Greece rewards choosing a base rather than trying to see everything, and most of our owners are on Crete.
Crete is Greece's largest island, with mountains, gorges and long beaches all within a couple of hours. Around Rethymno, on the north coast, you get a Venetian harbour and old town with plenty of tavernas, and quieter villages such as Sfakaki a short drive along the coast, with their own beaches and a slower pace. The south coast, reached over the mountains, is wilder, with places like Plakias and the palm-fringed beach at Preveli.
Athens suits a city break: Plaka and Monastiraki put you under the Acropolis, while neighbourhoods such as Kypseli feel more local and are usually cheaper to stay in. On the mainland, Kamena Vourla is a seaside spa town known for its thermal springs, about two hours by road from Athens, and Rafina is a small port east of the capital with ferries to the Cyclades and a short drive to the airport. Halkidiki, in the north, is a peninsula of long sandy beaches.
Crete has two main airports, Heraklion (HER) and Chania (CHQ), both with seasonal direct flights from across Europe. Rethymno sits roughly between them, about an hour's drive from either, so a hire car is worth having. Athens (ATH) is Greece's main international gateway, and the metro and airport buses take you into the centre in around 40-50 minutes. Ferries run from Piraeus to Heraklion and Chania, and from Piraeus and Rafina to the Cyclades.
Greece has hot, dry summers and mild, wetter winters. May-June and September-October are the sweet spot: warm enough to swim, with fewer crowds and cooler days for walking and sightseeing. July and August are hottest, often above 30°C, and the summer *meltemi* wind can be strong on exposed Aegean coasts. The sea is warmest from late summer into October, and Crete's season is one of the longest in the country.
On Crete, try dakos (a barley rusk topped with tomato and soft mizithra cheese), kalitsounia (small cheese or herb pies), local graviera cheese, lamb and fresh fish, all with plenty of olive oil, and a small glass of raki to finish. In Athens, souvlaki and gyros are cheap and good, and a table of shared meze plates is the usual way to eat in a taverna. Greek salad and grilled octopus turn up everywhere.
Every CasaLinking stay in Greece is booked straight with the owner — same real prices, no Airbnb or Booking.com markup.