We took a tour of Greece with two friends as part of a 14 day bus tour with a total of 30 people. The weather was perfect with daytime highs of 18 C to 25 C. A 14 day bus tour is a little long for us as we usually book trips ourselves; however, I believe a bus tour is the only way to go in Greece in order to see the highlights. If we would have booked the trip ourselves we would have spent too much time in the wrong places! Santorini and Mykonos are great but you do not need more than the two nights we spent in each unless you just want to put your feet up and relax.
We used Approach Tours out of Montreal and their itinerary was very good. It was an all inclusive tour so the only thing extra was your shopping and alcohol drinks. The hotels were good with some hotels a bit out of the way for accessing free time shopping or evening drinks outside the hotel. The meals for the most part were decent and, of course, leaned towards authentic Greek cuisine. Approach tours had a dedicated group tour guide from Canada and used local guides in Greece.
We went to Athens three days before the tour started to get acclimatized to the time change and also to do a walking food tour. I highly recommend having the early days to get caught up from the air travel. The food tour was booked through TripAdvisor and this is our go to for booking given all the reviews and the consistency of the tours. The guide was local and she was excellent. Good knowledge and very good food tasting.
This is a photo from The Athens Gate Hotel roof top restaurant.
We stayed at the Athens Gate Hotel in the Plaka area. Perfect proximity to the Acropolis, Acropolis Museum and Hadrians Arch. The shopping and restaurants are just steps away. We did not pay extra for a view room as the roof top restaurant for breakfast and one dinner provided all the views we needed.
The tour started and provided amazing stops to explore history and architecture. Greece truly is the centre of civilization. I will do my best to provide the highlights and provide some related photos.
This statue commemorates King Leonidas and the epic battle of 300 where the Spartan soldiers gave their lives at the Hot Gates to hold off the invading Persians. Their sacrifice allowed the other Greek states to mobilize to eventually repel the Persians. The movie 300 details the events and is quite good. Almost all of the movie was filmed in Canada.
The eight monasteries at Meteora are miracles of building as they are perched on mountains where the original access was limited by the terrain. Security. peace and solitude allowed the Monks the tranquility they sought. Today the tour buses come by the hundreds and tours are a significant revenue source for the Monks. Daytime tourism is hardly synonymous with quiet and tranquility; however, the Monks are not moving around during the day. There is one view point where you can see five monasteries.
The well preserved Amphitheatre at Delphi was a treat to see. The acoustics were excellent. Delphi is higher up in the mountains in central Greece and home of the Gods. The Temple of Apollo and the Archeological Museum also make the journey to Delphi worthwhile.
We took a ferry to the Island of Kefelonia and spent two nights at the capital city of Argostoli. Kefelonia is quite lush compared to most other parts of Greece and the shoreline is beautiful. Argostoli is very nice and a city we would thought was a place we could spend more free time.
We took the ferry back to the mainland and drove across the Peloponnese peninsula to Olympia – the site of the first Olympic Games. This was a big “wow” stop on the tour. The above photos show the gate into the Olympic field and the actual field where the games were held. 50,000 people attended the games and sat on the grass surrounding the field. I ran the 190 meters each way on the field in a much slower pace than those who participated in the original Games!
The entire Olympic grounds are very large as the property had buildings for administration and the Olympic Village.
This photo shows the place at the Olympic site where the Olympic torch is lit before every Olympic Games. The tradition of lighting the Olympic torch only started in 1936 and was not part of the original Games.
We travelled to the Mycenaean Acropolis, as seen directly above, and the Tomb of Agamemnon which was a “beehive’ tomb with the entrance and interior in the photos above. The tomb is very much intact and the stone work was very precise. This tomb, like other ancient tombs, was looted before any internal preservation could be done.
We stayed at the nearby port city of Nafplio which was very pretty. Another city where we could have spent more free time.
We returned to Athens to fly to Santorini. Santorini is known for the blue domed Churches. It was quite busy even for this time of year and I could not imagine what the summer months would be like.
We toured the ancient city of Akrotiri of Thera on the Island of Santorini. This excavation site is covered by a building and excavations are stopped as there is no funding available. This is a must visit and having a local guide made all the difference.
The city was well preserved because it was covered in an earthquake over 2,500 years ago. The city had an indoor sewer system. There were no human remains found and no valuables as the people vacated the Island when they felt the earthquake tremors. Unfortunately as the people sailed to Crete they were hit by the tsunami that followed the earthquake and everyone perished.
We took a ferry from Santorini to Mykonos. Almost everything is concentrated on the coast in one area in Mykonos. The 5 windmills represent a time when grain was processed on the Island. The sunsets are spectacular as can be seen in the photo above. I preferred Mykonos over Santorini with both Islands being significant tourist destinations.
We took another ferry from Mykonos to Athens and toured the Acropolis with the Parthenon on top. Absolutely unbelievable historic visit. Truly a one of a kind place to visit. The Acropolis Museum is close by and ties in nicely to the entire area.
We completed our tour in Athens with some shopping in the Plaka district. If we had more time in Athens there are some good local places to visit as well.
Overall, Greece is a place that world travellers should not miss.
My second cup is now empty……………..