We took our toddler to Greece! And had a great time. I’m sharing all of my general tips for traveling with kids and specific tips related to each island we visited. I hope this is helpful should you decide to bring your little ones along for the adventure!
I found the Greek culture to be very accepting of and friendly towards kids. Lots of locals would stop and say hi to Silas, one shop owner gave him a lollipop, another an ice cream… I never felt like anyone was annoyed with him like I have traveling other places.
Toddler Sleep
We helped him adjust to the time change as soon as we arrived. We travelled 7 hours ahead of us, so his bedtime was a little later, then he would sleep later too which worked out perfect for us. He usually got one stroller nap a day. We pulled the visor down and leaned the seat back and he slept great. One day he slept in the stroller for 3 hours while we explored Mykonos!
Everywhere we stayed had a “baby cot” they could provide for us with bedding. (I brought my own crib sheet & pack n play sheet, but I wish I had left them at home!) Email your host or receptionist ahead of time to request a baby cot. We had one waiting in our room everywhere we stayed! We kept his bedtime routine as similar as possible: closed the blinds, used his sleepsack & sound machine. I really wanted to use our slumberpod, but we didn’t have room in the suitcase. In some of our rooms we were able to create a separate room for him with the sitting area, kitchenette, etc. I think it helped to let him play in the baby cot during the day to help him be more comfortable and familiar with his sleeping arrangement when he went to sleep at night.
Toddler Food
I don’t know about your toddler, but mine is especially picky at the moment! Everywhere we stayed had a kettle so I was able to make Silas oatmeal for breakfast and give him a warm bottle at night. Mac and cheese would have been easy to make too if I had the room in my suitcase! We bought bread, peanut butter, and jelly from the market. We also brought a ton of pouches to help with travel days especially. We tried to ration them, 2 for an exploring day, 3 for a travel day. I bought toddler formula to supplement whatever he would be missing from his diet. Every restaurant we went to at least had fries or “chips” he would eat! I was able to get him smoothies from coffee shops or juice bars so he would eat some fruits and veggies!
The restaurants we chose kid-friendly, the staff was always good with Silas, and there were high chairs in every one.
Toddler Travel
Silas is still under 2 and flys for free, so we bought an aisle and window seat on each flight hoping to get a row to ourselves. If your flight is not full and no one has purchased the middle seat, you can ask the gate agents if they will please leave it open for you. They will fill the standby flyers in the other seats. Our flight to London was arriving the day of the queen’s funeral, so it was full with 9 standby flyers without a seat and this little trick did not work for us. If you are on a long flight with United flying with a baby, call ahead of time to request a seat with a bassinet attachment!
The travel stroller and car seat we brought were honestly perfect. I would call our stroller a hefty umbrella stroller. It folded up small like an umbrella stroller but was able to withstand a bit more than a super dinky one and had a small basket for storage. On the ferries we were able to fold it up and bring it to our seat with us which was very helpful on our 5 hour ferry because we could push Silas around the boat to get him to fall asleep. The car seat was super lightweight and easy to buckle into Ubers and taxis quickly. We hooked the straps over the suitcase handle while traveling with all of our baggage.
Car seats can be checked for free with your checked bags, and strollers can be taken to the gate and “gate checked” for free. I would recommend putting your name and number on both of these items. I also purchased a cheap cover for the car seat to be checked but a trash bag would work fine too. Children in Greece don’t legally need to be in a car seat after 3 years of age, but I’ll leave that up to your discretion.
Athens
The Acropolis is the main attraction in Athens, although it is not ideal for toddlers. Strollers aren’t allowed inside, so a carrier would be ideal if you want to do it. In our experience it was very hot and crowded. You are herded through the main gate with tons of other people and there’s lots of places to slip and fall, trip over large rocks, etc. We enjoyed our day trip to Corinth and the Temple of Hephaestus? much better! It’s not the same, but the architecture is the same. Corinth holds the Temple of Apollo which would give you the same effect. (I’m sure any history buff will scoff at this comment lol.)
We loved the National Garden in Athens for Silas! There was a large playground where he could burn off some steam and run around with other kids. Near the National Garden is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier which has a traditional changing of the guard ceremony every hour. (The largest changing of the guard is at the Parliament Building but it’s only on Sundays. The one we found is every day)
Mykonos
Ornos and Fokos beaches are best for kids. We steered clear of Paradise Beach as it’s more of a party location and clothing is optional. Our host suggested Ornos would have the cheapest chairs to rent. Ours were still 40€ for 2 but she told us they could be up to 150€ for 2. Chairs are optional but definitely ideal since the beaches are fairly rocky. Mykonos was probably the most expensive place we travelled, but we still loved it!
Silas also thoroughly enjoyed our time at Vioma Organic Farm. They had an array of farm animals for him to see and he was even able to feed the donkey and goats. He loved chasing the chickens and watching the rabbits in their cage. Every time the goats would bleat, he would do it back to them!
Another idea we didn’t get to was horseback riding. Harriet’s Horses is very kid friendly and has different lengths of rides to choose from so we could have done one as short as we wanted.
Santorini
Kaminia beach might have been our favorite part of the whole trip. It was not crowded so Silas had a ton of room to play, the chairs were cheap to rent, and on the last day we found a tiki hut serving half price cocktails compared to the ocean-front restaurants.
Consider this your warning that Oia is not the best place for babies/toddlers. It was super crowded when we went and filled with cobblestone paths, narrow alleys, and so many stairs. If you go with a little one, a carrier is a must. Do not bother bringing a stroller. There are also a million ledges to fall over so we had a tight grip on Silas at all times.
We went to our favorite beach two days, but we thought about doing the volcano tour one of the days. The full tour is 6 hours or you can do a shortened version that’s only 3. The last part of the tour there is a swimming portion, so if you bring little ones, you would just stay on the boat for that part.
Overall we thoroughly enjoyed our trip and had no regrets bringing our toddler! He had a great time too! If there’s anything I missed or anything you still have a question about, don’t hesitate to ask!
If you’ve been to Greece, what was your favorite part! Or if you plan to go in the future, what are you most looking forward to?
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