Travel Review: Luxury Greece Tour, Athens, Plaka, Crete, Santorini, Oia, Naxos, Acropolis, 17-Day Trip

If you are traveling to Greece I strongly recommend that you contact this company to help you plan your itinerary. Born and raised in Greece, our travel consultant, knows the mainland and the islands. Where to go, where to stay, what to do....he can make a number of suggestions and help you refine your plan. And when you get there, every detail has been thought of, i.e., pick ups, tour guides, ferries, flights. If you are looking for a good restaurant, a wine bar, somewhere to have dessert he has recommendations, and it is all included in your online, within their app, or on paper itinerary. Whatever is easiest for you.
We started in Athens and had a private tour of the Acropolis and key sights within the city with a great tour guide. Our hotel was well located by the Plaka so we found many great restaurants nearby. I highly recommend the rooftop restaurant at the Hotel. A bit pricey, but the view of the Acropolis is amazing.
Our next stop was Crete. This was the island I was most worried about because we were planning to spend a week there. Well, my concerns were unfounded. Such a beautiful island with a vast and varied topography. Just beautiful! Fantastic local restaurants that were very reasonable and good wine! Go to the Winery. We tasted some great wines there. Our private tour to see the oldest olive tree in the world (a lot of places claim this) and that winery with a lunch at a taverna in the country was the absolute highlight of our trip...in total! Our tour guide saw to that. She picked fresh figs off of a tree for all of us to taste, found walnuts and pistachio trees, and picked our lunch for us. We learned so much from her.
From here, the ferry to Santorini. Wow, what a crazy place the ferry port is. I cannot imagine what it is like on Santorini during the peak summer months. We stayed in the hotel in the town of Oia. Stay in only if you like crowds. That is where EVERYONE comes to watch a Santorini sunset every single night. Each night we had to push through massive crowds to get back to our villa. I would say that our 4 days on Santorini were probably 2 too many. Beautiful views from the top for sure, but we aren't really much for crowds. I did get some great exercise there climbing up and down passageways. LOL! I think one day I climbed 29 stories! While we were there a nor'easter decided to pop in for the entire duration. 45 mile an hour gusts. We are from FL so we are used to it, but our sunset cruise was canceled along with all the ferries for that day because the seas were so rough.
Finally, a ferry ride to Naxos. A nice way to end the trip. The water in Greece is absolutely beautifully clear and the colors are caribbean-like. Naxos has beautiful beaches where you can relax and be lulled into calm by just looking at the water. If you go, be sure to visit the restaurant and stop and have a greek salad and a glass of wine overlooking the country side (6 euro!). The temple of Demeter was interesting as well. We stayed at the hotel there (not the one on the beach). It was very, very nice. Our own private pool and the villas were comfortable. The owner of this hotel is the governor of the island and has a whisky collection that you can work your way through if you have the where-with-all and the pocketbook! He also has an amazing wine and cheese collection. The staff here are very attentive and take care of whatever you need (thank you!). A couple that were staying there at the same time hired a local famous chef (she was a favorite Greek chef). They prepared the meal alongside of her and several hours later ate the meal. We were invited to taste the dessert. OMG, mouthwatering deliciousness!! You could not believe all of the food on the table for the 2 of them!
There are so many positives that I take away from this trip...The views of the Aegean Sea, tomatoes in the amazing Greek Salads, the olive oil, the barley rusks, the peaches in the morning on Naxos, the many amazing extras they give you at the end of your meals on some of the islands, etc. But what I loved the most was the people. So friendly, so willing to help, so determined for you to enjoy your experience and their country/island. I also enjoyed working with our travel consultant and his company. He was always available for questions or issues that arose and responded quickly every time. Traveling internationally can be scary and/or stressful. Knowing that you have someone like this behind you makes it easy and comfortable. 
thank you for your help in planning this memorable trip, for your professionalism, expertise and for watching over us! I can’t say enough good things!