Island-Hopping Tour of Naxos & Santorini With Athens

Excellent! Everything was meticulously planned. All of our tours were very interesting and the drivers were courteous. We went to Athens, Naxos, and Santorini during our 11-day trip. Overall, I think our favorite place was Naxos, with Athens and the Acropolis being second, although the weather that morning was not the best. But our guide was excellent and kept us engaged while fighting rain and wind. As I mentioned, all the drivers and guides were excellent and I would highly recommend this trip. Santorini was beautiful too and the wine tour was extremely interesting. We highly recommend Zicasso.

Zicasso's trip coordinator planned the perfect trip for our visit to Athens, Naxos, and Santorini. We told her our budget, our desires for travel and accommodations, and we had some places that we thought might be interesting to visit. She took our information and planned the perfect vacation. She covered every detail. We never had to worry about where we were going or how we would get there. Everything was wonderful.

The itinerary is not the best for the price we paid and for a family with two children. We thought we could come back to Greece, but after this trip, we might not come back or even use Zicasso again. Here are the reasons: 1. The hotels are subpar for the price we paid for this tour. Our hotel in Athens felt like a 2-star. Our hotel in Santorini has a great view, but it's just a view, no pool, etc. nearby. Our hotel in Crete is not near a beach, a 20-minute walk. 2. Too much time was wasted on travel from one location to the next (Santorini to Crete and Crete to Athens). 3. Four nights in Santorini with two children is overkill since there is not much to do other than take photos, hike, and that's basically it. 4. Some of the tours are okay but nothing special, i.e., the hiking tour in Crete where they call the "little forest" is merely just for the name. It has nothing to do with the tour guides. All tour guides are great. However, we feel the tour company is crafting ordinary tours, labels it special, and calls it private. 5. In Delphi, we could have had more time to look around after the two hours. If any of the tours were great, it was the tours we had in Athens and Delphi. If we had known this type of tour we received, we could have done an all-inclusive resort in Greece and done our own without having to go through Zicasso and the tour company.

First, Zicasso’s travel specialist was so very helpful. From the beginning stages of planning and understanding our needs for six adults, from transfers to private tours, hotel stays, etc., she was always easy to reach and effectively communicated with me on any issues or questions I had. I will definitely use this travel company again.

A couple of things I'd like to share. The gondola ride in Venice was great. However, boarding near the large body of water didn't feel very intimate. Lots of people. I do understand that's because our tour ended there, near St. Mark's, which, by the way, was fantastic. Our guide was so knowledgeable and informative. Maybe if there was a place to get on that's on a smaller canal. Venice was great fun.

Although our hotel in Athens was nice and convenient, the area was not only very busy and very loud at night, it seemed sketchy/dirty. Maybe that's not the appropriate term, as I had never been to Athens before. I learned quickly that the graffiti was considered art and nobody seemed overly bothered by it. I guess in the US, most of our large cities, where there is low-income housing, have lots of graffiti. We also get arrested for vandalizing other people's property. I think if we were in another area, it wouldn't have been so bad. Again, not knowing Athens, perhaps that's all normal. I know it's a big city.

Our guide was very, very slow in terms of her ability to "walk and talk." She walked so slow, it was hard for all of us to slow down that much. She too was very informative. The Acropolis was packed, even at 9am, so great idea having us get picked up at 8am!!

Our transfer to and from Lavrio Port: the driver who dropped us off was taking us to the port. I did not have clear information that we needed to be around the corner at Olympic Marina, where the smaller catamarans take off. I was able to contact family that was already there to tell us where to go. On the transfer pick-up, the driver was late and again did not know to go to the marina area. He went to the port, where the large boats and ships are located. No biggie, but for future reference, the smaller boats and tours are at the marina.

I think our favorite was the Dolomites! We all love the outdoors, the cool air, the mountains. But the week-long guided tour through the Greek islands was absolutely spectacular. The water was incredibly crystal clear and the most gorgeous blue I'd ever seen. We will be back to Greece in the future to explore more.

Thanks again for all your hard work, efforts, and being easy to reach.

We had a wonderful time in Greece. We spent 10 days there and went to Athens, Mykonos, and Santorini. The accommodations were great and the planned excursions were fantastic. The weather was perfect.

Overall, we had an awesome experience. The communication through this forum was easy to use. We would highly recommend Zicasso and its tour partner for anyone's travel needs. The excursions were all well planned and went smoothly. I think the first one on the day we arrived was a little less enjoyable due to the fact that we had just flown in that day and had such a long flight.

The next day, on the trip to the Acropolis, the tour and guide were also great; however, the car trip part of that was less so. We could have done it without the car part, as the kids and I slept during part of it. I enjoyed the museum tours, but felt like we missed a good bit of exhibits by being with a tour guide. I guess if we had been on our own we could have seen more, but wouldn't have had the commentary and information from the guide.

The transfers from Athens to Mykonos and then Mykonos to Santorini and then back to Athens had no issues. Communication through WhatsApp was good as well. Issues and/or questions were addressed quickly.