As our plane touched down in Athens, we were relieved. having been in the middle East, surrounded by Islamic culture and sights for so long, we were pleased to see pork and alcohol for sale, and were even much more thrilled that I didn’t have to cover my body! As much as we delight in travelling in the middle East, Greece was just what we needed, and was the supreme holiday from backpacking the world.
Our three days in the country’s capital were spent exploring and wandering. We started with the funky, cobble stoned Monastiraki Square. This is an outstanding place for people viewing from one of the numerous benches or from the water fountain’s edge. children are playing, lovers are snuggling and vendors are wandering around hawking their wares.
Surrounding the plaza are shops selling souvenirs and numerous restaurants serving up delicious meals. Tables tumble out onto the streets from nearby cafes and live music in some cases kicks off in the evenings.
There is just so numerous things to do in Athens, we wouldn’t possible be able to see them all in such a short period of time.
The bustling Monastiraki Square
An obvious must-see in Athens is the Acropolis! exploring the beautiful columns, outstanding theatre and of course, the renowned Parthenon was an outstanding way to spend the day. even the walk up to the Acropolis was beautiful with narrow alleyways, white washed buildings and cobble stone streets.
Joepie! The Parthenon was awesome
Luckily for us, we were in the city on a Sunday, when the changing of the guards ceremony happens. We had missed the one in London and were so thrilled to experience this. At 11:00am, a marching band came down the streets, followed by the guards dressed in the conventional outfit – white outfits, white leggings and shoes with big pom-pom balls on the toes. The changing was very interesting and after the ceremony, the men stood proudly and perfectly still to guard the Parliament.
Love these outfits!
We wish we had longer than 3 days in the city, but the islands were calling us!
As our ferry-boat sped over the extremely clear, turquoise waters of the Mediterranean Sea, massive grins started to spread over our faces, and didn’t leave for the entire 8 days spent on the amazing island of Santorini. Blindingly white buildings perched on the edge of a rust-red cliff greeted us as we disembarked.
the first impressions of Santorini were fantastic!
The island itself isn’t all that big and we knew we wanted to do some exploring of our own, so we immediately rented a motorbike and had it for the entire time we were there. The island is famed for its sunsets, beautiful buildings, blue domed roofs and wineries. numerous of our evenings were spent with a bottle of red wine in the town of Oia, while viewing the sun dip into the sea.
Stunning sunset in Oia
The beaches range from black sand to golden to red, all of which are stunning. We spent days laying on the sands at Perissa and Red Beach, occasionally dipping in the clear waters to cool off. aside from lazing around and simply relaxing, we went to the wineries on the island, explored hidden roads by motorbike and gazed down at the volcano on the island below us. Santorini was an amazing getaway from our every day travels, but it was time to relocation on…the bigger island of Crete was next up!
The beautiful Red Beach
Since there were so numerous places we wanted to check out, we chose that the best way to get around would be to rent a car. We spent 8 days going to the ancient ruins of Knossos, the Lesithi Plateau, the Dikteon Cave (the birthplace of Zeus!), the hippy hangout of Matala, Elafonisi Beach (pink beach), and the Samaria Gorge.
Herders near the Lesithi Plateau
We absolutely loved all of these highlights on Crete, but one place really stood out for us:
Balos Beach
This beautiful beach is absolutely incredible. located in what seems like the middle of nowhere, we parked our car at the top of the beach and hiked down to its white, sandy shores and crystal clear waters. With no one else around, we laid out our towels and delighted in the peace and quiet. This was the final place we went to on our Greek vacation before venturing back to the main town and returning our rental car.
The amazing Balos Beach!
We planned the trip ourselves, which turned out ok, however, we ended up spending a fortune on one of the ferry rides due to the fact that we didn’t book in advance! If you’re going to Greece, make sure you plan out your ferry schedule at least a week or so before you plan to take them, because some days of the week are much less expensive than others.Mmm, we missen Grieks eten
Nadat ze genoten van onze ontsnapping door de wereld te backpacken, was het tijd om onze packs over onze schouders te hijsen en afscheid te nemen van de fantastische gerechten, de geweldige zonsondergangen, de smaakvolle rode wijn en de gastvrije mensen. We hielden van onze tijd doorgebracht in Griekenland en denken vaak aan die reis, mogelijk zullen we binnenkort op een dag terugkeren …
Bekijk voor veel meer over Griekenland:
Griekenland reisgids: alles wat u moet weten
Bezoek Lesvos, Griekenland: onze 5 -daagse reisgids
Top 15 beste stranden in Griekenland
Weer in Griekenland: wanneer is de beste tijd om te bezoeken?
Chios, Griekenland: De magie van de Noord -Egeïscheïsche uittrekken
Het ontdekken van de magie van Kefalonia, Griekenland: onze 5 -daagse reisgids
Dit bericht is u aangeboden door Trafalgar
Onlangs ben ik kennis gemaakt met een bedrijf genaamd Trafalgar dat een reis biedt naar deze drie plaatsen die we hebben bezocht, plus, ze omvatten een reis naar Istanbul, Rhodes en meer.
Voor beginnende reizigers of degenen die een eenvoudig planningsproces willen hebben, kunt u ze zeker bekijken. Ze bieden een 9 -daagse ‘Best of Griekenland’ -tour die veel van de mooiste steden en historische locaties van het vasteland inneemt, evenals steekproeven van enkele van de heerlijke gerechten die Griekenland op de gastronomische kaart hebben gezet.
Als u niet geïnteresseerd bent in het plannen van een reis naar Griekenland, kan dit een goede optie voor u zijn. Dit bedrijf is er trots op je de ‘echte’ kant van het land te laten zien die je bezoekt, dus het is niet alleen je typische, cookie-cutter-tour.
Als je geïnteresseerd bent in eilandhoppen in Griekenland, bekijk dan deze infographic door freelance-holidays.co.uk
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