Luxury Greece & Turkey Travel Review: Istanbul, Izmir, Ephesus, Kusadasi, Athens, Delphi, Mykonos, Delos, Santorini, Hiking...

We especially loved our 4 nights in Crete as it offered a wide variety of things to do. Stella recommended that we rent a car for the greatest flexibility (at the rest of our destinations, we had private transfers and tours). We stayed in Rethymno, a Venetian city, at the Veneto Hotel which was a 14th century monastery converted into a boutique hotel. This was our favorite hotel of the trip by far. We loved the beauty and charm of the Veneto as well as the exquisite food, the best we had in all of our trip. Besides "official" sightseeing at museums (the Archeological Museum in Heraklion as well as the Minoan Palace), we also had free time to wander the side streets and find gems like this little family run phyllo dough business in which we learned from the 80+ year old master how to make phyllo dough. Afterwards, we bought homemade baklava from his wife. We also took a day excursion to hike the Samaria Gorge, the longest gorge in Europe. This is a must for outdoor enthusiasts. What a beautiful place which we will not forget. It was also a great way to get a feel of the countryside as we traveled to and from there, spotting occasional villages and wild goats. Aside from a rock falling in the gorge directly onto our handheld camera, smashing it in a freak accident, we loved everything about this experience.