A holiday in the Greek Islands can be an extraordinary, breath taking adventure, if you know where to go and what to do without getting caught in a tourist trap. Greece has almost countless islands, and they most likely can't all be seen in one trip so for your first trip to the Greek Isles you would most likely want to go to the largest and most popular islands such as: Crete, Cyprus, Corfu, and Rhodes. But if you want an isolated, personal trip to Greece you might enjoy seeing some of the lesser travelled island.

Crete is, by far, one of the most famous of the Greek Islands. It was the home of the original, ancient Greeks, the Minoan. This historic island is a treasure chest for any ancient history enthusiast.
The Minoan culture is surrounded in myths, as is most of early Greek history. The most famous legends from the Minoans are the legends of: King Minos, Theseus, Minotaurs, and Icarus.
Apart from the plethora of ancient culture and folk lore, Crete is surrounded in natural beauty, from the cliffs of the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, to the rocky mountains throughout the island.

Corfu, in the Ionian chain of Greek Isles, has been related to ancient Greek culture since the very first civilization. Corfu was connected with two very meaningful water symbols, Poseidon, the Greek god of water, earthquakes, and horses; and Asopos an important river in the mainland of Greece.
Corfu holidays are perfect for tourists with a love of mountain views. In fact the island of Corfu got its name from an Italian translation of "city of the peaks", for its various mountains, like most of Greece. Besides having a strong connection with the sea, Corfu is also knows for its flora. It's known for: the wild olive, the oil olive, the pear, the pomegranate, the apple, the fig, and the grape.

Of all of the numerous islands near the mainland of Greece, for a first time visit, I recommend either one of these two islands to get a good feel of Greek culture