EUROPE: GREECE
19
E
R
D
YOU’RE THE ONE THAT I WANT: WHAT NOT TO MISS
N
E
L
L
A
■ DINNER in view of the Acropolis. It’s so obvious, but it is so right. L

H
U
■ HIKING Work off the carbs on an invigorating hike down the Samaria
P
A
Gorge in Crete. ■ HISTORY Read up on the convolutions of Ancient Greek
history and go head-to-head in Knossos, Mycenae, Olympia and Delphi.
■ PARTYING You won’t sleep ‘til dawn on Mykonos and Santorini, where
‘day’ begins after midnight. ■ SNORKELLING If you love fi shy things,
bring a mask, snorkel and fl ippers. The water is crystal clear.
Athens is nightlife, couture and culture to be. I lived au naturel on a beach for two
all inextricably intertwined, Olympia is weeks back in the hippy days of the mid-
inspiration and grace while Mycenae is ’70s. It’s high time, I sense, for a nostalgic
introspection and space. The mainland trip back to my unfettered youth.
also offers the startling, rock-perched If I could retire to Greece now, it would
monasteries of Meteora, architectural feats be to an old but spacious studio in the Old
that should in theory be impossible. Town of Rhodes. It is otherworldly – like
But it is the islands that typify the stepping back in time to a town that has
Greece of today in most visitors’ minds. not changed since the Middle Ages. Along
Imagine an impossibly blue sea strewn with Carcassonne in France it is one of
with 125 mismatched shapes of rock and two UNESCO listed world heritage cities.
vegetation inhabited by a people whose While the Old Town is subtly cool, Rhodes
language and culture date back to Homer. island’s hidden beaches and sequestered
There is no place on earth like the Greek hilltop villages make for most agreeable
islands. Period. I’ll bet an ouzo or three on excursions. The southern mountain
the rocks plus a platter of grilled oil-and villages of Embonas and Agios Isidoros
oregano-infused octopus, salty feta and rich produce an excellent drop of wine that is
E
R
D
N
GREECE ENLIGHTENING
Kalamata olives to anyone who can prove little known outside Rhodes. Excursions L
A
E
L
otherwise. I have been cruising this watery to shy Halki off Rhodes’ western fl ank and
L

H
U
world since my own day one and I am still almost forgotten Kastellorizo, fl ung far to P
A
only 60% of my way around. I get asked on the east off the underbelly of Turkey, make
many an occasion – as a travel writer with for equally worthwhile side-trips.
a passion for Greece – which is the best Then there is the island of Crete. A
S
K
A
island. Impossible to answer, I inevitably Almost a country in its own right, it’s large
BOO
K IT
!
GREECE
A trip to the birthplace of
O
B
U
O
R
reply. Each island is unique and offers its and languous, high and historic, relaxed democracy, western philosophy and the Olympic

U
T
G
R
own take on life and style: just like each of and refreshing – all in equal doses. My Games can’t fail to impress – but there are many
us. An island appeals in its own special way. favourite part of Crete is the south. Little different ways to take in the country.
N
E
AT
E

Half the fun is fi nding your match. villages like Paleohora, Sfakia, Plakias
TO
W
UR
S
T
For me, Patmos in the northern and Myrtos still feel as though they are in
O
GR
EE
CE
Dodecanese has a special attraction. When touch with their roots. If you have never GREEK ISLAND HOPPING
I gaze down on the port of Skala from the seen the moon rise out of the sea over a ATHENS – ATHENS 9 DAYS
cubist hilltop settlement of Hora I feel wine and swordfi sh dinner at the remote, £640, €960, AU$1545, NZ$189O, US$1345,
the same spirit of place here as I do in far eastern village of Kato Zakros, you’ve CA$1475, ZAR10 880
Delphi. It was here after all that St John the not experienced Crete. For a relaxed more Spend six hedonistic nights on three
Divine felt inspired to write the Book of urbane, yet classy, night-time experience, Cycladic islands. Holiday with the rich and
Revelations. I am not particularly religious, dining in roofl ess restaurants in Hania famous in Mykonos, walk through the
but you can say that spirituality does on Crete’s northwestern coast is hard to whitewashed labyrinthine streets of Paros
permeate this peaceful place. beat. I can happily hang out in Hania for and visit the volcanic island of Santorini
Then there are the fun islands. Yes, I do days on end doing little more than dining, with its dramatic landscapes.
fun too once in a while. Santorini buzzes drinking, philosophising with friends
and is impossibly beautiful. Swimming in and realising how good life can get when
the volcanic caldera off a beach of pumice you are on vacation and in one of the most CAPERS IN CRETE FAMILY TOUR, ATHENS AND CRETE 10 DAYS
and black sand on an islet made of petrifi ed accommodating countries on earth. ADULT OR CHILD: £765, €1150, AU$1955, NZ$2260, US$1610,
lava is a neat kind of thing to do. And those It doesn’t get much better than Greece CA$1760, ZAR13 005
oh-so photogenic sunsets from Thira and – especially for this hardened and oft-
Oia…! Mykonos is arty, trendy, pretty, sassy travelled writer of travel guides. I think it’s
and glitzy – yet laid-back when it needs high time I got myself back. ■ AEGEAN CRUISE ATHENS-TURKEY-ATHENS 9 DAYS
£845, €1270, AU$2045, NZ$2495, US$1775, CA$1945,
Thank you to Kumuka for allowing us SO much free
ZAR14 365
ISTANBUL, MYKONOS ISLAND, PATMOS ISLAND, RHODES,
time to explore some of the amazing places in Europe. I
SANTORINI, CRETE
will defi nitely recommend them to family and friends.
CHECK OUT OUR EUROPE BROCHURE AT WWW.KUMUKA.COM
BERNADETTE HABKOUK, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
8

CALL OUR CONSULTANTS FOR FREE BY FOLLOWING THE CHAT LINK ON WWW.KUMUKA.COM
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32