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My sister and I have never been to Greece, but are going in August. We will have about 6 days and are trying to figure out where to go.

Santorini: In the high season, will the crowds make it unbearable? Or is it worth it? I hear wonderful things about it and I would love to go, but worry about the high season crowd.

We are also considering Crete, Rhodes, and Milos. Wondering about going to Rhodes and doing a day trip to Turkey, or spending a night or two there- is that reasonable?

Lastly, I can't seem to find a decent website to give me info about ferries between the islands. I just want to see a timetable/schedule to see when ferries go, and about how long it takes to get between islands. The only websites I've found haven't been very informative.

The Rhodes ferry goes to Fethiye in Turkey (and maybe to other places, but this is the one I know). Fethiye is a very pleasant town, and the food is good, but I'm not sure if it is worth a day trip given how long the ferry ride would be.

A couple days would be worth it, though!

If you can stay in Fethiye, there are plenty of activities in the area. Oludeniz is one of the most stunning beaches I have ever seen (though I suspect that in August it might be overrun with drunk Brits), Kaya Koy is a haunting Greek village that was abandoned during the 'population exchange,' there are cruises to small islands in the bay, and there are some beautiful hikes and walks.

edit: I just saw that you have only 6 days. Scratch Turkey - you don't have the time. I'd guess that you only have time for two islands.

I haven't been to Santorini, but having seen the crowds on Mykonos, I can only imagine. I skipped it for that reason, but everyone does rave about it.

6 days is a short trip, so I don't think you want to spread yourself too thin. Much as I love Turkey, I think that taking a trip there with such a short timetable won't leave you with time to see anything in either country.

the popular islands -- think Mykonos, Santorini, Rhodes - are very crowded in the summer, especially in July and August.

Ferries...you can find a lot of info online BUT everything can change b/c of the winds/storms so the best thing to do is check locally. Don't plan ahead based on ferries b/c you might have bad experiences.

You can look for routes though, and there are ferries linking the islands between them and wt Italy and Turkey.

You can find more info about Greece here: Greece Travel Guide

Ferries to Mykonos:

there are daily ferry connections with Athens (Piraeus Port) –the journey takes between 4 and 5 hours -, Andros, Ios, Naxos, Paros, Santorini, Syros, Rafina and Tinos, as well as frequent connections to Crete and Rhodes.

Ferries to Rhodes:

Rhodes to the major Greek ports- Pireus, Crete and other Aegean Islands- and with Turkish and Israeli ports.

Ferries to Santorini:

Another good alternative is using the ferry from Piraues Port (near Athens). You can also get to Santorini by ferry from Crete, Thessaloniki, Rafina and Dodecanese.

Note: the best option though is to fly. The domestic airlines have good deals but you need to check in advance; Aegean Airlines : 49 Euros for domestic flights

Just got back from Santorini in early June - had an incredible time there! check out http://www.greekferries.gr/ - has schedules for multiple ferry lines. Assuming you are coming from Athens (?), the main ferry port is Piraeus and is connected via metro subway to the heart of the city. The ferries out to Santorini took about 7 hours, tho there were more expensive options that did it in about 4 I believe. The Santorini port is kind of isoloated and will require a bus ride to any of the main cities. I went in early June, ahead of prime tourist season, so I can't comment on how crowded it might be, but I would suggest trying to get to one of the less-touristed towns on the SE side of the island, especially if you have a rental car. I stayed in Perissa, which seemed much less over-run than Fira or Ia in terms of visitors. Would be a great choice if you plan to do beaches primarily, since most beaches are on the south side of the island. When I was there, the public bus system didn't seem too efficient by the number of people waiting at bus stops, but perhaps in high season it is much quicker. Also, day trip out to the volcano and hot springs is definitely recommended! Good luck w/ planning!

I've been to Santorini, but it was in the winter. In the winter it is completely dead and many of the stores are closed and we couldn't manage to find one scooter to rent to see the island. But I do know that it is completely packed in the high season. The beaches are completely full and I've seen pictures of hundreds upon hundreds of tourists mounted upon the cliffs of Oia to see the sunset. It's absolutely amazing there no matter what time you go and I suggest that you make it a stop on your Greek adventure. Many of the inhabitants leave the island to escape the tourists, and rent out their homes for people. If you can get a place to stay there, go for it!!

i'm in greece right now and trying to sort out the same thing.. I've found www.greece.gr is a good site and gives all the prices. I also really like www.greeka.com. it has pictures, maps and links to ferry websites.

Here's a good summary of what you should expect of ferries in Greece: Ferries in Greece

Just remember that August is the hottest and most crowded month in Greece: August in Greece

Expanding on my earlier post - As of now, I've ended up doing Paros, Naxos, Santorini and Skiathos, and i think it was a good amount for the time i gave myself to end up in Thessaloniki.

Santorini, the crowds weren't that bad, but make sure you check out the town your hostel will be located in as mine ended up being in Perissa beach which was more or less disappointing. It didn't look anything like the Santorini i imagined/saw in places like Oia, where all the buildings are white and the town is perched atop a mountain. Perissa beach is mostly just bars and dingy shops, with a black beach and several restaurants. For night life Santorini was great - especially if you manage to set up a pub crawl with a bunch of people from your hostel. I also did one of the tours they offered, and although i got to see much more of the island than i would've if i'd just hung around Perissa, the price was 100% not worth it. They mostly just herd you into places with hundreds of other tourists, and the hot springs/mud baths were very disappointing.

Skiathos, and the islands up near the top of Greece/Macedonia were fantastic however and i really recommend them. Much less crowded and beaaaaaaaauutiful. pine trees and white sand beaches made our last island by far the best.

A tip i learned whilst hopping on and off the ferries, was for the lesser islands ( (not Mykonos, Ios, Santorini, but everything else)DONT book your hostel/hotel in advance. You can 100% get a much better deal by just getting off the boat and approaching the 50+ people offering villas to stay in. For each island, save Santorini, i managed to get massive rooms with kitchen + bathroom, for 15 euros. considering i paid 16 for a 10 bed shared in Santorini, it was amazing the type of deals you can get if you barter with the accomodation pirates.

Sorry about the massive post, hopefully some of it helps you have a fantastic time!