Greece

September 29 - October 7, 2017

After our first trip to Europe (Belgium and Switzerland) in 2016, we were ready for another adventure. We planned a trip to Greece with our favorite travel couple, Kenny and Kristen. Chad, Kenny, and I flew out of RDU midday on September 29th and met up with Kristen at JFK for the overnight flight to Greece!

We were all so tired after arriving in Greece early the next morning and walking around sightseeing all day that we all passed out shortly after getting back to our Airbnb. At some point in the night, Chad woke up to go to the bathroom and couldn't open our door. There's something about realizing you're locked in a small room in a foreign country that will wake you right up. Having had very little sleep in the past 48 hours, we first considered calling the Airbnb host after determining the only other way out was the door to a tiny balcony connecting to Kenny's bedroom. We decided to call Kenny and hope he would wake up. Thankfully he answered the phone and was able to open our door from the other side. We made sure not to close the door after that!

In the morning, the streets and shops that were bustling with people, not even 8 hours earlier, were deserted. We grabbed breakfast before needing to drop off our packs at the Airbnb office since we had only booked one night (they were kind enough to hold our travel packs for the day) and planned to sightsee for most of the day. We purchased a combination ticket at the Acropolis for 30 Euros a person, which allows you to get into the Acropolis, Roman Agora, Library of Hadrian, Olympieion, Acropolis and Slopes, Kerameikos, and Lykeion. If you plan to visit at least three of these sites, the combination ticket will save you money. Otherwise, it is cheaper to buy the tickets separately. We spent several hours walking around the Acropolis, followed by the Olympieion and Panathenaic Stadium. We took a break for lunch, walked by the Library of Hadrian, and picked up our packs before catching a train to Pireas, where we would board an overnight ferry to Crete that departed around 9 PM. (While we waited to be able to board, Kenny and I tried an olive at dinner, but it turns out we still don't like greek olives.) The trip to Crete was about 9 hours via Blue Star Ferries.

Our arrival in Chania, Crete, came early, just before 6 AM. Our alarms had gone off even earlier so we could get a quick shower before having to depart the boat as soon as we docked. It was still dark when we got off the ferry, but luckily not far from the dock was an open car rental place where the guys haggled over renting a car. All through breakfast, and even to this day, Kenny can't shake the feeling that we got ripped off. Our first destination in the little blue Hyundai that barely fit the four of us with our packs was to a bus station so we could catch a bus to Samaria Gorge.

Samaria Gorge is a 10-mile trail, that while not difficult, is long! The hike starts out fairly steep, through wooded switchbacks. And then transitions into a pretty rocky path, so good shoes are helpful for your feet and ankles. Along the way, you will pass a church, and an abandoned settlement, where there are wild goats and bathrooms. (The toilets are "Turk toilets," also known as squat toilets.) From there, it isn't long before the towering rock walls of the Gorge will surround you at almost a thousand feet in height and just about 13 feet in between. At the "end" of the hike, which took us roughly 5 hours (this included stopping for pictures, lunch, and a bathroom break), there was a little cafe where we ordered fresh orange juice and ice cream. There is about another mile to the town of Agia Roumeli, located on the coast. Agia Roumeli is only accessible by the Gorge or ferry, and the ferry only comes a handful of times each day, so luckily, we made it in time to get tickets for the last ferry to Hora Sfakion. At Hora Sfakion, we caught a bus back to the bus station. (There was no order to purchasing a ticket. Everyone just swarmed the bus drivers. And seeing as these were the last two buses of the day, we all wanted to make sure we got a seat.)

We started our fifth day with one of the best breakfasts at Estrella World Street Food. After breakfast, the only thing on our agenda was to travel from Chania to Heraklion, where we would catch a high-speed ferry to Santorini the next day. The drive was only about 2 hours, so we had plenty of time to make stops and enjoy the scenery along the way. When we arrived in the port city of Heraklion, we got gelato and walked around the town. We passed several shops where you could soak your feet in a bath of little fish that would eat the dead skin off your feet. We joked about trying it if we passed another one of these stores. Luckily, or unfortunately, we will never know what it's like, and I'm ok with that.

While I had been excited about this whole trip, the day had finally come that we were heading to Santorini! Santorini was the one place I asked to go to while on this trip, and I think it is safe to say it was our favorite place! We drove to the port in Heraklion a little before 8 AM, gathered all our belongings from that little blue Hyundai, and left it in the parking lot with the keys in it as instructed by the rental company. We walked on to the ferry, the Campion Jet 2, ate breakfast, and relaxed for the 2-hour trip.

We arrived in Santorini just before 11 AM and were greeted by our shuttle driver (arranged by our Airbnb host), who would drive us about 40 minutes to Oia. Upon arriving in Oia, we were greeted by two more individuals who carried our (the girls) bags and showed us to our Airbnb. (We were all so glad we had travel packs, which were a lot easier to fit through crowds and so much easier than rolling suitcases that we watched other tourists lugging up and down stairs.) Shortly after arriving, Chad, Kenny, and Kristen went cliff jumping at Amoudi Bay (I volunteered to photograph their bravery as I was not brave enough to attempt it). And that evening, we saw the most beautiful sunset (alongside hundreds of others).

After seeing a stunning sunset the night before, we had to wake up to experience an Oia sunrise! It was equally as beautiful but quite a different experience with hardly anyone else around. We enjoyed the peacefulness of early mornings in Oia without the crowds that inevitably arrive and stay until after sunset. After sunrise, we went to Apsithia and enjoyed the most amazing views as we ate our breakfast.

After breakfast, we caught a bus to Fira for a Volcano and Hot Springs Boat Tour (we purchased tickets online the night before). We had very little time once we arrived in Fira to catch our boat and had the option to walk down the stairs or take a cable car to get from the bus drop-off point to the dock. Chad and I opted to take a cable car while Kenny and Kristen took the stairs. Luckily, we all made it in time! We had about 15 minutes at the hot spring that wasn't so hot and very rocky, which was a bit painful for our feet and knees, and then we headed on to walk around the Volcano.

After our tour, we decided to ride donkeys instead of walking up the stairs to get back to town. And that was quite the experience! We had no control once we were on those donkeys. Once we were on, they started and did not stop until they reached their final destination without much regard to anything in their path. People walking down were hugging the wall, trying to get out of the way, and the donkeys would kick each other as they walked into each other. We laughed and shouted to each other that we were going to win the race to the top (it's still debatable who won), and were so relieved when we made it and were able to be on our own two feet again!

We ate lunch in Fira and then set out to hike the well-known 6 mile Fira to Oia hike (you can start in either town). October was a great time of year for this hike, especially since we were doing it in the middle of the day, and there was no tree coverage. We made it back to Oia just in time to join the crowds for sunset and then went to dinner at Apsithia, followed by dessert at Melenio. We ordered a piece of Baklava for dessert, and it was nothing short of amazing!

On our last full day in Santorini, we rented a car to explore more of the island. We went to a black sand beach and a red sand beach. Unfortunately, it was a lot cooler than it had been, so the water was chilly, but Chad, Kenny, and Kristen didn't let that stop them from jumping in. That afternoon, we drove to the Akrotiri Lighthouse on the southern side of the island. When we arrived, it was cloudy and starting to drizzle. Luckily, the sun came out for a bit for us to get some pictures! Driving in Santorini wasn't bad except for trying to get back into Oia that night. The tour buses were trying to get in and out, and it had traffic at a standstill because there was no room for them to maneuver. Even Kenny, who is always up for a challenge, was getting stressed. When we got back, we walked to dinner, and I had to get Baklava again for dessert, which we learned we could get warmed with ice cream!

We woke up early again the morning we were leaving Santorini to make sure we could watch the sunrise and eat at our favorite breakfast place before heading out.

Traveling isn't always glamorous and picture-perfect. This trip included frequently standing in crowded spaces loaded down with our packs waiting to board or deboard boats or trains. And our speed boat from Santorini back to Pireas got nicknamed the "USS Puke Ship" by Kenny after the ladies sitting right behind us ate the lunch they had brought on board and then shortly after got sick in paper bags. I think we all got nervous we were going to get sick after that. Luckily, none of us did, and now we look back on these stories and laugh at the pictures of us getting through these moments.

Itinerary:

Day 1 - Flew RDU - JFK - Greece

Day 2 - Arrived in Athens / Dropped off Luggage / Sight Seeing / Lunch / Airbnb / Tabepna / Coco's Ice Cream and Frozen Yogurt

Day 3 - Athina Bistrot / Acropolis of Athens / Olympic Stadium / Lunch / Train to Pireas / Portofino Seafood Bar / Blue Star Ferry Overnight to Crete

Day 4 - Arrived in Crete / Rented a Car / Breakfast / Drive to Bus Station / Bus ride to Samaria Gorge / Samaria Gorge Hike / Ferry and Bus Back to Car / Dinner

Day 5 - Estrella World Street Food / Drive to Heraklion / Gelato.it / Walked around / Paralia

Day 6 - Champion Jet to Santorini / Shuttle to Oia / Pito Gyros / Cliff Jumping / Gelato / Skiza Cafe / Melenio

Day 7 - Sunrise / Apsithia / Bus to Fira / Cable Car to Dock / Santorini Volcano and Hot Springs Boat Tour / Donkey Ride / Lunch / Fira-Oia Hike / Apsithia / Melenio

Day 8 - Sunrise / Apsithia / Kamara Beach / Lunch / Red Beach / Walked around Fira / Creme De La Crepe / Akrotiri Lighthouse / Skiza Cafe / Melenio

Day 9 - Sunrise / Apsithia / Souvineer Shopping / Pito Gyros / Seajet to Pireas / Train to Athens / Day 10 - Dinner / Coco's Ice Cream and Frozen Yogurt

Day 11 - Flight Athens - Paris - RDU

Food Recommendations:

Estrella World Street Food (Crete)

Pito Gyros (Oia, Santorini)

Apsithia (Oia, Santorini)

Melenio (Oia, Santorini)

Coco's Ice Cream and Frozen Yogurt (Athens)

Accommodations:

-Toni's Central Apartment next to Syntagma Square (Athens)

-Clara's House (Chania, Crete)

-Maisonette near beach & city center (Heraklion, Crete)

-House with romantic volcano view (Oia, Greece)

Things to Note:

-We would not recommend taking a large rolling suitcase for a trip like this, especially if you plan to visit Oia (there are a lot of stairs).

-We loved staying in Oia, Santorini, and would highly recommend it. While it does get crowded, you are within walking distance of food, shops, and unbeatable views. We did not have any issues with noise at our Airbnb.

-Try the Baklava!

-If you are prone to get seasick or are unsure, it might be best to pack Dramamine if traveling by boat.