Working with Antonis was fantastic!
Greece
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Sep 13 - Sep 27, 2023
Working with Antonis was fantastic! Our trip to Greece was incredible and exactly what we wanted. This was our first time to Greece and we were celebrating our 30-year anniversary. We had lots of ideas and questions, and Antonis helped us every step of the way. He was very professional, friendly, knowledgeable, responsive, and he truly provided a local's perspective. You just can't get all that from the internet! We ended up going to Athens, Delphi, Meteora, Santorini, Crete, and Rhodes. We're more interested in exploring Greek history, culture, and food, and we're less interested in resorts and beaches. I would highly recommend private tour(s), especially for the Acropolis and Parthenon in Athens. It was so great to have someone who knew how to maneuver around the crowds, get us to "the best spots", and tell us a lot of interesting info. We can't say enough good things about our trip and about Antonis!
Hotel Reviews
We stayed for 3 nights at the O&B Athens and it was great! Our room was small but very clean and comfortable. The staff were super friendly and the location was ideal. Highly recommend and we would definitely stay here again!
We stayed at the Amalia Hotel to visit the Monasteries in Meteora. It was very nice! Our room was very clean, comfortable, and quiet. We would definitely stay here again!
We absolutely LOVED our stay at the Imera Vista Suites, and Despina was a fantastic host!! Our room was very clean, comfortable, and quiet. Ideal location! Beautiful sunsets and delicious breakfasts. Highly recommend!!
The Ambassadors Residence was great! Really cool character - an "Old World" feel with modern conveniences. Location was ideal and we had a view of the lighthouse from our room. Clean, comfortable, and quiet. Highly recommend and we would definitely stay here again!
We had a nice stay at the Legacy Gastro Suites. Our room was very clean and comfortable, and the staff were all very friendly. Conveniently located, but unfortunately, downtown Heraklion is noisy. The noise isn't horrible. Ask about the room, or just wear earplugs.
We LOVED our stay at the Elakati! Awesome location and staff! Our room was small but very clean, comfortable, and quiet. Easy walk to the Medieval Old Town and the downtown harbor area. Highly recommend and we would definitely stay here again!
Activity Reviews
We really enjoyed our trip to Delphi! We are not really group tour people, but this was very well done, and we are glad we did it. The bus was clean and comfortable. Our guide, George, was very good. We loved learning both sides of Delphi - the historical/factual info as well as the mythology and stories. It was fun!
We loved our trip to Meteora and glad we made the effort. It was a long day, broken up with a stop in Delphi, but we arrived in good time the night before touring the monasteries. We spent half a day viewing the cliffs and monasteries (beautiful scenery!), and actually toured two of them. It is crowded and we had to wait in lines, but our guide did an excellent job taking us through and providing info along the way. After touring the monasteries, we went for a nice group lunch and then it was about 5 hours back to Athens. It was such a unique experience!
SO glad we did a private tour of Athens! Our guide, Kostas, was great. He knew exactly how to maneuver through the Acropolis, Parthenon, and the Museum - avoided the crowds, took us to the best spots and photo ops, and he gave us lots of info along the way. He was super friendly, knowledgeable, and professional. At times, his English was hard to understand but he was happy to repeat himself or explain things a different way. We would highly recommend Magnificent Athens!
The ONLY reason we didn't give 5 stars/amazing rating is because of the weather. It was very windy, so windy that the group didn't swim in 2 of the 3 places that were part of the tour. And the boat was very rocky for most of the trip. However, the boat itself and the staff were wonderful. The food was delicious. We loved touring Santorini from the water. The place where we did go swimming was great. And the sunset was incredible! This would have been an amazing experience if the weather had been better.
We LOVED our private food tour with Dimitris. It was truly authentic and didn't feel one bit touristy. We visited family-owned businesses and learned first-hand about past and present ways of producing olive oil, tsikoudia, bread/bakery goods, and cheese. The education and the tasting of the foods was fabulous! It was so special to meet with the people at each of these businesses and hear their stories. We ended the tour with a delicious lunch at a lovely restaurant. Highly recommend this tour!
Our private tour of the Palace of Knossos with Gregoris was FANTASTIC! He was very knowledgeable, friendly, and professional. We learned so much about the history of Knossos as well as the mythology. It was really great! The city of Heraklion itself was not our favorite, glad we only stayed for a day to visit Knossos.
We explored the Medieval Old Town and the Rhodes Harbor area on our own, and we loved it. Highly recommend stepping off the beaten path and getting lost in some of the back roads of Old Town. It's easy to find your way out. We took a private tour down to Lindos and we really enjoyed that as well. Lindos was beautiful, interesting, and fun. It was crowded, especially around the Acropolis, but very reasonable. We loved our visit to Rhodes!
Dear Julie and Dave,
Thank you for much for the fantastic review!!
It's really great to know that you enjoyed your 30-year anniversary trip to our country!!
Looking forward to welcoming you again to Greece in the future.
Best regards from Domna, Hara and me!!
Antonis