I think one of the first of the cycladic islands is Andros. Not too far. I went their a few years ago and really liked it — we camped and stayed for a few days. Very low key — a big change of pace from Corfu, but that could be nice.

Rach,

What happened to Cephalonia? It’s right there on your itinerary.

Andros is an excellent suggestion, btw, and I like mim’s idea of balancing out a touristy destination (Corfu) with a more low-key one, although both Andros and Cephalonia fit this description.

There’s lots of great places to visit, it all depends on your time constraints. How many days will you be in Greece total? I know you said you have “4 extra days”, but if you’re spending, say, 4 days in Athens, you can easily take 1-2 days off of that and add it to the “4 extra days” for elsewhere in Greece.

An additional factor to keep in mind is transportation. Andros is close to Athens, where you’ll be passing through. But Andros does not have an airport. Flying to a further-afield destination (say Crete or the Dodecanese Islands) may take the same amount of time as taking the ferry to Andros. Additionally, going to an island with an airport gives you the option of returning home from that airport (with a layover somewhere, obviously), instead of having to take the ferry all the way back to Athens.

So, you have plenty options there, but if you’re looking for something near Athens, Andros is a good one. You may also want to check out Syros.