Romance & Ruins: Greece 8-Day Itinerary

Zicasso put us in touch with two travel agents to help with our 10-night trip to Greece (five nights in Athens and five nights in Crete). Our selected agent did a fantastic job of matching our interests with great hotels and a fabulous itinerary.

The Athens hotel was small and lacked a working bar, but was perfectly located in one of Athens’ popular restaurant/bar scene areas and was a reasonable walk to the Acropolis. The Crete hotel was one of our favorite hotels in all our travels. It was perfectly located, with a fantastic rooftop bar with an amazing view and a very good breakfast.

If I could give them more than five stars, I would. I cannot recommend Zicasso's tour operator enough!!! Our agents were amazing and created the most perfect honeymoon for my husband and I!! We went to Paros, Santorini, Crete, and Athens and loved them all. It was amazing not to have to worry about a thing. We had zero issues and we had the best time.

We went to wonderful restaurants and beautiful hotels, had two fun boat trips, a beautiful tour throughout Kissamos, Crete, and the best tour guide for the Acropolis/Athens.

If you want an amazing trip with beautiful memories and zero worries, I would absolutely use this tour operator!!!

This was a dream vacation made reality–five stars!

We just returned from the most unforgettable two-week adventure through Greece, all thanks to the exceptional planning and care of Zicasso's travel operator and her team! From the moment we landed until our final farewell in Athens, every detail was flawlessly executed.

Our journey began in Crete, where we were welcomed by a warm, knowledgeable guide who brought Chania's rich history to life during all of our many activities. From touring the many villages to hiking Imbros Gorge to the Palace of Knossos, we felt immersed in the true spirit of Crete.

Next was Santorini, where the sunsets were just as magical as we’d hoped. Our stay was filled with stunning cliffside views, wine tastings, and personalized recommendations that made it feel like we were exploring the island with a local friend.

Naxos was an unexpected gem—less touristy, but bursting with charm. The tour guide here was particularly fantastic, taking us to authentic villages, ancient ruins, and serene beaches that felt like our own private paradise.

Our final days in Athens were the perfect ending to this epic journey. The historical sites were breathtaking and our guide’s passion for Greek history made every moment at the Acropolis and the museums feel deeply meaningful.

What truly set this experience apart was how responsive and supportive our agent and her team were throughout the trip. Any time we had a question—whether about transportation, recommendations, or small changes in plans—they replied quickly and helpfully, making us feel completely at ease and well cared for.

Throughout the trip, the logistics were seamless—beautiful accommodations, smooth transfers, and thoughtfully curated excursions. Every guide was not only professional and knowledgeable, but also incredibly kind and engaging. It felt like we were traveling with friends who truly cared about our experience.

We can’t thank our agent enough for crafting such a memorable and enriching vacation. Greece was always on our bucket list and now we’re already dreaming of our return!

Highly, highly recommended!

Our trip was perfect!! Zicasso's travel agent created an incredible itinerary for us and all we needed to do was enjoy every bit of Greece. She listened to what we were hoping to get out of our trip and planned out something better than we expected.

The tours were exactly what my family wanted and the guides were outstanding!! We had a university archaeology professor guiding us through the Acropolis in Athens; what could be better than that?! The transportation to and from hotels, to the different islands, and finally to the airport was smooth and our hotels were amazing.

We had a phenomenal trip and there’s no way I would have been able to do it myself. Our agent helped us have an experience that we will never forget and we’re already planning on coming back to Greece in a few years. If you’ve never used a travel company before, you’re seriously doing it wrong. Our agent made sure we experienced authentic Greek food, culture, and people, and for that we are extremely grateful.

If I could give 10 stars, I would. As an older woman traveling alone, I felt completely comfortable and well cared for throughout the trip, as if I were part of the family of the team at Zicasso's travel company. Every single detail of the complex and densely packed five days in Naxos and four in Athens unfolded perfectly. The travel specialist personally knew a number of the guides, drivers, and restaurateurs, and all spoke glowingly of this travel company.

From sharing honey with bees at a tiny apiary to touring the Acropolis with an archaeologist, to squeezing the whey out of cheese at a family farm and meeting the goats who provided the milk, to hiking from village to village with a guide who knew the name and medicinal use of every plant we passed, to learning to make phyllo dough, it was simply terrific! If you're thinking of visiting Greece, connect with this travel company and enjoy the trip of a lifetime.

When we first spoke and started planning this trip, it seemed like she understood exactly what we wanted for this trip. I explained the importance of quiet hotels, and she said that she understands how I feel, and in the same way. I also expressed that we were limited in time and wanted to make the most of what we had by seeing as much as possible. I explained that we like a full itinerary and expressed concern that we wanted to make sure there was going to be enough to do in Northern Greece. She seemed to understand me and reassured me, which is why we booked with her.

After we booked, things went terribly wrong. We felt that there was a distinct lack of communication on what we were paying for. We were never informed about the 2-hour time limitation on our private tour, that our hotel had to be changed after our deposit was placed, that our “food tour” would just be our guide buying a few items for us, and nothing other than a total price was provided. After looking at the price of the inclusions online, we are confused about where all of our money went. In the end, we were left feeling like we were given the "bait and switch" as the trip was marketed to us as the luxury vacation we asked for, but ended up being very different.

We have been on several luxury trips and this trip was far from the luxury of those previous trips. Several of our hotels were very noisy and we spent most of the trip sleep-deprived because of it. The few hotels that were quiet were quite small, and one even had to have the bed built into the wall to provide enough room. We also experienced several small issues such as door locks and TVs not working in our room or air conditioners draining onto our luggage, but those things can't be planned for. The "luxury" vehicle we were supposed to have was a spacious van, but had no air vents for the back seat, no cup holders, no armrests, only a hard bench seat in the back, and the “door open” light turned on every time we curved or turned left. This was made worse by the large amount of time that we were scheduled to spend in the vehicle. We felt like we spent more time driving around than anything else. This was made worse when we experienced backtracking during our trip. We travelled 1.5 hours to Metsovo and 1.5 hours back to our hotel from Metsovo. The very next morning we had to travel over an hour back the exact same way to go to Zagori. I understand that the driver is limited in his time; however, a quick search showed hotels right there in Metsovo with good reviews and similar prices to our hotel. This would have saved us hours of sitting in the car going back to Meteora. Also, during our private olive oil tour, the tour sent their driver to pick us up and take us back to our hotel, just to have our driver pick us up from our hotel and take us 30 minutes immediately back past the tour location. As pricing was not transparent, we have to assume that we paid additional for their driver to take us around when we were already paying for our driver to take us around. This felt like a waste of time and money.

Multiple days we were dropped off at remote hotel rooms with hours to spend and nothing but a restaurant nearby. If accommodations had been booked in more populated areas, we could have walked around the shops and seen more of Greece, but instead we were trapped in remote villages. We felt that this was poor planning and on one day in particular we missed an anticipated itinerary stop due to a tour being scheduled earlier in the day, which did not allow enough time for us to follow the itinerary. We were asked to leave the hotel earlier than normal that day and we drove 4 hours with only a short bathroom stop in order to make our tour on time. This resulted in us being dropped off at the hotel after our 2-hour tour in the middle of the afternoon (and it was the hotel with nothing around it).

When I expressed my concerns to our travel planner during our trip, it felt like she dismissed my concerns entirely and tried to blame the problems on anyone or anything other than herself. Later in the trip, we contacted her again as we didn't have a time for our dinner reservation and found out that she never booked it. I felt that she wasn’t very professional in responding to my feedback about how we felt the trip was not going well. In the end, it felt like she blamed our poor experience on everyone else, including us.