Duration: 3.5 days (Wednesday afternoon to Sunday morning)
Highlights
Samaria Gorge was a definite highlight. I know that we don't normally go hiking much, but this experience was definitely worth it and highly suggested.
Monastery of Arkadi was a nice stop since we were driving to Chania for Samaria Gorge. I can't say that it is worth a visit if you aren't in the area though since there isn't much else nearby.
Venetian Harbour (either in Chania, Heraklion, or Rethymo) are worth visiting for the nice views. They are all a bit different, but all are very nice to look and be at.
Lowlights
Nothing disappointed me in Crete.
Food Suggestions
Central Park Cafe has a very large menu and the food that we ordered was great.
Paralia which is by the water serves fresh seafood
Ippokampos also by the water and serves fresh seafood.
Tips
Our first time driving here and we noticed that if you are slow, you should drive on the shoulder to allow other cars to pass. The same applies for when you drive behind a slow car, they will usually drive on the shoulder which means they are allowing you to pass. I noticed that the solid line rule did not really apply here.
Final Thoughts
Crete is significantly larger than Santorini and I can see why people say that even one week would not be enough depending on what you like to see and do. I think we had a good taste of what Crete had to offer and if we could rejig some days, Crete would have gotten some more time.
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Tuesday, June 27, 2017
2017 - Greece Summary (Santorini)
Duration: 4 days (Saturday afternoon to Wednesday afternoon)
Highlights
Volcano tour - I know that a lot of people won't like tours, but I thought that the volcano tour was a very good way of covering a number of spots while at Santorini and I don't believe you can visit these places on your own.
Fira to Oia hike - Again, probably not for everyone, but I thought it was very enjoyable, although do note that there is no shade available during the entire hike. Plan accordingly.
Lowlights
Nothing disappointed me here. I did find Santorini very resort-like so it seemed a bit unnaturally friendly and clean depending on where you visit.
Food Suggestions
Lucky's souvlaki - not quite sure why we liked this place so much, but we did end up here a number of times. The souvlaki tastes very good and is very inexpensive.
Trani Taverna - very good food and if you luck out, a nice view to boot.
Tips
I think our duration was a bit long based on what we did. You may like to relax a bit more, but based on the things we did, I would suggest the following:
Day 1: Rent an ATV and drive the southern half of Santorini
Day 2: Do the volcano tour
Day 3: Do the fira to oia hike
That was sufficient for us in terms of things to see and do there. There are more things to do there, but that was enough based on our experiences.
Final Thoughts
Your duration is based on your interests. If you want to just relax, I would suggest a nice hotel with a view, otherwise, I think 3 days is a good amount of time to spend here.
Highlights
Volcano tour - I know that a lot of people won't like tours, but I thought that the volcano tour was a very good way of covering a number of spots while at Santorini and I don't believe you can visit these places on your own.
Fira to Oia hike - Again, probably not for everyone, but I thought it was very enjoyable, although do note that there is no shade available during the entire hike. Plan accordingly.
Lowlights
Nothing disappointed me here. I did find Santorini very resort-like so it seemed a bit unnaturally friendly and clean depending on where you visit.
Food Suggestions
Lucky's souvlaki - not quite sure why we liked this place so much, but we did end up here a number of times. The souvlaki tastes very good and is very inexpensive.
Trani Taverna - very good food and if you luck out, a nice view to boot.
Tips
I think our duration was a bit long based on what we did. You may like to relax a bit more, but based on the things we did, I would suggest the following:
Day 1: Rent an ATV and drive the southern half of Santorini
Day 2: Do the volcano tour
Day 3: Do the fira to oia hike
That was sufficient for us in terms of things to see and do there. There are more things to do there, but that was enough based on our experiences.
Final Thoughts
Your duration is based on your interests. If you want to just relax, I would suggest a nice hotel with a view, otherwise, I think 3 days is a good amount of time to spend here.
Monday, June 26, 2017
2017 - Greece - Day 15 [Athens]
Today is our last day in Greece before we head back to home to Toronto and our goal today was to look for graffiti art. Since we fly out I'll write about our experience flying out as well in this post.
Breakfast |
Athen's graffiti |
Athen's graffiti |
Athen's graffiti |
Athen's graffiti |
Athen's graffiti (look closely, you'll see half of it on on a brick wall, the other half is on the side of a different wall) |
Kebap on the left, cheese on top, souvlaki on the right |
Central Market |
Central Market |
Central Market |
Central Market |
Central Market |
Central Market |
Central Market |
Central Market |
National Archeological Museum |
National Archeological Museum |
National Archeological Museum |
National Archeological Museum |
National Archeological Museum |
Oddly, our hotel staff told us to just take the metro to the museum, we did opt to walk there and was a bit confused by the suggestion. Maybe tourists don't like to walk? We weren't really sure.
Aspro Alogo Greek Salad |
Aspro Alogo Calamari |
Aspro Alogo Anchovies |
So concludes our trip to Greece! Overall, a lovely country with lots of history to explore.
The next day, we walked to the nearby metro station which had a train to the airport. We noticed that is cost 10 euros to 1 person, 18 euros for 2 people, and 24 euros for 3 people. So it is actually to your advantage to have more people! Similar to our experience with the trams in Germany.
There was plenty of signage to get to the airport, so, no worries there. Note, the station that we were at has trains that operate on the same station, even though they are on different lines. In our case, we were at Monastiraki station and we needed to wait for the blue line and not the green line. There is a sign board at the station in case you get lost. In our case, we just followed the people that looked like they were going to the airport. Note, the train took 40 minutes from our station and the train itself comes every 30 minute, so check the schedule before heading out.
Once we made it to the airport stop, again, just follow everyone. It seemed like there we plenty of people going so you probably won't need to worry. The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful.
Over the next few posts, I'll cover the summary of the areas that we visited in Greece.
Friday, June 23, 2017
2017 - Greece - Day 14 [Athens]
Today, we visit the Acropolis.
Athens Center Square Hotel, which is a part of the same group of hotels that Hermes Hotel was part of meant that the breakfast is exactly the same, a bit disappointing, but we will live with it.
Athens Center Square Hotel Breakfast |
Athens Center Square Hotel Breakfast |
Acropolis |
Acropolis |
Acropolis |
Ancient Agora |
Ancient Agora |
Thansis pork souvlaki on the left, kebap on the right |
Hadrian's library was next and we were there for about 20 minutes. There isn't too much to see outside of what you see from behind the gates. It did seem a bit weird that the historical sites are surrounded by wrought iron fencing that you can see through. Why would you pay if you can basically see the entire site outside of it?
Athenkion Halumi cheese |
Athenkion grilled vegetables |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)