Charter: the most direct way to reach many of the Greek islands is by charter flight. In summer, there are nonstop flights to Athens, Corfu, Cephalonia, Crete, Mykonos, Samos, Santorini and Skiathos. Most are served from Gatwick and Manchester, and there are flights to many of them from Belfast, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cardiff, Dublin, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Leeds/Bradford, Luton, Manchester, Newcastle, Stansted and Teesside.

Several late deals in the £59-£99 range, including Gatwick to Corfu and Manchester to Cephalonia, are available through Charter Flight Centre (020 7854 8434, www.charterflightcentre.co.uk), Mid-summer fares are likely to be about £200. Or try Avro (0870 458 2841, www.avro.co.uk), Dial a Flight (www.dialaflight.co.uk), Excel Airways (0870 998 9898, www.excelairways.com) or Flightline (0800 036 0777, www.flightline.co.uk).

Scheduled: British Airways (0845 773 3377, www.ba.com) flies from Heathrow to Athens, from £128; EasyJet (0870 600 0000, www.easyjet.com) flies from Gatwick and Luton, from £90; and Olympic Airways (0870 606 0460, www.olympicairways.co.uk) flies to Athens from Heathrow (from £194) and Manchester (from £216), and from Gatwick to Thessalonika (from £183).

Olympic Airways has connecting flights, usually via Athens, to many of the islands, including Skiros, Paros and Karpathos. Fares from the UK to the islands with a plane change in Athens, start at about £260.

GETTING AROUND

Ferries: regularly updated schedules and prices are available at www.ferries.gr — or, once in Greece, ring the English-language tourist-information number (171 in Athens, 210 171 outside Athens) for ferry and bus schedules Piraeus is the chief port for the Aegean — ie, the Saronics, Mykonos, Paros, Santorini, Crete, Samos and Karpathos (via Crete). Bus E96 runs from Athens airport every 20-30 minutes, day and night, direct to the main harbour in Piraeus (£2).

Patras, a three-hour bus ride from Athens, is the port for Cephalonia and Corfu, while Lefkas, which is connected to the mainland by a bridge, can be reached direct by bus from Athens in 5 hours: departures from the bus station at 100 Kifissou Street.

Agios Konstantinos is the closest port for Skiathos (2 hours from Athens), and Kymi is the closest for Skiros (four hours by way of Chalkis). Both buses depart from the station at 260 Liossion.

Prices on the ferry network are pretty low. For example, one-way fares from Piraeus to Crete start at £26; to Santorini, £25; and to Mykonos, £15.

Car hire: Holiday Autos (0870 400 4447, www.holidayautos.co.uk) has rental locations on 17 of the islands, with a week’s all-inclusive hire starting at £134. Or try Europcar (0870 607 5000, www.europcar.co.uk), Sixt(0870 155 5800, www.e-sixt.co.uk) or Hertz (0870 599 6699, www.hertz.co.uk).

WHEN TO GO

Big islands like Crete, Rhodes and Corfu are year-round destinations. April is the peak season for wild flowers, when Crete and the southern Dodecanese and Cyclades are good bets for a swim. May and June are warm, dry and not too crowded, and you can still find bargains (hotel owners often discount official prices if you show up in person, one advantage of travelling independently).

July and August, when the Greeks themselves are on holiday, are hot, with temperatures sometimes soaring to more than 40C, and all but the most obscure islands are crowded, sometimes uncomfortably so. If you go then, book your flight, room and hire car well in advance.

Mid-September to October can be idyllic: the bathing is good, the crowds have gone and hotel rates become negotiable again. By November, most islands shut up shop.

BEST GUIDEBOOKS

Greek Islands by Dana Facaros (Cadogan Guides £12.99); The Greek Islands (Rough Guides £11.99).

FURTHER INFORMATION

Call the Greek National Tourism Organisation in London (020 7495 9300), or visit the comprehensive www.gnto.gr.