Greece Trip Review: Santorini, Athens, Crete, Caldera Walk, Imbros Gorge, 12-Night Tour

Review by traveler

Diane F.

9.26.2022

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 chose this Greece travel company over the other company offered by Zicasso because they seemed a better value, and I liked the accommodation they offered in Santorini. On the whole, it was a very good choice, and I would like to give them 4 1/2 stars. The accommodations in Santorini were wonderful, all of the transfers went flawlessly, and all of the flights also went well. My only reservation is that Rebecca, the owner, was somewhat hard to get in contact with on some occasions. I think Greece became a very hot destination and I’m sure all of the travel agents were swamped. The tours that we booked through her were all wonderful, with the exception of one where we encountered a mixup. Her tour guides are very knowledgeable, entertaining, and just downright nice people. I would definitely recommend her to plan and execute a wonderful vacation for you in Greece.

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

We loved the location of our villa in Santorini. The town of Imerovigli is perfectly located for touring the entire island. Our all-day tour with our guide was definitely a highlight. We also enjoyed the 2 1/2-hour Caldera walk.
We were pleasantly surprised at how much we loved Athens. We wished we had planned more time there. The food tour that we took with our guide was an enjoyable highlight. We had no need for dinner after all of our tastings!
We traveled with two other couples, college friends, and sharing these cities and wonderful meals with them was priceless.
In Crete, we loved eating in off-the-beaten-path family restaurants. The food is amazing and the people could not be more welcoming.

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

We would spend another day or two in Athens. It is a vibrant, cosmopolitan, and eminently walkable city.
We would spend another day in Santorini, so we could fit in the archaeological museum.
We might have skipped walking the Imbros gorge in Crete. For six 72--year-olds, the rocky trail was quite a challenge. We are glad we can say we did it, but not sure our knees would say the same.

Travel Company Comments:

Dear Diane,
I wanted to follow up on your comment posted with Zicasso.
First of all, I would like to thank you for your kind words and positive review. I am incredibly grateful that you booked with us and you trusted your holiday to my company. I appreciate your feedback regarding both the highlights and what you didn't like.
Diane, I strive to provide the best experience for my clients and take negative comments seriously. I am happy that you couldn't find any flaws during your stay apart from a "mix up" at a tour that you mention....and the difficulties in contacting me.
It was indeed my surprise to read both. First of all, all our guides up to now have only 5* reviews and not once has anyone made a complaint about them or any of the tours. I do admit that my mistake was to not notice that the tour was on a Sunday and unfortunately some shops weren't open. A lesson is learnt here as I will double check from now on all the last minute requests for extra tours that my guests ask for and make sure that they can run smoothly on the days that they requested. To show my appreciation, I have already refunded an amount of that tour to you.
Diane, regarding contacting me, even though as you stated that it was an extremely busy period, not once I didn't reply to your emails even though they were more than 162! To be honest, I always enjoyed receiving them and the times I didn't revert in 24 hours was something beyond my control as most times I was also waiting for something too.
I am sorry that these issues had a bad effect on your overall experience and I hope I will have the chance to work with you in the future so I can meet all your expectations!
Kind regards,
Rebecca

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