Αποχαιρετισμός (farewell) from Athens! We spent the day on a ferry, making our way back to Athens for our flights home. Our time in the islands was absolutely magical. The sea breeze, crystal clear waters, numerous sleep-ins, and the charming towns made it easy for everyone to feel instantly relaxed.
Our first stop was Naxos, where we spent three beautiful days relaxing on the beach and exploring the island town. Our two most memorable activities in Naxos were a scenic bike tour and introductory scuba lessons. The bike tour was led by an amazing local staff who showed us some of the more rural parts of the island. Everyone loved the views of the sea as we explored the island by bike. Many trip members were counting down the days to scuba and the experience did not disappoint.
Evenings in Naxos were spent getting to know our new trip mates. We ate at a delicious Greek restaurant on the water and indulged in ice-cream and waffles at a local hot spot, The Waffle House. After three amazing days, we got back on the ferry and headed towards Santorini.
After our arrival in Santorini, everyone relaxed by the gorgeous pool at our new hotel. On our first full day in Santorini, we woke up and explored the archaeological site of Akrotiri in the morning and then headed to the beach for an afternoon of water sports. Some of the trip members expressed how beautiful it was to be surrounded by crystal clear waters. We spent our night in the small town of Oia where we shopped and gathered as a group to enjoy the perfect sunset. It was incredible!
On our last day on the island, we took a cable car down to the port of Fira. When we got to the port, we boarded a ship that looked like a pirate ship and started our adventure for the day. We went island hopping in the Aegean Sea and our first stop was to hike and tour the volcano. We got to hike up for some amazing panoramic views of the Sea and all the white towns nestled on top of the mountains, all over Santorini. Then we all went back down the mountain and back onto our pirate ship. Our next stop was at a hot spring and we all took turns jumping into the blue waters and swimming by the shore. We swam back to the boat, listened to music and headed towards a small island where we docked for lunch.
The next day we said our farewells to Santorini and the islands as we boarded the ferry and made our way towards Athens. We checked back into our hotel in Athens and spent the evening in the Plaka district enjoying our last family dinner. The past 24 days have been quite the adventure and we are sad to leave our new family, but our summer together will always be a perfect memory.
The Westcoast Blogger
Do you want to spend your summer exploring the best of Italy and Greece? Check out our 17-day Greece and Italy trip. To browse all of our programs, click here.