With more coastline than any other country in Europe, and over 6,000 islands scattered across turquoise seas, exploring the birthplace of western civilization where ancient ruins bask in over 300 days of sunshine a year, makes Greece a perfect place to island hop for one of the most epic trips of a lifetime.
One of the most ancient civilizations in the world founded over 5,000 years ago, Greece is also the birthplace of democracy, coming from the Greek words demos “people” and kratos “rule”, and Greek is the oldest written language still used today.
Greece is also a land of heroes and legends where it’s hard to separate fact from fiction, from the tales of the mighty Greek gods, to the largest recorded volcanic eruption on Earth in 1620 BC that sunk part of Santorini, fueling speculation that here lies the lost continent of Atlantis.
Greece is home to a whopping 18 UNESCO World Heritage sites and has more archeological museums than any country in the world, making Greece far more than just the epitome of an idyllic island destination, but one rich in history and culture.
ITINERARY
Day 1
Athens
Day 2
Mykonos Island
Day 3
Sacred Delos Island
Day 4 & 5
Santorini Island
Day 1
Athens was only a small community in 1700 BC, but due to its strategic location between Europe and Asia, it became an empire in the ancient world with a formidable military and substantial wealth, becoming the cradle of western civilization where philosophy, science, mathematics, drama, and literature flourished. Today it’s an enormous concrete jungle, but a full day is enough time to explore the main sights.
Flights into Athens are plentiful, and public transportation from the airport is inexpensive and easy to navigate into this city named after Athena, the goddess of wisdom, who according to Greek mythology was chosen to be the patron saint of the city for offering the people an olive tree.
After checking into your hotel head out to the famed UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the most important ancient site in the western world, the Acropolis, which is visible from almost everywhere within the city and is crowned by the Parthenon representing the best of ancient Greek architecture.
Epitomizing the glory of Ancient Greece, the 5th century Parthenon and largest Doric temple ever completed in Greece, can be explored at your own pace. Dedicated to Athena, with an enormous statue of her once inside, the outer Doric columns of the structure are curved to create an optical illusion they are straight.
It’s incredible how close you can get to this ancient masterpiece where people walked since year 432 BC.
The decorative panels on the exterior depicted various events including the Olympian gods fighting giants, and the sacking of the city of Troy.
Today the marble stone takes on various shades of soft honey hues, but originally the Parthenon was painted in bright colors and gilded with gold and other metals.
A massive statue of Athena standing 12 meters high made of gold and ivory and covered in jewels was completed in 432 BC and stood inside, but in 426AD it was taken to Constantinople and disappeared. Today, a replica of the Parthenon complete with Athena stands in Nashville, Tennessee and is simply magnificent.
The olive tree Athena offered the people of Athens symbolized peace, prosperity, food, oxygen, and shelter still stands atop the Acropolis overlooking the city, and it is claimed that the very tree from the seed she planted has survived for thousands of years by sprouting again and again.
This olive tree is growing next to the Erechtheion, a building that’s a tribute to the battle between Athena and Poseidon for the city with its famous porch of the Karyatides, sculpted female figures serving as architectural supports.
Athens is one of the oldest cities in the world that is still inhabited to this day, going strong for over 3,000 years.
The large stone next to the Acropolis was the “Supreme Court” of Athens where cases would be heard and judgements declared.
On the southwest side of the Acropolis, the theater Odeon of Herodes Atticus built in 161AD, was renovated in 1950 to appear how it looked in ancient Greece when it was used for shows that seated up to 5,000 people. Concerts are still held here, and there was one being set up the day we were visiting.
A short walk downhill provides a bit of shade to reach another theater.
On the south slope of the acropolis sits the oldest Greek theatre, the 6th century BC Theatre of Dionysus Eleuthereus, dedicated to the Greek god of wine, where some of the most famous Greek comedies and tragedies from antiquity were performed.
Surprisingly, you can sit in the very spots audiences thousands of years ago did.
From the Acropolis there’s a view of what remains of the Temple of Olympian Zeus, Greece’s largest temple built in the 6th century and dedicated to Zeus that originally had 104 columns where only a few still stand 2,400 years later.
After exploring the Acropolis, wander over to the Roman Agora, an ancient market built during the 1st century BC during the rule of Julius Caesar when Athens became part of Rome, and includes The Tower of the Winds and Hadrian’s Library.
You can also roam freely within the Roman Agora, where the remains of public toilets dating from the 1st century consisting of benches with holes and sewage pipes below, sit along the road lined with modern vehicles, where the juxtaposition of something so ancient with something so new only exists in some parts of the world.
A technological marvel of the time, the Tower of the Winds was built around 100BC and demonstrated the scientific abilities of the ancient world, which included a water clock that showed the time during both the day and night by using water flow from a stream to rotate a bronze disc once every 24 hours beginning at sunrise. The physics behind the design made it highly accurate, even during different seasons.
The largest library in Athens, Hadrian’s Library was built to impress in 132 AD painted wall to ceiling during the rule of the Roman Emperor Hadrian to store literary works and legal archives, and to host lectures and philosophical schools.
A few steps away from the Roman Agora is a busy historical square in Monastriki, and is a wonderful spot to soak up the atmosphere.
Tzistarakis Mosque is also located in the bustling square, and legend has it the mosque was constructed with a destroyed pillar of an ancient Greek temple in 1759 during the Ottoman’s conquest of Athens.
Monastriki is a historic neighborhood in Athens with lots of shops and an extensive flea market.
There are plenty of accommodations with a view of the Acropolis, and while some things can be skipped in life, this isn’t one of them.
Grab a bottle of Greek wine in the shop below, and sit on your private balcony watching the sunset over the Parthenon.
It’s difficult to fully grasp that this very structure has been standing watch over Athens for almost 2,500 years.
Day 2
It’s time to head to the busy port of Piraeus to depart for the dazzling Greek Islands. There are multiple daily departures for famous Mykonos Island, and the journey takes as little as 2.5 hours on the fast ferries, and 4-5 hours on the slower ferries.
The fast ferries are more expensive, but the ride is more comfortable on the smaller, nicer boats.
Mykonos is part of the group of islands called the Cyclades, which are the archetypical Greek islands of whitewashed villages, barren landscapes and bright blue seas. The ferries drop you right in the center of its main town called Hora.
By the middle of the 5th century BC, these islands were members of the Athenian empire, but continued to change hands over the centuries and have been ruled by the Byzantines, the Venetians, and the Turks.
The narrow labyrinth streets of Hora are designed to disorientate invaders and pirates, but are simply a joy to explore for wandering visitors today.
A fun, affordable, and efficient way to explore the island is on a scooter rather than using the island’s slow and crowded buses, and there are plenty of rental agencies where you disembark the ferry.
Mykonos is dominated by tourism, so there’s plenty of options for places to stay depending on how you plan to spend your time, and we stayed at Platys Gialos Beach.
It’s quieter and more family friendly than in Hora or the popular Paradise Beach area, famous for its all night dance parties.
After you check into your room, zoom off to enjoy glorious Paradise Beach or Super Paradise Beach, the iconic Mykonos beaches, and prepare to be swept away by your first peek as you come over the top of the hill.
The beach is fairly empty until midday when all of the late night partiers finally roll out of bed and arrive via water taxi from neighboring areas.
Nudity is common at these 2 beaches, so if that’s concern then it’s best to enjoy some of the other dozens of beaches such as Platys Gialos.
After some sea, sand and sun, freshen up back at the room and head off to enjoy the sunset in the old town of Hora.
Mykonos is packed with expensive restaurants, but there’s some excellent local tavernas serving up simple and delicious Greek food for decades.
A classic Greek staple, Jimmy’s spinning, dripping rotisserie meat gyros are served hot wrapped in warm pita stuffed with a tangy tzatziki sauce, cool tomato and onion, and crispy fries. Don’t miss it.
This pedestrian friendly busy port town with its narrow lanes can get congested during the evening.
You can tuck down an empty side street for a quieter walk along these cobblestone alleys lined with boutiques, and though you’ll get lost, it won’t be for long since the town is so tiny.
Spend the evening wandering through the alleys and admire the bright colors of the bougainvillea flowers, typical of the Cyclades.
You won’t see many cars, but the ones you do find are scaled to fit some of the larger alleys.
The churches in Mykonos paint their domes blue, signifying the sea and the sky.
Mykonos is home to 365 churches, one for each day of the year, and these blue domes are typical of the Cyclades Islands.
Make your way to Little Venice, which you may recognize in the shot below from the “Bourne Identity”, located at the southwestern end of the harbor, where ship captains built their Venetian style homes overlooking the sea with wooden balconies kissed by lapping waves. Today, Little Venice is famous for its fantastic seafood restaurants, bars and pulsing nightclubs with some of the best views on the island.
Mykonos zoning laws require doors and windows to be painted blue, green or red which dates back to island tradition when sailors painted their doors blue, farmers painted them green, and everyone else used red.
Almost all buildings are white, which helps keep them cool during the hot Mediterranean summer.
The island gets over 300 blissful days of sunshine a year.
The 7 windmills overlooking the harbor near Little Venice are icons of Mykonos, and date back to the 16th century when islanders used wind power to grind grain.
The soft island sunset is a magical time of day on the island.
No matter where you are, Hora is picture perfect so head to higher ground for some sunset views overlooking the old town.
According to Greek Mythology, Mykonos is the site of a great battle where Zeus is said to have fought the Titans, defeating them and sending them to the depths of the earth.
According to Greek mythology, Mykonos is also where Hercules, son of Zeus, lured the Giants from Mount Olympus to slay them.
Mykonos is one of Greece’s most visited island, and it’s easy to see why millions of visitors flock to this paradise each year, and why crowds clap with applause during sunset over Hora town.
Day 3
A daytrip to the nearby sacred island of Delos, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is not to be missed. According to Greek mythology, Delos was the birthplace of the twin gods Apollo (god of the sun) and Artemis (god of the night) whose father was Zeus, king of all gods.
Delos is just a 20 minute ferry ride from Mykonos, but you’ll need to purchase a tour to visit this island that’s the epicenter of the Cyclades, which got their name from the circle (kyklos) they form around Delos.
Inhabited since 3,000 BC, the island flourished as an important religious center, and was once a bustling commercial center, reaching its height in the 5th century BC, but Delos was eventually abandoned and it wasn’t until the end of the 19th century that the archaeological jewel that is Delos was discovered.
You can explore Delos at your own pace, so first tackle the 20 minute hike up to Mount Kythnos, the highest point on the island, via the ancient steps that lead to the top.
The views from the summit are stunning of the Cyclades that circle Delos.
According to legend, Delos was an invisible rock floating in the Aegean Sea when the goddess Leto was desperate to find a secretive place to give birth to escape the wrath of Zeus’s wife Hera. Zeus asked his brother Poseidon, the sea god, for help anchoring the invisible island and Poseidon tied it to the deep and named it Delos, meaning “visible”.
Here at the Sacred Lake under the island’s only palm tree Leto gave birth to Apollo, the god of light, making it one of the most sacred sites of the ancient world. Sadly, the lake was drained in 1925 to prevent mosquitos that can carry malaria.
You can’t miss the Terrace of the Lions standing guard over this island, gifts from the people of Naxos Island in the 7th century BC.
It is believed there were once up to 19 of these large beasts where only a handful remain. At least one more sits in Venice guarding their famous Arsenale, likely plundered by the Venetians.
The entire island is an archaeological wonder and today you can wander about the ancient ruins, most of which date from the glory years of Delos between the 6th century BC – 1st century AD.
This UNESCO World Heritage Site is one of the most important archaeological sites in Greece, and Delos Island is an outdoor museum.
Many of the island’s artifacts are displayed in the on-site Archaeological Museum of Delos to protect them from the elements, including the originals of mosaics and statues that have been replaced with replicas.
One of the first and last monuments visitors pass as they visit archaeological Delos was dedicated to Hermes, a round marble monument in the center of the courtyard of the ancient market Agora of the Competialists, surrounded by shops, temples and altars dating from the 2nd century BC.
It’s easy to see why magical Delos, the birthplace of the god of light and the most beloved of all gods Apollo, was the heart of the ancient cosmos.
Day 4
Today you’ll sail 2-3 hours to what is regarded as the most spectacular Greek island, Santorini (Thira in Greek), the southern most island in the Cyclades, and the only inhabited caldera in the world, devastated by a catastrophic volcanic eruption in the 16th century BC that forever shaped its landscape.
Santorini is the most visited island in Greece, where over 3,500 years ago, the largest volcanic eruption in recorded history blew the top of this round island off, which caused the middle of the island to sink, disappearing submerged into the ocean below, leaving a large crater, or caldera, in the middle of the island with high cliffs, and creating smaller islands that were once part of the larger island.
Santorini has one of the busiest ports in Greece due to the millions of visitors who come here annually, many via ferry.
Gialos Port, or “Old Port” was the main port in Santorini until a few decades ago when it was outgrown, and you’ll pass it by on the way to the new one.
Santorini was named after Saint Irene during the 13th century by Latin inhabitants, but long before then in 3,000 BC, the first settlers arrived and thrived in the fertile soil living sophisticated lives, as evidenced from the ancient settlement discovered called Akrotiri. Today, 500 steps lead down the cliff to the Old Port, but most visitors opt for riding the cable car. Some will opt for riding an old donkey down the old slippery stone steps, and I don’t recommend it.
Buses meet all ferries and drop passengers in the middle of the quaint capital Fira, amid whitewashed Cycladic architecture and beautiful cobblestone streets. Check into your hotel that you should have booked with views of the volcano, and if you’re certified scuba divers, then head out to dive in the caldera to look for something very special.
The dive center will transport you from Fira to your dive site with views of the whitewashed villages clinging to vast lava layered cliffs, one of the few places on earth where homes are erected on volcanic soil, and a reminder of the island’s violent history, above an underwater crater that sunk into the sea.
This island was once circular called Strongli “the Round One” before the eruption. Santorini is believed to be the location of Atlantis because the Minoan settlement of Akrotiri discovered on the island was destroyed around 1,500 BC during the eruption of the Santorini volcano, consistent with Plato’s reference nearly 2,400 years ago when he described a powerful and advanced kingdom that sank, in a night and a day, into the ocean when a tsunami traveled through the Aegean Sea destroying the Minoan civilization on the island of Crete.
Since Santorini sits on an underwater volcano, diving is extremely popular here, and it’s a good way to spend the hot summer midday.
The dive is unique in that you’re diving in a volcano crater that has erupted over 100 times during the last 400,000 years.
We didn’t spot any signs of Atlantis that day. The dive center will drop divers off back in Fira where you can grab take out to enjoy on your hotel terrace with magnificent views.
There are over 600 churches on Santorini, and locals claim there are more churches than homes on the island.
Fira’s narrow pedestrian alleys are fun to navigate.
The absence of skeletons and treasures at Ancient Akrotri buried beneath the volcanic ash indicate that Santorini’s 30,000 residents had evacuated the island before the eruption, forewarned somehow, possibly by preceding tremors.
We stayed at Hotel Keti, one of many places on the cliff face overlooking the caldera.
The entrance next to this beautiful Greek church made it easy to locate.
About 98% of Greeks belong to the Greek Orthodox Church, which is closely tied to the Russian Orthodox Church, together forming the 3rd largest branch of Christianity, which parted with the pope in Rome in 1054 due to irreconcilable differences.
Our room was carved into the cliff with a terrace overlooking the caldera and the cascading Fira town.
Winemaking in this rich volcanic soil has been here for more than 30 centuries, and today there are over 18 wineries on Santorini, and more than 80 varieties of grapes grown. However, since the island is so windy, different farming methods have been adopted, such as grapes are grown on the ground in bunches rather than on vines.
On Fira’s main street is Lucky’s Souvlakis, serving up some of the best gyros and souvlaki on the island. Grab a bottle of the island’s famous wine, and enjoy your Greek sunset.
You can be as busy as you want on Santorini, but make sure you spend time relaxing on its cliff.
For this is one of the best views in Europe, so breathe in the Aegean breeze, and bask in the warm soft setting Greek sun.
From Hotel Keti we were able to look down onto the Old Port and watch boats come and go.
The Old Port is known for its seaside tavernas serving excellent seafood.
The terrace views of Fira spilling out over the cliffside are unforgettable.
Being present is what you do here.
Glass doors for uninterrupted views are an added bonus at Hotel Keti.
From the terrace the sounds of donkeys shuffling through the alleys wrap up the afternoon.
A quick peek revels Greek men herding them home after a long day of shuttling tourists up and down the cliff.
Artifacts excavated from Akrotiri indicated Santorini was an important trading center, as some of the artifacts were traced to Egypt, Syria, and Cyprus.
Sunsets at Santorini are nothing short of magical as the skies turn to beautiful shades of pink and purple.
When the sun goes down, the cliff sparkles all night.
Day 5
First enjoy a relaxing Greek breakfast while soaking in more of the dramatic views before embarking on a tour of Santorini and the neighboring islands today.
Greek coffee is dark and strong and the eggs are light and fluffy.
The tour begins with a stop for 360 degree panoramic views of the island and its vineyards.
The island is only 11 miles long and 7.5 miles wide, so when you reach higher ground the entire island comes into view.
The next stop is the port to board a boat to hike Nea Kameni island, the lunar landscape volcano crater just off the shore of Santorini that has been growing due to eruptions over the last 4 centuries.
This dormant volcano is by no means dead, with minor tremors quite common, and the island’s crater is covered with steaming vents emitting sulphur like the one shown below.
The colossal eruption that destroyed the island spewed 30 cubic kilometers of magma and a column of ash 36km high into the atmosphere, which reached as far away as Egypt and Greenland.
The center of the island collapsed, producing a caldera that the sea filled quickly, and tsunamis that traveled as far as Israel.
The next stop is Therasia Island, located on the western rim of the caldera, once part of Ancient Santorini until it was separated after an eruption in 236 BC, and boat tours stop at the seaside tavernas for lunch.
Unspoiled Thiraisa is popular for those looking for a very quiet, authentic Greek island stay.
After lunch, the boat will anchor at neighboring Palea Kameni where you can jump in and bathe in the green sulphureous hot springs.
The final leg of the boat tour will drop off in Oia’s tiny charming port of Amoudi Bay and it’s rocky beach.
Leading from the port to the town of Oia is 300 steps along striking red cliffs and dotted with white-washed buildings, and if you’d rather ride up to Oia, there are plenty of donkeys waiting for you.
We opted to walk.
Perched on the northern rim of the caldera is the village of Oia, quite possibly the most charming on Santorini, and considered the best place to watch sunset.
In Oia, the best way to explore is by strolling the cobblestone alleys that lead to the many blue-domed churches.
Painting the domes blue is also representative of the Greek flag.
Far quieter than Fira, Oia is built on a steep slope of the caldera with its whitewashed buildings nestled into the cliff.
This little village once home to wealthy sea captains features several quaint tavernas serving up the catch of the day.
The blue domes and tolling church bells never get old.
The last leg of the tour is a bus ride from Oia back to Fira with a stop at the Museum of Prehistoric Thera, which houses artifacts excavated from Akrotri, including many that have been painstakingly put back together.
Akrotiri was destroyed in a 16th century BC volcanic eruption that occurred after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit nearby, and the community was buried in ash. Fortunately, the volcanic ash preserved what remained of the objects and art, such as this clay figure.
Enjoy the remainder of the evening, for it won’t be long until the lure of the Greek sirens call you back.
This legendary island with a one of the world’s most dramatic views of a half-submerged caldera created by a massive 3,000 BC volcanic eruption is the site with the widest acceptance among archeologists and historians that here lies the lost city of Atlantis. Go.
