Advice Wanted: Recommendations for Greek Island getaway

I'm looking for vendors and experts in the Greece space to help me plan a romantic trip with my husband in July 2025.

In 2015 when we got married, we originally wanted to honeymoon in Greece. We couldn't afford it then, but now we want to do Athens for a couple days, and then spend additional days in the Greek Isles.

Looking for recommendations and partners to help us plan this trip. We will need packages/tours. I am vegetarian. We will want a mix of immersive, active, and relaxing experiences.

Hey Amritha,
How many days are you visiting Greece?

Hi. These three posts may be of help. www.thegreekvibe.com/51-reasons-to-marry-or-honeymoon-in-greece/
www.thegreekvibe.com/go-vegan-in-greece-at-these-top-notch-athens-eateries/
www.thegreekvibe.com/do-it-vegan-greek-style-the-tips/

Since you plan to travel in peak season, I would avoid Santorini and Mykonos...way too crowded.
While many islands in Greece are crowded, I found Paros, Naxos and Milos to be a bit less crazy. It is also easier to fly during peak season to avoid long lines at the ferry boats. Check out SKY express flights from Athens to most Greek Islands. It does save time :) www.skyexpress.gr/en/flights

Excellent on planning a trip to Greece. Since you're visiting in summer, I recommend basing yourself outside the most touristy islands of Santorini and Mykonos like someone else mentioned.

There are so many beautiful Greek islands, but July and August are particularly crowded. Andros is quite authentic and great for outdoor activities like hiking. It's the closest Cyclades island to Athens' lesser known port of Rafina. The ferry from Rafina to Andros continues to Tinos (also lovely) and then Mykonos. So you could spend just a few hours exploring the laneways of Mykonos, without overpaying to stay there, in transit to a quieter island like Paros, Naxos, Syros, Milos, etc.

You could also fly from Athens to Rhodes (incredible for history and the outdoors, less so for food compared to islands like Naxos and Crete) and explore fantastic Dodecanese islands like nearby Simi (strikingly beautiful), Kos and lesser known gems like Kalymnos.

wanderlustmarriage.com/andros-greek-islands-things-to-do/

I can recommend Andros, having spent 2 weeks there in late September / early October this year. It's also well placed if you plan to spend time in Athens as you can then get the ferry directly to Andros from Rafina port in 2 hours. You could also split your time between Andros and Tinos. Andros is great for hiking, although probably too hot in July. It also has a great mix of marked walking trails, beaches, a charming capital town (Chora) with good restaurants, wineries, monasteries and a few museums. I found staying in Chora provided easy access to everything you need, not to mention 2 beaches and good transport links. There's an excellent tour company who manage lots of accommodation (look at Castel Abaso, Anemomiloi and Golden Vista Suites) as well as running tours and transfers exploreandros.gr. I wrote about Andros hiking here, but plan to write another article about the whole island soon www.heatheronhertravels.com/hiking-in-andros-greece/ . On another topic, an island that I know very well is Zakynthos, as my sister lives there. It's quite different to Andros, much more package tourism and more developed but lots to do especially beaches and swimming, so get in touch if you are considering that island - but you'd probably need to fly from Athens. Like the others said, I'd avoid Santorini and Mykonos, which have become hugely expensive and overcrowded in high season.