Angela did an amazing job planning our trip a...
Greece
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Mar 11 - Mar 20, 2025
Angela did an amazing job planning our trip and we had a great time! She listened to our preferences, made changes when necessary, and helpfully answered our many questions. We would definitely use this service again.
There are a couple of things that I think could use an adjustment.
-It would be helpful to communicate if there is a change in the tour. It isn't a huge big deal, but sometimes with children even a small change from what they are expecting can be disappointing. For example, the Cave of Zeus has been closed over 5 months and it is still listed in the itinerary for one of the Crete tours. Luckily our tour guide knew of another cave that we were able to see, but it would have been nice to know ahead of time.
-The timing of the Sea & Land tour in Santorini is not accurate. The Sea part is about 6 hours, but if you add in the Land part it brings it to 9 hours. This can make a big difference when you are planning meals, etc because we didn't pack a lunch or have time to grab something between the Land & Sea part. The meal on the boat was excellent, but we were all pretty hungry by the time it was served.
-The FAQ on our trip states that "ETIAS travel authorization is an entry requirement for visa-exempt nationals traveling to any of these 30 European countries (https://travel-europe.europa.eu/etias/who-should-apply_en#ETIAS-countries) and is a requirement as of 2024." This is actually not a requirement yet. I had researched this before, but I still had some last minute panic when I read it on the KimKim website.
I would like to note that our tour guide in Santorini (Tonya) and our guide and driver in Crete (Alex and Stefanos) were excellent. They were patient with my kids and were flexible when we needed a little extra time to let them burn some energy.
Activity Reviews
This tour was fun and informative about Athens and the Acropolis. My oldest daughter is very interested in Greek Mythology so we anticipated it being perfect for her. I guess we didn't really think that through, because a large part of the tour is hearing the Greek stories and she already knew them all. I would have appreciated a more abbreviated version of the myths when the guide realized that one kid knew them all and the younger daughter was a little bored. The guide did a good job involving the kids in the tour, asking them questions and using props, etc.
This was a very long tour/day. I don't know if it was worth it with our 11 & 7 year old. We saw some interesting things and the guide did a great job explaining the history, but the amount of driving was a little overwhelming.
We loved this tour! Land: Tonya was amazing. She shared so many great facts and was patient with my kids. Sea: So great, so beautiful. The boat is very comfortable and did not feel crowded even with about 15 people on board. The meal was really delicious and there were drinks available all the time. Probably 80% of the ride was very smooth and pleasant. The last portion as you are coming into port was a little rough. Not extreme but if you are prone to motion sickness I recommend some dramamine or Zofran.
This was a fun tour. Alex is full of facts and stories and great with kids. The roadside picnic (and Raki) was especially fun.
Again, Alex and Stefanos make a great team. They were so kind and helpful to my daughter who had a stomach bug and stopped at a pharmacy to find us some medication. This was a fun way to travel from Heraklion to Chania with several great views and stops along the way.
I am very happy to know that you overall enjoyed your time in Greece with us. For the ETIAS things were very blurry. It was initially set to be in effect in the second half of 2024. Then they transferred the date to 2025 and just 2 days ago they announced that it will come into effect in Q4 2026! It has been crazy! I did change that in the FAQs section and thank you for pointing that out. 🙂
In any case, I would have informed you if... Read more