By: Vivian Vo, Travel Consultant
Why Greece? And I replied, “Why not!” The history, beaches, and activities just to list a few. Why go on a tour and specifically a tour with Trafalgar? Simply, the ease of not having to plan anything, guided by an expert with over 10 years of experience, and the accommodation are first class. So let’s get straight to what I have experienced while Greek Island Hopper with Trafalgar tour.
Upon arrival at the airport in Athens for the next 2 nights, we were greeted and complimentary transferred to the hotel by Trafalgar. The perks of booking air and tour together. We kicked off the trip with a Welcome Reception at the hotel with a few drinks and plan our next 9 days of excursions.
The hotel in Athens was awesome, I was able to see the Acropolis from the rooftop while sipping on a glass of wine with some of my traveling companions.
When in Athens, we visited the Acropolis, a sacred site since Mycenaen times, see the Panathinaiko Olympic stadium, the Temple of Zeus and Hadrian’s Arch with the local specialist.
Now to the fun part, food.
No matter where I am heading, food is always a must explore on my list. Here are some of their best dishes: Lamb Shank-the meat was falling off the bone, Truffle Beef Carpaccio-the truffle scene was divine, steamed Mussels-oh so buttery, and a few more. I’m salivating just by talking about it. It’s time to say “See you later Athens!”, and “Mykonos, here we come”. I’m super excited and looking forward to what Mykonos have to offer.
We took a short ride to catch the fast ferry (cruise) to Mykonos where we will stay for the next 3 nights. I’ve never been on a ferry that is so huge and the seat was more comfortable than the Premium Economy Air seat. They had food, drinks, and a lot of room to walk about. I thought I was on an actual cruise ship at one point!
When we arrived in Mykonos, we went on an included tour to see the Seaside Windmills and Little Venice. The view of the blue sky, white sands, and Little Venice is beautiful. After that, we explored Mykonos on our own with ease. We took the bus to go into the city everyday which is only a few minute’s walk from the Pelican Bay Hotel where we stayed. Did I mention that the hotel is so cute and had your own private balcony? Yes, and it is only a few minutes to walk to the beach as well.
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The island mascot is a great white Pelican named Petros, who walks around town like he owns the island. I wanted to meet the famous Petros but I wasn’t able to locate him anywhere. So sad, I’ll be back to find him again next time. For the party goers, Little Venice has a lot of bars and food with stunning sunset views. And of course, I have learned that you can actually rent the Windmills to spend the night, yes, to stay so you can be at the center of all sceneries. So we shopped, explored the Island, had some delicious meals, danced a few nights in Mykonos, and we said goodbye to Mykonos. It was sad to have to leave, but I will be back. My adventures continue to the next Island.
We said, “Hello!” to Santorini after a short Ferry ride from Mykonos. Here’s where we will stay for another 3 nights. I was super excited to explore the Blue Domes, the beautiful seaside and everything about Santorini. The hotel was huge and beautiful and needed a golf cart to take us to our room. Oh my! I love our rooms. It was spacious and conjoining.
We’re ready to explore Santorini. For the first time explorer, everything is a little hazy when it comes to where to go and what to eat, but our Tour Director was so helpful and knowledgeable. He helped us arrange a private transfer to Oia. The driver picked us up on time as arranged and the ride was about 20 minutes from our hotel. We don’t like the idea of feeling like a sardines in the bus while beautifully dressed, so we were thankful to have had a private chauffeur that was arranged by our wonderful tour director. The cost for a private ride was just a little more than a bus ticket but you have the comfort of not having anyone bumping into you. The city center is literally 5 minutes walking from our hotel if you are a slow walker like me. I was able to get a few souvenirs for my friends after multiple trips, but it wasn’t a problem since it was so close. Oh, on our last night in Santorini, we walked to the City Center to have a few drinks and unexpectedly, had a wonderful time doing a Sing-Along with some strangers to a Beyonce song. That was fantastic and memorable.
Our tour had come to end with a flight back to Athens to fly back to the US the next morning. We had an amazing and memorable on our Greek Island Hopper with Trafalgar tour, which was led by the wonderful Tour Director-Simone. We’ve learned some history of Greece, soaked in some beautiful views of the beaches, sunset, white-washed cottages, windmills, and devoured some of their delicious goodness. I don’t think I could have done it all without being on this tour with Trafalgar. Greek Island Hopper with Trafalgar is the only way to go to see the beautiful islands of Santorini and Mykonos with enough time to do things on your own and/or adding in planned itinerary from the tour operator. Life’s short, so love wholeheartedly, live freely, and travel on.
Vivian Vo
Travel Consultant
[email protected]
Toll Free: 1-800-935-2620 Ext: 5173
Direct: 281-243-5173