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GREECE TRAVEL GUIDE

GREECE ITINRARY:

Athens, Crete, Santorini

April 19-29, 2019

Day 1:

Arrive in Athens

Hotel- NJV Athens Plaza– Perfect location- Very central to all the sites.

Activities- We toured the Acropolis and Parthenon with a private tour guide, Aliki Pelteki who was kind, informative and amazing! At the bottom of the Acropolis sits a rock which is called the Areopagus. This is where Paul delivers the message in Acts 17:22-34. It was such a cool experience to know you are walking on the same ground that is mentioned in the Gospel. Next, we visited the New Acropolis Museum and ate dinner at Kuzina Athens. We were exhausted from the travels but it’s best to hit the floor running so jetlag doesn’t completely take over!

Day 2:

Arrive in Crete

Resort- Creta Maris Beach Resort– Beautiful all inclusive resort- keep scrolling to “things we would have done differently” for more information.

Activities- Check into the resort and enjoy the beach/pool!

Day 3:

Crete

Activities- Pick up rental car and start touring the Island! Crete is a very large island so it’s easy to spend ALL day in a car driving from one beautiful beach to another! We were driving anywhere between 2 and 4 hours to and from places.

Stops: We drove along E75 heading towards Chania and stopped at any and every little side of the road parking stop. The drive is stunning and every view is breathtaking.

Chania- On of our favorite spots in Greece! It’s an old port on the northwest coast of Crete. It’s full of markets and waterfront restaurants. If we were to ever go back we would stay here in one of the many boutique hotels that overlook the markets.

Day 4:

Crete:

Stops: Balos Beach (JUST WOW!) This is a MUST! Even after driving abut 7 miles on an unpaved road that hangs over the cliff.. I’d still say it’s worth it! However, a boat ride may be a safer bet ;) We stopped for lunch at Kaliviani Café- A cute, road-side restaurant on our way back from Balos.

Elafonisi Lagoon/Beach – Supposedly known for their pink sand, but we weren’t really wowed by the color of the sand. There were sections with a slight pink tint but it wasn’t overwhelming. However, the water was crystal clear and just beautiful!

We then headed back to Chania for dinner! I’m telling you we couldn’t get enough of it!

Day 5:

Crete:

Activities: Let’s take a breather….. We spent the morning by the beach at our resort! After lunch we drove to Spilies Beach for a breathtaking beach arched caves, turquoise water and smooth rocks instead of sand!

Day 6:

Ferry Ride from Crete to Santorini – (3 hour boat ride)

Resort: Porta Fira Suties– Could not recommend this place more! If we ever go back (which we hope to) we will absolutely stay here again! Breakfast was included every morning and they would set up the spread on our patio. (allllll the heart eyes)

Activities: Check in and walk the city of Fira. So many markets, shops, restaurants, bars and BEAUTIFUL sites! We had lunch at Argo which has the best lamb gyros!

Day 7:

Santorini

Activities- Breakfast on patio, Tour of Santorini- Locations we stopped at: Highest point in Santorini: Monastery of Prophet Elias, Megalochori Village, The Black Beach, Lunch at @41_Fortyone (which is on the Black Beach), Akrotiti (The Greek Pompeii), Santo Winery

This happened to be the Greek Orthodox Good Friday. We were able to take part in the most amazing tradition in Pyrgos. This article is a great read on their Good Friday tradition. And this article explains several of the Easter traditions. We arrived early and found a rooftop to sit on to watch as each flammable can was lit, one by one. As we left and walked further and further away from the city, we were able to see the full picture of this tradition. It looked as through the whole city was on fire.

Day 8:

Santorini

Activities- Breakfast on patio, morning spent at resort pool, early afternoon walking around Fira, 2PM pick up time for our Sunset Cruse with Caldera Yachting Santorini. Our cruise included: dinner and transfer to and from resort. The cantina boat passes by the Red Beach, Indian Head Mountain, Venetian Lighthouse, Oia, and the volcanic islands. You have a few opportunities to swim and snorkel (if it’s not too cold) and you can even swim to a natural hot spring! We were among 12 others all from various Countries. This was a highlight of the trip for us! It was beautiful, relaxing, informative and just plain fun! I can't say enough about how great the crew of the boat were. It was also a once in a lifetime experience to sit around a table and eat dinner with two newly married couples, one from Japan and one from India!

At midnight we walked up to the Greek Orthodox church that was right above our resort to take part in the Midnight Celebration Service. This article goes into detail about everything we experienced and the meaning behind it. I have chills just thinking of this night. It’s a huge celebration with fireworks, church bells and candles celebrating Jesus’ resurrection!

Day 9:

Santorini to Athens

Activities- Breakfast on patio, morning walking the streets of Fira and we spend the early afternoon by the pool.

We left Santorini mid-afternoon and arrived in Athens around 6PM. Because it was Easter Sunday most of Athens was closed. But we were able to walk through the old town and get one last look of the Acropolis. We ended our last night with street side gyros and then headed back to the hotel to prepare for a long travel day.