Greece - your way!

Greece | May 30 - Jun 14, 2023

Love that we didn't have to deal with a lengthy check in process. We were given simple, easy to follow directions for getting our room key. Hotel staff was quick to respond when we had an issue with a tripped breaker and the power went out in our room. They arrived within about 30 minutes and got it fixed very quickly. Room was very modern and clean. Location was awesome -- close enough to be within walking distance of all major tourist attractions but also in a nicer, quieter location.

The owner of this hotel lived close by and was so nice! She remembered us and always checked in when she saw us. Check in and check out was easy and simple. Room was clean and comfortable. Only complaint with this hotel is the bathroom -- the floor is made of rocks which is uncomfortable to stand on and the shower is open to the room with no curtain so water gets everywhere even if you are careful.

View from our shared balcony was breathtaking!! We also absolutely loved our breakfast tray each morning. So tasty and authentic. We also loved that we could choose the exact time we wanted our breakfast delivered and that we could eat out on the balcony and soak in the views each morning. One complaint was about the smells sometimes. Light sewage smell...

We loved the breakfast each morning -- very authentic with lots of options for many different hot dishes and sides. The room was beautiful and clean. Staff was friendly and helpful. We loved our private balcony. Location was very close to shopping areas, restaurants, and the beach. Check in and check out was fast and easy and they were very helpful with our bags.

Our guide on this tour (Anastasia) was engaging and knowledgeable. Tour was well-paced and interesting for all participants. Tour group size was manageable and not too large.

One of my favorite tours. Our guide (can't remember her name) was so knowledgeable and entertaining for us. She had lots of anecdotes. She did great pointing out good spots to stop and take pictures and didn't make me feel bad for wanting to stop to grab a picture.

Loved the lunch served on board - lots of authentic greek dishes that were very tasty. There were long stretches of time of sailing in the morning and evening but it was very pleasant from the top deck. The islands we visited were beautiful!

Enjoyed our time with the guide Elena and the driver Mario. They made the long drive interesting. I enjoyed seeing this temple very much and the sunset was beautiful!

Loved that we were able to go to less populated areas of the island which definitely made it seem more personal/special. The mines were very interesting to walk through and our guide got some great pictures of us! It was great that he was from Milos and was very knowledgeable about everything/everyone!

We saw some absolutely beautiful sites that we otherwise would not have been able to see on this boat tour which was really fun. Unfortunately the weather was very windy and it was a little chilly that day which had a big impact on our enjoyment of this tour. The morning was a bit stressful as there were several different boat tours all leaving at the same time with different companies and we did not know which one we were supposed to be on for a while as it was a bit of a madhouse. I think this day would have been more enjoyable if the boat cruise was a little shorter. By the end of the day we were worn out and sick of the constant wind/cold. The sea was pretty rough towards the end of the day too. The staff was all excellent and we did have a lot of yummy food. They did the best they could with the weather.

There was misinformation regarding the ferry timing. We were picked up from our hotel at 10:15am to get to the ferry - literally less than 10 minutes from our hotel. We waited for over 40 minutes for the ferry which turned out not to be coming until 12:15pm! Luckily our guide was able to take us to the papafragas caves and talk with us about the history of those while we waited so we had something to do. We had more than 1 hr less in Kimolos than we originally should have had. Additionally - the museums were all closed so we didn't get to visit those. This was our tour guides first time doing the Kimolos tour so there was some confusion about where to go for certain sites which also wasted some time. I did really enjoy walking through the capital city and visiting some shops there. Personally, I would take out the beach time in Kimolos as the beach we went to was pretty rocky and spend more time at the sites unique to Kimolos.

Best parts of the day were the archeological sites and museum. The tour guide for the first part of the day for the ruins and museum unfortunately was hard to understand and seemed to stop to explain stuff in weird locations, but I still enjoyed it. I also really loved the stop in Kamari for individual exploring/shopping. I also loved the look out view point from the highest part of the island. The parts that could use some improvement were the lunch/wine tasting and evening cocktail. I think the time spent at lunch and the cocktail was a bit too long. The view of the sunset for cocktails wasn't as good as I was hoping as well. The food during the lunch was pretty good, however. There were 2 different "beach" stops on the itinerary but it wasn't clear if there was going to be swimming or not so the communication on that end could be improved. Honestly the red beach stop should be removed from the itinerary as the beach is closed and the view is much better from a boat than you can see on land.

The description said "Your breakfast box will be filled with local, homemade goodies: country bread, Brioche, Cake, Biscuits, Honey, Marmalade, Butter, Yogurt with honey and walnuts, Fried egg, Country spinach pie, Juice/Coffee/Milk, Bread Sticks." What we actually got was a stop along the way at a bakery to pick out one pie and one beverage each. That is a big difference! Felt like they should have been prepared with the food already on hand so we wouldn't have to leave as early. Additionally -- I would have expected somewhere nice to sit with comfortable chairs or sun beds to relax and enjoy the morning. Especially since the beach there was fairly rocky so it is uncomfortable to sit/walk on. All we got was a public bench with graffiti on it. It was also awkward that the driver and "guide" were sitting in the car parked right next to us. I felt like we couldn't enjoy the "carefree day on the beach" with them sitting there right next to us waiting the whole time. If we had not done this activity and just had breakfast at our hotel we would have gotten a much better meal with a much nicer view and somewhere comfortable to sit.

This was the perfect length to be able to enjoy sailing, swimming, and the food without growing tired. The weather was on our side for this sailing cruise, wasn't too windy. The dinner was very delicious with several different dishes to try. The staff was excellent and made sure we were all having a good time while also being safe. Only downside was the disembarkation back to the port which was very busy with lots of boats all unloading at the same time at a very small port.

Really enjoyed this tour and our guide Alex. The different tastings were fun and interesting. The highlight for me was the Venetian castle. The dinner was also very delicious at the restaurant. One improvement would be more stops for pictures along the way. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get many that evening.

We both loved this experience getting to see some of the Naxos country side on the way to the farm and pottery workshop. Unfortunately there was no olive oil factory/sampling as was included in the description. The pottery shop was very cool and watching the demonstration of the traditional Naxian designs was amazing! I loved getting to shop around for some unique handmade items to take home with me. We also really enjoyed the meal and learning how to make it as well as seeing all of the farm animals and helping to feed some of them!

Our instructor was very helpful and good at explaining everything we needed to know to be safe in the water. It was fun that she pointed out different sea creatures while we were on the dive.