In his sequel fantasy series, John Kittmer, not unlike Jason or Odysseus, takes us through archipelagos and roll-calls of island names. These names have a magic all of their own. The poet Odysseas Elytis knew this well; ‘Each word a swallow to bring you spring in the midst of summer’. In this magical six-day tour, I am finally...
Read morePM Mitsotakis announced that the Greek tourist season opens its doors on June 15 and that its well-earned “passport” of safety, reliability and health will ensure that tourists come back to Greece for a spot under the sun. Greece’s 2020 tourism season might have begun late but will offer a safe escape for tourists headed here....
Read moreFrom moonlight pilgrimages to sacred monasteries and London-worthy fish tavernas, best-selling author Victoria Hislop shares her best Insider secrets about Crete - the magnetic Greek island that has stolen her heart. How - and when - did your deep connection with the island of Crete begin? My first visit was in 1980. I was tra...
Read moreBeaches open as mercury soars! Time to place first dibs on sun loungers! Greece prepares to open up its beaches on May 16 as the country eases lockdown and looks to lure tourists back. Organised beaches - those with ticketed entrances and organised sunbeds - are set to reopen tomorrow following official advice. Almost all 515 ...
Read moreHere's a quick recap of travel dos and don'ts and countries you can fly to and back. Please note that flights are strictly for repatriation purposes or to join families. Travel protocols for tourism will be announced later this month. Flights banned to the following destinations: Flights between Greece and seven countries will ...
Read morePoet, philhellene and avid hiker John Kittmer leads us through forts and cloisters, battlefields and tombs, encountering characters -mythological, historical or just mortal - exchanging stories and verses over tsipouro through an imaginary personal odyssey across his beloved Greece. In the last few days of June, I have a retur...
Read moreAs Greek hoteliers check their options before opening their doors on June 1, it is an uphill task both in terms of implementing the necessary changes and in training staff to adopt new health protocols, when so much is still unclear. The de-Covidization era desperately needs a new narrative. In the absence of clear guidelines, the World T...
Read moreKoukoumi, the Greek term for hygge or cocooned living, offers an alternative tourist option with a menu to match as it launches Mykonos’ first vegan hotel. A departure perhaps for meat-obsessed Greeks but a welcome option for millennials seeking a cruelty-free holiday. For trend-setting Mykonos, it was only a question of time...
Read moreWriter and theatre personality Timothy Jay Smith lived on Vourvoulos, a charming village on Santorini from 1972 to 1974, and wrote a piece about life on the island back then. In this essay, written in the early seventies, he offers a rare insight into life on the now coveted holiday destination, at a time when survival was a daily challen...
Read moreFor a truly transformative holiday experience, Athens Insider suggests an alternative destination billed as offering hands-on learning about living in sync with nature on the verdant slopes of Mt. Pelion. The Pelion Homes Retreat Center could well be the starting focal point to your personal pursuit to finding yourself, or indeed, losing ...
Read moreAnthimos Ntagas reveals the everyday humour and magic that Athens hides, through his mind-bending compositions. He speaks to Sudha Nair-Iliades on the art of ‘capturing chance encounters between the city, its people and its street art.’ A day on the beach in the Pe...
Read moreBeyond the ringing endorsement for our little nation’s brave response to the pandemic, Yuval Noah Harari believes that ‘decisions being taken by governments today will shape countries for years to come, not just for a few weeks.’ In a shape-shifting tourism landcape, it is the same nimble response to ‘flattening the curve’, that will se...
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