My trip began in Crete, which was never really on my Greece #bucketlist. That being said, I didn't really know what to expect and I really liked Crete! It was a short flight from Athens, but the hotel is about an hour drive from the airport to Agios Nikolaos. Daios Cove is a great resort for those looking to get away from the touristy islands and just relax, good for families and couples, as well as groups. The General Manager Panos was the most professional and accommodating GM we encountered on my entire trip. He really made the experience special and I know clients will be in good hands with him there. He lives on property (a lot of them do) so he really is there all the time.
You are struck by the beauty of Daios Cove right upon arrival, when they escort you to an overlook to see the entire property and the view. Golf carts are used to drive you to your villa or suite, but they also have a funicular to access the beach and restaurants. They have a total of 6 restaurants and bars, my favorite was the Beach House, with the best #feta cheese in all of Greece! There are 210 rooms and 80 suites and villas, the most popular accommodation is the Junior Suite with what they call “Resident’s club,” their all-inclusive option. I stayed in a 2-bedroom Wellness Villa with a pool and it was amazing. Perfect for families, with one bedroom and full bath upstairs, and another bedroom and full bath downstairs. Also downstairs was a treadmill, a sauna, and Jacuzzi tub.
For excursions and activities, they have a ton. They have a watersports area on their private beach, as well as their own boats. We took a beautiful speed boat to Spinalonga (a famous Leper colony) about 45 minutes away, and had lunch in the cute town of Plaka. They also offer a Land Rover Experience where you can drive your own Land Rover, do some exploring and off-roading, with a guide in another car. It sounded really cool, we just didn’t have enough time to try it.
From Crete, we took the ferry to Santorini. I highly recommend this method of travel. For about $75,we had comfortable VIP seats, access to food and drinks, and a lovely viewing area. Before we knew it, we were docking in Santorini (the trip is about 2 hours). This is when the fun started. We were visiting in May, before "the busy season." The arrival process in Santorini was one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen. I guess I wasn’t expecting it - it was May, before high-season, and an absolute cluster****! But I am so glad I experienced it. There is only one way in and out of the port and it’s a long, narrow, winding road. If your driver gets there early (like ours did), he is stuck in the back while hundreds of buses and cars park in front of him. He then has to wait for all of them to load up in order to leave. It seemed like our ferry was the first to arrive around 12pm, and we had to wait for a couple others to arrive before our driver could even start to inch forward. Now that I have experienced this, I can make sure my clients are prepared! For my info on which hotels I stayed at and visited, please reach out!
From Santorini, we actually went over to the Ionian side and visited Zakynthos.
This island is very green, much more like Italy than anywhere else. They grow tons of olive trees, all used for olive oil. We took a really nice boat ride to see the famous Shipwreck beach and the blue caves. The color of the water was incredible! We also had one of the best meals I’ve ever had at a little family-owned seaside place called Nobelos Bio Restaurant (they also have a couple guest rooms and a little beach). All in all, a totally different experience from the typical Cyclades islands.
I also visited Mykonos, which I loved. I know most people have a love/hate relationship for Mykonos. However, I found it to have all the beauty and views that Santorini had, with more shopping and more exploring to do. I loved Santorini too but I think next time I would skip it and just go to Mykonos. I really enjoyed getting lost in Mykonos town! For more tips and hotel recs, let me know!