After taking far too many holidays in Spain, we are now looking for somewhere different to go, and thought Greece might be a good bet. Have done some reading, but now feel more confused than ever!

So.....I'd be grateful for any suggestions about where to stay, what to see, etc. Would rather stay somewhere centrral to bars, restaurants, etc (although not interested in clubbing) and would like to be close to a nice beach, as we like to go snorkelling a fair bit.

The only thing that concerns me at the moment about a trip to somewhere in Greece is the time of year we can go. As I am a teacher, I am limited to going away during school holidays. We wanted to go in Occtober (half term is last week in October) but I have read that many places in Greece are like Turkey, in that pretty much everything shuts down by mid-October. Is that the case everywhere, or just in the less "touristy" bits?

Any feedback gratefully received!!