Greece Luxury Trip Review: 16-Day Vacation

Review by traveler

Emily S.

12.18.2023

General Info

Traveler Review

Which Country (Countries) did you visit on this trip?

Greece

Your overall comments on the trip and the travel company:

I gave this tour a four in the interest of positivity, but I'd really say three-and-a-half or four with reservations.

All in all, we have great memories and really enjoyed our trip, and we thank you for that. However, as so often happens with travel, the challenges overwhelmed the myriad joys just because they were stressful to manage. We think they all were preventable.

What were the most enjoyable or memorable parts of your trip?

Things that were great:

We adored our great driver. He was such a wonderful ambassador for Greece, so tactful, so helpful. We found him a delightful companion too. He had an unusually firm command of English, American culture, and the Greek way of life. He knew every town through which we traveled. The perfect guide/driver for us. His vehicle was excellent.

We had another great driver in Crete, a gentle soul, though initially he drove like a maniac (to our way of thinking) and we had to ask him to please slow down on Crete's curves. His vehicle was trickier, with no way to exit from the backseat on the driver’s side and no way to tilt back the shotgun upfront passenger seat. But no biggie.

We adored every single guide and found all to be extremely knowledgeable and fun. Only in Sparta/Mystras was our guide a bit too focused on dates and with a very fast manner of speaking that was sometimes confusing.

One of our agents was lovely, patient, kind, and helpful. Frankly, without her to manage the hotel challenges, this trip would have been a total bust.

Our other agent seemed to be a superbly organized person and she was lovely before the trip. However, we sensed a tough, clipped, and impersonal edge, and a rushed approach to our interactions once we were on the ground.

If you could take your trip again, what would you do differently?

Challenges:

The itinerary was largely good, but we faced some unexpected and avoidable challenges that we would have expected a Zicasso travel expert to have caught.

Two days in Sparta/Mystras is too many by double. We arrived on a Monday afternoon and saw Sparta (which is also unnecessary after sites like Epidaurus and which was not high on my pre-plan shared with our agent). Mystras took about three hours and then we were assigned yet another night in Mystras at a resort. There was nothing to do. Museums are closed on Tuesdays, the resort was a sleepy affair in winter, and, as mentioned, we are not resort people. Much better, and we made this change, was to leave right after Mystras and get to Galaxidi, a lovely seaside town (albeit tiny) that offered chances to stroll and see unexpectedly joyful places (see below).

We loved the guest house in Galaxidi, but we would have appreciated in advance knowing more about this lodging choice. We accommodated ourselves to it with no problem, but we did not expect this sort of "home" stay on a $16,000 trip. As I say, it was great, we just feel more transparency would have been in order ahead of arrival in Greece.

The hotel choice in Meteora was totally inappropriate for our travel style, the budget of this trip, and the length of the stay there: three nights! The room was so small and tight. There was no furniture except the bed. There was nowhere to put our things. We were relegated to sitting on the floor when we arrived. And the hotel was far from town, making walking after the day's activities difficult. We are so grateful to our other agent for finding a much more appropriate option at the hotel in town. True, it was older, perhaps more "tired", but we had a chair and a desk in the room, a lovely balcony with a fabulous view, a fantastic breakfast, public spaces in which to relax, a chance to move about the room, and access to town for dining.

The first "boutique" hotel did have larger room options, but these were not selected for us. This one was a real source of frustration, as we arrived late and had to maneuver with bags and our driver’s understandable fatigue to a new hotel. Our agent's comment was that the tour company had shared all hotel details in advance. I'm sure that's true, but I checked the first two hotels on the itinerary and after finding them to be great from my first Google searches, I trusted that they "got" us and didn't continue to research each and every choice made. For the fee of this trip and the reputation of this tour company, we were very frustrated and disappointed to have so many hotel challenges and surprises.

I made it very clear at the outset of trip planning that we wanted to hike and are serious hikers for our age, yet no real hiking was planned. We feel this was another big miss. We understand the gorges on Crete were closed, but in Chania, a much better choice for us than the villages tour would have been a day on one of the newly mapped Chania trails we heard about as soon as we got to town. On the mainland, fortunately, our driver was able to assist and did so. By getting to Galaxidi a day earlier, we were able to do the breathtaking Ancient Path to Delphi, which he recommended. The Meteora situation planned as a stroll was able to be turned into a challenging hike, again thanks to our driver’s help.

As noted, the seven villages tour, despite our guide's expert ideas, was a yawn. We'd rather have had a free day to hike, with your recommendations for the Chania Trails offered, and a ride to the start and pick-up at the end of the day. The truffles tour was a 45-minute walk in the woods, sweet and with a great lunch, but we're not sure it was worth it. I don't know what we paid for this, but there were probably better ways to spend time.

Finally, we would have appreciated greater transparency on the fees for various choices. This is our fault; we did not ask for such breakdowns, but I now wish such had been offered. I think we would have made some different choices.

I hope this is helpful!

Travel Company Comments:

Dear Emily,

I hope you had a safe trip home, filled with beautiful memories after your adventure in Greece.

Thank you for taking the time to put together a review. We value our guests' feedback as it helps us to improve our services. We always strive to provide an excellent experience.

I am deeply sorry that your experience did not meet your expectations. It comes as a surprise to me that you gave us such a rating, as we certainly did our best to offer an unforgettable experience to you.

We appreciate that you took the time to put together such a constructive review. We design 100% customized trips, hence all clients' wishes and preferences are always taken into consideration. The itinerary was designed based on your preferences, and every single detail was noticed as we tried to fit it in so you can enjoy this trip to the maximum. Every detail of the trip was reviewed thoroughly with you, and every service selected was described in the itinerary and the video calls while planning it, as we always want to be clear in our communication and we are always transparent with what we offer.

This is why your comments came as such a surprise to me, as in all cases the services were well described orally and in writing, while the challenges of a trip at this time of year when everything is slower and many businesses are closed, were also described.

Despite all the challenges, the team was there for you 24/7 assisting you immediately with anything you required: from last-minute changes to your schedule, to immediately taking action to change anything that was not of your liking while on the way. The members of our team were always there for you, going the extra mile and offering upgraded services so that you could be satisfied. We did our best to offer the utmost experiences for you, selecting the best services so you can enjoy our beautiful country.

We tailored your itinerary to suit your schedule while on the move. In response, we extended your stay in Galaxidi by a day instead of Sparta/Mystras and arranged a change in your Meteora hotel—all achieved within an hour and at no extra cost.

Finding accommodations in mainland Greece, particularly in November, is a challenge on its own. Your lodging in Sparti/Mystras is a cozy resort-style hotel, offering the best available experience during this season. Meanwhile, the boutique hotel in Galaxidi stands out as the area's top choice - throughout the year -, renowned for winning the prestigious title of the best breakfast in Greece multiple times. And the Boutique Hotel at Meteora? It's a pristine, newly established gem boasting breathtaking views of the surrounding rock formations. The room size is larger than the standard, and the reason I chose this hotel for you was because, in my opinion, it offers the best value in the area.

I never could have thought how such a lineup of exceptional hotels could cause any disappointment.

I sincerely apologize for any disappointment you might have felt during your Greece exploration. I am glad you have enjoyed your time with your driver and guides, and that you were happy and satisfied with all the effort made, and the changes we managed to do on the spot to your plan.

When traveling, sometimes things are not how we have imagined them to be. As an agency, we try our absolute best to understand the needs of our guests, this is why we have numerous calls and extensive communication, to make sure everything is well discussed and addressed before traveling. This is also the reason why we provide a detailed trip plan, listing the hotels, room types, inclusions of services, etc. Still, mishaps may happen. This is why we are here for you, to pick up the phone, listen to you, and try to resolve any issue at the time it appears. And this is what we did with your trip, being there, working magic with our staff and suppliers, to make sure you will get the best out of this journey and the money spent.

I truly hope that Greece reserves a special place in your hearts and that we will have a chance to arrange a trip for you in the future the way you imagine it.

Until then we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and your loved ones filled with laughter and happiness! Stay well and safe travels!

Thank you once again for your review.