On our last full day in Greece, we headed out on yet another bus trip, this time around…
Times visited: 3
Cities visited: Chania, Athens, Thessaloniki
Villages visited: Platanias, Delphi, Piraeus, Aegina, Meteora, Kalampaka, Vergina, Pella, Chalkidona, Dion, Sesklo, Dimini, Orchomenos, Ancient Corinth, Mycenae, Lerna, Tiryns, Marathonas, Thorikos, Sounion
UNESCO sites visited: 6/19
My first encounter with Greece was in July 2011, when I spent a week with my family on Crete. It was one of our first-ever package holidays, and to be honest – I hated it. Not Crete itself, which is stunning, but the whole concept of lounging by the pool (or worse, the beach) all day. That kind of holiday just isn’t for me. Thankfully, we did manage to squeeze in some sightseeing, and I especially loved the day we rented a car and ventured into the Cretan mountains. That glimpse of rugged landscapes and ancient culture left a lasting impression.
My second visit was very different – and much more my style. In October 2014, I went on a high school field trip to Athens. I’d been studying Latin and Ancient Greek, so a week immersed in classical ruins and mythology was a dream. We explored the city’s rich archaeological sites and even took day trips to Delphi and Aegina.
By 2018, I was seriously missing Greece. Luckily, my university announced that our nine-day field trip in May would be to Greece – and I was ecstatic. We roadtripped across mainland Greece and Peloponnese, making stops at iconic and lesser-known archaeological sites alike. We climbed the cliffside monasteries of Meteora (a long-time dream of mine), explored ancient cities like Delphi, Mycenae, and Corinth, wandered through Thessaloniki, and visited the Neolithic site of Sesklo. We wrapped up the trip with two final days in Athens, a city I’d deeply missed.