greek by association
Admittedly, I am a little biased when it comes to Greece. I’ve spent a lot of time in the country, and I have a lot of greek friends, some I consider family. My bias aside, it should be on every traveler’s bucket list.
I’ve been to Greece more than anywhere else outside of the US. Mexico might be creeping up on it in recent years, but I only started visiting Mexico after having kids. I’ve been visiting Greece consistently over the last 20 years or so.
Greece was the first country I visited outside of the US. It was spring break 2003, sophomore year of college. One of my roommates, Irene, studied in Athens for a semester, so I took the opportunity to visit her. During this trip, I was lucky enough to be taken to her family village in the Eastern Peloponnese, Ahladokampos. Homemade soap on the bathroom sink, meals of lamb from the lamb grazing outside, and stray cats fed by the front door of the little mountain top home in this tiny village of under 500. It’s an incredible place to see, but especially remarkable for someone who had never left the US.
The following year, my then boyfriend, now husband, did the same study abroad program in Athens. This overlapped with my study abroad in Paris, so I was able to easily make it over to Greece again a few times the following Spring.
Fast forward and I’ve been to Greece upwards of 15 times, which is a lot for a non-Greek American. But let’s say I’m Greek by association at this point.
I’ve visited Greece in the winter, summer, spring and fall… I’ve gone on girl trips (once in my 20’s and again a couple summers ago). Irene lived in Greece for 5 years and I visited her nearly every year she lived there. I attended Irene’s wedding in her family village. We took our first born to Kefelonia when he was just 4 months old, and recently we’ve been taking the kids over summer break.
I’ve spent a lot of time in Athens, visited a few remote small villages (Rafki, Dimitsana, Ahladokampos), the southern Peloponnese, and as mentioned above, many islands (Kefalonia, Hydra, Crete, Milo, Paros/Anti-Paros, Santorini, Spetses, Corfu, Sivota, and Lefkata, Paxos/Anti-Paxos. (Note: Sivota is technically part of the mainland, but it is coastal and a launching point to visit tiny surrounding islands).
There are plenty of reasons to love Greece - marinated anchovies, variety of islands, the embrace you feel when you enter a Greek person’s home. Here are some of my insights, island highlights, links, and trip details for the places I’ve visited in recent years. This can’t serve as a complete guide by any stretch, but it might help as a reference point or someplace to get started planning.
So many choices of where to visit…
Where to go depends on many factors: are you flying from the US or another European city? Do you want to see Islands only or Athens and Islands? How much time do you have? Are you open to taking ferries or do you only want to fly?
Where to Stay and Island Snapshots:
Corfu - One of the larger Greek islands, but still very easy to navigate with a car. The old town, Korkyra, is not to be missed with its tiny streets/ally ways to explore. The architecture has a very venetian feel. It’s beautiful. Corfu is located on the western side, in the Ionian Sea. We stayed in a very large home (linked above), that was a short walk to a nice beach - with comfy chairs and good food/drink service. The home is also walking distance to bakeries, groceries, and restaurants. Plus, it has a large private pool.
Hydra - Hydra is a very small island, accessible only by ferry. There are no cars on the island; donkeys are the main form of transport. Boat taxis will take you to beaches around the island. I’ve been twice, in 2012 and ten years later in 2022. It’s a VERY kid friendly island, I’d say the most of all the islands I’ve been to, namely because you can walk everywhere. Great restaurant spots: Il Casta, Techne, Teri Elia Douskos, Hydronetta. We stayed in a boutique hotel with apartments that vary in size, with very cool layouts. It is located on a nice square, but a little bit of a walk into the main part of town.
Kefalonia – Kefalonia is a large island with beautiful beaches. Visitors need to be comfortable driving because there are long distances to various beaches around the island. I’ve been twice, I stayed once in the home linked above and another time I stayed at a resort, chosen because it was close to our friends family home, which they rent out and has incredible views.
Sivota Sivota is technically mainland, but you can hire a boat to explore insanely beautiful coastline and great tiny islands, such as Paxos/Antipaxos. It is possibly the most stunning place in Greece that I’ve ever been to. The home we rented is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever stayed. I’d repeat this in a heartbeat.
Spetses - Most similar to Hydra. Accessible by ferry from Athens. They have taxis that are donkey drawn carriages. It is small and easy to navigate without a car.
Lefkada - Lefkata sits just above Kefalonia. We drove in from the north after staying in Sivota, and it was a beautiful coastal drive. We stayed in a house up on a mountain, with a stunning view. It felt very relaxing and remote – it was even a little hard to find on our first drive up the mountain.
Paros - One of the best memories of Paros was renting four-wheelers, which allowed us to easily get to various beaches around the island. We used taxis to some restaurants at night. We stayed near the main city, Naoussa, which allowed us to walk many places. Restaurants: Stilvi Arodo Siparos. We also took a short ferry ride to Antiparos for a day-trip. We stayed in a boutique hotel with rooms that vary in size, which is nice for different size groups.
Santorini - This is as well-known as Mykonos to most Americans. Just know when you visit these most popular tourist islands they tend to be less authentic, more expensive, and more crowded. People in Greece say that Mykonos is mostly visited by non-Greeks. Just something to keep in mind when planning.
Loutsa - This is an affordable seaside town that is close to the Athens international airport and is a great atypical spot to stay in Greece. We rented a very comfortable and clean Airbnb condo. It had a nice large balcony, was close to a seaside playground, and lots of bakeries and restaurants.
Recent Trip Overviews
Summer 2021:
4 nights in Paros (girls’ trip, short because left my husband home with our kids)
1 night in Loutsa, Athens (stayed with my friend’s family to catch early flight out of Athens)
Summer 2022:
5 nights in Kefalonia (took a direct flight from Rome*)
5 nights in Loutsa, Athens (beach town outside of Athens, close to airport)
3 nights in Hydra (took a ferry round-trip from Athens)
1 night in Loutsa, Athens (early flight direct - Athens to Chicago, so we wanted to stay the last night near the airport)
*We spent a week in Tuscany with a big group of family before heading to Greece.
Note: since Greece is a long distance from the US, it can be fun to lay-over and visit another EU country in a combo trip.
Summer 2023:
We spent 4 nights in Stockholm before Greece and 1 night in Amsterdam after Greece.
Note: internal flights within the EU can get you to cool places in Greece. We flew Ryan Air, Stockholm to Corfu and Transavia, Lefkada to Amsterdam. Both Ryan Air and Transavia are budget European airlines that can get you affordably to small lesser-known European cities.
