Greek Islands
2024
Dates: Oct 2 - 14, 2024 (13 days) Begins Mykonos, Ends Santorini
Cost: $3695 Single Supplement: $1000 Early Pay Discount ($300) avail until Feb 2, 2024
Post-tour Meteora/Delphi/Athens (MDA) Extension available
Dates: Oct 14 - 18; Cost: $1000 Single Supplement: $200
The stunningly picturesque Greek islands have inspired mankind back to the time of Homer. Deep azure seas are contrasted by rugged coastlines, plunging cliffs, and golden sand beaches. The human touch is equally compelling with characteristic “sugar-cube” architecture, blue-domed churches, photogenic windmills, and crumbling fortresses. History has left its footprint as well, providing ancient archaeological sites Delos and Akrotiri to be explored. Join Imprint for this slow-paced idyll that includes popular and famous Mykonos and Santorini as well as lesser known Naxos and Amorgos.
Itinerary
Day 1 Mykonos
We begin the tour on the famous island of Mykonos. The picturesque Chora (main village) is also the island’s main port. Windmills on the hill, whitewashed houses, and blue-domed churches welcome you to the Cyclades. The Chora is noisy at night. Therefore, our tour hotel is a 15 minute walk from town (and very close to the airport), overlooking sweeping Magali Ammos Beach, allowing us both access and peaceful separation. We’ll gather in the early evening for our welcome meeting followed by dinner together.
Hotel Mykonos Beach (3 nights) https://www.mykonosbeach.gr/
Day 2 Mykonos
Our first full day begins with a guided walking tour/orientation of the Chora with our local guide Antonis. The rest of your day is free to further explore the island, take an excursion, or relax on the beach or by our hotel’s infinity pool.
Day 3 Mykonos
This morning we will venture by boat to the nearby sacred island of Delos. Delos was the birthplace of Apollo and the seat of the Delian League in ancient times. Today the island hosts the best Greek ruins in the Aegean. We will explore its many secrets with Antonis. Your afternoon is free.
Day 4 Naxos
After breakfast and a leisurely morning, we will take a ferry to Naxos. Often overlooked for more famous neighbors, Naxos boasts a storied history, reflected in Venetian and Frankish archeological sites, and a beautiful and varied landscape of mountains, valleys, and beaches. Naxos is famously the greenest of the Cyclades. After settling into our hotel we’ll embark on an orientation of the Chora, finishing up with dinner in a taverna. During dinner we’ll enjoy live Greek music.
Nastasia Village Hotel (3 nights) www.nastasiavillage.gr
Day 5 Naxos
Today we will enjoy an all-day island tour with our local guide Vassiliki. On our excursion we will visit the Portara, the remaining gate of the 6th century BC Temple of Apollo; the villages of Halki, Vivlos, and Filoti; Mount Zeus (highest in the Cyclades); the Kouros of Apollonas (huge, unfinished marble statue); and many scenic vistas. We’ll finish our day with early dinner at an olive mill and museum.
Day 6 Naxos
Today is yours to relax and explore as you wish. We will gather at the end of the day for a scenic sunset cruise.
Day 7 Amorgos
After a leisurely morning on Naxos we’ll board our early afternoon ferry to Amorgos. Instead of the high-speed ferry we will take a slower boat today – one that stops in several ports of the Little Cyclades. Our ‘visual’ sailing tour ends with an evening arrival. Amorgos is one of the least touristed islands but has some of the most outstanding sights and experiences. After settling in our beach-side hotel we will dine al fresco next to the surf.
Lakki Village Hotel (3 nights) https://www.lakkivillage.com/
Day 8 Amorgos
A half-day coach tour with a local guide will be our introduction to this beautiful island. Highlights include the villages of Tholaria and Aegiale, the Olympic ship-wreck beach, St Anna Beach, and the island’s premier sight, the gravity-defying Monastery of Hozoviotissa. This picturesque, white-washed edifice clings to the sheer cliffs on the southeast side of the island. Lunch will be in an Orthodox monastery.
Day 9 Amorgos
Today will be a free day to explore on your own. You might like to indulge in the 30- minute massage provided by the tour, explore the island further, take a Greek cooking class, or relax on our beach. This evening there will be live music and a Greek dancing lesson.
What’s Included: 12 nights accommodation (16 with extension; All breakfasts, 5 dinners (+ 2 extension), 2 lunches; All tour transport; All tips (tour director, guides, drivers, group meals, hotel staffs); Full-time services of a Imprint tour manager, local guides; All entrances: Delos, Hozoviotissa Monastery, Kouros of Apollonas, Akrotiri, (extension: Meteora monasteries, Delphi Museum and Archeological site, Acropolis, Acropolis Museum, NAM); All activities: walking tour Mykonos Chora, tour Delos, driving tour Naxos, sunset cruise, live music, Greek dancing, driving tour Amorgos, Olympic Shipwreck Beach, Little Cyclades, and more
Important exceptions: Tour participants are responsible for the cost of drinks, free-time sightseeing and meals, flight baggage overage fees, and expenditures of a personal nature.
Day 10 Santorini
After another leisurely morning, we will sail for Santorini, the “Jewel in the Cycladic Crown”. The crescent shaped island boasts steep cliffs, dramatic caldera views, blue-domed churches, classic Cycladic sugar cube architecture, and the most beautiful sunsets to be found anywhere. Like Mykonos, Santorini is heavily touristed, so we are staying outside of the bustling Thira town in our caldera-clinging 4 star resort.
Volcano View Hotel (3 nights) https://www.volcano-view.com/
Day 11 Santorini
An entire island exploration tour is our plan for today. Escorted by our ace local guide Eugenia, we will visit Akrotiri (exceptional Minoan civilization ruins); a red sand beach; a lunch break on Kamari Beach (swimming available); one of the island’s colorful villages; and spectacular Oia with the best views on the island. We’ll conclude our afternoon with wine tasting at one of the island’s many wineries
Day 12 Santorini
This final full day of the tour is entirely yours to spend as you please. Use the free hotel shuttle to visit Thira for shopping or exploring. Relax on a black sand beach or beside one of our hotel’s 3 swimming pools. We’ll gather for Happy Hour and toast our many adventures and new memories before enjoying our final dinner together.
Day 13 Santorini
The tour officially ends after breakfast. Many will book early flights for international connections in Athens. Imprint will assist with airport or port transfers.
[Itinerary details, hotels, and activities subject to change]
Recommended Viewing
Zorba the Greek (1964)
My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)
Eternity and a Day (1998)
Stella (1955)
Never on a Sunday (1960)
From the Snow (1993)
The Suspended Step of the Stork (1991)
Recommended Reading
Sailing on the Wine-Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter (Thomas Cahill)
The Histories (Herodotus)
Guide to Greece (Pausanias)
The Greek Myths (Robert Graves)
A Traveller's History of Greece (Timothy Boatswain & Colin Nicholson)
Dinner with Persephone (Rebecca Storace)
Captain Corelliís Mandolin (Louisde Bernières)
Know Before You Go
VIsas
GREECE DOES NOT REQUIRE VISAS FOR U.S AND CANADIAN CITIZENS
cURRENCY
EURO, EUR
CHECK CURRENCY RATE BEFORE DEPARTING
VISIT THE PAGE BELOW TO SEE IF OUR TOURS ARE RIGHT FOR YOU
weather / when to go
IT IS BEST TO VISIT GREECE OUTSIDE OF ITS PEAK TIMES, APRIL TO JUNE AND SETPEMBER AND OCTOBER
TEMPERATURES ARE STILL WARM BUT NOT STIFLING
YOU’LL FIND DESTINATOINS ARE STILL OPEN BUT NOT AS CROWDED
From the Blog
The “Impossible” Island Tour
Santorini Part One
Santorini Part Two