You can design your own tour of Greece using one or more of these coach or island-hopping tours from reputable operators. Most of these provide accommodations and transportation; some add a guided tour or two, but most of the time you'll be free to decide how you want to spend your time on that Greek island.
1. 2-day Mykonos Experience from Athens
Picture of Mykonos Harbor copyright deTraci Regula; licensed to About.com
Mykonos gets a bad rap - some visitors claim it is too crowded, too touristy, too popular. But none of that would be a problem if Mykonos weren't, at its core, a fascinating and fun Greek island with great beaches, a lively international-flavored nightlife, and interesting cultural experiences. This is an easy way to experience a single Greek island if your time is limited, or if you're staying in Athens for a longer period and you want to break it up a bit.
2. 4-day Santorini Excursion
Picture of Santorini copyright deTraci Regula; licensed to About.com
If you want to explore Santorini in depth and allow plenty of time on its amazing beaches, this 4-day option may be the best choice for you. It provides transportation via ferry to and from Athens and your hotel.
3. 2-Day Trip to Santorini from Athens
Picture of Santorini copyright deTraci Regula; licensed to About.com
Here's an easy way to work in a quick visit to Santorini from Athens. You can experience the best the island has to offer and still make it back in time for your flight out of Greece, or before you embark on a coach tour of Mainland Greece. The main advantage is that someone else is taking care of the arrangements for you, and your transfer from the port to the hotel and back is included and pre-arranged.
4. 4-Day Classical Greece Tour: Epidaurus, Mycenae, Olympia, Delphi, Meteora
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This four-day trip covers the major sights in the Peloponnese Peninsula plus Delphi and Meteora and can be expanded with a few days on your own exploring the Mani or vegging out in a coastal paradise such as Hermione. You could also take a quick boat to the jewel-like island of Hydra off the Peloponnese coast.
5. 3-Day Classical Greece Tour: Epidaurus, Mycenae, Nafplion, Olympia, Delphi
If time is an issue, this three-day version gives you most of the experience with a day shaved off from the 4-day version - but you lose the hanging monasteries of Meteora. If monastic architecture or Byzantine art is not your thing, this may be the trip you'll prefer.6. 7-Day Greece Grand Tour: Olympia, Delphi, Meteora, Thessaloniki, Lefkadia
If you add in a few days in Athens and environs at the beginning or end of this 7-day tour, you'll have "done" mainland Greece more thoroughly than many first-time or even repeat travelers. All that's left will be to find a Greek island or two to round out your itinerary.7. 3-Day Northern Greece Tour - Thessaloniki, Pella, Lefkadia
If you skip Northern Greece, you've missed out on an important part of the entire Greek experience. This is a relatively quick look at a huge area, but it still gives you a taste of the North.8. 5-Day Northern Greece Tour
This longer trip starts with a decidedly non-northern location - Delphi - but then heads north to a nice selection of sites which will keep Greek history buffs and fans of "The 300" and Alexander the Great very happy.
