Loved Ancient Greece, Hated Modern Greece
Our trip of a lifetime could have been a disastrou due to transportation and government strikes in Greece, but was saved by the experience and connections of our fantastic tour guide Gloria. She worked long days making sure transportation would happen and which archeological sites would be open or closed; changing plans several times to make sure we got into sites a day before or after a strike was scheduled. Her knowledge of Greek history and language was wonderful and was supplemented by great local guides. We enjoyed all the optional excursions and thought they were well worth the price. The travel pace was fast, moving almost every day or two, but Gloria’s briefings made sure we knew what to expect to get the most our of each days new sights and tastes. We were disappointed that many of the great hotels were isolated and out of walking distance from town so we felt captive to having to eat expensive buffet’s at the hotel instead of enjoying great local cuisine. Doing this trip on your own would be crazy! Driving is dangerious and many roads were under construction or in need of repair and signage is lacking and "greek to me". Our bus driver was excellent and so was the bus. We added on the three day post-tour cruise extension of the Greek Islands and enjoyed a fun cruise experience, great food and wonderful staff aboard the Louis cruise line. The highlight of the entire trip was a stop in Kusadasi Turkey and a morning visit to Ephesus, one of the best preserved Roman cities. Seeing the sun wash down the face of the great library at Ephesus was one of the most moving experiences on the trip.
