The Best of the Best

Where to stay?

In my personal opinion, although Greece is known in history for the city of Athens, I would not recommend that as my first place to stay in Greece. Athens is a busy city with many noises, not ideal for a vacation spot. My top recommendations for vacation destinations are in Santorini and Mykonos.

Mykonos

Mykonos is a beautiful place for beaches and beautiful views. There is a great deal of restaurants, sites to see, and nightlife. Mykonos has many hotels that has the most amazing views that overlook the beaches and the ocean.

These luxury oceanfront hotels offer you great experiences, food, nightlife, views, and overall an amazing touch to your trip. These hotels are beautiful with plenty of room for couples, groups, and families. The pools are also a nice touch on top of the luxury treatment you’ll be having on this beautiful island. However, not everyone can afford to stay in a luxury hotel. Here are some great recommendations for hotels:

• Aeolos Resory Mykonos
• Nissaki Boutique Hotel
• Vencia Boutique Hotel
• Myconian Villa Collection
• Semeli Hotel
• Hotel Tagoo
• Argo Hotel
• Myconian Kyma

AirBnB’s such as the one above offer just as much as a beautiful stay as a luxury hotel would. Airbnb is a gThey still offer beautiful ocean views. Although, it is not a resort which means you would have 24 hour access to room service. Airbnbs are a great alternative to a hotel for a more affordable price.

Santorini

Santorini is much more of a romantic island, especially where couples go away on honeymoons. Santorini is much more of a relaxing, calm, and serene island in comparison to Mykonos.

Santorini, just as Mykonos, has beautiful luxury hotels which guests can stay in to overlook the ocean. Here are also recommendations for Santorini Hotels:

• Art Maisons Luxury Santorini Hotels Aspaki & Oia Castle
• Apanemo Hotel & Suites
• Katikies Santorini
• Athina Luxury Suites
• Astro Palace Hotel & Suites
• Aqua Luxury Suites
• Asma Suites
• Porta Fira Suites

Santorini also has Airbnbs just as Mykonos does, in which guests can use as a cheaper alternative. Both Santorini and Mykonos are beautiful destinations to stay with plenty of different lodging options. Personally, I stayed in a different place.

During my stay in Greece, I stayed in Athens for a couple of days then traveled around the islands on a cruise. The cruise is 3 nights and stops at Mykonos, Kuşadası in Turkey for the House of Virgin Mary and Ancient Ephesus, Patmos, Heraklion to see the Minoan Palace of Knossos, and Santorini. There are many options for activities when the cruise stops at the islands. Although the rooms were quite small, it was nice to be able to see a different island every day, but I felt as if I did not have much time to explore the islands in all of their glory. If I were to go again, I would recommend to stay directly on the islands.

Where to eat?

Tavern Kalokerinos is one of the oldest and most traditional Greek tavernas, situated in the heart of Plaka, the oldest part of Athens, under the Acropolis. This restaurant offers a live show with traditional folk dances, all while enjoying a Mediterranean meal. As a part of the live show, folk dancers will dance to traditional greek music and involve those in the audience to come up and join them in plate throwing. It is very entertaining and tourist based.

What to eat?

Greece has an array of different kinds of food and I recommend trying it all. I tend to be a very picky eater, but this country has amazing, amazing food. I highly recommend trying Gyros. Gyros are of Greek origin made from meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie and served wrapped or stuffed in pita bread, along with ingredients such as tomato, onion, fried potatoes, and tzatziki. They are quite delicious and very popular throughout the country.

Gyros can also be paired with Tzatziki Sauce. It is made of salted strained yogurt or diluted yogurt mixed with cucumbers, garlic, salt, olive oil, sometimes with vinegar or lemon juice, and herbs such as dill, mint, parsley and thyme.

When it comes to dessert, my dessert of choice in Greece was Gelato. You can get gelato anywhere in Greece, just as you can get ice cream anywhere in the United States. Gelato is a frozen dessert of Italian origin. Artisanal gelato in Italy generally contains 6-10% butterfat, which is lower than other styles of frozen dessert. Although you may be in Greece, if you are a picky eater, you can get food that is offered in the U.S. such as pasta, plain chicken, etc.