Greece Tour Magic Moments
Real Experiences From Our Tour Members
Our goal as tour organizers: to pack your trip with "magic moments." Here are just a few of the many magic moments our gangs experienced on a Rick Steves' Athens & Heart of Greece tour recently. For the inside scoop on all of our tours, check out our uncensored tour member feedback page.
I have two "wow" moments: waiting for and watching the sunset while sitting at the small pier in Kardymilli, and swimming in the Aegean Sea at Momenvassia after a long hike up to the top for the spectacular view.
Athens & Heart of Greece, Oct 5, 2003
We ate octopus, calamari, fresh seafood, etc. The food was great. The Gyro eating contest got a little out of control. It was me vs. "Fox" as we called him (inside joke, you'd had to have been there), and between the two of us, we consumed some 32 gyros over the course of two weeks. Now I'm working to shred these six pounds that I gained.
— Dustin in West Linn, OR
Athens & Heart of Greece, Oct 3, 2003
One of my favorite moments was playing pool with a local in Kardamili. It was his tavern and we came in to play pool and he felt the need to teach us a few things about the game. It was great! We rode rented bikes to the town of Stoupa and then spent the day on the one and only sandy beach on our trip. It was so fun and relaxing! And the gyro shop there was the best gyros that we had in Greece.
— Amy in West Linn, OR
Athens & Heart of Greece, Oct 3, 2003
My favorite moment was winding through the mountains of Greece and spotting the beautiful Aegean Sea in the distance. I couldn't believe the blue! It went right into the blue of the sky. Being from the midwest, with no large bodies of water (we're 180 miles from Lake Michigan), this was a wonderful moment for me.
— Janet in Franklin, IN
Athens & Heart of Greece, Oct 3, 2003
Rick Steves tours seem to provide an average of one favorite-worthy "wow" per day, so this is hard. I'll cheat: the breathtaking view with amazing deep blue water from the top at Monemvassia, Mystras with its setting and incredible church paintings, and, especially the rugged and beautiful scenery of the Mani Peninsula further south, which really affected me...wow! But, for the favorite I'll say the evening in Kardamili. After eating dinner outside (under a pavilion overlooking the sea on a dark and stormy night with a great light show in the sky throughout dinner!), a small group of us stayed to hang out and listen to a table of people singing and playing guitar...I felt really welcome when another table sent us more beer! It ended with a huge downpour which drove us all inside. Wow!
— Elizabeth in Baltimore, MD
Athens & Heart of Greece, Oct 3, 2003
I have two magic moments. The first was Kardamili. What an oasis! Ancient ruins, the seaside, seafood and of course Esperides Hotel. Such a jewel. I enjoyed meeting David's friend Jannis the bike renter who also made olive oil soap. His soap was "made just like my mother made it" from his own vineyard. The second was not a "typical" magic moment. But like many of my age who were young during WWII, the war was a big part of growing up. The shrine to the massacre of all the men and boys of Kalavryta was a poignant reminder of the terrible horrors of war.
— Murray in Oak Harbor, WA
Athens & Heart of Greece, Oct 3, 2003
For me, visiting Delphi was magical. Our guide was so good, and told the story so well, that I felt I could see the ancient visitors to the site. I liked the fact that she discussed the commercial and political aspects of ancient Delphi and introduced (with our guide Colin) a discussion of the competing philosophies about how to excavate ancient sites, the role of museums, etc. I really enjoyed how all our guides worked to place what we were seeing into clearer contexts — rather than just presenting the fantasy versions we may have heard before.
— Shelagh in Oakland, CA
Athens & Heart of Greece, Sep 17, 2003
For all the details, check out Rick's Athens & the Heart of Greece tour!