Chris and the Travel12 team did an outstanding job of preparing and supporting a fantastic 18 day itinerary for a self-directed Culture, Sightseeing and multi-stop Greece vacation. Chris suggested mainland destinations and island stays that really highlighted the diversity of what Greece has to offer. He punctuated the trip with a mix a small group activities and self-drive / self tour options that really suited experienced travelers like ourselves. He also made adjustments to the...
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Chris and the Travel12 team did an outstanding job of preparing and supporting a fantastic 18 day itinerary for a self-directed Culture, Sightseeing and multi-stop Greece vacation. Chris suggested mainland destinations and island stays that really highlighted the diversity of what Greece has to offer. He punctuated the trip with a mix a small group activities and self-drive / self tour options that really suited experienced travelers like ourselves. He also made adjustments to the initial proposed itinerary to meet our cost and experience expectations
Plus while in country the Travel12 team help make a number of real-time revisions to accommodate the weather changes (i.e. rain). The responses and updates were made within short time making it easy to adjust our daily schedules.
Always polite, helpful and responsive. Really a great effort
Hotel Reviews
Perfect location for central Athens - nice sized room and comfortable beds. Large bathroom
Tsikeli Hotel Meteora
Meteora
Great location with access to mountains and restaurants. Excellent breakfast and hotel restaurant very good
Nidimos Hotel Delphi
Delphi
Hotel is ok but not great, location not bad but very soft beds, basic room (ascetically cold) - weird small bathroom. Marginal breakfast. It just wasn't an inviting place. One plus was the parking.
Great views good beds very clean and inviting. I'd give it a 5 except for the following - issue is they kept locking the outside door hours early (supposed to be 11p and first night it poured rain and we forgot to bring the door code so at 10p we had to stand in rain and dark and call to get someone to give code so we can get in). Next night locked at 9p and there was another guest waiting who couldn't get in - but we had the code by then) When asked the next day they said it was an exception - but two nights in a row is not an exception
Syrou Melathron
Hermoupolis, Syros
Great room and amazing sea views - loved breakfast up on the roof. Reasonable walk from main square. Bed is quite hard - but that seems to be a little more common in Greece. This would be 5 star except the room right over the main road out of town so noise from cars and especially motorcycles was enough to disturb sleep till after 12p and starting up again at 5am. For lighter sleeper it was loud enough (even with good windows/doors) to wake us up at times.
Lithies Traditional Homes
Thíra
Really fantastic room, location, views and of course our hostess Maria - the sweetest! Loved the Caldera gives and the fantastic cave rooms - huge, with plenty of open space - tables - outdoor spaces, flowers. Just beautiful Plus inside a full kitchen and 2nd bathroom (which we didn't have need to use). Plenty of bottled water, beverages in fridge, excellent light breakfast delivered right on time. Plus away from crowds. And immaculate. Great location away from cruise ship crowds. Best stay on our trip
Authenticity & Character
A cave room in Santorini - as nice as it gets
Location
On the caldera - views for miles - tables, lounges, near restaurants and Fira - good pickup location for transfers
Staff
Maria and her staff are the best!
Cleanliness & Comfort
Everything was cleaned and immaculate
Avra Hotel
Rafina, Attica
Fine for a quick overnight necessitated by travel. Nice sea view, comfortable beds. An actually a good hotel restaurant with a small discount so we didn't have to go out in the middle of travel layover.
Activity Reviews
Acropolis & Athens Mythology Tour
Athens
Great guide. Everything as expected. Good stories and more than enough time for pictures, lingering and excellent info on side questions.
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Private Panoramic Meteora Tour
Meteora
We didn't really need this tour because we had our own car and it was mostly just transportation. We go a refund because what we ended up on was not a private tour
Lunch with Olive Grove View
Greece
What a wonderful family and learned a lot about olives and olive oil. Best tasting lunch on our entire trip. Amazing views over the ancient olive groves. A huge surprise at how much we liked it. (Also order a case to be shipped home). We were the only two that day so it was like a private tasting and lunch
Food
Best lunch - beans and moussaka - plus all the olives and tasting
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Island-Hopping to Hydra from Nafplio
Nafplio
Great to see Hydra - but a 2 hour ride each way from hotel was bit much. It's a cute town - and not sorry we did it - but also wouldn't put it at the top of the list.
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Premium Morning Catamaran Cruise in the Caldera lagoon
Santorini
We switched and did the sunset. Great food some excellent views. The winds that day required course adjusting - so no beaches. But all in very comfortable and pleasant. A little hectic with transfers and getting on the boat - but that's what it is. Another must do.
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Santorini Highlights & Akrotiri
Santorini
Great guide - a good way to spend the a half day in Santorini - in and out of crowds and something other than Fira and Oia. Liked seeing the variety. Enjoyed the tasting and the ancient ruins. All in very worthwhile
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Local specialist: Chris Leontopoulos