13 reasons to go Greek island hopping with kids

Legend has it that giants once battled in the waters of the Aegean, leaving behind splintered rocks which became the Cyclades. Another myth tells that those same giants now lie buried beneath Mykonos after being defeated by Hercules – while another tale reveals that Zeus formed the circular archipelago to hide his twins Apollo and Artemis.

press trip/contains affiliate links*

The stories of ancient Greece were what first fascinated me about the country, and my first island hop after university only whetted that appetite further. After backpacking around the Cyclades and Crete with my best friend, I went on to visit two more of the island group on a cruise with my husband, stopping at Mykonos and Chios. But with around 6,000 islands, more than 200 of them inhabited, I had barely scratched the surface.

So after years of intending to take my daughter to this wonderfully family-friendly country, I finally arranged hop number three, this time heading to the Dodecanese and the islands of Kos and Symi with my daughter along for the ride – the first of many Greek family holidays. Because when it comes to family holidays, there are reasons galore to choose Greek island hopping with kids; these are my top 13.

Click here to find the best deals for a Greek ferry hop

The beaches

Choose tiny quiet coves which you can only reach by boat, or by a scramble over the rocks through to sweeping powdery golden sand; beaches with loungers, umbrellas and little tavernas, or others where you spread your towel under a shady pine tree.

We visited about half a dozen in one week across two islands and didn’t come close to exhausting the possibilities.

The sea

From turquoise to azure, the blues of the Aegean look as if they’ve been photoshopped (I promise they haven’t) – according to legend, there are 36 different shades.

In some places, especially on Symi, the water was so clear we could see deep to the bottom, spotting little fish which swam around the harbour and beaches.

The food

It became a standing joke that our long lavish lunches, several courses usually involving fresh seafood and wine (and ice-cream for Minnie) were always less than £50 for three. And the food itself? Fabulous.

Fresh fish at a pretty seaview taverna in Limionas on Kos, tiny Symi shrimp at two little beach tavernas, calamari and the catch of the day, perfectly grilled halloumi, huge squashy olives, juicy souvlaki – plus a speciality of Kos made from pork and couscous, which we tried in the little village of Zia, far more delicious than its simple appearance suggested.

The family-friendly places to stay

Want a more luxurious hotel with kids club, pool, restaurant? No problem – we stayed at Lagas Aegean Village near Kardamena on Kos, which was designed like the typical white Greek villages that tumble down the hillsides.

This one tumbled down to a lovely pool, a few bars, restaurant and small stretch of beach – as well as having perhaps the friendliest hotel staff I’ve encountered.

Prefer something simpler, more individual? Easy. Our base on Symi, Iapetos Village, was a B&B made up of lots of colourful little self-contained houses with some basic self-catering, all set around a courtyard, just a short stroll from the harbour.

The colours

Blue and white, white and blue – it’s the classic image of Greece. And there’s something endlessly satisfying about the white glinting in the sunshine, deep blue sea below, blue domes above and perhaps a splash of vibrant bougainvillea for contrast.

But that’s only the start: Symi was a joyful explosion of shades, from muted ochres to pastel yellow and dusky pink along with a deep cornflower, the houses rising up from the harbour where equally colourful boats bobbed on the waves – bright yellow nets, splashes of green and sky blue on the boats.

The architecture

Greeks and Romans, Phoenicians and Venetians, Byzantines, Ottomans, Italians… the number of influences on the Greek islands goes on and on, especially the easternmost Dodecanese. Empires rose and fell, civilisations ruled and vanished, knights built castles, rulers commanded temples, churches, monasteries.

In Kos alone, one 10-minute stroll takes you from a medieval castle to a mosque, still used by the island’s Muslim population – unlike most Greek islands, whose Muslim inhabitants were sent to Turkey after the end of the Greco-Turkish war, Kos was under Italian control at the time.

Along the way you’ll find Italian fascist architecture, the remains of Greek and Roman temples, even a small synagogue tucked away. And Symi, of course, is famous for its unusual Italianate buildings.

One bonus of Greek island hopping with kids is the chance to spot what sets the islands apart like this.

The welcome

I’ve been visiting Greece for around 30 years – those first memories might be a bit hazy but throughout, the welcome has always been warm, whether it’s friendly greetings or an unexpected glass of raki, ouzo or masticha at the end of a meal.

After the country’s struggles with economic problems and the influx of refugees, tourism seems well and truly back to normal – and in a country which adores kids, when you add a small blonde girl to the mix, the warmth is turned up to 11.

Check out my complete guide to Greece with kids here

Greek traditions

There’s something so fascinating about stepping back in time to see how life was lived less than a century ago – and Kos, especially, is a great place to do that. In several places you can look around traditional houses (for a nominal fee), seeing the huge old beds that dominated the single room, loom in a corner.

Windmills still grind flour, albeit to make spiced biscuits these days rather than everyday bread, while you can discover local honey production and vineyards too.

Greek island villages

Little twisting lanes, viewpoints appearing around a corner, old men and dogs resting in the shade and watching the world go by. We explored tiny hilltop Zia on Kos, half hidden in a bank of cloud on the day we visited, and Kefalos in the south-west, the island’s original capital before a long-ago earthquake.

But wherever you visit, you’ll find something similar – I have happy memories of wandering the streets in Chios too, finding the unusual geometric decoration on the houses and a spectacular basilica before stumbling across a cafe in a shady square.

Centuries of Greek history

Legends lie around every corner in Greece, whether it’s the tale of how Kos’s tiny neighbour, volcanic Nisyros, was created – thrown by Poseidon to stop the giant Polybotes escaping – or an island story of forbidden love between a Muslim girl and Greek boy at Zipari.

In Kos town, you’ll find Hippocrates’ plane tree: although the island’s most famous son did teach students under the leaves, it’s unlikely to be the original tree.

Outside the town lies the Asklepion, one of the world’s oldest hospitals – roughly contemporaneous with Hippocrates, some accounts say his teaching inspired it, others suggest he learned his own skills there.

Either way, you can still explore and discover how dreams were used to diagnose maladies as well as see temples where offerings were made to the gods as payment for saving the human lives.

On Symi, the island was once home to a thriving sponge diving trade. You’ll discover more types of sponges than you knew existed on sale in the shops by the harbour.

The activities

Between exploring, island hopping and hitting the pool, our time was full – but if you’ve got longer or are visiting with older kids, Kos has a waterpark which opens from June while there are various watersports including parascending and windsurfing.

It’s also a great island for cycling – flat and easy to get around – or you could go walking in the pines at Plaka, home to peacocks.

The low-stress exploring

Taxis are unexpectedly pricy on Kos – a 25-minute trip from our hotel into Kefalos would have set us back 35 Euros one way (the same as a day tour of the whole island) – and while there are buses, they’re infrequent. The answer? Hire a car.

I’m not a huge fan of driving overseas, but at 30 Euros to get a compact car for the day, it made sense – and let us fit in trips to Plaka, a stop at Paradise Beach, lunch by the sea at Limionas and exploring Kefalos for less than a single journey.

The roads are quiet, the speed limit and attitude to life means you won’t get queues on your tail, and a little Kia Picanto can park pretty much anywhere (try to get one which doesn’t have a dodgy handbrake like ours though!) They even threw in a child seat for free…

Can’t face that? There are tours galore to help you get around.

The variety

We saw just two islands on this trip, but they could hardly have been more different – one with bigger hotels, more tourists, a fascinating history, more attractions and long sandy beaches; the other smaller, slower, quieter but with a very special atmosphere that means you can’t help but relax. Symi, especially, is calling me back.

Venture further and you’ll find plenty of other contrasts – my last trip included stylish Mykonos (plus the ancient sites at Delos) and less visited Chios with its quiet coves and mastic trees.

The trip before took in Paros and Naxos (whose local wine can supposedly cure a broken heart) – neither the most famous of the Cyclades, but both with plenty to recommend, alongside peaceful Antiparos.

We’ve also visited Corfu and Kefalonia – not on the same trip, but you could easily hop between the two, discovering Venetian history in Corfu Town and the Melissani cave on Kefalonia – as well as later visiting Rhodes, which is easy to combine with Kos and Symi.

Crete is so big that you hardly need to hop any further, with so much to discover across the island – although it’s also easy to combine with neighbouring islands and with Athens.

Plan your own Greek island hop and book ferry tickets online here

Further south, there’s Folegandros – let this wonderful post by Suitcases and Sandcastles tempt you – and stunning Santorini.

Further north, we’ve also gone on to visit Skiathos, including a boat trip to Skopelos as well. From the smallest to the biggest island, you could spend a lifetime Greek island-hopping with kids, without getting bored.

Even now, I still feel like I’ve hardly begun exploring the Greek islands with kids.

*First published 2017, updated 2025*

PIN FOR LATER: GREEK ISLAND HOPPING WITH KIDS

Disclosure: My trip was courtesy of Olympic Holidays, although I’ve paid for countless successive ones. All opinions on Greek island hopping with kids and outdated memories of Greek ferries are my own.

Images copyright MummyTravels

LIKED THIS? SIGN UP FOR MY EMAIL NEWSLETTER