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As awarded by
Top Travel Specialist since 2008
Condé Nast Traveler since 2008
Top Travel Advisor since 2009
Travel+Leisure since 2009
 
As awarded by
Top Travel Specialist since 2008
Condé Nast Traveler since 2008
Top Travel Advisor since 2009
Travel+Leisure since 2009
 

Recommendation Guides

Greece Travel Guide - Travel Recommendations & Guides to Greece and the Greek Islands

At True Greece, we have produced our own True Greece Recommendations Guides, 16-24 page booklets that are provided exclusively to our guests, and cover the history, feel, restaurant recommendations, and activities for each location included in our vacation packages. Our Recommendation Guides, just like our company, are targeted specifically to the high-end traveler who seeks an authentic vacation in Greece. Since our operations office is located in Athens, True Greece affiliates and writers personally visit the locations we recommend, enabling us to have first-hand knowledge of famous islands such as Mykonos and Santorini, or off-the-beaten path gems such as Patmos and Spetses - just to name a few. Additionally, we update our copyrighted guides according to our guests' feedback and personal experiences, constantly refining the content.

We produced the guides because we felt that we had to offer to our guests an invaluable resource that would include the latest information in the most suitable "True Greece" fashion. When we couldn't find a guide in the marketplace that provided perspective and recommendations consistently focused at the highest levels of authenticity and luxury, we decided to produce our own guide in order to offer a Greek islands vacation second to none!

Below is a small sample of our True Greece Recommendation Guides - you will receive a complete hard copy that includes much more detail when we welcome you to Greece! Our guides will be invaluable in assisting you through your independent exploration, especially if you have selected a True Greece customized trip experience without a concierge escort.

 

  • Greece-Athens

    Abstract from Page 12:

    Greeks have many other traditions that are not always recognized by short-term visitors. They make less of their actual birthdays, for instance, than of their name days-the saints after whom they are traditionally named. They use vivid body language, speak as if they yell to each other, and move their hands to describe almost anything-the open palm facing the person against them is a major offense. They nod their head up and down to emphasize the negative "Ochi".

    They don't give the same importance to being precisely on time as some foreigners do-and they eat their evening meal very late. And one thing that has not changed is the Greek tradition of hospitality. In recent years the sheer numbers of tourists has had to put some limits on a custom that is perhaps the one they are most noted for-providing strangers with sweets or coffee. But the cultural instinct of Greeks to greet all visitors to their land remains and promises to remain, as long as visitors in turn respect the independent spirit of the Greeks. For it is this spirit that has been at the core of their history and survival across the centuries and has created the Greece that millions of visitors now come to enjoy.

  • Arachova

    Abstract from Page 12:

    So we shall head straight for the site of ancient Delphi. If you come here during a quiet time of the day and sit on a stone under the breathtaking titanic rocks, the Phaedriades Petres (“Shining Rocks”), you may feel a certain power or silent energy coming out of the magnificent scenery. And this feeling is not unique or modern–ancient Greeks felt exactly the same way!

    As mentioned above, they believed that in Delphi lies the center–the “omphalos” - of the earth and they maintained that place as one of the most sacred sites of the ancient world. It was the god Apollo who came here and killed the dragon Python, then establishing a sanctuary near the Castalian Spring that eventually became the most famous oracle of the ancient world. Needless to say that its prophecies influenced decisions by both the famous and anonymous!

  • Crete-Chania

    Abstract from Page 9:

    Chania may be the best preserved old town in Crete, a magical and romantic maze full of Venetian and Turkish neighborhoods - countless houses with surprising architectural details, Venetian arsenals (shipyards, not weapons factories!), old Turkish baths, Italianate churches, Muslim mosques and minarets - glamorous districts with neoclassical mansions, and a “trademark” old lighthouse distinctive in its architecture.The best time to see the charming Venetian harbor is early in the morning, when the sun creates playful red and orange colorful variations on the water and the old houses on the Akti (Quay) Kountourioti.

  • Crete-Elounda

    Abstract from Page 9:

    In ancient times Olous was a small town on the Cretan coast overlooking the Merambello Bay. Of course, the ancient Greeks never could have imagined that on that same coast would rise a modern resort town with almost the same name - Olounda, or Elounda - that would include some of the finest and most glamorous hotels of the Mediterranean!

    The small village of Elounda, with its inviting natural setting and the traditional fishing boats docked at the small pier, provides a fine base for various excursions in Eastern Crete. Directly connected with Elounda by a small bridge, the area of Spinalonga offers a fine opportunity for an easy walk. At Spinalonga, you can enjoy remains of the ancient town now extending into the shallow waters, the foundations of an early Byzantine basilica with a fine mosaic floors, the charming view of wind mills, or the lovely Kolokitha beach.

  • Crete-Rethymnon

    Abstract from Page 9:

    Rethymnon, competing with Chania for claiming the unofficial title of the most picturesque major Cretan town, has kept a Venetian/Turkish atmosphere in its old quarters that will certainly enchant you. You may start your exploration by visiting the magnificent Fortezza, the Venetian fortress (1573-83), which sits over the old town like a handsome crown.

    The fortress is surprisingly large, so be prepared for a walk across the field full of wild flowers where you will encounter Venetian army buildings, a Byzantine church, the Mosque of the Pasha Ibrahim, and of course the spectacular view over the rocky coasts of the Cretan Sea. Before leaving the Fortezza, you might visit the Archaeological Museum located at the fortress’s entrance; here you can see a small collection of Minoan and Hellenistic-Roman antiquities.

  • Mykonos

    Abstract from Page 11:

    Don't be fooled into believing that all the people who visit Mykonos every summer are attracted only by the cosmopolitan crowds and the exciting night life the island has to offer. Summer in the Aegean means sea and sun, and the beaches of Mykonos are some of the best places in the Mediterranean for that.

    Those spectacular beaches, most of them with their seaside cafes, sun-beds, and bars, are one of the main reasons that Mykonos has become so popular. The most famous and cosmopolitan beaches are to be found at the southern part of the island, where they are protected from the strong summer wind-the meltemi mentioned before. From the long, sandy beach of Ornos, decorated with old fishing boats, to the world renowned and beautiful beaches of Psarou, Paranga, Platis Gialos, Elia, Paradise (known also as Kalamopodi beach) and Super Paradise beach, you are certainly going to find the beach that looks right for you.

  • Nafplion

    Abstract from Page 5:

    If you have not already visited them on your way to Nafplion, on the trip back to Athens you will be privileged to visit two sites that can be thought of as “bookending” the history of ancient Greece. For the early phase there is the incomparable Mycenae: center of the phase of Greek civilization that has been assigned its name: Mycenaean.

    Mycenae is the locale of many unique remains and artifacts, home of several individuals prominent in Greek legend and literature, and the site that will always be associated with Heinrich Schliemann. As to the first, “Mycenaean” is the name assigned by modern archaeologists to the first Greek-speaking people who moved down into Greece sometime between about 2200-2000 BC. By about 1600 BC, these Mycenaeans - with their rather aggressive warrior culture - were establishing their cities and imposing their rule and culture throughout much of Greece. Judging from its elaborate structures and its role in Greek legend and literature, Mycenae became the leader of a loose Mycenaean federation; it is its king, Agamemnon, and his family (Clytemnestra, Orestes, Electra) who play such a major role in the Homeric epics and the legends, dramas, and poems that follow over the centuries after the Trojan War (c. 1250 BC).

  • Paros

    Abstract from Page 4:

    On Paros itself there are several remains from these many centuries, two of which will engage even those who arrive with little knowledge of Greek history. One is the so-called Parian Marble, a slab of marble discovered by an Englishman in the early 1600s; as a result, only a fragment is to be seen in the Archaeological Museum in Parikia; the largest section was carried off to Oxford's Ashmolean Museum.

    This is a unique document from the ancient Greek world, for it contains a long inscription that chronicles the history of Greece from its legendary king of Attica, Kekrops (c.1580 BC) to 264 BC (although the fragment in Paros has only the portion from later centuries). While you are paying your respects to this astounding artifact, you should look around this small museum and gaze at the monument to Archilochus (?675-635 BC - his birth date is still a matter of discussion by scholars); one of the finest of all early poets, he happens also to sound like one of the most modern in his mixture of blunt realism and ironic skepticism.

  • Patmos

    Abstract from Page 11:

    During the day, put on your bathing suit and come to the Petra beach near Grikos to enjoy the crisp, deep waters (although profoundly beautiful, be aware that this is not a sandy beach). For the adventurous types, a climb up the Kalikatsou (also called Petra, "stone", just like the beach) will reward you with some great views.

    The ancient inhabitants of Patmos worshipped the goddess Selini (the ancient Greek name for the moon), and it is believed that the carved stairs on the rock exist from that era. If you climb those steps (do not attempt the short ascent on a windy day, and certainly be careful of the cliff), you will find ruins of an ancient temple and an Orthodox place of worship. In fact, during the years of Saint Christodoulos some monks used to live on the rock. A picture of the Grikos beach from the Kalikatsou will surely be one of the highlight photos you will take home with you!

  • Rhodes

    Abstract from Page 3:

    Rhodes is an island that from ancient times has attracted humans, who have built everything from the spectacular classical Greek site of Lindos to the medieval town of Rhodes that is one of UNESCO’s elite World Heritage Sites.

    The climate in conjunction with this history has made Rhodes one of the world’s earliest and still favored travelers’ destinations, offering visitors a wide spectrum of pleasure - fine beaches and fertile countryside, elegant restaurants and traditional tavernas, grand resorts and atmospheric hotels, massive fortress walls and intimate houses of worship, specialized museums and shops with every possible kind of goods. Not to mention the site of one of the Seven Wonders of the World - the Colossus of Rhodes, albeit no longer in existence - Rhodes is truly an island for all seasons and all reasons!

  • Santorini

    Abstract from Page 3:

    Because it is the first thing that visitors arriving by sea or air see, Santorini's geographic features have to be described. And what they see first is what appears to be a half-moon of an island, its western inner curve with multicolored cliffs, some rising almost 1,000 feet high, and then generally sloping eastward away to the sea.

    This is the main island the Greeks call Thira, but widely known as Santorini (an Italianate version of the island's patron, St. Irene of Thessaloniki, who died here in AD 304). Sitting along the edge of the high midpoint of that crescent is the main town, Fira, long the center of the tourist traffic. Perched on the northern tip of the crescent is Oia, now the second - most popular destination for tourists; other towns are scattered about the sloping land, while various beaches are now also developed with hotels and other facilities.

  • Spetses

    Abstract from Page 8:

    A walk along the waterfront and its wonderful houses will convince you of the glorious past of Spetses. Before you start exploring, enjoy a traditional Spetsiot almond sweet ("amigdaloto") with a cup of coffee at the cosmopolitan Dapia, the central meeting point of the island. Near Dapia is the Orologiou square; all the streets surrounding it comprise the commercial center of Spetses.

    Follow the waterfront road toward the old harbor and enjoy a quiet walk by the blue waters and beautiful Spetsiot houses. You will pass by the impressive Ayios Nikolaos church and the beautiful mansions with whitewashed walls, tiled roof tops, and beautiful cypresses and palm trees. The road passes small coves where you may see people swimming - but don't be in a hurry to jump in, since much better beaches await you on the rest of the island.

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