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Seven days in Greece asks you to pick one thing well and let the second lean on it. This itinerary front-loads two nights in Athens for the Acropolis and museum morning, then commits four nights to the Cyclades (Santorini caldera + Mykonos beaches), before finishing with a single night in Heraklion for Knossos. Blue Star / SeaJets ferries connect Athens → Santorini → Mykonos; one internal flight (Mykonos → Heraklion) handles the Crete leg. Not the version to buy if you want depth; the version to buy if you want the postcard covered.
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Each day is written to balance structure with breathing room. Named hotels, named meals, named activities; logistics noted where they matter.
Land at ATH, X95 bus or metro to Syntagma, taxi to a Plaka hotel. Evening walk under the illuminated Acropolis, dinner at Ta Karamanlidika Tou Fani (excellent Anatolian-Greek mezes) or Mani Mani for Maniot cuisine. Early night — pre-dawn Acropolis climb tomorrow.
Acropolis at 08:00 first-entry (before cruise crowds and before heat) — Propylaea, Parthenon, Erechtheion. Late-morning at the Acropolis Museum (top floor's Parthenon Gallery aligns with the actual monument through the glass). Lunch at Diporto in the Central Market. Afternoon walking Anafiotika, sunset drink at A for Athens rooftop.
Morning SeaJets high-speed ferry from Piraeus (07:30 → arrive Athinios port 12:30, 5 hours). Transfer up to Oia, check into a caldera-view suite. Late-afternoon walk from Fira to Oia along the caldera trail (parts of it — this is a 10km run, do sections). Sunset at Oia castle, dinner at Marketo.
Private semi-private catamaran day (departs Ammoudi Bay at 10:00) — Red Beach, White Beach, hot springs off Nea Kameni, sunset return with meal onboard. Alternative: winery tour on land (Santo Wines, Domaine Sigalas, Venetsanos). Late dinner at Selene in Pyrgos for serious Cycladic cooking.
SeaJets ferry Santorini → Mykonos (2h 40m, morning departure). Check into a Chora or Ornos hotel. Afternoon walking Little Venice, the Kato Mili windmills, the Church of Panagia Paraportiani. Evening cocktail at Scorpios (5pm ritual), dinner at Kiku (the Nobu-alumni Japanese) or Nammos.
Morning boat to Delos (30 min, UNESCO archaeological site — Apollo's birthplace, mosaic villas, 3 hours on-site). Back to Mykonos for afternoon at Psarou or Elia beach. Evening at a Chora restaurant — M-Eating or Bakalo for genuine Mykonian, versus the beach clubs.
Morning flight JMK → HER (45 min, Sky Express or Aegean). Taxi straight to Knossos (Minoan Palace, 4,000 years old, Sir Arthur Evans' controversial reconstructions). Lunch at Peskesi in Heraklion Old Town, brief Archaeological Museum stop for the Phaistos Disc. Evening flight HER → international.
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For the Cycladic-postcard version — yes. For actual Greece — no. Ten days lets you drop Mykonos and add Naxos or Paros (bigger, quieter, more agricultural) plus a second night in Crete (Chania is worth the detour). Two weeks unlocks the Peloponnese (Nafplio, Mycenae, Monemvasia).
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