IF YOU NEED A HOLIDAY MUSE, NOWHERE IS MORE INSPIRING THAN GREECE

Creative people often talk about needing a ‘muse’ to get their best ideas and inspire their greatest work. Travel agents and tour operators are no exception – the world is a big place, and they can’t see it all. If you’re looking to explore new holiday ideas there’s no better starting point than Greece.

THE NINE GREEK MUSES

Not everybody realises that ‘the Muses’, celebrated as the personifications of knowledge and the arts, especially poetry, literature, dance and music, were figures from Greek legend. In ancient times there were 9 of them, all daughters of the great God Zeus and Mnemosine – Goddess of Memory and Poem. They presented themselves to mortals as water nymphs.

INSPIRATION WAS THE FAMILY BUSINESS

Whilst today we are more likely to come across them in words like ‘museum’ or ‘music’, and so too ‘amusement’, back in antiquity being a Muse was a family business. The sister that is probably most probably talked about in common parlance these days is Terpsichore who is the Muse of dance. But in Calliope, Clio, Erato, Euterpe, Melpomene, Polyhymnia, Taalia and Uranus, we Greeks can tick the inspiration boxes from history, through rhetoric and comedy, to theatre and poetry.

SITES AND SIGHTS THAT WILL INSPIRE YOU

Throughout Greece and her islands sites and sights of antiquity yet celebrate the nine sisters. Indeed the famous theatre at Epidaurus on the Peloponnese still stages plays, dance, and every year holds a festival. The theatre can seat up to 15,000 in the audience. The acoustics are perfect and it is such an inspiring atmosphere that the main stage is a favourite place for suitors to propose marriage to a hoped-for intended high in the terraced seating.

NEED IDEAS? LET US DO THE HEAVY LIFTING

Just like the nine Muses we’re a family business that has been providing travel, cultural, and holiday ideas for 75 years. We can organise anything and everything you need around a Greek holiday. Give us a call and we’ll give you all the ideas you need.

YOUR INBOUND AGENT FOR ALL THINGS GREEK

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.

In most of the world we’re coming up to Easter, the most important religious festival in the Christian calendar. Actually that’s not the case here in Greece as the Orthodox church still uses the Julian Calendar – Greek Easter is at the start of May this year. But it seems a good time to tell you about the new religious tour we’ve added to our portfolio of Greek travel experiences.

IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF ST. PAUL

Of the 12 disciples of Jesus who became apostles St. Paul is one of the most important. Following the crucifixion and resurrection Paul travelled extensively around the shores and through the islands of the Eastern Mediterranean spreading the Gospel and establishing at least 14 churches during his journeys. He appears in the book of ‘Acts’ in the New Testament but is particularly famous for his ‘Epistles’ or ‘letters’, which are normally appended at the end of the Bible.

NO SMALL MATTER

In theological terms the Saint’s teachings are known as ‘Pauline doctrine’. Interestingly the word or name Pauline comes from an old French word meaning ‘small’. But Paul’s journeys were no small matter and he ticked off some notable cities on his visits – many of which we include in our new religious tour ‘In the Wake and Footsteps of St. Paul’. We needed to use both ‘wake’ and ‘footsteps’ as part of his journeys were on foot and part by boat.

ATHENS, THESSALONIKI, CORINTH, EPHESUS, AND MORE

The trip we have curated is a religious ‘tour de force’. Paul is known to have lived and preached in major Greek cities of his time. He is particularly know for his relationship with Corinth which, in antiquity, was Greece’s second most populous community. He later wrote two famous Epistles to the Christians there. However he also spent time and preached in Thessaloniki, Athens and Ephesus.

OTHER SIGHTS AND SITES ALONG THE WAY

In following Paul we pass close to other religious wonders which are simply too good to miss. So we naturally stop off at Meteora and see the monasteries and visit Delphi to hear about more ancient Gods. The optional cruise section of the tour, which takes you to Ephesus, includes a visit to the religious delight that is Patmos. The cruise itinerary also calls at Santorini, Mykonos, and Heraklion on Crete.

YOUR INBOUND AGENT FOR ALL THINGS GREEK

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.

IT’S THE RACE ON EVERY MARATHON RUNNER’S BUCKET LIST – DON’T MISS OUT

The Athens Marathon is a world classic, run largely along the route taken by the Greek soldier Pheippides when racing to announce victory over the Persians at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BCE. It’s one of the toughest courses in the world, climbing over 332m (over 1,000 feet).  As one of the most spectacular events of its kind in the world it has rightly become a ‘must-do’ challenge for every serious runner. There are also 5km and 10km road races

MAKE THE EARLY RUNNING

he 2023 events were a complete sell out and we fully expect 2024 to be the same. Race registrations open next month in April 2024 but the Athens Marathon Experience can be so much more than just a road-race. we recommend a package of 6 days duration that includes:

A special guided Historic City Discovery Run
A visit to Marathon to see the museum 
A guided tour along the race route with an experienced running coach
A ‘day-after’ wind-down cruise to three beautiful local islands
A guided city tour to see the Acropolis and Parthenon

3 star and 4 star accommodation is available, located near the city centre within easy reach of the tavernas and restaurants of the famous Plaka neighbourhood.

MAKE A DATE WITH THE ATHENS MARATHON – SUNDAY NOVEMBER 10th 2024

The 2024 running takes place on November 10th so now is the time to start applying for race places. Mail your client database as you almost certainly have some keen runners on there, and runners always have running buddies.

Group registrations and entries are available for 10 people upward. Why not reach out to your local running clubs and offer to put a package together – it might introduce a whole new range of clients to your business. 

YOUR INBOUND AGENT FOR ALL THINGS GREEK

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.

A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING GREEK

We have a great tradition in Greece when we sit down to welcome friends to a meal – we take a small portion of the tastiest dishes from our amazing heritage and put them all on the table at the same time. We call it Meze, literally a taste or a bite, a mouthwatering combination of flavours and spices perfect for sharing.

ON HOLIDAY YOU EAT WITH YOUR EYES

According to the famous ancient Roman gourmet Apicus, who wrote one of the first recorded cookbooks, ‘first you eat with your eyes’, and we certainly wouldn’t disagree. In fact we think the same is true about being on holiday in Greece which has some of the most attractive sights in the Mediterranean. By a quirk of homophonic grammar, many of which are also famous historic ‘sites’, some on the mainland and some on our islands.

A FEAST OF EXPLORATION

The great news is that, just like a Meze meal laid out on a dining table, it’s so easy to get between these various classic ‘morsels’ picking and choosing amongst your favourites or even trying all of them. Many are within easy reach of Athens by road, others reached in traditional island-hopping fashion by boat. No matter how big your appetite for exploration, our country and waters are a feast for the senses.

LET US GIVE YOU GREECE ON A PLATTER

From the ancient and classic to the Venetian and the Ottoman, through man-made wonders and natural beauty, from fast-food budget snack to extravagant 5-star a la carte, we can prepare a menu to suit every taste and budget. Let us take care of you and your customers and, just like a top-class Maitre D’, we’ll show the very finest flavours of Greece.  

Rest assured, we’ll also point you in the direction of our favourite restaurants for Meze!

YOUR INBOUND AGENT FOR ALL THINGS GREEK

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.

SUMMER 2024 ALL CRUISES ARE ROMANTIC – THIS ONE ESPECIALLY SO

Few things in the world of travel are more romantic than hoisting sail and venturing out into the wild blue yonder on Homer’s legendary ‘wine dark’ Aegean sea. In Greece it’s been this way since the dawn of time – albeit the creature comforts you find on board these days are rather more superior and luxurious.

There’s something rather lovely about a small vessel. Well, there has to be as with no more than 4 cabins and 8 people on board (plus the skipper and host) you need to be fond of each other. This stunning ‘Big Cat’, Satyam Melody, is equally as wonderful and relaxed for honeymooners, a three-generation family, or a group of good friends. Romance, affection, fondness – what’s not to love?

CRUISE IN THE WAKE OF ROMANCE

Our cruise starts in Athens, named for Athena the Greek Goddess of Wisdom – so it’s a smart sort of place to kick-off from. The itinerary encompasses the Saronic Gulf, a stretch of beautiful water lying between the Attica and Argolis Peninsulas. En route we hop between the islands of Hydra, Spetses and Aegina and also call into Epidaurus, Poros and Ermioni on the Peloponnese mainland. These are places Odysseus would have called at, on his way home from the Trojan wars, in one of the most legendary love stories of all time – his 10 year journey back to find his wife Penelope.

BEST WISHES FOR VALENTINE’S DAY ET AL

Every day in Greece is someone’s ‘Name Day’ and, unsurprisingly, February 14^th is the name day of everybody called Valentine or Valentina. But today is also a moveable feast of celebrations – in other places around the world it’s National Library Lover’s Day, National Ferris Wheel Day, Pet Theft Awareness Day, and even National Cream-Filled Chocolate’s Day.

Somewhat rather more appropriately, it’s also National Flirting Week. So here’s a rose for you!

YOUR INBOUND AGENT FOR ALL THINGS GREEK

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.

SUMMER 2024 STARTS HERE

Typically, the tourist season starts in Greece at Easter. Well, Greek Orthodox Easter anyway. Here in Greece we work to the old fashion Julian calendar rather than the more globally used Gregorian one. That means Easter in Greece falls later than in most of the rest of the world. Technically it all depends on the date of the first full moon after the Jewish celebration of Passover, which is the festival that caused Christ to be in Jerusalem before the crucifixion. More practically in 2024 it falls on Sunday May 5^th, whilst Easter Sunday elsewhere is March 31st.

THE BEGINNINGS OF ORTHODOXY

The Orthodox church was founded following the Pentecost, by Christ’s apostles. Two interesting Greek words here – ‘orthodox’ means ‘right opinion’ and Pentecost means ‘fifty’. Traditionally the church was founded 50 days after Passover when the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles, and they found themselves speaking in foreign tongues so that they could go abroad and spread the word.

AS SURE AS EGGS IS RED

In family terms Greek orthodox Easter is rather like Thanksgiving in America – people tend to go back to their hometowns and villages and celebrate with their families. There are processions, feasts of spit-roast lamb, and flamboyant fireworks. And, of course, the traditional smashing of hard-boiled eggs that have been painted red to symbolise the blood of Christ and the cracking of his tomb for the resurrection. In Athens the celebrations are quite a spectacle.

TO CORINTH, IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF ST. PAUL

St. Paul was one of the first apostles to travel to Greece, arriving in 50 CE and settling in the important provincial capital of Corinth, working as a tentmaker. He preached the Gospel to both the locals and the large Jewish community, in total visiting Corinth three times. The legacy of his Letters to the Corinthians are examples of some of the finest early scriptures. The history of Corinth goes back way beyond that and the site has been occupied since 6,500 BCE. It was a place of great strategic importance throughout the bronze ages, was destroyed by the Romans in 146 BCE, then rebuilt by Julius Caesar around 51 CE.

ENJOY A TWO-CENTRE EASTER BREAK

If you’re interested in Christianity, or religion at large for that matter, the great thing about Corinth is its proximity to Athens. That makes it easy to come for all the excitement of Easter in our wonderful capital and then drive east for just over an hour and visit both the ruins of old Corinth and the new city for a perfect two centre holiday. Or add more interesting Christian sites and make a week or two of it.

If you think and Easter with a difference would be interesting, why not take advantage of our egg-celent service?

YOUR INBOUND AGENT FOR ALL THINGS GREEK

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.

EXPLORE GREECE JOINS USTOA

It was 2493 years ago this week that news reached Athens that a Greek army of 10,000, under the generalship of Miltiades, had defeated a Persian Army of 15,000 at the Battle of Marathon on September 12th 460BCE. The announcement came courtesy of a messenger called Pheidippides who ran from the battlefield to the Parthenon. Having previously run over 200 miles in two days to try and get support from the Spartans, he then sadly fell to the floor and died. Only 192 Greek perished in the battle and the monument to them stands proudly on the plain.

We think our new news that we have become members of the United States Tour Operators Association is, well, sort of up there with the battle result.

3 MILLION GREEK-AMERICANS  WILL CHEER THE NEWS

Joining the United States Tour Operators Associations makes perfect sense. America has the second largest community of people of Greek origin in the world. That’s equivalent to 30% of the entire population of Greece! Many of them are now third and even fourth generation, but they’re still in touch with Greek history, myths and legends and love to come back.

EVERY YEAR ONE MILLION AMERICANS VISIT GREECE

Of course it isn’t just American-Greeks that are drawn to visit the antiquities and beauty of our mainland and islands. Every year around one million Americans of all extraction come to discover and explore sites such as the theatre at Epidavros (above).

EXPLORE GREECE? THERE’S A CLUE IN OUR NAME!

If you have people who want to explore Greece then it’s always best for them to explore with a local who knows the hide-away authentic back alleyway restaurants just as well as the high profile sites. In which case there’s a big clue in the name of our inbound ground handling company – Explore Greece.

Now proudly a member of the United States Tour Operators Association.

YOUR INBOUND AGENT FOR ALL THINGS GREEK

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.

…NOT TO FORGET EUCLID

We Greeks know a thing or two about angles. After all, in Pythagoras and Euclid we have the originators of modern mathematics. The former of course specialised in right angles and Euclid was the father of geometry. But let us tell you straight away that there are no wrong angles when it comes to visiting either the Greek mainland or her stunning islands.

SEEING BOTH SIDES NOW

If you’re a student of the classics you will know that the Greek word ‘amphi’ – as in amphitheatre – means ‘both sides’. That’s why the building at Epidauros (above) is not an amphitheatre but simply a theatre as it’s only a half circle – we like to be ahead of the curve! Then again we are experts in having a 360 degree view of everything possible to see.

MORE FACETS THAN A CHILIAGON 

You have to be an expert to know this (tbh we admit we had to look it up) but a 1,000-sided polyhedron is called a ‘chiliagon’. We think that’s a brilliant way to look at Greece. Certainly we are a ‘polyculture’, the word ‘poly’ meaning many. We have been invaded and occupied countless times, adopting something of each culture we have embraced. Add to that earthquakes and tsunamis,  volcanic cataclysms, Gods and monsters, myths and legends, and a fair sprinkling of facts and history, and we must have at least a thousand faces. Come and chill for a while.

LET US SQUARE THE CIRCLE FOR YOU

Ancient Greek mathematicians were obsessed with the idea of ‘squaring the circle’. It became a metaphor for something that was impossible or something that only alchemists could achieve. But, when it comes to putting together a package of all the best things to do and see in Greece, we think our experts have a winning formula that makes the impossible, possible. 

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.

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.