In This Issue:
Greece

Off-road in Greece

BY STEVE MACNAULL

With Greek folk songs blaring on the radio, we climb higher and higher into the mountains of Crete.

We're on Exploring Club's full-day Jeep Safari-an exhilarating mix of off-roading combined with cultural stops at a monastery, mountain village and cheese maker.

If you're handy with a stick shift you can drive your own jeep, otherwise bump along in the passenger seat while taking in the stunning scenery and humming along to the tunes in another language.

The Jeep Safari is part of our tour group's island-hopping trip to Greece that included some time in the mainland capital of Athens and sun and fun on the party island of Mykonos, the scenic island of Santorini and the wilderness island of Crete.

"Greece is a popular summer destination for Canadians," says Angela Soucie, a director with Transat Holidays, which offers summer flights, island-hopping and cruise packages to Greece from both Toronto and Montreal.

"Most want to start in Athens and take in the Acropolis and then get out to the islands."

One-week flights-transfers-hotels-and breakfast packages with Transat start at about $1,800 including taxes. (Ask a Flight Centre consultant about pricing.)

As Greece's most visited site, the Acropolis overlooking Athens and the Aegean Sea attracts 10 million tourists a year to gawk at its 5,000 years of history in the form of well preserved temples including the Parthenon.

"The Acropolis is not the Parthenon and vice versa," stresses our tour guide Cleo Contogianes. "Acropolis is a hill, any hill, the Partheon is the most famous temple on Athens' Acropolis. It's a masterpiece of architecture and mathematics."

While in Athens it's also worth taking in one of the hourly changing of the guard ceremonies at the Parliament Buildings, the magnificent columns of the Temple of Zeus and walk through the Plaka old town with its narrow pedestrianised cobblestoned streets stuffed with shops and authentic eateries. You'll find the traditional Greek salad, mousaka, souvlaki and stuffed tomatoes everywhere. You'll also find Greek wines that are pleasant, but probably none that will knock your socks off. Some may find it better to stick with the light and refreshing national beer Mythos.

A high-speed ferry then takes us to Mykonos, which has gained a reputation as a party island. You can certainly find clubs that are open until dawn in Mykonos Town, but you're just as likely to find quiet beaches and stunning pool complexes at luxury hotels such as the Myconian Imperial Resort where we stayed.

Another ferry brings us to Santorini, considered by many to be the most beautiful of all the 1,400 Greek isles. It's where you find those quintessential Greek vistas of white buildings with blue domes clinging to mountains that plunge to the sea. Santorini is also famous for its donkeys that transport people and cargo up the steep hill from the Old Port to the island's capital of Fira and the black and red sand beaches that are reminders of its volcanic origins.

From off-roading to something more relaxed, Flight Centre can take care of all your travel needs. Call a consultant at 1-866-317-4794 to start planning your next holiday.

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