AN ODYSSEY OF SUSTAINABILITY

We Greeks lay claim to a lot of things. We think that’s fair enough – we’ve been making an impact on land and sea around the Eastern Mediterranean for 4,000 years or more. Odysseus, legendary King of Ithaca, was one of the first great tourists, taking 10 years to return home to his wife Penelope after the Trojan War (boy, he must have one of the all-time great excuses!) Of course, in his day travel was totally sustainable – you either hoisted a sail or got the oars out. Today the world is in much more of a rush to get from one place to another.

PROTECTING OUR GREATEST ASSETS TAKES TIME, CARE AND MONEY

But, back in the day, when King Priam looked over the walls of Troy and saw 1,000 Greek ships landing, he was among the first to realise the impact tourism can have on your beaches. Although at least back then in the bronze age anything that got left lying around would have been naturally recycled by the elements. Greece, as an island nation, has 13,676 kilometres of coastline, much of it made up of lovely beaches and secluded coves. It is one of our greatest assets, as too are the seas that wrap around our land.

Sadly today, modern materials such as single use plastics hang around on our beaches and pollute our waters for eternity. Whilst Greece has done wonders in protecting its culture and history – we have an amazing 18 UNESCO World Heritage Sites – it is harder to legislate what happens in open waters.

TAKING POSITIVE ACTION TO CLEAN UP OUR BEACHES

At Explore Greece we have a policy of taking positive action to preserve our natural heritage. Increasingly, many of our guests choose to join us and, on our cruise programmes, our Captains arrange to drop anchor for an hour or two and guests and crew go ashore to collect rubbish from the beach. This is then bagged and disposed of at the next port of call.

SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL IN THE SARONIC GULF

We have long espoused the philosophy that ‘Small is Beautiful’ and more sustainable. Nowhere is this more apparent than on our private catamaran charter that sails out of Athens and explores the hidden gems of the Saronic Gulf and Eastern Peloponnese. Our stable twin-hull catamarans carry no more than 6 guests, looked after by a Captain and stewardess. That makes them perfect for a multi-generational family holiday – or even a very special honeymoon.

The normal itinerary runs out of Athens and visits Epidaurus, Hydra, Spetses, Ermioni, Poros and Aegina. And of course drops anchor somewhere along the way to clean-up a beach.  

YOUR INBOUND AGENT FOR ALL THINGS GREEK

As an inbound travel agent for all things Greek, we offer a full portfolio of services ranging from cutural day trips and short breaks out of Athens, to soft adventure tours of the mainland, multi-island-hopping holidays and full-on cruises. If you are planning a tour to Greece make sure you speak to our incredibly knowledgeable and expert team.

People instantly associate Athens with the Acropolis. Actually the word ‘acropolis’ literally means ‘high city’ – so, something built on a hill. There are many ‘acropoles’ in Greece – there is a wonderful one overlooking Lindos on Rhodes. But what people are really talking about in Athens is The Parthenon, a temple started in 447BCE and dedicated to the Goddess Athena after whom the city is named. The word ‘Parthenon’ means ‘virgin girl’ and in the 6^th century CE it was dedicated by Christians to the Virgin Mary.

THE MOST ROMANTIC PLACE IN THE WORLD?

The Parthenon is the spiritual home of all Greeks. It has an amazing and proud history. It is a wonderful place to visit, and the Parthenon museum is a culture vulture’s delight. It is also absolutely drop-dead-gorgeous by moonlight and there is nothing more romantic in the world than to have dinner at a restaurant at the base of the hill as the moon rises behind the temple ruins. We Greeks say ‘dine beneath the acropolis when the moon is full and you can’t help but fall in love’. The Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion is equally romantic at sunset. Understandably they are both popular places to propose marriage

THE TEMPLE AT THE CENTRE OF THE UNIVERSE

The Parthenon is also the Temple at the Centre of the Universe. At least, it was during the Golden Age of Greece and if you want to sample wonderful relics and ruins dating back to the bronze age it’s a wonderful base. It’s within an easy drive of Delphi, the wonderful Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion, Corinth and Mycenae. A little bit further away, but still comfortably doable as a day trip, are sites like ancient Olympia and Thermopylae.

If you like to run, then Ancient Marathon is a predictable 26.2 miles!

ATHENS BY NIGHT

When the day (trip) is done Athens is just a brilliant place to spend the evening discussing the things you’ve seen, talking about walking in the footsteps of Delphic Priestesses and heroes from the Trojan War. And the place to go is the Plaka district where Athenians and tourists alike gather for dinner, music, and conversation. Tables are filled with mezze to share on hot pitta bread, glasses are filled with a variety of local wines (and hey, there’s nothing wrong with frosty cold retsina on a hot summer night), and the air is filled with love.

HOW LONG SHOULD YOU COME FOR?

To be honest you can probably see the best bits of Athens in 2 days and nights – it’s quite a small city. But if you want to experience the Golden Age of classical Greek civilisation you can cover a lot in 5 or 6 days. We can make all the arrangements – hotels of all qualities, private transport to visit the sites, great recommendations for places to drink, dine and dance even. We’re local experts and it’s always good to have that connection.


YOUR INBOUND AGENT FOR ALL THINGS GREEK

As an inbound travel agent for all things Greek, we offer a full portfolio of services ranging from cutural day trips and short breaks out of Athens, to soft adventure tours of the mainland, multi-island-hopping holidays and full-on cruises. If you are planning a tour to Greece make sure you speak to our incredibly knowledgeable and expert team.

For more information about our wide range of holidays & trips in Greece get in touch with our experienced team on our contact us page.

Or by calling +(30) 21620 20021.