A 12 day Greece tour of Athens, Syros, Milos and Santorini gives the islands eight of its eleven nights and keeps the first two and the last night in Athens. Find more trip ideas on Greece Tours. Each day below carries a short plan with its transport, its tour and its booking step, followed by the months, the places to sleep and the questions travellers ask.
What is a 12 day Greece tour through Athens, Syros, Milos and Santorini?
It is a route of twelve days and eleven nights through four stops: Athens, Syros, Milos and Santorini. This 12 day Greece tour gives Athens three nights, Syros two, Milos three and Santorini three. Boats join the islands.
The trip planner kimkim says twelve days are enough to get to know three or four Greek destinations. This route takes four: one on the mainland and three on islands. The sections below follow every day of the 12 day Greece tour in order, from day 1 to day 12.
Syros lies 78 nautical miles, or 144 kilometres, south-east of Athens, according to Wikipedia. Its town Ermoupoli is the capital of the Cyclades. Milos is a volcanic island at the south-western end of that island group. The Venus de Milo statue in the Louvre comes from it.
You book the boats and hotels yourself and add a tour on the days that suit it. Private tours, cruises and other multi-day plans sit on our Greece VIP packages page.
How does the 12 day Greece tour split its twelve days between four stops?
Four days are moves: days 3, 5, 8 and 11. The 12 day Greece tour spends the other eight on stops. Athens gets three, Syros one, Milos two and Santorini two.
- Athens: days 1, 2 and 12, with nights 1, 2 and 11.
- Syros: day 4 in full, with nights 3 and 4.
- Milos: days 6 and 7 in full, with nights 5, 6 and 7.
- Santorini: days 9 and 10 in full, with nights 8, 9 and 10.
Milos gets three nights because it covers more ground. Wikipedia gives the municipality of Milos 160.147 square kilometres, with its empty islets Antimilos and Akradies. The municipality of Syros-Ermoupoli covers 101.90.
Syros needs one full day for its two main towns, Ermoupoli and Ano Syros. Wikipedia calls Ano Syros the second town of the island. Milos splits its two full days into one on land and one on a boat.
Book the four boats first. Every bed on the 12 day Greece tour depends on the day each boat sails.
Which months suit this 12 day Greece tour?
June to September suit the route, with Milos highs of 25.2 to 28.1 degrees and under 6 millimetres of rain. A 12 day Greece tour in April or October meets highs of 18.4 and 21.3 degrees and more rain.
NOAA’s climate table for Milos, printed on Wikipedia, shows the rain gap. June records 3.3 millimetres, July 0.3 and August 1.4. September has 5.8, April 20.5 and October 42.9.
Winter turns the balance. December brings 90.3 millimetres of rain, on 9.0 days with 1 millimetre or more. The mean daily high in January is 12.9 degrees.
Syros is warm in the same months. Wikipedia’s Ermoupoli table comes from World Weather Online. It gives a mean daily high of 29 degrees in June, 31 in July and 30 in August. January stands at 13.
Ferryhopper’s route tables, built on last year’s data, list boats on all four legs from January to December. The weather therefore sets the dates of a 12 day Greece tour. The next section gives the sailing days of each leg.
How do you get between the four stops on a 12 day Greece tour?
Four boats do the work: Piraeus to Syros, Syros to Milos, Milos to Santorini and Santorini back to Piraeus. On a 12 day Greece tour each leg has its own operators and its own number of sailing days.
- Day 3, Piraeus to Syros: Seajets and Blue Star Ferries sail every day. The shortest crossing takes 2 hours.
- Day 5, Syros to Milos: Blue Star Ferries sails 3 days a week. The shortest crossing takes 4 hours 30 minutes and lands at Adamas.
- Day 8, Milos to Santorini: Seajets and Fast Ferries sail 1 to 7 days a week. The shortest crossing takes 1 hour 50 minutes over 52 nautical miles, or 96 kilometres.
- Day 11, Santorini to Piraeus: Seajets, Blue Star Ferries and Fast Ferries sail every day. The shortest crossing takes 3 hours 55 minutes over 127 nautical miles, or about 236 kilometres.
The operators, sailing days and times come from Ferryhopper’s route tables. Syros to Milos does not sail every day. Pick that date first on a 12 day Greece tour, then book the other legs around it.
Planes do not cover the island legs. Wikipedia lists only Athens and Thessaloniki flights from Milos airport. Syros airport lists Athens, Heraklion and Thessaloniki. Milos airport takes only Dash 8 and ATR 42 aircraft or smaller.
Other routes, ports and booking steps are covered in our Greek island hopping guide.
How do you spend the first afternoon in Athens on Day 1 of your 12 day Greece tour?
Day 1 is a short walk from Syntagma Square to the Temple of Olympian Zeus, about 700 metres south. The 12 day Greece tour keeps its arrival day flat and light. Hadrian’s Arch marks the old road to the temple.
The temple was built with 104 columns. Work began in the sixth century BC and ended under Hadrian in the second century AD. Fifteen columns still stand, and a sixteenth lies where a storm dropped it in the nineteenth century.
The arch beside it is 18 metres high and made of Pentelic marble. It had two inscriptions, one facing each way. Both named Theseus and Hadrian as founders of Athens.
The listing Athens: Temple of Olympian Zeus Entrance Ticket lasts one hour and offers an optional audio guide. It needs booking only five minutes ahead. A late landing then costs your 12 day Greece tour nothing.
- Afternoon: check in and rest.
- Late afternoon: walk to the arch and the temple.
- Evening: dinner near the hotel and an early night.
Day 2 starts at a museum gate, so keep dinner short. For a longer stay in the capital, the Athens itinerary for first timers plans three days.
Which two museums fill Day 2 of the 12 day Greece tour in Athens?
The National Archaeological Museum fills the morning, and the Museum of Cycladic Art fills the afternoon. Both prepare a 12 day Greece tour for the islands ahead. On a summer Tuesday the first museum opens at 13:00 and the second stays closed.
The National Archaeological Museum stands on Patission Street, a five-minute walk from Victoria station on Metro Line 1. In the summer period it opens at 08:00 from Wednesday to Monday. Its Cycladic hall holds marble figures from Delos and Keros, including the Lutist. The building is fully wheelchair accessible.
For the morning, book National Archaeological Museum: Expert-Led Private Tour. It runs two hours and carries free cancellation with ten hours of notice. The listing names the Death Mask of Agamemnon and the Antikythera Mechanism.
The Museum of Cycladic Art holds over 3,000 items. It opens at 10:00 and closes at 17:00. Thursday runs until 20:00, and Sunday opens at 11:00. The last entry is 15 minutes before closing. Evangelismos station on Line 3 lies 500 metres away, and lockers hold backpacks.
The order suits a 12 day Greece tour that reaches Syros on Day 3. Art of the Early Cycladic II phase carries the name Keros-Syros culture. Day 2 shows the Keros figures, and Day 4 visits Syros.
How does Day 3 of the 12 day Greece tour carry you from Athens to Syros?
Day 3 crosses by sea from Piraeus to Ermoupoli, with boats listed from 07:00 to 23:30. A morning sailing gives the 12 day Greece tour a free first afternoon on the island. The port, the bus station and the town hotels sit close together.
Ermoupoli is the capital of the Cyclades and is well connected with Athens. The ticket names your gate. Directferries lists gates E6, E7 and E8 for Syros boats and about three sailings a day. Trust the gate on the ticket over any list.
Ermoupoli rises from the harbour as an amphitheatre of neoclassical buildings, and the port is easy to leave. The KTEL bus station sits next to it, and tickets are sold on board. Taxis wait outside Miaouli Square, but Wikivoyage says one is hard to find when the ferries arrive. A hotel in the town centre is a walk away.
Book the evening once the boat has docked. Syros: Wine Tasting with Local Cheeses and Bread lasts 90 minutes in a neoclassical mansion in Ermoupoli. It pairs five Syros wines with local cheeses and homemade bread, and it needs only 45 minutes of notice.
The how to get to Syros guide adds the Rafina boats and the flights from Athens.
What fills Day 4 of this 12 day Greece tour on Syros?
Day 4 puts a morning hike at Kastri, a Bronze Age site, before an afternoon in Ermoupoli. This 12 day Greece tour spends its first full island day on the north coast, the capital and Ano Syros.
The hike is Syros: Halandriani and Kastri hike. It lasts three hours on the north-east coast, facing Tinos and Andros, with free cancellation and ten hours of notice.
Wikipedia calls Kastri one of the earliest Greek settlements with stone walls and rounded bastions. An estimate puts the town at up to 300 people. The nearby cemetery at Chalandriani gave a type of Cycladic figure its name.
- Morning: the Kastri hike.
- Afternoon: Ermoupoli on foot, from the Apollon Theatre to Vaporia and Miaouli Square.
- Evening: Ano Syros, then dinner.
Neorion, the first shipyard in Greece, still services ships in Ermoupoli. Ano Syros was built by the Venetians at the start of the 13th century. The way from the harbour to its main entry point is about 1,000 metres, and marble steps link its streets.
Wikivoyage advises a bus or taxi up and a walk down. It notes that the places to eat there serve in the evening, after 7 pm. The 12 day Greece tour therefore ends Day 4 with a late table.
What does Day 5, the ferry from Syros to Milos, look like on a 12 day Greece tour?
Day 5 is a sea day with one early boat. Take the 07:00 Blue Star boat and the 12 day Greece tour reaches Adamas at 14:30 with an evening left. Direct Ferries lists both times.
The late-October timetable also shows a Blue Star sailing at 13:30 that arrives at 23:40. That boat uses up the whole day. The 07:00 boat runs on set weekdays, so pick the date before you book the Milos hotel. At check-in, carry the booking confirmation and a photo ID.
Adamas is the arrival point. Greeka puts the bus station metres from the ferry port. The main taxi rank sits in the town centre, where 15 taxis serve the island. Rental cars can be collected at the port or delivered there when booked ahead. Plaka lies 5 km away.
Check in, then head to Plaka for the first evening of the 12 day Greece tour. The village perches on a large rock above the gulf of Milos. Only motorbikes and mopeds fit through the lanes, so walk in from the edge.
The Day 5 gig is Plaka: Milos Highlights Private Tour with Hotel Pickup. GetYourGuide lists 4 hours, a private group, hotel pickup and a one-hour notice period. That short cut-off means a late ferry does not break the booking. The listing names Sarakiniko, the Papafragkas cave and fishing villages.
Other ways into Milos, by ferry or by flight, sit in the how to get to Milos guide.
Which sights fill Day 6, the land day, of this 12 day Greece tour on Milos?
Day 6 stays around Trypiti, where a Roman theatre, the catacombs and the old town site lie close together. Keeping to that cluster means the 12 day Greece tour spends the day on foot instead of behind the wheel.
The catacombs date from the 1st to the 5th century AD. They lie 200 m east of the ancient theatre. Only one part of one gallery, called That of the Elders, is open to visitors, so the stop is short. Showcaves counts 291 recorded graves.
The ancient town of Melos stood on the slope between Trypiti and the landing place at Klima. Klima sits near the spot where the Venus de Milo was found. Wikipedia counts 8 residents in Klima. Its syrmata are two-storey fishermen’s houses with painted doors. Visitors can now stay in them.
Spend the afternoon of this 12 day Greece tour back in Adamas at the Milos Mining Museum. The ground floor shows tools and a trolley. The first floor holds minerals and ores. The basement runs a film with worker testimonies. An audio guide comes in Greek, English, French, German and Italian. Opening hours change with the season, so phone first.
The Day 6 gig is Milos Island: Archaeology & Culture Tour. GetYourGuide lists 4 hours, pickup, a bestseller label and free cancellation. The listing names the Roman amphitheatre and Sarakiniko. It needs booking 10 hours ahead, so reserve it on Day 5.
For a different order of the same Milos days, read the Milos 3 day itinerary.
How do you run Day 7, the boat day, of a 12 day Greece tour from Adamas?
Day 7 is one 10-hour day at sea. The sailboat leaves Adamas for Polyaigos and the Kleftiko caves, with lunch on board. Book it early, because the 12 day Greece tour has no spare day after this one.
The Day 7 gig is Adamas: Milos & Polyaigos Full-Day Sailboat Tour with Lunch. GetYourGuide lists 10 hours, free cancellation and a ten-hour notice period. The listing promises a swim at Polyaigos and snorkelling around the Kleftiko caves. It adds swim stops that only a boat can reach. It carries 2,156 reviews at 4.9 stars.
Polyaigos has no residents except goats, and its name points to them. It lies 2 km from Kimolos. In ancient times Milos and Kimolos argued over it, and Argos ruled that it belonged to Kimolos. Wikipedia adds that its sea caves shelter a dwindling number of Mediterranean monk seals.
Free cancellation lets you hold the booking and drop it if the plan changes. The 10-hour cut-off rules out booking on the morning itself. Reserve the boat by the evening of Day 6 at the latest. The sail fills Day 7, so the 12 day Greece tour plans nothing else for it.
How do you leave Milos for Santorini on Day 8 of the 12 day Greece tour?
Day 8 is a late-morning ferry from Adamas. That slot lets the 12 day Greece tour finish breakfast and reach Santorini by early afternoon. Two timetable samples list SeaJets sailings at 11:20 and 11:45, about two hours long.
Board at Adamas, not at Pollonia. The small Pollonia harbour serves the boats to Kimolos. One guide advises arriving an hour before departure. It says the shaded waiting area fills early. A ferry agent works near the port for paper tickets.
Summer brings a daily sailing. In winter the sailing is no longer daily. Companies publish the new timetables in February or March. Check that your date has a sailing before you book the other legs of the 12 day Greece tour.
The Day 8 gig is Santorini: Private Transfer from Airport/Port. GetYourGuide files it under Ormos Athinios, the port area, and lists 30 to 45 minutes, a private group and pickup. The cut-off is 30 minutes, so a late boat does not cost the booking. Free cancellation applies.
Where does Day 9 of the 12 day Greece tour go on Santorini?
Day 9 stays in one village, Vlychada. Day 9 of the 12 day Greece tour starts with a 1.5-hour horse ride on its black beach. The Tomato Industrial Museum stands in the same village.
Start with the ride. The gig is “Santorini: Horse Riding Trip to Black Sandy Beach”. GetYourGuide lists a small group, a private option and free cancellation. It needs 2 hours of notice.
Greeka describes a route from the caldera across the Vlychada fields to the black beach. A group holds up to 6 riders. Instruction, drinking water and a pause for photos are included. Children under 12 are not permitted, and the page does not recommend the ride to anyone with chronic back issues.
The museum names Vlychada as its home on its own website. It opens Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00, April to November. A Monday closes it, so check the weekday first. The site lists individual and group guided tours. It also lists an activity where you seal your own can and design its label.
On a 12 day Greece tour, a flexible ticket helps. A GetYourGuide entry ticket for the museum has free cancellation, an optional audio guide and wheelchair access. It lists 7 languages and needs a booking only 10 minutes ahead.
How does Day 10 of the 12 day Greece tour use the sea around Santorini?
Day 10 is a 5-hour catamaran sail. The last full day of the 12 day Greece tour can end on the water at the listing’s sunset. A barbecue supper, wine and a swim stop come with it. The morning stays free for the north.
The gig is “Santorini: Catamaran Tour with BBQ Dinner, Drinks, and Music”. GetYourGuide lists 5 hours, pickup and a Bestseller label. It carries free cancellation and asks for a booking at least 12 hours ahead. Tours run in English and Greek.
The listing promises a barbecue meal with unlimited white wine and soft drinks. It also promises a swim and snorkel stop in front of Red Beach and White Beach. A charter page for the boat names the menu:
- Greek salad and roasted vegetables
- Grilled chicken and pork skewers
- Stuffed vine leaves and a vegetarian meal
The web address of the listing names the boat Ocean Voyager 74. A charter page puts it at 74 feet. It holds up to 60 passengers on trips of 5 to 10 hours. A captain and 3 crew run it.
Keep the morning light on this 12 day Greece tour and spend it in the north. The Oia village guide covers the lanes, the castle and the steps down to the bay. The sail offers pickup, so ask the operator for the meeting point and the sunset slot when you book.
What does Day 11 of the 12 day Greece tour need between Santorini and Athens?
Day 11 needs one early choice: the ferry from Athinios or the flight from Santorini airport. Both versions of the 12 day Greece tour end in Athens, so the plan for the night stays the same.
Flying starts at a small airport. Travel Extra counts 17 check-in desks and two security checkpoints in its single terminal. It gives 10 to 20 minutes for a security check. It warns that queues can reach outside from June to September. There are no air bridges, so boarding means a bus or a short walk.
Jet2 says its desk closes strictly 40 minutes before departure. Its airport page adds that Santorini has no fast track and no lounge. Read your own airline’s times as well.
A ferry day on the 12 day Greece tour ends in Piraeus. The go-ferry port guide lists paid luggage lockers inside Piraeus metro station. Use them if you reach the city before your hotel opens the room.
The Athens gig is “Athens: Ancient Greek Theater Performance”. The show lasts 75 minutes and plays in English below the Acropolis. The ticket skips the queue and cancels free of charge. GetYourGuide takes bookings up to 5 minutes before the start. Pick a slot once the boat has docked.
Which plan fits Day 12 of the 12 day Greece tour as you leave Athens?
Work back from the flight. A private transfer fixes the ride, and the airport screens show your gate 90 to 60 minutes before departure. The final morning of the 12 day Greece tour then needs only a bag order.
The gig is “Athens: Direct Private Transfer to/from ATH Airport”. GetYourGuide lists a private group, pickup, 1 hour and free cancellation. It needs 10 hours of notice, so book it on Day 11.
The Athens airport guide maps the Main and Satellite terminals for the flight home from this 12 day Greece tour. The airport’s own tips ask you to check in online first. Airline counters open 2 to 3 hours before departure. A baggage drop counter takes online check-ins where the airline offers one.
A gate that starts with C sits in the Satellite Terminal, and the walk takes an extra 15 minutes. Security has its own rules, so pack the cabin bag for them on Day 11:
- Liquids go in containers of 100 ml or less, in one clear resealable bag of up to 1 litre per passenger, children included.
- Laptops and tablets come out of their cases.
- Charge every device first, because one that will not turn on can be refused.
- Fast Lane works only when the boarding pass prints it.
Which bed fits each of the eleven nights on this 12 day Greece tour?
Eleven nights make five stays: Thiseio and Syntagma in Athens, Ermoupoli on Syros, Adamas on Milos and Fira on Santorini. A 12 day Greece tour changes beds four times, so each bed sits where the next morning starts.
- Nights 1 and 2: Thiseio in Athens, with its own metro station.
- Nights 3 and 4: Ermoupoli, the capital and ferry port of Syros.
- Nights 5, 6 and 7: Adamas, the harbour town of Milos.
- Nights 8, 9 and 10: Fira, the capital of Santorini.
- Night 11: Syntagma in Athens, for the last morning.
Thiseio is a traditional neighbourhood northwest of the Acropolis, and it has pedestrian streets. Its station lies on Metro Line 1, 8.6 km from Piraeus, and the Piraeus metro station stands beside the seaport. The Day 3 ferry leaves from that port.
Syros is a big island with scattered towns, says Wikivoyage. Ermoupoli is the capital and the main port. A bed there skips the bus ride from the quay on both ferry days of a 12 day Greece tour.
Adamas is the harbour town and the cultural and commercial centre of Milos. Plaka, the chief town, stands on the plateau above it. In GetYourGuide’s Milos search, 5 of the 20 tours are Kleftiko boat trips filed under Adamantas. Three nights there keep your Milos days on a 12 day Greece tour close to the harbour.
Fira is the capital of Santorini, a cliff-perched town with museums and cultural venues. Wikivoyage says Santorini hotels of 20 rooms or fewer fill up quickly. A 12 day Greece tour spends three nights here, so lock those rooms first.
Syntagma holds night 11. Metro lines 2 and 3 meet under the square. Wikipedia names the X95 bus and Line 3 as the airport links. Other districts get a side-by-side look in where to stay in Athens.
Which tours on this 12 day Greece tour need a firm date, and how do you cancel them?
Put fixed-time tours on Days 2, 4, 6, 7, 9 and 10, the six days with no ferry or flight. Two labels decide each booking on a 12 day Greece tour: Free cancellation and the cut-off hours.
GetYourGuide’s Milos search returned 20 tours, and all 20 carry the Free cancellation label. The cut-off is 10 hours on 8 tours and 5 hours on 2. It is 3 hours on 4 tours, 2 hours on 2 and 1 hour on 4. So 12 of the 20 close 5 hours or less before the start.
The Syros search returned 18 listings, and 15 carry the label. The two ferry tickets and a helicopter transfer do not. Sixteen listings ask for a 10-hour cut-off, one asks for 1 hour and one for 45 minutes. Book the Day 4 outing a day ahead, unless its listing shows a shorter cut-off.
Read the refund terms of a ferry ticket before you pay. The guide to Greek ferry booking tips covers changes, cancellations and name corrections. Use it for each sailing on a 12 day Greece tour.
What do travellers ask about this 12 day Greece tour?
Travellers ask about airports, the Santorini old port, Milos roads, wheelchair labels and group size. Each answer fits one stop of this 12 day Greece tour and comes from Wikipedia, Wikivoyage or GetYourGuide’s live listings.
Which stops have an airport?
Syros, Milos and Santorini each have one. Wikipedia puts the Syros airport 3.5 km southeast of Ermoupoli and the Milos airport 5 km southeast of the harbour. Taxis and buses link the Milos airport to the island. Santorini’s airport lies about 6 km southeast of Thera.
Is there a road from Santorini’s old port up to Fira?
No. Wikivoyage says no road leads from the old port, and a cable car climbs to Fira. Wikipedia lists the cable car, a walk and donkeys as the ways up. Tour boats for Nea Kameni leave from the old port, called Skala.
Which Milos places do normal vehicles not reach?
Wikivoyage says normal vehicles cannot reach Thiorichia Beach or places on the west side. It adds that scooters are not all-terrain. Quad bikes rent with a car driving licence. The same page recommends offline maps for the island.
Can a wheelchair user join the tours on Syros and Milos?
The Syros search shows the Wheelchair accessible label on three tours. They are an Ermoupoli walking tour, a cuisine tasting and a photo session. None of the 16 Milos-based tours carries it. Ask the operator about access before you book a Milos day on a 12 day Greece tour.
Can you join the Milos tours as a private or small group?
Yes. Of the 16 Milos-based tours, 4 sell a private option and 6 are private groups. Five carry the Small group label, and 5 include pickup. Open the Day 7 listing and check which format it offers before you pay.