We arrived in Naxos and took a taxi to the Kymata Hotel. In hindsight we could have just walked but didn't think it was that close. I was initially a little disappointed with the hotel. I thought the hotel had a pool since I saw photos, but unfortunately those were of the hotel in front of the Kymata between the beach and hotel. I also thought the hotel had a clear view of the beach. Not so. The beds were a little hard and I didn't get two beds as requested. The hotel is well situated though. We had 4 nights in Naxos. The island grew on me. I loved the port area. Great food and nice people. The highlight of the stay was definitely the 6 hour tour of the island with Nicholas Lagiere of Naxos Discoveries. He took us to the sights, villages, and some special locations not on the map. The next day we took a sailing trip to Paros that was pretty rough but fun. We did try to hang on the beach, but being from Southern California it wasn't something we felt we were missing. We went once for an hour and that was enough. We left the island by Olympic Air. It was simple and fast. We decided to take a cab into Athens, the ride was quick with less traffic then I was expected. We loved our hotel, the Plaka. It was in the perfect location, right next to Monastiraki Square. We had a view of the Acropolis and the staff and service was excellent. The first night we took a free walking tour that was exceptional and saw the used Ricks audio tour at the Ancient Angora where we got our combo tickets. We got up the next day and had a 5 hour tour with Epiculiar that was good. We took the late afternoon Acropolis tour with Athen Walks that was informative but a little too textbook. The next day we had a wonderful 2 hour walk with a guide from My Athens through the market and the offbeat Psyrri area. We also walked to the Ancient Technology Museum that was interesting but maybe a little too simplistic. We ended the day at the Acropolis Museum. We could have used one more day in Athens, we loved it, didn't feel unsafe at any time. Best thing about the trip is we left wanting more. We want to spend a week in Crete and maybe see some other islands.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23626 posts
Please !!!!! combine it into one report for that it stays together after all your effort. And throw in a couple of paragraph breaks so that it is easy to read.
Posted by
Amsterdam
574 posts
Nice report, but paragraphs pleeeze.
Posted by
11569 posts
We used Athens Walks and thought they were exceptional. What do mean by “too textbook?”
Yes, combine your two reports and any future segment s please.
Posted by
Cape Ann, Massachusetts
3334 posts
Enjoyed your report. It sounds like a trip the two of you will remember always! I love Greece.
Posted by
OP
30 posts
sorry, but there is a word/place limit so I had to cut out and shorten to fit into two entries. Boy, tough crowd.
As to Athen Walks. Too Textbook comment - the tour guide stopped in an area and recited in a monotone voice about a structure before we saw it, so we weren't quite sure what aspect she was talking about, then gave us a few minutes to see the structure and move on. She didn't respond to questions very well and didn't engage with the group. Most of the group just lost interest after a while and she didn't seem to know how to modify her talk to capture their interest. I stayed with her and tried to engage with her. She suddenly said her tour was over and walked off making it difficult for some of us to chase her down to even give her a tip. Most didn't. She had a lot of great information, it just wasn't applied well to the site.
Posted by
681 posts
I agree with the tough crowd. Thank you for your report. I enjoyed reading it.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
"there is a word/place limit so I had to cut out and shorten to fit into two entries."
Just post the second part as a reply to the first part; that way they all stay in one thread.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23626 posts
This is an excellent example of how it is done --- https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tours/village-italy-tour-review-april-22-may-5
Not trying to be a tough crowd. You spend a lot of time preparing the report but it will be lost and separate once it is pushed down.
Posted by
Southern Oregon
627 posts
Thanks for a great report! Felt like I was reliving part of our RS Greece tour again.
Posted by
11569 posts
Sorry to hear about your negative experience with Athens Walks. We had the owner Kostas who was a fabulous guide.
Posted by
WA State
3961 posts
Thanks so much for sharing your heartfelt report. Happy to hear you enjoyed Firostefani and Naxos!
It brought back fond memories of our Greece experience.
Posted by
88 posts
Thanks so much for your trip report, I found it easy to find since you labled it part 1 and part 2. We are going next spring to Athens, Peloponnese, Santorini, and one other island, so will look into Naxos.