Selected Greek Islands with Santorini Sunset Cruise — Self-Launched

Fly into Athens Eleftherios Venizelos (ATH). Skip the €40 private transfer and take Metro Line 3 from the airport to Monastiraki/Syntagma (~€9 one-way, 40 min, runs until ~23:30). Check into a budget hotel or private-room hostel in Plaka/Monastiraki — the same neighbourhoods as the operator's 3* Athens hotels but booked direct. Afternoon: free wander through Plaka's lanes, Anafiotika and the Roman Agora, then walk up to Areopagus Hill for sunset Acropolis views (free). Evening souvlaki or a gyros plate in Monastiraki (~€9).

🚌Airport Metro Line 3 to Monastiraki, ~€9 (£8)

🛏Budget 3* hotel / private room in Plaka or Monastiraki (e.g. Hotel Adonis, Athens Studios or similar) — ~£38

• →Self-guided Plaka & Anafiotika walk
• →Areopagus Hill sunset viewpoint
• →Monastiraki street food dinner

Book the Acropolis + Slopes timed ticket online via the official e-ticketing site (~€30 in high season, €15 low season) for the 08:00 slot to beat crowds and heat. Two hours is plenty for the Parthenon, Erechtheion and the Theatre of Dionysus. Grab a bakery spanakopita and head to Piraeus: Metro Line 1 from Monastiraki to Piraeus (~€1.20, 20 min). Take the afternoon Blue Star Ferry to Syros/Ermoupoli (~4h, £25–35 booked on Ferryhopper; fast SeaJets ~2h45 at higher cost). Check into a guesthouse in Ermoupoli, 10 min walk from the port — central Ano Syros/Ermoupoli rooms go for £28–40 a night.

🚌Metro to Piraeus ~£1.20 + Blue Star Ferry Piraeus–Syros ~£30

🛏Guesthouse/pension in Ermoupoli, Syros (e.g. rooms near Plateia Kanari or Hotel Aktaion standard room) — ~£32

• →Acropolis & Parthenon self-guided visit
• →Ferry crossing to Syros
• →Evening stroll on Ermoupoli waterfront

Full day on foot in one of the Cyclades' least-touristed capitals. Morning: Miaoulis Square and the marble Town Hall, then the Agios Nikolaos church (free entry) and the St George's cathedral on the hill above. Wander down into the Vaporia quarter — the grand 19th-century shipowners' mansions clinging to the sea. Climb the 300-odd marble steps to Ano Syros, the old Catholic hilltop settlement, for a freddo and views back over the port. Afternoon: local bus (KTEL Syros, ~€2) from Ermoupoli to one of the west-coast beaches — Galissas or Kini are the best sandy picks; Kini has the best sunset tavernas. Dinner of local San Michali cheese and seafood in Ermoupoli (~£14).

🚌Local KTEL buses to Galissas/Kini, ~£4 return

🛏Guesthouse/pension in Ermoupoli, Syros — ~£32

• →Town Hall & Miaoulis Square
• →Agios Nikolaos church & St George's cathedral
• →Vaporia quarter walk
• →Ano Syros old town climb
• →Galissas or Kini beach afternoon

Slow morning: swim off Asteria beach right in Ermoupoli, or catch the 09:30 ferry if you'd rather max out Naxos time. Blue Star Ferry Syros–Naxos is ~1h15–2h (~£15–22) — book on Ferryhopper a few days ahead in July/August. Arrive Naxos Town (Chora) and check into a guesthouse inside or just outside the old town walls (£30–40). Late afternoon: walk the Venetian Castle (Kastro) quarter — the Catholic cathedral, the Glezos tower house, and the echoing alleys of Bourgos. Cross the causeway to the Portara, the giant marble gate of an unfinished Temple of Apollo, for sunset over the water. Dinner in the old town: Naxian graviera, kitron liqueur, and a plate of roasted aubergine (~£13).

🚌Blue Star Ferry Syros–Naxos ~£18

🛏Guesthouse in Naxos Chora / Bourgos (e.g. rooms near Grotta or Hotel Xenia standard) — ~£35

• →Venetian Kastro & Bourgos old town
• →Portara sunset
• →Asteria beach swim (optional morning)

The operator's included 8-hour island tour is available as a public small-group day trip — book the Naxos Highlights / inland villages tour on GetYourGuide or directly with a local operator like Naxos Tours (~£45–55 including hotel pickup). The circuit matches almost exactly: Demeter's Temple at Sangri (€4 entry), the Damalas pottery workshop and traditional olive press, the neoclassical village of Chalki (€2 for the citron distillery museum), the 6th-century Panagia Drossiani church, marble-carving Apiranthos, the giant unfinished Kouros statue in its ancient quarry, and a swim stop or lunch in Apollonas on the north coast. Bring €15 cash for entries plus lunch money (~£12 at a village taverna). Back in Chora by ~18:00.

🚌Included in day tour (pickup from guesthouse)

🛏Guesthouse in Naxos Chora / Bourgos — ~£35

• →Demeter's Temple, Sangri
• →Damalas pottery & olive press
• →Chalki village & citron distillery
• →Panagia Drossiani church
• →Apiranthos village
• →Kouros statue quarry
• →Apollonas north-coast lunch stop

Morning at Plaka or Agios Prokopios beach — local KTEL bus from Chora ~€2, sunbeds ~€15 for two if you want one, or just a towel on the sand. Early-afternoon ferry to Santorini: the SeaJets/Blue Star Naxos–Santorini crossing is 1–2h (~£22–30). Arrive at Athinios port and take the KTEL bus up to Fira (~€2.50, 25 min) rather than the €25 taxi. Stay in Fira or Karterados (10 min walk from Fira) — a private room or small guesthouse is £40–55 in shoulder season, more in peak July/August; the operator's Santorini 3* hotels sit in the same bracket. Evening: walk the caldera rim path from Fira toward Firostefani for the first sunset and dinner at a taverna off the main drag (~£15).

🚌Local bus to Plaka ~£2 + ferry Naxos–Santorini ~£26 + port bus to Fira ~£2.50

🛏Guesthouse/private room in Fira or Karterados, Santorini — ~£48

• →Plaka / Agios Prokopios beach morning
• →Ferry to Santorini
• →Fira–Firostefani caldera walk at sunset

Daytime is free: black-sand Perissa or Kamari beach by local bus (~€2.50 each way, sunbeds optional), or the hike from Fira to Oia along the caldera rim (~3h, free, spectacular). Then book the standard 6-hour wooden-boat sunset cruise — sold on GetYourGuide and by operators at Athinios/Old Port from about £45–60 per person. The classic route: sail past the lava islets, stop at Nea Kameni where you can walk to the crater rim (€5 entry, pay on the island), swim in the warm sulphur springs at Palea Kameni, continue to Thirasia for a swim or a quick taverna stop, then cruise beneath Oia for sunset. Dinner is served on board (rolls, rice, baked potatoes, Greek salad, tzatziki, bread, seasonal fruit) with free local wine — same format as the operator's included cruise. The boat returns to Athinios; a shuttle or bus back to Fira is included or ~€2.50.

🚌Local buses ~£5 + pickup/shuttle to Athinios included in cruise

🛏Guesthouse/private room in Fira or Karterados, Santorini — ~£48

• →Perissa or Kamari black-sand beach (or Fira–Oia rim hike)
• →6-hour wooden boat caldera sunset cruise
• →Nea Kameni volcano crater walk (€5)
• →Palea Kameni hot springs swim
• →Thirasia island stop
• →On-board dinner with local wine, sunset below Oia

Morning swim at Kamari black beach or a lazy breakfast in Fira with caldera views. Then either the fast ferry Santorini–Piraeus (SeaJets ~5h, £45–60) or, more sensibly for time, a Ryanair/Aegean domestic flight Santorini (JTR)–Athens (~£35–55 booked a few weeks out, 45 min). Ferries from Athinios: local bus from Fira ~€2.50. Back in Athens, check into a Plaka/Monastiraki budget hotel again and spend the evening on a free rooftop or in Psyrri's tavernas (moussaka and a half-litre of house wine ~£14).

🚌Local bus to port/airport ~£3 + domestic flight Santorini–Athens ~£45 (or ferry ~£50)

🛏Budget 3* hotel / private room in Plaka or Monastiraki, Athens — ~£38

• →Kamari black-sand beach morning
• →Transfer back to Athens
• →Psyrri or Monastiraki dinner

Last morning: the Central Market (Varvakios) for olives, cheese and coffee, a wander through Monastiraki flea market, or the Acropolis Museum (~€15, or free on certain dates) if you skipped it. Cheap farewell lunch of loukoumades or a gyros (~£6). Metro Line 3 back to the airport (~€9, allow 45 min) — the operator's private airport pickup is the only thing you're genuinely trading away, and the metro covers it for a tenth of the price. Note: if you fly out early, the airport metro starts ~05:30; otherwise the 24h X95 bus runs to Syntagma for €5.50.

🚌Airport Metro Line 3 ~£8 (or X95 bus €5.50)

🛏None — departure day

• →Varvakios Central Market
• →Monastiraki flea market
• →Acropolis Museum (optional, ~£13)