Athens, Crete, Mykonos, Santorini, Oia

From June 20th to July 1st 2023

Recommend to download and use Google Maps for finding places and restaurants around Europe. Apple Maps does not have the data or detail that Google Maps does.

ATHENS

Day 1

• Drinks at Clumsies

• Checked into Hotel Grande Bretagne in Athens that overlooked Acropolis 

• Toured through Panathenaic Stadium where original Olympic Games took place 

• Dinner at Archontiko Benizelon (Benizelos’ Mansion)

• Dinner at US Embassy

Day 2

• Acropolis of Athens rock guiding tour

• Lunch at Dionissos

• Took flight to Santorini

SANTORINI

Day 3

• Venetsanos Winery

• Lunch at Lauda restaurant in Oia, a great lunch spot with spectacular views

• Sigalas Winery & Vineyards tour

• Took flight to Mykonos

MYKONOS

Day 4

• Speedboats treasure hunt in the mesmerizing waters of Aegean Sea and a stop in ancient island of Dhelos

• Lunch at Nammos Restaurant

• Dinner at Buddha bar

• Took flight to Crete

CRETE

Day 5

• Flight to Chania. Tour around the old town.

• Walking tour through the city 

• Lunch at Marathokefala

• Dinner at Apostolis - traditional greek music and dance 

Day 6

• A stop to Terra Creta olive factory for olive oil tasting.

• Hiking to Balos Beach and a swim in the Cretan Sea.

• Beach farewell dinner at Liokalivo Beach Restaurant

SANTORINI

Day 7

• Max took a flight in from Athens to meet Hailey in Santorini. Hailey flew in from Switzerland. 

• We checked into Canaves Oia and had a room with a corner pool. The pool & patio was mostly private except that there are rooms all around and if you lean too far out of your pool or patio you can overlook other rooms (as well as rooms overlooking yours). 

• This first night together in Santorini we had a fabulous dinner at our hotel, named Petra. We tried all kinds of food and it was incredible. Highly recommend to book a reservation at this restaurant even if you aren’t staying at the hotel. 

Day 8

• Started the morning slow by having an incredible breakfast brought to the room. We hung on our patio/pool area for most of the morning until we were ready for lunch. We toured through town, about a 20 minute walk will get you to the end of town.* 

• We stopped at one of the highest rated lunch spots in Oia named Roka. The food was very traditional greek, insanely fresh, and delicious. Less than a 10 minute walk from the hotel. 

• Because of the heat we went back to the hotel and relaxed for a bit in the air conditioning

• We walked less than 10 minutes to an incredible dinner in town on the back side of town called Meltini. They had a variety of food choices, no view of the ocean inside, but the food was great and the restaurant was packed.

• After dinner we wandered through town again on our way back to the hotel and enjoyed a nightcap at the pool. 

Day 9

• We started the morning with massages at the spa at the hotel. The spa was small, but nice and cave-like to keep it cool in the summer heat. We walked from the hotel determined to find another traditional greek meal and found an incredible spot named pitoGyros Traditional Grill House. They hadn’t quite opened yet, but people were already waiting in line. So we got in line and waited for the doors to open. They were pretty quick with taking orders as well as getting food out. We ordered a ton of food and also had baklava at the end. Worth it. 

• With the help of the hotel concierge, we rented a 40 foot sun seeker yacht around 3pm for an afternoon and sunset cruise. We had some other friends also in Santorini, so we split the yacht with them and disembarked from Ammoudi Bay, which is technically at the bottom of the island… seemingly just underneath Oia.

• Once we were on the boat the captain set the itinerary, served cocktails and light bites, and played the music. He took us to jump off cliffs, see underwater shipwrecks, a volcanic island, and other small islands surrounding Santorini. 

• By dinner time he drove us back near Ammoudi Bay where we had dinner at Armeni. This dinner felt extremely authentic; the owner of the restaurant served us and was proud to show us his fresh catches of the day.

• After dinner we hopped back on the boat for sunset, then got dropped back off to be driven back up to Oia from the bottom of the island. 

Day 10

• We wanted to see what the other side of the island was like (a whole 20 minute walk away), so we checked out of Canaves Oia and checked into their other hotel Canaves Epitome. This side is much more resort-like, where you have more space in your rooms and you also have a lot more privacy (as rooms aren’t stacked on top of one another). 

• We had another ridiculously delicious lunch at a place called Nikos Place Grill House. It had no view, but people were there for the food. They had the best greek salad we had the whole trip. 

• We walked along the streets a little more and shopped before catching dinner back at our hotel.

• We ate dinner at the Epitome restaurant named Elements and watched the sunset go down. You can tell it’s a popular place to be, as many non-hotel guests were coming just to have dinner. Book a dinner here even if you aren’t staying at this hotel. Also, the craft cocktails were fun and refreshing.

Day 11 

• The next morning we ordered an incredible breakfast to the room and prepared for our flight out to Paris

Next time we’re in Greece, we plan to check out: 

• Taking ATVs to black sand beaches for the day 

• Visit the city on the other side of Santorini named Thera

* It’s best to look out for the times that cruise boats drop tourists off to try and avoid that foot traffic. Go out just before they get there, or shortly after they leave, otherwise the small streets and little boutiques are crowded with people.