last month of daily Seajets sailings on the middle leg, and the meltemi ends in the middle of the month.
• October to March: the middle link stops being daily, and tourist businesses on the islands close down from late October.

Flights follow the same calendar. Wikipedia says Mykonos airport has limited flight connections and operating hours in the off-peak tourist season. Santorini airport adds seasonal scheduled and charter flights in spring, summer and autumn. Aegean Airlines lists Heraklion as a seasonal destination from Santorini. A flight swap for a bad ferry day pays off in summer.

Crete behaves differently from the Cyclades. Ferries in Greece calls larger islands such as Crete relatively lively off-season. It says the ferry link from Athens to them is daily. Santorini has dry summers and wetter winters, with annual rainfall around 270 millimetres.

Crowds follow the boats. Wikipedia estimates that 2 million tourists visit Santorini every year. In the cooler months, check the Mykonos to Santorini hop of the 9 day Greece itinerary first. Confirm that a sailing exists for your date before you book any hotel.

How do you travel between the four stops of the 9 day Greece itinerary?

You fly or sail from Athens to Mykonos, take a ferry to Santorini, and take a second ferry to Heraklion. Four stops make three legs, and the 9 day Greece itinerary puts a boat on both island legs. The Athens to Mykonos flight takes 25 minutes.

Athens International Airport lies about 20 km east of central Athens. A railway station stands next to the terminal. Athens Metro line 3 and the Proastiakos suburban railway run from it. The Piraeus metro station beside the port is an interchange of lines 1 and 3. One metro line therefore joins the airport to the main ferry port.

Each leg has its own choices:

• Athens to Mykonos: Wikipedia gives a flight time of 25 minutes. Ferryhopper lists crossings from Piraeus between 2 hours 40 minutes and 5 hours 50 minutes, run by Seajets and Blue Star Ferries.
• Mykonos to Santorini: Ferryhopper gives 2 hours 10 minutes to 3 hours 35 minutes, run by Golden Star Ferries and Seajets, from Tourlos in Mykonos to Athinios in Santorini.
• Santorini to Heraklion: Ferryhopper gives 1 hour 35 minutes to 4 hours 30 minutes, run by Blue Star Ferries and Seajets, with up to 3 ferries a day on the route in summer.

Athens has a second ferry port for Mykonos. Rafina sits 25 km from the centre of Athens. Ferries in Greece says the fastest way to the island is to depart from there. A 9 day Greece itinerary can start the sea leg at either port. Rafina is much smaller than Piraeus and has no gates. Piraeus is the largest passenger port in Europe, according to Wikipedia.

The two ports differ in boats and times. Ferries in Greece lists a Sea Jets crossing of 2 hours 20 minutes from Rafina. From Piraeus it lists 2 hours 35 minutes. Blue Star Ferries needs 4 hours 40 minutes from Piraeus. Fast Ferries needs 4 hours from Rafina. The distance from Piraeus to Mykonos is 86 nautical miles.

The airports on a 9 day Greece itinerary sit close to each town. Mykonos airport is 4 km from the town. Santorini airport is about 6 km southeast of Thira. Heraklion airport sits 5 km from the centre, to the east. Ferries to Mykonos arrive at the New Port, not in the old harbour.

Only Athens has a busier airport than Heraklion in Greece. The last day of the 9 day Greece itinerary therefore ends at a large hub. Aegean Airlines and Sky Express list Athens flights from there. Santorini airport lists Aegean Airlines, Sky Express and seasonal Ryanair flights to Athens.

Routes, operators and port layouts are mapped in our guide on how to travel between the Greek islands. Seat classes, cabins and ticket rules are covered in the Greek ferry booking tips.

Where do you sleep on each night of a 9 day Greece itinerary?

You sleep in four bases, one area per stop: central Athens, Mykonos Town, the Santorini caldera rim and Heraklion. Each base holds two nights. A 9 day Greece itinerary moves your bed three times, so one chosen area per stop saves a search.

Eight nights split into four pairs, and every pair needs one choice. The list names the area for each pair and the reason it fits.

• Nights 1 and 2: Koukaki, south of the Acropolis, for a walkable Athens base.
• Nights 3 and 4: Mykonos Town, called Chora, beside the Old Port.
• Nights 5 and 6: Fira, the Santorini capital, with Imerovigli as the quieter swap.
• Nights 7 and 8: Heraklion city, with the airport close for the last morning.

Koukaki borders Makrygianni and Plaka. The Akropoli metro station serves it, and both Athens tram lines stop in the district. Plaka, Psiri, Kolonaki and the coast suit other trips. See where to stay in Athens for a fuller comparison. A 9 day Greece itinerary needs one district here, because the Athens days stay on foot.

Koukaki holds a weekly vegetable market on Fridays, and the Drakou and G. Olympiou pedestrian zones are lined with cafes and restaurants. Nights 1 and 2 end there.

Mykonos Town is the main town of the island. The Kato Mili windmills stand there, and so do the sea-front houses of Little Venice. The Old Port bus depot sends buses to Tourlos, where the New Port lies, and to Agios Stefanos. A bed in town keeps both buses a short walk away.

The southern depot, at Fabrika on the town entrance, serves Ornos, Platis Gialos, Psarou and Paraga. The airport stands 4 kilometres southeast of the town. A beach hotel on that southern line means a bus ride back into town each evening. Chora skips that ride.

The Santorini caldera drops more than 300 metres at its highest, and the main towns sit on the crest. Fira holds the central bus station. Buses link it to almost all places on the island. For this 9 day Greece itinerary, Fira is the base for that reason.

Imerovigli sits north of Fira on the same rim. Narrow paved paths cross the village. Pack one soft bag if you pick that swap.

Heraklion is the largest city of Crete, and the wider area holds the Knossos palace. The airport stands about 5 kilometres east of the centre. Sleeping in the city for both Crete nights keeps the last two days in one place. No bag moves between them.

The airport also serves resorts such as Malia, Hersonissos and Elounda. This 9 day Greece itinerary stays in Heraklion city instead.

How do you book and cancel the tours on a 9 day Greece itinerary?

Book each tour from its listing page by picking a date and the travellers. Read the Free cancellation and advance-booking labels first. Those labels show which days of a 9 day Greece itinerary stay flexible and which need a firm date.

The listing feeds for four searches, Athens, Mykonos, Santorini and Heraklion, return 20 tours each. The Free cancellation label shows on 15 Athens tours, 19 Mykonos tours, 20 Santorini tours and 15 Heraklion tours. The label gives no cancellation window, so check the terms on the tour page before you pay.

A second label reads “Must book at least” followed by a time. The shortest cut-off in the four feeds is 5 minutes and the longest is 24h. The 10h cut-off shows on 10 Santorini tours, 9 Mykonos tours and 9 Heraklion tours. Booking two days ahead clears every cut-off label in the four feeds.

• Athens days: 3 tours carry the 10h label and 1 carries 24h.
• Mykonos and Santorini days: book the evening before at the latest, because the 10h label is the common cut-off in both feeds.
• Crete days: 9 Heraklion tours carry 10h, so a day of notice covers them.

The route has three transfer days by ferry or flight. The same cut-off labels apply to a tour on those days. Pick a tour that starts after your arrival time. Keep the Free cancellation label as the safety net if a ferry runs late. That is how a 9 day Greece itinerary stays calm on a travel day.

Format labels match each tour on a 9 day Greece itinerary to its group. Across the four feeds, 12 tours show Private option available and 12 carry the Small group label. The Pickup available label shows 42 times, with 13 on Mykonos and 12 on Santorini. Those two islands are where a pickup saves the bus ride described above.

Access labels help travellers with limited mobility. The Wheelchair accessible label shows on 14 tours across the four feeds. Athens has 2, Mykonos has 4, Santorini has 5 and Heraklion has 3. The Skip the line label shows on 12 tours, and 4 of them sit in the Athens feed.

A badge reading “Booked 8 times yesterday” shows on 10 tours across the feeds, with counts from 2 to 29. A high count tells you to reserve before the cut-off, not on the day. Plan your 9 day Greece itinerary bookings in that order: high counts first.

The booking form asks for the age band of each traveller. The Acropolis guided tour form lists Adult for ages 18 to 99. It lists Youth for 13 to 17, Child for 4 to 12 and Infant for 3 and younger. Children 3 and younger join free but must still be added to the booking.

How do you spend Day 1 of the 9 day Greece itinerary after landing in Athens?

Day 1 is a soft landing built around one choice: how you get from the airport to the hotel. The airport has a taxi rank, a metro line, a suburban railway and express buses. This 9 day Greece itinerary keeps the first evening light.

Plan Day 1 around your landing time. A morning landing leaves the afternoon and the evening free. An afternoon landing leaves one evening. A night landing leaves a bed. The 9 day Greece itinerary carries no ticketed sight on Day 1, so a late flight costs you nothing later.

Set your phone to local time before you land. Greece runs on Eastern European Time, UTC+2. Clocks move to UTC+3 from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October. Check the zone before you set any alarm.

A morning landing turns Day 1 of the 9 day Greece itinerary into four blocks.

• Morning: land, pass border control if the flight comes from outside the Schengen Area, collect the bags and ride to the hotel.
• Midday: leave the bags with the hotel if the room is not ready, then eat close to the door.
• Afternoon: rest. This block absorbs delays and tiredness, and it holds no sight.
• Evening: one light activity, then an early night before the full Athens day.

Allow a long queue at passport control on the first morning of the 9 day Greece itinerary. Athens airport reports that the EU Entry/Exit System is fully deployed for non-EU travellers and that waits can grow. The system records a facial image and fingerprints at each crossing. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens over 12 can use the e-Passport gates.

Take off hats and sunglasses, and open the passport at the photo page. The airport also lists a rule that catches new arrivals: baggage trolleys cannot pass through passport control. Leave the first pickup time open, because the queue sets the pace.

Starting the 9 day Greece itinerary with a pre-booked driver removes the taxi queue. Pre-booked vehicles collect arriving passengers at two spots. One is the pick-up area beside Short Term 1 parking. The other is the Pick-up and Drop-off zone on the Arrivals level. Send the company your flight number before you leave home.

The transfer for this 9 day Greece itinerary is Athens: Transfer to/from Athens Airport and Athens Hotels. The listing describes a taxi transfer of 45 minutes for a private group. It carries a free cancellation label. It needs a booking 10 hours or more ahead, so lock it in once the flight is confirmed.

Public transport is the other route, and the 9 day Greece itinerary works with it too. Metro Line 3 runs from the terminal to the city centre and to Piraeus. The suburban railway runs to Larissis Station, which the timetable calls Athens, and on to Piraeus. Four express bus lines serve the terminal.

A standard city ticket does not cover trains and buses to the airport, so buy the airport fare. The express lines run to Syntagma, to Piraeus, to the two intercity bus stations and to the Elliniko metro station. Pick the line that ends nearest the hotel.

Taxis wait at Exit 3 on the Arrivals level around the clock. Flat fares posted by the airport cover the inner ring of the city centre. Two bands apply, 05:00 to 24:00 and 00:00 to 05:00. The time you reach the destination sets the band. Drivers must give you a receipt. Uber riders meet their car opposite Exit 4.

Syntagma is the busiest station in the Athens transport system. It joins Lines 2 and 3 with the tram, and it holds a large archaeological exhibition. Walking through it makes a first museum stop on the 9 day Greece itinerary. The express bus from the airport ends in the square above.

A flight that lands before check-in leaves a gap in the 9 day Greece itinerary, and the airport covers it. ATH Free Wifi runs around the clock, and one session lasts 120 minutes before you reconnect at no charge. CARE4BAG baggage storage sits at Exit 1 on the Arrivals level and opens 24 hours. Porters work round the clock.

Pick one evening option for Day 1 of the 9 day Greece itinerary.

• A small-group night walk with a local guide that lasts 2 hours, runs through the historic centre, carries a free cancellation label and takes bookings up to 1 hour 30 minutes before the start.
• A short walk to Philopappos Hill, where a Roman tomb stands southwest of the Acropolis and faces it.
• Dinner near the hotel and bed.

The tomb on Mouseion Hill honours Gaius Julius Antiochus Epiphanes Philopappos, a prince from the Kingdom of Commagene. It is a quiet end to a travel day. The night walk suits travellers who want a guide. It can wait until the last block of the day.

A night landing reduces Day 1 of the 9 day Greece itinerary to a transfer and a bed. The taxi rank at Exit 3 works at any hour, and the night band starts at 00:00. Skip the evening block and let Day 2 carry the sightseeing.

A longer Athens stay spreads these first hours over more days, as the Athens 3 day itinerary shows. Here Day 1 stays light because Day 2 is the full Athens day.

How do you spend Day 2 of the 9 day Greece itinerary in Athens?

Day 2 is the one full Athens day. It runs from the Acropolis in the morning to its museum at midday. The Ancient Agora follows in the afternoon and Plaka at night. This part of the 9 day Greece itinerary stays on foot.

The ticket decides the morning, so settle it first. The listing called Athens: Acropolis Ticket & Heritage Sites + Acropolis Audio sells a digital pass. It holds a timed-entry ticket to the Acropolis and Parthenon. It adds access to up to 5 more archaeological sites and an optional audio guide.

The pass needs booking 10 hours or more in advance. Buy the pass on Day 1, not at the gate. That one purchase locks the Day 2 plan of the 9 day Greece itinerary in place. The Acropolis tickets guide covers slots and opening hours.

A guide is the other route. A guided Acropolis, Parthenon and museum tour runs 2 to 4 hours and offers a private option. Its listing shows free cancellation. It needs booking 24 hours or more in advance, so reserve it before Day 1 starts.

• Morning: the Acropolis on the timed slot, then the short walk down to the museum.
• Midday: the Acropolis Museum, then lunch near Akropoli metro station.
• Afternoon: the Ancient Agora, including the Stoa of Attalos museum and the Temple of Hephaestus.
• Evening: Anafiotika and Plaka, then dinner. This closes Day 2 of the 9 day Greece itinerary.

The museum needs its own ticket. The Acropolis Museum states that its ticket is independent from the Acropolis ticket. The ticket is one-use and valid only on the date issued. It also opens the excavation under the building.

Buy the museum ticket for this 9 day Greece itinerary on the official site that ends in .gr. The museum warns that a copy site ending in .org collects money for tickets that do not exist. Entry is through the building at Dionysiou Areopagitou 15, right beside Akropoli station.

Opening days shape the order. From 1 April to 31 October the museum opens at 9 am and closes at 8 pm. It stays open until 10 pm on Friday. Monday closes at 5 pm, with the last entry at 4:30 pm. This 9 day Greece itinerary puts the museum before lunch on a Monday.

In winter, from 1 November to 31 March, Monday to Thursday also closes at 5 pm. Friday runs until 10 pm, and Saturday and Sunday until 8 pm. On a Friday, swap the order. Visit the Agora first and take the museum as the evening stop. The second-floor restaurant stays open until midnight on Friday and Saturday.

Inside, leave backpacks in the ground-floor cloakroom, because an X-ray check sits at the entrance. Flash is not allowed, and photos are not allowed in the Archaic Acropolis Gallery. Visitors go to the top floor first and descend. The Parthenon hall there has glass walls, and the temple is visible from its north side.

The museum stands only 280 metres from the Parthenon. Panels of glass in the floor show the excavation below.

The museum site offers a digital tour of its permanent collections, and free Wi-Fi covers all public areas. Open the tour at the hotel on Day 1 to preview Day 2 of the 9 day Greece itinerary.

The Ancient Agora lies north-west of the Acropolis, between the Areopagus hill and the Agoraios Kolonos hill. The Temple of Hephaestus crowns the western hill. The Stoa of Attalos, on the east side, houses the Museum of the Ancient Agora.

A separate Agora e-ticket listing on GetYourGuide shows 1.5 to 2 hours. Plan a long afternoon stop here. If the legs are tired, drop the Agora and keep the museum, because the museum has a fixed closing time.

Moving between sites in the 9 day Greece itinerary, the metro adds a small bonus. Akropoli, Monastiraki and Syntagma stations show ancient finds or replicas from the metro dig. Monastiraki is also one of five stations where metro lines meet.

The evening of Day 2 stays in the old streets. Plaka sits on the north-east slope of the Acropolis, between Syntagma and Monastiraki squares. It has been inhabited from the Neolithic to the present day. Anafiotika, a corner of Plaka, grew from workers who came from the island of Anafi.

About 45 houses remain there, built in Cycladic style with white walls and narrow lanes. They give the 9 day Greece itinerary a first taste of the islands that Day 3 reaches. The lanes end in steps or at terraces, where visitors sit for the night view.

Two swaps fit the evening of the 9 day Greece itinerary. A street food tasting tour in Athens lists 3 hours and a booking at least 1 hour ahead. It replaces both the walk and the dinner. The Athens food tour page lists the formats.

The other swap is Mount Lycabettus. It rises 277 metres, the highest point of central Athens. A funicular climbs it from Aristippou Street in Kolonaki. A chapel of Saint George and a restaurant stand on top. Choose it when the Acropolis climb has already tired the legs.

Keep the last hours light, because Day 3 is a travel day on this route. Pack the big bag before dinner. Charge phones and keep ferry or flight papers in one pocket. Eat near the hotel, and the Day 3 alarm costs no extra walk.

How do you spend Day 3, the move from Athens to Mykonos, on a 9 day Greece itinerary?

Day 3 carries you about 150 kilometres east, from Athens to Mykonos, by ferry or by plane. On this 9 day Greece itinerary the move fills the morning and the first hours after arrival. The evening stays free for one slow walk through Mykonos Town.

The day has four blocks. Each one has a single job, so a late boat never ruins the plan.

• Morning: leave the Athens hotel, reach the port or the airport and cross to the island.
• Midday: reach the Mykonos hotel, drop the bags and eat lunch in town.
• Afternoon: rest, swim or look at the shops with no booking.
• Evening: take the two-hour guided walk, then eat dinner.

Choose the leg first, because it sets the clock. Ferries and high-speed catamarans run every day from Piraeus and from Rafina. The high-speed boats take half the time of the slow ferries. A plane replaces hours at sea with a short hop. Each choice shapes how Day 3 of a 9 day Greece itinerary unfolds.

• Piraeus to Mykonos: the crossing takes between 3 hr 30 min and 5 hr 15 min.
• Rafina to Mykonos: the crossing takes between 2 hr 10 min and 5 hr 30 min.
• Athens to Mykonos by air: Olympic Air and Aegean Airlines fly the route every day, and the national tourism board lists 45 minutes of travel.

For this 9 day Greece itinerary, search ferry tickets under Piraeus, not Athens. The main port carries the name of its town. The metro station sits next to the port. It is the end of Line 1 and an interchange with Line 3. Ride the metro to that station and the port is right there.

Inside the port, one travel wiki places the high-speed boats to Mykonos at gate E7. It places the conventional ferries at gate E1. The port is the largest passenger port in Europe. Read the gate letter on your ticket on the morning of Day 3.

Rafina is the second port of Athens, 25 kilometres east of the city centre. Compare the crossing time printed for each port before you pay. This choice matters on a 9 day Greece itinerary, since the clock for Day 3 starts at the hotel door.

Ferry sailings per day peak in the summer months. Booking ahead is not required. Still, a fixed 9 day Greece itinerary has a bed waiting in Mykonos, and a booked seat removes doubt. Show the ticket or the booking confirmation on your phone when you board. No printing is needed.

High-speed ferries are the least choppy of the boats, which suits a day with an evening plan. Ticket offices near the gates open at least 1 to 2 hours before sailing. Arrive at the quay well before the departure time on your ticket.

The island has an old port in town and a newer one at Tourlos, about 2 kilometres north. High-speed catamarans still dock at the old port. From there a short walk along the coast leads into town, and a SeaBus also gets you into town. Public buses from Tourlos to town are infrequent in high season.

By air, you land at Mykonos Airport, 4 kilometres southeast of Mykonos Town. Taxis wait at the rank opposite the terminal, and the ride into Chora takes about 10 minutes. The island has only about 30 taxis, so a pre-booked private transfer protects your first hour. In summer a public bus also links the airport and Chora.

Midday belongs to the hotel and to lunch. It is the first full stop of the 9 day Greece itinerary on the island. Leave the big bags in the room and carry a small one. The streets of the town centre are narrow and paved. They are lined with whitewashed houses with blue windows and wooden balconies.

The afternoon is open on purpose, and a 9 day Greece itinerary needs one such slot. Use it for a swim or a nap, as the 9 day Greece itinerary plans no booking here. Day 4 holds the full island day, so nothing on Day 3 needs a rush.

The 9 day Greece itinerary puts its one booking for Day 3 in the evening. Book the Mykonos Walking Tour, a two-hour guided stroll through the streets of Mykonos Town. The tour page lists sights such as the 5 windmills and the church of Agios Nikolaos. Choose the time slot on the booking page.

The windmills stand in a row on a hill above the sea. Little Venice lies in the same town, with rows of old fishing houses whose balconies hang over the water. A guided walk puts the windmills, the church and the waterfront in one two-hour loop.

After the walk, eat dinner in Chora. Club nights on the island start around 11 pm. The walk and a table fit before the late crowd moves out. Long days follow on Day 4 and Day 5.

Two swaps keep the same hours free. A two-hour food walking tour of Mykonos Town replaces the sightseeing walk with tastings. A sunset boat trip of 2 to 2.5 hours shows Little Venice from the water instead of from the street.

Before you leave Athens, read Mykonos for first-timers. It explains how to get around the island, where to stay and which mistakes to skip. Day 3 of the 9 day Greece itinerary then starts with a plan.

What fills Day 4 of this 9 day Greece itinerary on Mykonos?

Day 4 is the only full day on Mykonos. It has a boat to Delos in the morning and the town in the evening. This 9 day Greece itinerary gives the island one full day. Day 3 is the arrival, and Day 5 is the ferry to Santorini.

Delos lies 2 km from Mykonos. The whole day of this 9 day Greece itinerary hangs on one short crossing. A Delos boat transfer listing gives the crossing as 35 minutes to 1 hour. The Hellenic Heritage page for the site says about 1 hour. Plan around the longer figure.

Book the Delos leg on the evening of Day 3, as soon as you land. This route has no spare day, so a missed slot has nowhere to go. The cruise below needs notice of at least 1 hour 30 minutes. The 4 hour guided Delos tour needs at least 24 hours.

• Morning: the Delos site, which opens at 08:00.
• Midday: the beach stop and the lunch the cruise includes, off the uninhabited island of Rhenia.
• Afternoon: back in port, with a free pool, beach or museum block.
• Evening: the windmills, Little Venice at sunset and dinner in Mykonos Town.

One gig fits Day 4 of a 9 day Greece itinerary: From Mykonos: Cruise to Delos and Rhenia with Lunch. GetYourGuide lists it at 6.5 hours, with 1,758 reviews and a 4.6 star rating. The listing names a cruise to Delos and a walk through the ruins. It also names a private beach on Rhenia and juice and wine on board. It carries a free cancellation label.

Delos is the reason to board early. The island covers only 3.43 square kilometres, and nobody lives there. Hellenic Heritage lists daily opening from 08:00, with the closing time at 20:00 from April to August. Last admission is 20 minutes before closing. The closing time then steps down through autumn to 16:00 in November.

The site is shut from December 1 to March 31, which fixes the season for this 9 day Greece itinerary. It also closes on set public holidays, among them Easter Sunday and March 25. A plan on winter dates needs a different Day 4. Check your date against that list before you book anything.

The cruise listing names the houses of Dionysus and Cleopatra. On the Terrace of the Lions, seven of the original marble lions remain. The Delos tour from Mykonos page on this site covers the sanctuary in full. This day only needs the timing.

Time the free block of a 9 day Greece itinerary by the clock. The cruise ends back in Mykonos. Count 6.5 hours from boarding, then add that to the departure time on your voucher. The result is the start of your free block. Use it for a pool or a nap. Day 5 starts with a ferry or a flight, and this afternoon is the rest stop of the route.

The Archaeological Museum of Mykonos is the dry option for that block. It is one of the oldest museums in Greece. It holds finds from the Purification Pit on Rheneia, the island beside Delos. It ties the morning cruise to the town.

Rest matters on a 9 day Greece itinerary, because four stops in nine days leave little slack. The Delos morning is the longest walk of the island leg. A free afternoon keeps Day 5 from starting on tired legs.

The evening of Day 4 stays in Mykonos Town, called Chora. The Kato Mili windmills line a hill above the sea. Built by the Venetians in the 16th century, the mills ground flour and face the strong northern winds. Camel Rock sits in the water near them.

On a 9 day Greece itinerary, Little Venice is the second stop of the evening. It is a short walk along the waterfront. Its first houses date from the mid-18th century, and their balconies hang over the sea. People gather there for the sunset. Tria Pigadia, three wells in a row in the middle of Chora, sits on the way back into the lanes.

Food fits the evening of this 9 day Greece itinerary as a walk. A two-hour food tour covers the Old Port and Matoyianni Alley. The stops serve a souvlaki wrap, spinach pie, baklava and Greek coffee. It needs only 1 hour of notice. A two-hour walk past five windmills and Little Venice needs at least 10 hours.

Wikipedia gives Mykonos the name Island of the Winds for the strong winds that cross it. Keep a second plan ready. These swaps keep the full day in place.

• Short on time: the 4 hour morning guided tour of Delos alone leaves the afternoon open, with pickup and a private option.
• Evening slot: a 3.5 hour evening Delos tour frees the morning for the beach.
• Land day: a 4 hour tour of a farm, Ano Mera village and beaches stays on the island, with pickup.

The land swap suits travellers who skip Delos on their 9 day Greece itinerary. The tour reaches Ano Mera, the inland village. Armenistis Lighthouse stands 6.5 km from Chora, and an island tour listing includes it. The morning Delos tour needs a booking at least 24 hours ahead. The land tour and the evening tour each need at least 10 hours. Decide on the evening of Day 3.

The longer Mykonos 4 day itinerary has the beach clubs and the island days that this route skips. Use it if you add nights here. This page stays with the single day, because Day 5 sends you on to Santorini.

Day 4 closes with an early dinner and packed bags. The 9 day Greece itinerary then moves on to Santorini, its second island. Day 5 opens the sea leg of the route.

What does Day 5 of the 9 day Greece itinerary look like between Mykonos and Santorini?

Day 5 is a sea-transfer day with one evening activity. You leave Mykonos by boat, reach Santorini, drop your bags and finish at a winery for sunset. Plan the 9 day Greece itinerary around that single crossing, not around a list of sights.

Treat Day 5 of a 9 day Greece itinerary as four blocks in a fixed order. Each block depends on the one before it, so a late start in Mykonos moves everything after it. The list below carries no clock times, because the ferry timetable sets those on the day.

• Morning: check out in Mykonos Town and reach the right port.
• Crossing: the boat to Santorini, with passports, tickets and the evening voucher in your day bag.
• Afternoon: bus or taxi to the hotel, then a short walk on the caldera edge.
• Evening: a winery tour that ends with the sunset.

The first choice on this 9 day Greece itinerary is the port. The Wikivoyage guide to Mykonos says the island has two. The old port sits in Mykonos Town, and the new port at Tourlos lies about 2 km to the north. Wikivoyage places the ferries at the new port and the high-speed catamarans at the old one.

Read the port name on your ticket the evening before. From the old port, the walk into town follows the coast. From the new port, the SeaBus reaches town in 12 minutes. Walking from the new port takes around 45 minutes on a busy road without a sidewalk. Take a bus or taxi with bags.

The Santorini to Mykonos ferry guide covers the same crossing in the opposite direction. Day 5 needs only the timing, so the sailing facts stay in that guide.

Arrival on Santorini starts at the port of Athinios. Wikivoyage reports that buses meet each arriving ferry and reach Fira in 15 minutes. Taxis wait there too. The road out of the port makes seven 180-degree turns. After that climb, the Day 5 leg of the 9 day Greece itinerary ends at your hotel or at Fira.

On the Santorini side of the 9 day Greece itinerary, Fira bus station is the hub of the island network. Almost all lines start there. The buses carry luggage compartments for large cases. A hotel on the far side of the island means a change in Fira and a second ticket. These lines leave from the hub:

• Oia, via Imerovigli and Firostefani.
• Perissa, via Pyrgos.
• The airport, via Karterados and Megaria.
• Kamari.
• The Akrotiri museum, via Megalochori and Akrotiri village.
• The ferry terminal.

Taxis need a plan too. Wikivoyage notes that Santorini runs short of taxis in high season, and that hotels advise booking one in advance. Fares are shared between passengers, so a cab can pick up a second party on the way. If your hotel offers a pickup at Athinios, take it on a day like this one.

Once the bags are down, the 9 day Greece itinerary leaves the afternoon open for a short walk. The caldera wall at Fira stands 400 metres high. The view runs along 18 km of caldera, with Nea Kameni and Thirassia in the centre. The central square, Plateia Theotokopoulou, holds the bus and taxi station, banks and pharmacies.

Keep the afternoon short for a reason. Tomorrow is the full Santorini day. The Day 5 evening already holds a tour. Dinner and sleep come after the tour, so the afternoon only needs to cover the bags and the walk.

The evening gig is Santorini: Small-Group Sunset Wine Tour with Santo Winery. The GetYourGuide listing gives the length as 4 to 4.5 hours and marks pickup as available. The group visits 3 wineries and tastes 12 wines, including Assyrtiko, Nykteri and Vinsanto. The last stop, Santo Winery, is where the volcano view and the sunset come together.

The listing carries a free-cancellation label and a private option. Pickup removes the bus question for the evening. The tour ends a transfer day with a driver handling the roads while you handle the glass.

Oia is the swap on a 9 day Greece itinerary if you prefer to watch the sunset from the village. Wikipedia puts Oia 11 km from Fira. It says the sunlight hours there run longer than in Fira. Its paths are narrow and fill with people in the tourist season. Plan the bus back before you leave.

Wikivoyage describes the bus pattern that a 9 day Greece itinerary meets in the evening. In peak season, buses to Oia, Kamari and Perissa run every 15 minutes. Services end as late as midnight. In low season, services end by 19:00, and the buses run only every 90 minutes. A tour with a driver avoids that problem.

Flying instead of sailing changes the transfers but not the shape of the day. Mykonos airport lies about 4 km from Mykonos Town, with a taxi rank opposite the terminal. Buses leave from the southern terminal at Fabrika, though no buses run in the off-season. On Santorini, the airport bus runs via Karterados and Megaria to Fira.

The flight option replaces two harbour transfers with two airport transfers, and the evening stays the same. A traveller who flies still reaches Fira first, since the hub sits there. The 9 day Greece itinerary works with either mode on this leg, because the hotel and the tour stay fixed.

Day 5 ends at the hotel after the tour. Tomorrow holds the full Santorini day, and the next transfer waits on Day 7. Both Santorini nights stay in one base, so the bags come out only once. That keeps the Day 5 plan of this 9 day Greece itinerary light on packing.

How do you spend Day 6 of the 9 day Greece itinerary on Santorini?

Day 6 is the only full day on Santorini, with no ferry or flight in it. A guided 9 hour day trip suits it. The 9 day Greece itinerary spends Day 5 on the Mykonos ferry and Day 7 on the way to Crete.

Build the day around one booking. The anchor is the day trip titled “Santorini: Top Sights Day Trip, Wine Tasting, & Oia Sunset”. GetYourGuide rates it 4.7 stars from 3,719 reviews, and the listing gives its length as 9 hours. That length fills the whole of Day 6 without a second plan.

The listing settles the logistics a 9 day Greece itinerary needs for a full island day. Hotel pickup is available, a private option exists and the tour runs in English. Choose the private option when the group wants its own pace.

Children from 3 to 17 book under the child category on this tour. Ages 2 and younger are not permitted. The listing needs 24 hours or more of notice and carries the free cancellation label. Book it as soon as the Day 5 ferry ticket is in hand.

Read the day as three blocks. The listing names the stops but gives no clock times. Ask the operator for the order of the middle stops.

• Start: hotel pickup, then the panoramic caldera views named in the listing summary.
• Middle: Perissa Beach and the wine tasting from the tour title.
• End: the Oia sunset, which closes the 9 hours.

Perissa supplies the beach stop of Day 6 on a 9 day Greece itinerary. The village sits 13 km southeast of Fira, near the Messa Vouno rock. Remnants of an Early Christian church of Saint Irene stand there. The island’s name Santorini is a contraction of that saint’s name.

The wine stop of the 9 day Greece itinerary shows what grows in the volcanic soil. The island wine industry rests on the Assyrtiko grape. The white wines taste dry, with a strong citrus scent and mineral notes. Vinsanto is the sweet dessert wine made from sun-dried grapes. The Kanava wineries are the cellars where growers store wine.

The sunset stop of Day 6 belongs in Oia for a reason of geography. Oia lies on the north-west edge of the caldera, and its sunlight hours are much longer than those of Fira. The paths are narrow and congested in the tourist season. Walk the main street, Nikolaou Nomikou, early, then take a place on the caldera edge.

A fixed tour also protects the one day on this 9 day Greece itinerary that has no spare hour. The next fixed point is the Day 7 departure for Crete.

Each swap fills a different share of the day, and a 9 day Greece itinerary keeps one anchor.

• A private walking tour of Akrotiri with a licensed guide runs 75 minutes. The listing carries the skip-the-line label and asks for a booking 1 hour 30 minutes ahead. The listing also carries a sell-out warning.
• A full-day boat tour to Nea Kameni, Palea Kameni, the hot springs and Thirasia runs 7 to 10 hours. It offers pickup, and the listing needs 10 hours or more of notice.
• The Lost Atlantis museum in Megalochori takes 1 hour. It is the first museum in the world dedicated to the myth of Lost Atlantis.
• A sunset cruise from Athinios port runs 3 hours, with a swim in the Palea Kameni springs. Athinios is the ferry port, where the Day 5 ferry docks.
• A Greek night in Oia runs 2.5 hours, with a dance show and a dinner of Greek recipes. The listing asks for a booking 1 hour ahead.

The boat tour replaces the day trip rather than joining it, because both fill the daylight hours. The Akrotiri walk and the museum fit around a self-guided day. The cruise and the Greek night replace the Oia sunset on an evening when the day trip is dropped.

A self-guided Day 6 starts at the bus station in Fira. Buses leave it very frequently and link Fira to the rest of the island. Two museums stand in Fira. The Archaeological Museum of Thera is 30 metres east of the cable car entrance. The Museum of Prehistoric Thera is at the southeast corner of the Ypapanti cathedral.

Fira is built on the edge of a caldera 400 metres high. From the village the view runs along the 18 km caldera, with Cape Akrotiri marking the south end and Cape Ag. Nikolaos the north end. A self-guided day on this 9 day Greece itinerary can end at that rim.

Oia has one more detail for a walker. A flight of 300 steps leads from the village down to the port of Ammoudi. Keep that descent for a day with spare hours. The climb back eats into a 9 day Greece itinerary that has no slack.

Day 6 is also the last full day of the island stay. A traveller who adds nights follows the day plans on the Santorini itinerary page. It covers three, four and five days. On this 9 day Greece itinerary, the evening of Day 6 goes to packing before the move to Crete.

How do you spend Day 7 of a 9 day Greece itinerary, from Santorini to Crete?

Day 7 moves the route from Santorini to Heraklion in one leg and keeps the evening free for the city. In a 9 day Greece itinerary, book the crossing first and fit the other hours around its departure time.

The morning on Santorini begins with check-out. Keep your passport, your booking reference and a phone charger in a day bag. The hour of your boat or plane sets the hour you leave. The rest of Day 7 follows from that choice.

Two routes link the islands on Day 7 of this 9 day Greece itinerary: the sea and the air. The sea route has its own page, the Santorini to Crete ferry guide. It covers the operators, the ports and the crossing itself. This section covers the hours around the crossing.

• Morning: check out, then take your bags to the port or the airport.
• Midday: cross from Santorini to Crete by boat or by plane.
• Afternoon: arrive in Heraklion, reach the hotel and drop the bags.
• Evening: join the guided food walk and eat in the old town.

The air route starts at Santorini airport. Wikipedia places it about 6 km southeast of the centre of Thira and north of the village of Kamari. Buses, taxis, hotel pickups and hire cars all serve the terminal. The airport website lists the terminal as open every day, all day.

Wikipedia’s destination table for that airport lists Aegean Airlines with a seasonal route to Heraklion. A seasonal route does not run in every month. Check the airline timetable for your date before you build a 9 day Greece itinerary around a flight.

Heraklion airport lies about 5 km east of the city centre, near Nea Alikarnassos. Wikipedia ranks it as the second busiest airport in Greece after Athens. Day 9 of this 9 day Greece itinerary leaves from the same airport, so you see it twice.

Boats from Santorini end at the port of Heraklion. The Koules fortress guards the entrance to the old port there. Wikipedia describes the restored fort as open to the public. Night 7 is spent in the city, so you do not travel again after you land.

Use the first hours in Heraklion to check in, drop the bags and rest. Day 8 covers the rest of the island. Day 7 of the 9 day Greece itinerary stays inside the city.

The booked activity for the evening is the Heraklion: Food Tastings Walking Tour. The listing gives its length as 4 hours and shows a rating of 5 stars from 168 reviews. It describes a walk through local districts where you eat and sip your way through the city. Day 7 of a 9 day Greece itinerary ends on foot in the old town.

Book the walk for the evening, not the afternoon, so a late landing does not cost you the tour. The booking page asks for a reservation at least 10 hours before the start, and the listing offers free cancellation. The safe moment to reserve it is before you leave Santorini.

• The crossing: a boat or plane ticket for the morning or midday.
• The evening food walk, reserved at least 10 hours ahead.
• A hotel in Heraklion for night 7.

If the crossing runs late, swap to the shorter Heraklion walking tour with tastings. Its listing gives 2.5 hours and free cancellation. The listing names the Koules fortress as a landmark on the route and lists bougatsa and raki as the tastings.

That shorter walk asks for a booking at least 2 days in advance. Counting back from Day 7, reserve it by Day 5 if you want it as the fallback.

Skip the Santorini day trips that start in Heraklion. One listing runs 9 to 14 hours by bus and ferry. It visits Oia and Fira with about 5.5 hours of free time. You finish Santorini on Day 6. That trip repeats a day you already had in your 9 day Greece itinerary.

How do you spend Day 8 of the 9 day Greece itinerary around Heraklion?

Spend Day 8 on a sailing cruise from Heraklion to Dia Island, an uninhabited island 13 km offshore. The 9 day Greece itinerary gives Crete one full day. The 5.5 hour cruise is the only fixed booking, and the evening stays free.

Day 7 brought you to Heraklion, and Day 9 holds the departure. Day 8 of the 9 day Greece itinerary needs one booking and nothing else. Dia sits 13 km north of Heraklion. The island is 5 km long and 3 km wide, which makes it a short boat ride from the port.

On Day 8 the route trades a long road trip for a short sea trip. One day cannot cover Crete, and a drive across the island fills the whole day with the car. A boat day gives you swimming and a meal on the water. It also keeps you close to the city before the flight.

Dia suits a 9 day Greece itinerary because it is uninhabited. Day trips are allowed, camping is not, and no cars are allowed on the island. Swimming, snorkeling and walking along the beach are the popular activities. Four coves line the south coast: Agios Georgios, Kapari, Panagia and Agrielia. Boats have used those coves as anchorages since the Minoan period.

Dia once carried the name Standia, and it served as the principal port of Crete for centuries. Jacques Cousteau explored the water between Heraklion and Dia and found the remains of an ancient port there. Today the island is a protected bird area, because 300 to 380 pairs of Eleonora’s falcon breed on it.

The hour-by-hour plan for the 9 day Greece itinerary is short. Each block below follows the listing, which gives a total length and no fixed clock times. Check the departure slots in the booking widget before you pick the hotel meeting point.

• Morning: eat breakfast in Heraklion and choose the earliest departure that the booking widget shows. Pickup is available on the listing, so ask your hotel which meeting point applies.
• Midday: the boat sails to Dia. Snorkeling gear is provided, and the listing adds stand-up paddleboarding, drinks and a traditional Mediterranean meal.
• Afternoon: a late-morning departure puts you back in Heraklion before the evening. Shower, rest and keep your bag light.
• Evening: walk the waterfront and look north. From Heraklion, Dia looks like a giant lizard lying in the sea.

The lizard comes from a Greek myth. Zeus turned a lizard that attacked Crete into stone with a thunderbolt, and the stone became the island. The island is also visible from Knossos, so the Minoans saw it from their palace.

The gig for this day of the 9 day Greece itinerary is Heraklion Sailing Cruise to Dia Island | All Inclusive. It leaves from Heraklion and lasts 5.5 hours. The listing carries three labels: private option available, pickup available and free cancellation. It needs 10 hours or more of notice.

Book the cruise as soon as the transport for Day 7 is fixed. A 9 day Greece itinerary has no spare day, so a cancelled boat cannot slide to another date. The free cancellation label lets you cancel at no cost if the weather or the plan changes.

A swap replaces the cruise and never joins it. Each outing below fills the day, and the 9 day Greece itinerary has room for one of them. Durations come from the gig listings.

• Spinalonga: the Spinalonga BBQ cruise from Heraklion lasts 11 hours. It includes a BBQ meal, a guided tour of the island and free time in Agios Nikolaos. The Spinalonga entrance fee is paid separately.
• Matala: the Matala day trip lasts 8 hours and includes free time on the beach or at the caves. Matala lies 75 km south-west of Heraklion, and the caves are cut into the cliff of its bay.
• Lasithi: the Lasithi road trip lasts 7.5 to 10.5 hours. It visits the Cave of Zeus, Vidiani Monastery, Lasinthos Eco Park and Krasi village, then an olive mill farm.
• Knossos: the palace e-ticket with an audio guide runs 1 to 5 hours and needs a booking at least 5 hours ahead. Our Knossos in one day plan holds the palace timings.
• Sea life without a boat: the CRETAquarium sits 15 km east of Heraklion near Gournes. It holds 61 tanks and more than 2,500 animals, and its listing asks for a booking 1.5 hours ahead.
• No fixed plan: the hop-on hop-off bus gives a 48-hour ticket with 2 routes. The routes reach Knossos and Ammoudara Beach.

Pick the swap by the forecast and by how much travel the 9 day Greece itinerary can add. The Spinalonga trip takes 11 hours, so it leaves little space for packing. The Matala trip is 3 hours shorter. The Knossos ticket and the aquarium both fit a half day, so either one pairs with a long lunch.

Visitors who want the whole island can read the seven day Crete itinerary. It splits a week between a western base and an eastern base. That plan needs a hire car and seven days, and the 9 day Greece itinerary has one.

Keep the rest of Day 8 empty. The route has already taken you through Athens, Mykonos and Santorini. The last night on Crete is the time to rest. Eat dinner in Heraklion and pack the swimwear last.

Day 9: how do you spend the last hours of the 9 day Greece itinerary and depart from Heraklion?

Day nine is one short activity and a fixed clock. On this 9 day Greece itinerary you work back from the flight. Book the transfer first, then a margin at the airport, then whatever fits before. The airport sits five kilometres east of Heraklion’s centre.

The last morning of a 9 day Greece itinerary depends on a single number, the departure time of your flight. The menu below sorts the options by flight time. You choose once and book on day seven or day eight.

Start with the margin. The Athens airport website tells passengers to be there two and a half hours before departure. New Entry/Exit System checks can slow passport control. Its notice adds that late arrival at the gate can mean denied boarding.

That notice covers Athens. If your flight home connects there, Athens is your second airport on day nine of the 9 day Greece itinerary. The flight from Heraklion to Athens takes about 50 minutes nonstop on Aegean or Sky Express.

Pick the activity by flight time. The list gives lengths and notice periods from the booking listings. Start times differ by listing, so read each one before you pay.

• Flight in the first hours of the day: skip the activity. Ride from the hotel to the airport and use the terminal.
• Flight around midday: one activity of two to three hours. The electric tuk tuk city tour lasts two to three hours for a private group, includes pickup and needs one hour of notice. The museum ticket runs one to four hours, offers an optional audio guide and is wheelchair accessible. It needs two hours of notice.
• Flight in the afternoon: the food walking tour runs four hours and needs ten hours of notice. The aquarium ticket lists over 1,200 marine organisms and needs an hour and a half of notice.
• Flight in the evening: the walking tour with tastings runs two and a half hours and needs two days of notice, so book it by day seven.

Cancellation rules matter on a fixed-clock day. Every listing above shows free cancellation except the museum ticket, which shows no such label. Read the museum terms before you buy, then keep the rest of the 9 day Greece itinerary flexible around it.

The hop-on hop-off bus sells a 48-hour ticket with two routes. If you bought it on day eight, read its start rule before you plan a ride on day nine.

The transfer is the one booking day nine cannot skip. The listing “Crete: One-Way Private Transfer to/from an Airport or Port” is a private group booking. It offers pickup and free cancellation and needs six hours of notice. It lists a duration of one to four hours.

Fares, road times and the other ways to reach the terminal sit on our Heraklion airport transfers page. Day nine of the 9 day Greece itinerary needs only one booking rule. Reserve the ride with the activity and set the pickup from the flight.

An independent airport guide lists services worth a stop before check-in. It names a left-luggage store and a shrink-wrap service that protects bags before check-in. Both help when the last bag of the 9 day Greece itinerary is the fragile one.

Travellers who qualify for a VAT refund go to the Customs office in the landside departures area before check-in. They bring the purchases and get the form stamped. They then claim the refund at the Global Blue desk inside the duty-free shop.

Keep the purchases from the whole 9 day Greece itinerary within reach, because the stamp needs them on hand.

The duty-free store covers 2,100 square metres before passport control and serves Schengen and non-Schengen passengers. The halls also hold a shop of regional Cretan products from local agricultural cooperatives. A mailbox for letters and postcards and a Greek National Tourism Organisation desk stand there as well.

Passengers with reduced mobility arrange assistance in advance through the airline or its ground handler: Goldair Handling, Skyserv or Swissport. Arrange it before day nine of the 9 day Greece itinerary, not at the check-in desk. Baby rooms for feeding and changing sit in both the departures and arrivals areas.

Money matters on the last day of a 9 day Greece itinerary. Cash machines stand in the departures area. Foreign-exchange bureaux operate in departures, before and after passport control, and in arrivals after baggage reclaim. Free wireless internet covers the catering areas and the duty-free shops. Use it for a last look at the booking confirmation.

A medical service operates at the airport around the clock. Pack power banks and portable batteries in the cabin bag. Athens International Airport lists them among the items that must not travel in checked baggage. It also states that staff can open and screen checked bags when the passenger is absent.

The order of day nine stays the same for every flight time:

• Breakfast and check-out.
• The activity, if the flight leaves room for one.
• The private transfer to the airport.
• The Customs stamp, shrink-wrap or left luggage, then bag drop.
• Security and passport control, then the gate.

That order closes the 9 day Greece itinerary: four stops, eight nights and one clean exit from Crete.

How can you shorten or swap a leg of this 9 day Greece itinerary?

Five changes keep the plan close to its shape. Drop Crete and fly home from Santorini. Reverse the middle order so Mykonos feeds Heraklion directly. Add a spare night, add a short island stop, or trade a ferry for a flight. Each change alters one leg of this 9 day Greece itinerary and leaves the other legs alone.

The first change removes the Crete days. Dropping days 7, 8 and 9 turns the 9 day Greece itinerary into a three-stop plan that ends in Santorini.

Santorini’s airport is the exit. The airport lies about 6 kilometres southeast of Thira, says Wikipedia. It lists Aegean Airlines and Sky Express flights to Athens. It also lists flights from the UK, Germany, Italy, France and Scandinavia, and calls them seasonal. Check the month before you book a flight home from the island.

A shorter plan skips the Heraklion ferry. For a week-long shape, compare it with a seven-day plan through Athens, Santorini and Mykonos. That plan fills its last days with Naxos and Delphi instead of Crete.

The second change puts Santorini before Mykonos. The days keep their slots. Day 3 runs Athens to Santorini, day 5 runs Santorini to Mykonos and day 7 runs Mykonos to Heraklion.

Ferryhopper lists Athens to Santorini at 4 hours 50 minutes to 11 hours 30 minutes. Blue Star Ferries, Seajets and Fast Ferries sail the route. From Mykonos, a direct ferry reaches Heraklion in 4 hours 20 minutes to 6 hours 25 minutes. That order still gives the plan four stops and eight nights.

The Mykonos to Heraklion route runs from April to October, says Ferryhopper. It shows one or two crossings a day, and only one Seajets sailing a week in November. Read the timetable for your travel week before you fix the order.

The third change adds a spare night. Ferry schedules differ by operator and month. On Athens to Santorini, Ferryhopper shows sailings from every day down to once a week. Guard the leg with the fewest sailings. A spare night turns a missed boat into a delay, not a lost day on the 9 day Greece itinerary.

A short island stop is the fourth change. Mykonos to Naxos takes 35 minutes to 1.5 hours, says Ferryhopper. Golden Star Ferries, Fast Ferries and Seajets run up to 10 crossings a day in summer. A guided option for the same islands is the guided 8-day tour through Athens, Mykonos and Santorini.

That tour joins Athens, Mykonos and Santorini in one booking. It is a fixed package, so it suits a traveller who wants one seller for every day. A self-planned 9 day Greece itinerary keeps every change above open.

The fifth change replaces a ferry with a flight when wind stops the boats. In one August gale, winds of up to 60 kilometres per hour left Piraeus with no departures, says Euronews. The ban covered all of Attica’s major ports. The Coast Guard told travellers to ask the ferry company and the local port authority first.

A flight is the fallback on the Athens to Santorini leg. Keep one flight option open for the day you travel. First-time island visitors find more on wind, boats and planes in a practical guide for first-time island visitors. Pick one change, not all five, so the other bookings stay as they are.

What do travellers ask about this 9 day Greece itinerary?

Travellers ask about luggage, children, pets, mobility and car hire. The answers below come from ferry, heritage and licence sources, and each one fits a single leg or day. Read them before you book the first boat of the 9 day Greece itinerary.

How much luggage can you bring on the ferries?

On Athens to Santorini, Ferryhopper lists single luggage of up to 50 kg on both Seajets and Blue Star Ferries. It lists no size or weight limit on Fast Ferries. Flights carry their own limits, so read the airline’s page before you pack for the 9 day Greece itinerary.

Do children pay for the ferries?

Ferryhopper says infants and children up to 4 years old travel free on Athens to Santorini. Children from 5 to 10 years old get discounts of up to 50%. Read the fare rules of each operator on the other legs of the 9 day Greece itinerary.

Can you take a pet on the boats?

On Athens to Santorini, a pet travels free of charge if you include it in the booking, says Ferryhopper. A pet over 10 kg must use the onboard kennels. Add the pet at booking, not at the port. A pet changes the whole 9 day Greece itinerary, so check each leg.

Can a wheelchair user visit the Acropolis on day two?

The European Commission’s accessibility centre describes a variable-angle lift on the Acropolis slope with a payload of 1,300 kg. Two golf-cart-type vehicles help visitors with mobility disabilities reach it. Accessible routes there now measure 500 metres and use a special paved surface. The 9 day Greece itinerary reaches those paths on day two.

Do you need a car on this route?

Each stop has a port or an airport, so a car is a choice, not a need. For a hire car, Wikipedia says non-EU drivers need an International Driving Permit unless a recognition agreement applies. It names the US, Canada, Australia and Japan among the countries with recognition agreements. Check your home authority first.

Wikipedia sets the minimum age for a car licence at 18. Ferryhopper says cars travel on all conventional ferries, so check the vessel type for fast boats.

Can you run the route in reverse?

The Heraklion to Mykonos direction shows sailings 2 to 7 days a week on the Ferryhopper schedule. Mykonos to Heraklion shows 1 to 7 days a week. Match your start day to a sailing before you book the flights for the 9 day Greece itinerary.