Highlights

• Athens, the capital
• Acropolis, Parthenon and all of the surrounding temples
• Temple of Olympian Zeus
• Odeon of Herodes Atticus
• Panathenaic Stadium
• Holy Church of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary – Panagia Kapnikarea
• Visiting the islands, all with their own highlights and character
• Santorini with its charming blue and white buildings, stunning sunsets and donkeys with bells
• Crete with its archaeological ruins, beaches and caterpillar migration
• Kalymnos for nature and rock climbing
• Karpathos for a chilled out island with lots of nice beaches

Before you go

• Greece is part of the EU and Schengen areas
• UK and US citizens do not need a visa to visit for up to 90 of 180 days
• The Greek alphabet takes some time to get used to so an app like GoogleTranslate is useful
• Ouzo is a typically Greek liqueur and very strong! It has a liquorice taste
• There are 227 inhabited islands which can be reached by flight and/or ferry. Read up on the highlights of each to decide where you want to go. Some are known for beaches, sunsets, archaeological ruins, partying etc so it depends on what you enjoy
• If you get seasick, then bring medicine for the ferries as they can rock a lot
• Gyros is pronounced YEE-ros

Transport

• The Athens International airport has arrivals from many different cities including London
• Metro Line 3 connects the airport to Athens city centre (Syntagma Square). The journey time is approximately 40 minutes
• The Port of Piraeus is where a lot of ferries to the islands depart from. There are a number of ferry companies to choose from and we used Blue Star
• Athens is quite large so you can walk a lot and also take the metro
• Santorini has some buses but hiring a car is more convenient

Accommodation

• In Athens, we stayed at the Arethusa Hotel, which was very comfortable and centrally-located. As a bonus, it has a roof-top garden.
• There were four of us in Santorini and we opted to share an apartment at Loizos near Thera. We had a nice balcony with a view and could hear the jingling of the donkeys with bells. It was peaceful and beautiful.

Currency

The official currency in Greece is the Euro. As of November 2022, one British pound is equal to 1.16 Euros.

I recommend to check the currency conversion just before you leave as this fluctuates

Food

Since I was a child, Greek food has been one of my favourites. My dad’s friend from work was Greek American, and his family always made delicious Greek dishes for parties. These included dolmades (vine leaves filled with meat and/or rice), moussaka (aubergine, meat and cream layered casserole), Greek salad, and more. In our area, gyros were also very popular.

Most restaurants we tried had all of the typical Greek foods. The salads were fresh and the meat was tender and tasty. It would be difficult to choose a favourite. However, each restaurant had their own variations on the recipes, even for the salad. Additionally, the gyros were a delicious, quick and cheap lunch or snack.

Additionally, the wines of Greece are excellent and varied. Santorini wines are definitely worth trying. My favourite so far is the white wine assyrtiko from Estate Argyros. However, we enjoyed wine tasting at a few different wineries.