Panography: Athens, the Parthenon photo by Deve82

Flight Centre‘s Becky Campbell joins us today with a guest travel blog about Cruising in Greece. Becky gives us some some incredible vacation and holiday ideas. Take it away Becky -

Ever wondered what the Parthenon in Athens looks like? Well I experienced it first hand during a week in Greece! I flew from Toronto, Ontario to Athens, Greece on board an Air Transat Airbus 330. The flights were so comfortable and we were served two meals (dinner and a continental breakfast). The legroom onboard the flights was excellent; being 5’9” I was able to cross my legs no problem.

Upon landing in Athens we joined the Louis Cruise Lines – Aquamarine Cruise Ship in the port of Piraeus. From there our itinerary was as follows:

Greece - Patmos photo by vtveen

Oia (Santorini) photo by José Miguel M.P

Day 1 – Mykonos Island Tour: The Island where anything goes! Mykonos is ‘the’ party island in the summer with lots of cafe’s and quaint boutiques set on cobblestone walkways to shop till your heart’s desire
Day 2 – Kusasai (Turkey): This day was a day full of history. We went to Ephesus to visit the ancient ruins of a once known biblical city where the Virgin Mary came to rest. The ruins are amazing, so full of detail and you felt like you were actually there walking with the Greeks back in 600AD.

Day 2 – Patmos (Greece): A short stop after Turkey to the island of Patmos (above); a very small but cute town. Not much to do here but I did get some great photo’s taken from the highest hill top at the Monastery.
Day 3 – Rhodes (Rodos): A 45 min bus ride takes you to the Acropolis in Lindos. This was once a monastery that catered to the Greek Gods Zeus and Athena. The walk to the top was a long climb with views that were amazing. There’s lots of shopping along the pathways of this medieval town and bargains galore. The main port is housed by giant stone walls that were used in old times to keep the pirates out; great shopping here too.
Day 3 – Crete (Heraklion): A city tour is a must do which takes you to a very old town that enjoys the Greek Culture and you can enjoy some Ouzo at 8am.
Day 3 – Santorini: What else can I say about Santorini, WOW! When you think of Greece this is what you think of; Pedestrian Villages, stark white houses with blue roofs, views for miles, and the nicest people imaginable. After you are done wandering the city, set high on a mountain top, take the donkey ride down the mountain for an experience you will never forget.

After the cruise we went on the city tour and visited one of the 7 Wonders of the World, the Parthenon. What an amazing piece of engineering and history. Built in 447BC, this building was the temple of Athena (where Athens gets its name) and Zeus and off to the side was the smaller temple of Poseidon.

Athens, Greece is highlighted on the Flight Centre travel map.

Becky Campbell is a Flight Centre Cruise Specialist and International Travel Consultant based at the Upper Canada Mall, Newmarket, Ontario and can be reached at 866-704-5285.

Categories: Cruises, Destinations, Tours

This entry was posted on Friday, May 15th, 2009 at 10:41 am and is filed under Cruises, Destinations, Tours. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.