Traveling is never smooth sailing. Here are some of the trials and tribulations I faced in Greece. May it help guide you to the beautiful islands of Greece.
ATHENS
Electra Hotel
Highlight: Located in the center of the city, this spot is perfect for exploring and it has a hellacious rooftop bar and restaurant.
Lowlight: The rooms are extremely small to accommodate a large number of guests in the city.
Tour of Acropolis
Highlight: The monument and museum are absolutely beautiful and filled with rich history. We learned a lot and explored the amazing ruins.
Lowlight: It was extremely hot and crowded mid-day, and our tour guide was slow and boring.
Vouliagmeni Lake
Highlight: The crystal clear 80-degree water is extremely refreshing and the area is surrounded by a magnificent rocky landscape. Also, the deck and bar are nice accommodations.
Lowlight: The water is filled with Garra rufa fish that bite and tickle your feet. It feels weird.
MYKONOS
Porto Mykonos
Highlight: This hotel has a great pool with a perfect view of the sunset and is located in walking distance of the town.
Lowlight: The beds were horribly uncomfortable and they didn’t give us enough towels. Also, you can’t drink the water so we were very dehydrated! Ugh.
Renting a Jeep
Highlight: It was remarkable to drive along the coast and easily visit a few beaches around the island that would otherwise require the use of slow public transportation.
Lowlight: The Jeep was about to break down, it had no gas, and the roads were extremely frightening to drive on.
Paradise Beach
Highlight: This beach has crystal clear, warm water and plenty of bars and restaurants in the area.
Lowlight: Chairs were expensive to rent and there were topless old ladies everywhere you turned.
Luxury Boat Excursion
Highlight: We got to see a bunch of different parts of the island and jumped off the boat at various beaches. We also got lunch during the full day trip.
Lowlight: The water was extremely rough so our ride was too. But, I took Dramamine in advance so I was fine.
Delos Island
Highlight: As a Greek mythology nerd, it was really cool for me to explore the birthplace of Apollo. The reconstructed ruins were gorgeous and the view from the top of the island was spectacular.
Lowlight: It was extremely hot to explore this area during the middle of the day, and I wore sandals so it was hard to get around in all of the dust and pebbles. Wear sneakers!
Little Venice
Highlight: Tons of great shops and beautiful allies to explore. We had a fabulous dinner by the water.
Lowlight: Everything here is very expensive. Plus, there’s only one public bathroom in the whole area and you have to pay to use it.
Windmills
Highlight: Great spot to view a beautiful sunset.
Lowlight: It’s extremely crowded.
SANTORINI
Orizontes Hotel
Highlight: Located at the peak of the island, this hotel has a magnificent pool that overlooks the cliffs in the distance.
Lowlight: It was extremely windy and cold at the pool because of the location. And, our room’s shower had no curtain so everything got soaked! It was weird.
Sunset Oia Catamaran
Highlight: This was my favorite excursion because it included unique stops around Santorini, including a volcanic hot spring and a red sand beach. We also had a nice dinner while sailing during sunset.
Lowlight: My mom dropped her phone through the netting of the catamaran and lost it to the depths of the ocean forever.
Volcanic Hot Springs
Highlight: The ocean water here was warm due to volcanic runoff and the minerals within the water are said to be very good for your skin.
Lowlight: The minerals made the water a deep brown color. It looks gross.
Red Sand Beach
Highlight: We got to snorkel with a beautiful red cliff backdrop.
Lowlight: The red sand beach was closed off due to a recent rock collapse, so we were unable to visit the shore. Also, where we stopped to snorkel was too deep to see any fish.
Exploring Thira
Highlight: There were tons of cool shops and restaurants to explore along the picture-esque city cliffs of Thira.
Lowlight: The area is a giant staircase, so be prepared to workout. Also, the area smelled of donkey dung because they use them to transport people up and down the rocky cliffside – so sad!
Venetsanos Winery
Highlight: This winery is unique because it contains a series of caves that house a museum on the history of Greek wine. It’s very informative and interesting to explore.
Lowlight: The wine was way too sweet for me. And, we had to walk almost two miles back to our hotel before we could find a cab to bring us back.
Santos Wines Winery
Highlight: Not only can you snag a table with one of the best views in Santorini at Santos Winery, but you can choose from a selection of delicious wines and cheese boards to sample.
Lowlight: It was pretty expensive, but I’d say it’s worth it.
CRETE
Galaxy Hotel
Highlight: This hotel is very classy and has excellent amenities.
Lowlight: As it’s located in the middle of Heraklion, it seems that it’s frequented more by business travelers than tourists. We stood out.
Gaia Pelagia Beach
Highlight: The crystal-clear water of this beautiful beach is not the only stunning sight this area has to offer. If you dare, you can climb and explore a beautiful cliffside that hides small private beaches within.
Lowlight: The beach chairs here were expensive to rent, and you can only access the private beach by swimming along the coast for at least a mile. It takes a strong swimmer!
Quad Safari Adventure
Highlight: I had fun driving the quad around the hilly, rocky landscape of Crete. We explored landscapes we wouldn’t otherwise get to see.
Lowlight: The focus of the tour was exploring small local towns, and I would have liked to visit more of the beaches and mountainside.
OTHER TRAVEL
Ferry
Highlight: An inexpensive way to travel between the Greek islands.
Lowlight: The boats were crowded and our average ride took about three hours.
Flight from Crete to Athens
Highlight: Twenty minutes of airtime is much better than nine hours on a ferry.
Lowlight: The airport was crowded and unorganized, like most airports are.
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