Dear Matt -

My mother and I just returned from our winter trip to Greece and I just wanted to send you an email to let you know how invaluable your website was to us. I know you hear this often as I read several of your testimonials, but for a novice traveler to Greece, I can't tell you how much your website helped us. We not only found a wonderful travel agent in Barbara and Giorgos at Aegean Thesaurus through your links who helped us make all our international arrangements, not to mention George the Taxi driver who was a godsend when our planes came in at all hours, but all your articles and even some of your emails to me helped prepare us for Greece in the winter.

So, thank you Matt, for your wonderful resource.

Nicole and Lee Ranadive

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Hi Matt, just returned from a great trip to Greece. Just thought I'd let you know we visited a lot of your website favorites. Jana at agean thesaurus did a great job of booking and transfers with georges taxi company was very polite and professional. Hotel Attalos was really a great place to stay! Close to everything. Psiri is a great area to hang out and eat. To bad about all the graffiti and empty stores in Athens. From there we visited Sifnos, great advice from you. We felt like family everywhere we went. Mosha pension was really nice to stay at. We tried several of the places on your website. (sofias place is no longer open) The whole island is beautiful! From there we traveled to Santorini, and stayed in Firostefani and Kamari beach both great for different reasons. In Pyrgos we found Penelopes, and had a great late lunch. Really lovely lady that made us the mixed grill platter that was very tasty and I thought the bread she served us was the best bread anywhere. We finished our vacation in Varkiza and had a nice 6 days away from all the tourist. Yabanaki beach is a great place to enjoy your day and all you need is pretty close.    

Thanks again for all the work you do with the website, its comes in very handy as a guide to areas and eateries. I mentioned your website to many of the places we visited and people were appreciative.    

Nik from Vancouver
August 8 2014

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Matt,

I’ve visited many countries of Europe, yet never been to Greece – an unfathomable oversight, especially for someone fascinated by ancient history. Finally, I go in May. And while I dutifully spoke to friends who have lived there, or visited often,  and although I did my customary research (Fodor’s, etc.), “stumbling “ on your website was a wonderful bit of serendipity. Yours is one of the finest, most comprehensive and delightfully personalized travel guides I’ve ever read. As a sometimes travel writer myself (I was a newspaperman for 40 years), and a devotee of great travel writing, I genuinely admire what you have done.

The only problem is that there is so much information it can be dizzying! I have a pitiable 4 days in Athens and 4 more on Santorini. I don’t want to follow a script, as it were, but your observations and suggestions are irresistible. Where to begin!?

Many thanks,
Bill T
Charleston, S.C.
(a transplanted Tar Heel)
4/3/14

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Hi Matt,
I just wanted to drop you an email and let you know how wonderful your information was and how much it helped my husband and me on our highly anticipated vacation to Greece this year! I have wanted to visit Greece since I first started learning about their history and mythology in junior high school. My husband didn't know much about Greece until we started planning this trip and the information you have on your website was a great way for both of us to refresh on the history and the country. This was our first real vacation and we were very nervous about it. We had only flown once in our lives and it was an hour and a half flight, so the fifteen hours of flying (from Utah) was very intimidating for us! Luckily, we survived and are planning more international trips for the future. We used Fantasy Travel to arrange all of our transfers, hotels and tours, because of your recommendations. They were the greatest bunch of people I have ever had the experience of dealing with. Our travel agent, Vicky, was very accommodating and gave great information (such as the unreliability of ferries to some of the islands, and non touristy areas). I had so many ideas of places to go and things to see after reading through your websites and she was able to customize a great package for us that was economical as well as thorough and fun. We stayed in Athens for a couple of days and then we took the four day classical tour (Mycenae, Epidavros, Olympia, Delphi and Meteora). We then went to Naxos and Santorini. We loved Naxos! It is very calm and not as touristy as I thought it would be. The scenery was amazing and the people were extremely friendly! We stayed at the Grotta Hotel and the room, the staff and the owner, Nicolette, were wonderful! After Santorini we went to Nafplio. The one word I would use to describe this town would be PERFECTION!!!! We stayed at the Marianna Pension and it was amazing. Everything about Nafplio, from the hotel to the fortresses were beautiful. Sorry this is such a long email, but we really wanted to thank you again for all your great information that helped us to plan a very unique vacation. We were able to see everything we planned on seeing on this trip, and we plan on returning in the future to tour more of the mainland and new islands!
Thanks again for all your great advice, Misty & Jeremy
July 2012

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Matt,

We've got to thank you for an incredible vacation in Greece, just completed. We took your advice and signed on with Fantasy Travel for a customized vacation in Rhodes, Santorini, Mykonos, and Athens. We handled the whole trip over the internet with Litsa from Fantasy Travel.

From the moment we stepped off the plane in Athens, we were met by representatives each step of the way. I can't tell you how reassuring it was to see a happy face, waiting to help us on every island. All the transfers were provided, to and from each hotel, airport, and port, and they even helped us just before we left change our travel plans from Rhodes to Santorini (the ferries weren't running that day due to a country wide strike!) so that we could fly to our next destination instead. They helped us arrange tours and even rent cars while we were on the various islands.

We also used your suggestions for taxi services on Rhodes (Michael - Nicholas's brother took us all over the island) and in Athens Dionysos (George's son) took us and some friends on a customized all day tour of Athens and Sounio. It was fabulous and they were exquisite hosts. We observed some protestors gathering in front of the Parliament in Syntagma square during the day, but never felt worried or concerned. We felt some of the concern and worry the Greeks have for their country and their future and we certainly hope all will work out for the good. Thanks so much for the great service you provide!

Paul Camarata
7/9/11

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Hello Matt,

My name is Archana R and I just returned from Greece. I just wanted to send an email to you because your website was so incredibly helpful in planning our trip. My friend and I took a lot of your suggestions and had an absolutely wonderful time. Your website really was our saviour and I just wanted to pass that all along. Thanks for all your hard work.

Cheers,
Archana

PS Fantasy Travel Agency was unbelievable! They made our trip completely stress free and we couldn't recommend them more!

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Hi, Matt,
I'm from Serbia and I have just returned from Greece. I was there with my girlfriend and we spent only 7 days there. It was great!
My girlfriend, Ljubica, found your website and read it all. She is fascinated with it and she always mentions you.
I would like to get her a present and I think that your book would be the nicest one. So, I finally come to the question-
Where can I find your book?
Sincerely yours,

Boris

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Hello again Matt, Well, we made it to Sifnos and Milos and had 3 blissful weeks on the islands. Sifnos was more or less exactly how you describe it and you certainly have not "oversold" it. The hotel Stavros was the perfect place to stay and right at the heart of Kamares. We visited Platy Gialos, Apollonia (never seen a place go from "Ghost town" to absolutely rocking so quickly) and Kastro - all beautiful places on a gorgeous island. We ate in various places and never had a bad meal: Neptuno, Simos, Meropi all great traditional tavernas, but our favourite was Absinthe where the food was fabulous. Great prices too, particularly with a good exchange rate, and generally, we ate for nearly half the price we were expecting. Beers and cocktails at sunset most evenings in the Old Captain bar - heaven, and plenty of ouzo each evening, too. Milos was a good contrast to Sifnos and we did a great Kayak trip. Pollonia was a nice relaxing base. Didn't get to try many restaurants as we went to Gialos on the first night and loved it so much we went there more or less every night and ate our way through the menu. This place was packed every night with Greeks - they obviously know a good thing. A great final day in Athens too, but hot,hot,hot! Too hot to get up to the Parthenon, but made it to the flea market and Acropolis museum which was great. Once again, the Attolos a great central place to stay and having a drink in the bar with the Parthenon lit up at night was an unforgettable experience. We will certainly return to Athens at some point. We reckon we will never have another package holiday again. All of our transport links worked out fine and it was really easy to get around. We saw only a handful of our fellow countrymen in the entire three weeks, which is no bad thing. Had some great conversations with total strangers in Athens - wonderful people in a lovely country and no bad experiences whatsoever. Everyone should go! Thanks again for your great website and recommendations and we look forward to reading more. Regards,Paul
8/1/12

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Hi Just came back from my first experience of Greece. Our holiday was self made , we spend 3 days in Athens (the royal Olympic hotel) and then traveled to Olimpia(great western hotel Europe) , Delphi and back to Athens... We have loved and fall in love with Greece... I have found your website by chance before we went our hols...and even though I had my DK eyewitness travel (which I found very useful) , your webs has answered more questions and prepared me for well for our fabulous trip.. I have loved the flee market and we have visited places which 'normal' tourist would not think to visit...I only could not find an answer for why tourists can not pose next to statues in museums? Is it something to do with respect or ??? Do you know the answer?We have decided to explore more of Greece next year , now we have traveled whole across the Peloponessos... Greek people are friendly and very welcoming, food is fantastic and we even got used to the reckless driving loll..Thank you again for developing this fabulous website.Take carePavlina N
8/29/2012

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Dear Matt,

Just a quick note but one deeply felt... I am so very grateful to you for your website. Your recommendations of Fantasy Travel and George's Famous Taxi service put us on the right track and resulted in our having a most fabulous 24 days in Greece. Our visit included 6 days in Athens, 5 days with George in the Argolis, 6 days in Crete, 4 in Santorini, 3 in Hydra. I also used Athens Walking Tours on our first day in Athens; we had two tour guides... one was for the actual walking tour and was very good; the second guide was for the Acropolis Museum; she was tedious witha dramatized style of speaking. But these tours got us off to a good start and we did well on our own thereafter. We signed up for the Fantasy Travel tour to Cape Sounion. We me a couple from India now living in Houston who also used your website and used Fantasy Travel... small world indeed.

I am attaching my reviews of Fantasy Travel and George's Famous Taxi Service which I have submitted to them.

Keep up your great work!!!

Leon K
May 28 2011

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Dear Matt,
I've just got back from greece (mykonos, santorini and athens). Just wanted to say your website has been a great help in planning!
Hotel Adonis in Mykonos was simply awesome and Athens Cypria in Athens was just way above expectations.
2 thumbs up for your great site~!
Regards,FeliciaSingapore

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Hi Matt,
We've just returned from our two weeks in Greece! We had an amazing trip with the help of your website. We stayed three nights at the Attalos--what a location! The staff was very helpful and friendly, as was everyone in the country. We traveled with our five month old and ten year old--man do they love babies! I think he was held by everyone in the country.
We went to Mykonos and Santorini--loved them both. The Lady Anna hotel on Mykonos was perfect--I don't know if you know this hotel, but it was booked for us by Fantasy Travel. Right on the beach with a pool--perfect for a family. Our son's dentist is Greek and he sent us to his friend Mimi's restaurant called Sea Satin Market--most expensive fish I've ever eaten, (95 euro/Kilo!) but what a location. The ocean is practically coming under your table! In Santorini, Lucky's for Gyros is the best. He's a little kooky, but the chicken gyro is awesome--2.50 euro!

Fantasy Travel is a great find. We felt so lucky to be able to pick and choose the places and length of time and to have all the booking handled for us. We had transfers galore, and they were always there waiting for us at each hotel/airport/port. They were very reliable and we will recommend them to anybody who asks for an agent in Greece. Of course your website will be the first thing we mention to anyone considering a trip to Greece.

Thanks again for all your hard work. We will definately return to Greece someday!
The Polston Family
California

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Matt-We have decided that you should be named the Mayor of Athens.....its hard for us to believe that every word you said in your website was true!!!!!! Right know after 2 days back home, I am currently wearing my sandals, eating cheese, drinking OUZO and staring at my icon. First things first....Fantasy Travel is the bomb!!!! Everything was perfect.....they took care of us from the minute we stepped off the plane in Athens and until we returned to the airport. All of it was beyond our expectations!!!!The Hotel Attalos in Athens...was a perfect location for us to wander and explore Athens. The view was spectacular from the bar of the city and The Acropolis.The Princess Myknonos hotel was great, the staff awesome, the food lovely and the room perfect. We missed a ferry due to the recent strike...they accomodated us without any question for an extra night. Fantasy Travel had even called to check on us even before we returned from the ferry dock. In fact, when we returned to the hotel (in the back of a 3-wheel truck!!!! what a ride) they were just coming down to get us to bring us back. We really were impressed. I don't think this would of ever happened in the USA.THe Volcano View as we arrived a day late...let us stay in an 2 bedroom suite instead of our studio. WOW. THe room was spectacular, the help was great and the food wonderful.The beaches were..........well no weinie waggers LOL, but everywhere they were beautiful. The ocean was the best ever. Generally, renting a car on both islands was the best. The fast ferry was spectacular. All of the recommendations you made for shopping, eating and drinking were right on.!!!!! One resturant in Santorini you should add was recommended to us by the desk at Volcano View....Nicholas Tavern in the heart of Thira. Very small but oozing Greek. The food was authentic and spectacular. Very reasonably priced. We really could go on and on.... we really are thrillled with our whole trip. Thank you for making this possible. I started reading your site 8 months ago. It really made things alot easier for planning and what to expect. Thanks again,

Nancy and Doug Coppernoll

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Matt, I want to thank you personnaly for your assistance directly and through you wonderful and well done web site www.greecetravel.com. My friend Art and I did a wonderful 3-week vacation just returning yesterday from Athens back home in Ottawa, Canada. I wrote you early on during our planning regarding booking at the Volcano View Villas and you refered us to Fantasy Travel. This reference has been most fruitful and we did work with Nikos Emmanuil who helped us put together a good plan for our stay. Him and his colleagues also were of great assistance in changing travel plans due to the general strkes and tension over the last three weeks. We send our appreciation to Nikos. Do not hesitate to mention it as well to his supervisor if you are in contact with them. I traveled with my I-Pad and did refer to your website anywhere we were going to have a better understanding. We also used it for restaurant referals. Again your website is well done and so comprehensive like no others. I will refer any of my family or friends who wish to visit Greece to the Greecetravel website as The Reference. Efaisto poli Michel Tremblay

Ottawa, Canada

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I wanted to offer thanks from my wife and myself on your wonderful site. Earlier in the year we went to Greece (athens, and santorini) and had a blast. I found your site earlier in the year when I was planning an after summer trip, and that made up our minds on where to go. Even with the protests and intermiddant shut downs (it didn't affect us very much, though it was interesting to watch in Syntagma), it was a blast. I had visited other places in Europe, however Greece was a place I thought was a bit too obscure. That is until I saw your site. It took a lot of the confusion out of our trip, and made it much more enjoyable. I love my new sandals, and my wife loves her new jewelry from Byzantino jewelers in Athens. I was reading your blog and saw you might do something similar for Istanbul/Turkey. That would be wonderful I think. It would be very helpful for a lot of people who find such a country a bit outside their comfort zone otherwise. Just wanted to offer my support, and again say thank you for your hard work!

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Dear Matt,

Thanks to your invaluable advice we had a fantastic holiday. We arranged our first and only night in Athens, and our stay on Poros through Fantasy travel who really could not have been more helpful. They made a complicated trip run like clockwork. We stayed at Saga on Poros and everything you said about them on your website is so true. We felt so welcomed and cared for by
Zefi and Takis, and all their staff, it really felt like a home, which was just what we needed. We took a day car hire trip up to Epidaurus and Mycenae which were extraordinary places even in the summer heat.

We spent the second week on Skiathos which is the most tourist-centred place we have ever been to on holiday. Yet somehow the island has coped with exploiting the visitors and staying beautiful, having something for everyone - noise and peace!

I have to say it was one of the best holidays we have ever had and I am indebted to you.

Stephen

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Hi Matt,

Just a quick note to say thanks for your guide. We just got back to Amsterdam after a bit of a turbulent week's holiday in athens. We ended up escaping to Loutraki for a few days as we could not go out to the islands due to the strikes and general chaos. We had a great time in the restaurants you recommended and the suggested hotels were also excellent. Your guide helped to make our trip a holiday.
If you ever need tips for Amsterdam, we would be happy to help.
Thanks again,

Craig and Eva.

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Dear Matt

I have just returned from a trip to Santorini and just have to tell you that after many years of “using” your website and enjoying it I decided to use Fantasy Travel and boy with all strikes was I glad that I did! For many years I have done my own bookings for hotels, flights (between islands) in Greece but this time I decided to use Fantasy Travel mainly to support one of your companies that you support.

We arrived on 27 September to a very chaotic customs and it took us one hour to get through customs and another ½ hour to find luggage that was dumped on the floor because no one collected it in time so by the time we met our Fantasy travel representatives they were not very happy people thinking that we had got lost somewhere in Athens. Anyway we didn’t mind the frosty greeting considering we were just happy to be in Athens and back in Greece. We stayed at the Royal Olympic and enjoyed our stay there mainly because we were next to the Plaka (after all these years I still love going thereJ) and we were relieved that we had used Fantasy Travel because the next day all taxis etc were on strike so they had arranged a private transfer for us which was great. I thought we would have the same representatives to take us to the airport en route to Santorini but I delighted to see that we were given Nelly and Demetris who really made our trip to the airport a real treat – Nelly is amazing with all her knowledge and Dimitris was just as friendly as well – when we got to the airport Nelly booked us in (another treat) and so Fantasy travel really made our trip worthwhile. So thanks Matt for your recommendation.

We stayed in Santorini for 8 nights and I was quite interested to see how the local Greeks felt about their situation and was amazed that a lot of them actually were quite indifferent to the situation – maybe because they genuinely feel that there is nothing that they can do as individuals but I think (just as in my country) on the whole if everyone really just gets together maybe in time there will be a solution. I was shocked to hear from one of the chaps were know on the island that he and his wife were hijacked in a taxi en route from the airport to Athens! I thought that only happened in my country South Africa! It made me really upset that Athens had become like that and when I read your story about your wife it made me really sad – I hope she is ok now but she seems a strong person (as in character) (from the way you write about her) so I am sure she is. You must tell her that I think I shocked a taverna owner on Santorini who was trying to be “cute” when he gave me Sardines and told me smugly that there was a special way to debone them and I said “I know” and proceeded to debone them just like your video showed all of us and he was quite shocked and impressedJ so was the guy from the UK who was sitting next to us – so thanks to you and Andrea. A great moment to rememberJ

To end I must say that I do agree with your about the wealthy Greeks, the yacht owners etc especially the churches – personally I feel if the lot of them got together they could bail Greece out easily because they all have vast “hidden” wealth. Time will tell as they say – I just believe they HAVE to get it right, not only for Greeks but for all of us around the world who loves Greece as well. Greece belongs to the Greeks, not the Chinese etc etc

Bye for now

Anne

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Hi Matt I just wanted to thank you for your advice and for putting me in touch with Fantasy Travel. I have to admit that I had my doubts at first about them as the agent I was dealing with only seemed to be able to communicate by means of one email a day, which made the arrangements a little protracted (but quite amusing). HOWEVER, once we had thrashed out my peculiar itinerary and requirements they turned out to be a model of efficiency. All the arrangements went smoothly, in fact so smoothly that my daughter and I would start chuckling every time a 'Fantasy Travel' card was waved in the mayhem of an airport or ferry stop and when yet another taxi would whisper to a stop outside a hotel, bang on time. I'm particularly glad that I read and absorbed your recommendations concerning arriving at Piraeus and trying to find a taxi with 500 hundred other desperate and possibly ruthless fellow travellers. I have been coming to Greece since the early 1970's and always did it the hard way, sleeping on the deck of night ferries to Crete, taking doomed bus journeys to Northern Greece with incipient dysentery, trying to placate small children through ticket buying ordeals in Piraeus, walking miles in heat, waiting for inexplicable transport links that never arrived. So, for me this trip was GOING SOFT and IT WAS GREAT. Samos was our ultimate destination and it's possibly the nicest island I have been to (and I've been to a few) We flew from Athens to Ikaria and found Ikaria to be as weird as its publicity. We took the ferry back during the day from Samos, which was like a mini cruise, except more interesting when your fellow travellers have their dogs, canaries and rabbits on board. Athens in August was a bit of a revelation, hot but strangely quiet. We walked to Lykavittos where hoopoes were swooping in and out of the pines, then found paraketes flying around the strangely deserted Zappeion Gardens. It was a bit magical. Equally we took in your restaurant recommendations in the Plaka and were not disappointed. So, thanks for your help, it was great. I still love Greece and the Greeks and to hell with the Eurozone! Best Wishes Nan Bovington

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Hi Matt,

I wanted to thank you and tell you how valuable the information on your site was in planning our trip to Greece. We a considerable amount of time on your site, including some time when we were in Greece and needed to check something out, and your recommendations were perfect for us. Based on your recommendations we also worked Litsa with Fantasy Travel and the package and service provided she provided was exceptional.

Our daughter was on Paros with a study abroad trip, and my wife and I met her at the end of her semester then we spent time on Paros, Naxos, Santorini, and in Athens. Not sure if would our daughter would have come home if we didn't go over an "pry her off a Greek temple".

We will recommend your site to everyone we know that is planning a trip to Greece. The value and information was worth several times what we paid for travel books.
Thanks again.
Terry

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Hi Matt

My wife, 20 month old son and myself just returned about a week ago from our first trip to Greece. I wanted to thank you not only for your fantastic website but also the time you take to respond to individual emails. Your recommendation of Fantasy Travel is much appreciated. I would strongly encourage anyone traveling to Greece to contact them, especially if you are traveling with a small child. From the time our plane touched down in Athens they were available for all of our needs. The fact I did not have to worry about any transportation really eliminated some stress. In addition your hotel and restaurant recommendations were also excellent. I should also add that Sifnos, as you suggested it would be, was perfect for a family. The beach at Kamares was as you described and perfect for a 20 month old to run wild. The weather was perfect the week we were there this past October and we basically had the beach to ourselves. The Greek people could not have been nicer. It seemed that from the Plaka to Apollonia the folks went out of their way to put a smile on our son's face. If he wasn't getting free bakery or fries, it was a toy at the pharmacy. I planned this trip for a long time but it was worth the wait. I can certainly say, my family would love to go again. Thank you again for all of your time and effort.

Warm regards............................ Casey, Julie & Caleb Palbicki

Oh, I'm sure you get plenty of better written testimonials but please feel free to include this email if you'd like.

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Hi matt;

I really just want to thank you for this wonderful, helpful, unique site of yours.

Felt like you are talking to me directly and not googling or reading something from the www.

I became to know you more and more every time I opened the site since started to have interest in visiting Athens.

Hope to see you there sometime.

Cheers

Khaled Al Jawamis

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Hi, Matt. I can’t believe I haven’t written you before to thank you for your incredible website on Athens and all of Greece! My Bride has always wanted to go to Greece, and after discovering your website, I felt comfortable taking her. When we landed in Athens on our way to Mykonos, we had a six hour layover. My Bride asked what the heck we were going to do for six hours. I told her not to worry. We hopped onto the Metro and went to Syntagma Square and walked to the Plaka. She was amazed I could find my way around a city in which I’d never been. I gave you all the credit. After two days on Mykonos, we returned to Athens, and I was able to lead her around the city easily. We followed many of your suggestions, such as visiting Byzantino Jewelers and George the Taxi Driver. He was wonderful. We had booked a half day tour to the monuments in Athens but the workers were on strike. George apologized then drove us all around Athens and even drove us down to Sounion and up the other side of Greece back to Athens. One day I decided to take her to Aegina. I wasn’t sure how to get to the port, but I sent you an email, and you wrote back promptly telling me exactly what to do! You are absolutely amazing and an incredible help to visitors to Greece! Thank you for all you do!

My wife and I just returned from two wonderful weeks in Greece. We have friends who have an apartment in Nafplion who had invited us to visit them several times. We decided to take them up on the offer. We booked flights to and from Athens, but really had no idea what we were going to do other than spend a two or three days in Nafplion.

Fortunately, I discovered your multiple websites which gave us a wealth of information and ideas. Perhaps the best suggestion of all was to contact Fantasy Travel. From the moment we landed in Athens until we were delivered back to the airport there two weeks later, everything went like clock work. Wish I could say the same for the flight arrangements we made.

I can't say enough good things about your websites, Fantasy Travel or Greece. Keep up the good work, even if it does mean more crowds.

Art Surguine

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Matt...you are amazing...I'm the hospitality business and wish I had a staff full of guys like you -- someone that obviously loves this stuff!...anyway, you've given me a lot of material to review...and I'm sure I'll have more questions....but thanks in advance!

SCOTT -

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Hi Matt;THANK YOU for your wonderful website, per all of your advice I traveled to Naxos, Milos and am currently at Old Captains Bar - Sifinos! I had previously emailed you about diving information, and throughout my travels have found some great things that I thought may be interesting additions to your site. On Naxos, off of Agios Prokopios, is The “Lost Beaufighter”, a British bomber aircraft which sank during World Word II. It is in pristine condition - to a divers delight it landed perfectly on its belly. It sunk to about 30m. Blue Fin Divers (http://www.bluefindivers.gr/default.htm ) does a great tour of the boat - which takes only about 1.5 hours from getting to the shop to leaving. They also offer a lot of other great (from what I am told) dives around the island. I have attached a few pictures I took of the plane, feel free to use these as you wish. It is a hidden treasure, many island natives who have been living on Naxos their entire life, had never even heard of it! The owner of my hotel did not believe me, when I showed her the pictures she printed them out and has them at her reception area! I have dove all over the world, and this was one of the most interesting dives by far - it would be a shame for divers to come to the island and not see this hidden treasure!
Another inresting tidbit, on Milos, I did a sail trip with Captain Niko - whom you recommend. His boat is not identified as Captain Nikos (and I thought of this and failed to write down what it was really called - shoot!) but I thought you may find it interesting to note that his tour now stops at the seaside taverna at Emborion, which you recommend. Another thing to note, I took this boat because of the great price (the best in the marina) and the fact he has a small scuba flag on the back of his boat. I asked him about this and he so graciously offered to take me diving with him through the caves at Kleftiko. It was a divers delight, as it was just myself and the Nikos on a free dive, which he does each day while people are swimming in the rocks. He refused to charge me for this, but I did tip the kids (he wouldn't take it) 25euro, which is far less than the cost of a regular dive. Thanks again for all of your great information - it has been an amazing trip! -Katie

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We've just returned from ten days in Greece and wanted to thank you for all your helpful tips and information. We stayed at Hotel Attalos in Athens and couldn't have been more pleased with your recommendation. Following your top ten list was a smart thing to do because the highlight of our trip had to be Melissinos' shop. Of course, everything we did and saw was special, but getting my sandals put a smile on my face that I can't even explain.

Originally, we were going to stay at the Boat House in Kamari on Santorini, but the cliffs of the caldera called too loudly and we stayed at Hotel Keti in Fira. We did travel to Kamari, however, and the Boat House is definitely on our list for the next trip. And there will be a next trip because we have so much more of your advice to follow.

Darlynne Vrechek

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Hello,

It's been quite awhile since I've been home, but in speaking to a friend I went looking for your site again to send to them.

I wanted to let you know that your site is absolutely fantastic, I booked two weeks via Fantasy Travel....to where I wanted to go, they helped me tweak the order I should go in based on ease of travel.

It was literally 2 of the best weeks of my life!
the sun, the sea, the people, the food..............

And fantasy travel is amazing they met me at the airport at a ridiculous hour, with huge smiles (Nelly I think was her name) and right away I knew that everything was not to be worried about.
The hotels they booked were fantastic, each stop they seemed to get better and better!

All of the tips and information on your site were extremely helpful as well, I printed out portions to bring with me.
I definitely will return to see more of the country/isles and will be using the site for more information!!

Thank you a million times over!
Crys

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Dear Matt,

Thank you so much for such a wonderful website! My grandma and I have had a
hard time talking since grandpa died. I mailed her a calendar with pictures
of Greece as a gift, and she called me up. She sounded like she had come to
life again. She is bound and determined to go to Greece. All I have to do
is plan the trip and come along, :). Your website has eased my mind.
Again, thanks for this resource!

Sincerely,
Betsy H

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Hello Matt,

It was about mid August this year that i contacted you to forward my e-mail to Fantasy Travel concerning a round trip in mainland Greece my husband and i were planning.

Within a day after i e-mailed you, Dina Kastrinaki from Fantasy Travel was on the case . From the moment we started e-mailing, things went smooth and swift. Well, if i compare the customer service i got from Dina at Fantasy Travel to some of the companies i deal with in the States...there is no comparison.

Fantasy Travel is every traveler's dream. Their services were perfect.

We went on our round trip and had a wonderful time in Greece. Everything Fantasy Travel had organized was flawless. We met with Dina in Athens and thanked her in person, gave her a big hug and a T-shirt we brought from Texas (which was an "over-sized" one..., it turned out that Dina is a petite looking woman...we hope her husband is build a bit larger ). And we extended a invitation to her and her family, if they ever were to come to Texas, they are welcome at our home.

Our future plans are going back to Greece next year, this time, maybe an island cruise and we will be looking forward to work with Fantasy Travel again and of course, with our favorite employee, Dina.

Thanks for the wonderful website, Matt and guiding us to Fantasy Travel. Keep up the excellent work ! Thanks.

Nicole and Robert from Texas.

P.S. I included some pics from our trip....ah, wonderful Greece.

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Hello, Matt!

My name is Fabio and sent some emails to you requesting information about Greece in winter.
What I can say is it was the best trip I've done so far!
The Attalos Hotel is excellent! It is close to Plaka and the staff is extremely kind.
After three days in Athens, we rented a car from Avanti Rent a Car with Mr. Elias Manou and went to Peloponnese.
Sparta and Mystras were pleasant surprises. We stayed two nights in Sparta and a program that my wife and I liked to do was going to the ancient acropolis and seeing sunset on Mount Taygetos.
We were also in Crete for six days and half the time was devoted to Chania and the surrounding areas. Crete in February is green and full of flowers, and the climate is quite nice!

Thank you for the tips!

Next July we will go to Greece once more. Of course it is time for sun, beaches and clubbing! Too hot for trekking. And everything is a little bit more expensive and booked in advance...

We are thinking about Rhodes, Santorini and one or two additional islands in the Cyclades (Milos, Serifos, Naxos or Folegandros). We have about two weeks to make this circuit. The rest of the time in Greece (4 days) we intend to visit the island of Aegina (a day trip from Athens), the Temple of Poseidon (on Cape Sounion), the ruins of Corinth and even buy tickets for Epidravos Festival.

I need some tips to prepare this trip. I want to combine touristic with out of the beaten track places.

Best regards from Brazil,

Fábio Lima da Silva.

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A good number of months ago I e-mailed you about a trip I was planning with my 16 year old granddaughter to Greece. I'd not been there before and didn't know where to start planning. You gave me several ideas and followed up by suggesting several Greek travel agencies for me to contact. I contacted Fantasy Travel and within a day, Vicky Asloglou had put together a two week stay which included a four day land tour, three islands, and transfers. We didn't need to do anything except show up! Everything went perfectly, and we enjoyed an experience completely free from stress or confusion. Even the weather cooperated. I expected it to be really too hot in July, but it was quite nice.

Thanks so much for your suggestions. Now that I've made the trip I hope to get back again in the next year or so. This time I will have a better idea of what I want to see and where I want to go, and I'll certainly be contacting Vicky again when I start to plan the trip.

We took day tours on our island stays, which we arranged after our arrival at each place, and they were also well done and very interesting, although, at age 75 I have decided "No More Donkeys!" I could get on but I had a heck of a time getting off!

Thanks again for your help. It was much appreciated.

Deloris Perez, Fremont, CA

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hey matt, I just wanted to draw a conclusion to this excursion! I spent
the last whole week in Greece ans LOVED it!!! Thank you for all of your
help, it was tremendous and so smooth. My Greece experience was beyond
my imagination and such an amazing country and culture, especially in
the off season and less tourist islands! Thanks again so very much!
alicia hoffart                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

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Dear Matt, We had a great trip in Greece! And now we already back to China. Thanks your information and suggestion before we go to Greece, it's really useful! This year is year tiger, hope you have a wonderful year! Regards! Arthur _ Yan Yong

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Hello, I have just read your 'day in your life" written the 7/23 ; very interesting, I like very much your style, as much as french people can understand it.I keep reading your web site from time to time, it is for me the most interesting site for greek travelers, as I write in my own site which is of course … the most interesting site for greek travelers... written in french.

Best
regards
Fabrice

www.vacances-en-grece.fr

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Matt,

My wife and I just wanted to send you a quick thank you for your help and advice regarding our trip to Greece. We spent our honeymoon there for 10 days in mid July, we loved every part of it! Specifically, thank you for recommending Stavros Melissinos's shop. We found it on our last day in Athens and my wife was able to buy some beautiful sandals. Everyone in the shop was incredibly warm and friendly, not to mention talented. What a great find, thank you again for recommending it!

After a few days in Athens we spent the rest of our trip on Santorini; simply incredible. We stayed at the Oia Mare Villas. We found the villas beautiful and serene. I can't even describe the sunsets we saw every night; but I don't have to as you know exactly how beautiful they are. The only thing we didn't anticipate we the stairs! Boy, what a workout.

Well, thanks again for all your help. I will absolutely recommend you to anyone else who is interested in visiting Greece and needs an honest and informative site to visit.

Take care,
Troy and Erin Smith

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Matt,

Your website was very helpful in planning my fourth trip to Greece this past June. I took my two boys ages ten and twelve for seventeen days. We all agreed the trip was too short. I kept running across your website while I was planning the trip, and something said to trust you. The best part of our trip was staying at the Hotel Stavros on Sifnos. From my first contact with Sarah I knew I had found a treasure. Through a series of emails she helped me plan ferry travel and hotels on other islands. In the end I found Karmeres to be the heart and soul of Sifnos, albeit the port town. I found it the most friendly of all the places we traveled to. We also stayed at the Hotel Attalos in Athens several times as we as we passed through Athens. While the rooms were a little sparse they were clean and the staff was always gracious and helpful. I was able to dump 15 pounds of clothing we were never going to wear, which they took care of. The view from the roof was amazingly reflective of the human condition and my own personal life. I never tired of it. I am now planning trip number five. I would like to cycle as I am a gear head and was impressed with the upgraded roads throughout. I am also thinking I could afford to retire in Greece something I have long since given up hope of doing in the states. So thanks for suggestions they helped make our trip a real success.

Laurence

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Hi there, Matt,
It has been too long in coming, but I just wanted to say that my family used your site to plan a 3 week trip to Greece. It was two years ago and we still rave about it as our "best vacation ever". We stayed in Athens for a week and then the rest of the time at two different locations on Lesvos. Amazing, really.

I booked a couple things through your site, so I hope that helps you keep going.

We plan on living in Europe for about 3 more years and I hope to get at least one more trip to Greece in before we head back to the States.

Thanks again and kind regards,
Scott P
Vienna, Austria

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Hi Matt, I love your web site! You rock! I surf web pages for a living (I teach web design) and I have seldom (never?) read a series of pages that are as joyful, passionate, and inbued with great personality as yours are. I tell my students that "Content Rules" in web pages and your site is a fantastic example of that principle. My husband and I are headed for Sifnos, Milos, and Athens in a couple of weeks and I think I've read and enjoyed and learned from every single one of your pages. Thanks for this labour of love. You're what the best of the web is all about.

Susan

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Matt,

I just got from two weeks in Greece with my wife. I've done quite a bit of travelling and never even considered using a travel agent, but I took your recommendation from your site and was very happy. It's amazing how stress-free a vacation becomes when your taxis and accommodations are already lined up! I only used 2% of your guide and it dramatically improved our trip. Thanks again!

Best Regards,

SHANE H
FSM Turkmenistan/Uzbekistan

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Hi Matt,

I wrote to you enquiring about Athens in June...

And i took all your advice, and i really had the time of my life in Athens, Greece!

Fantasy Travel really made our trip to Santorini effortless and seamless, I must really thank you for recommending them.

Our stay at Remezzo villas was unforgetable, as was the caldera view. I count our blessings that our initial choice of accomodation was not available. The village of Imeriovigli is the best place to stay on Santorini.

It was so convenient travelling on the metro as well.

I really hope to come back to Athens again, with its magnificent geography, addictive greek yogurt with honey!! and of course its beautiful people.

Thank you for the wonderful memories.

Claira from Singapore

My name is Laura. I live in Georgia. I wanted to tell you that I have used your site and love visiting it!! After finding your site I went to Athens, Mykonos, Santorini and other areas and have fallen in love with Greece. I wish I could visit it as often as you do, so I live through your website!Photography is a love of mine and there isn't anywhere else I have been that has so much to capture.

I'm hoping to return with some friends of mine and celebrate my birthday in Greece!! I will no doubt return to your site for more tips! Thank you for opening this world to me !!

- Laura

Hi, just returned from Greece and I wanted you to know I appreciate your information and website.

We used Fantasy Travel to book hotels and a private driving tour with guides and they were excellent to work with and the details were perfect. Not one hitch. (and this was for my group of 8)

Of course the people in Greece, as you said, are the best. We will definitely return. Thanks,

Jeanne Ann Reid

Dear Matt-

Just to say (along with many others) how much I enjoy your site. I have been reading it for YEARS and it has been a great help on travels to Athens. Right now I read it as therapy when I am at my desk at work. I am enjoying your pages on Myitilini. Have you ever seen the photo book Vanishing Greece? Wonderful. Love your music page also. Keep up the good work. You are a palikari!

Sifis

Damn it Barrett!!!

I am sure that in some book of law, somewhere, it is stated that it is illegal to be this good at something! And on top of it to be this funny...... Suspicious suspicious, I say.

Well sir,

Whenever I googlificate anything remotely interesting regarding Greece your sites pop up first. I am impressed. I meant to e-mail you last summer to tell you I though you were really good but now I'll just say you are annoyingly good.

It is late and I am tired but I am happy to know the name of the cd of Tsitsanis I was listening to. So I am suppose I must say thank you.

Kali nihta!

Upma

(Please don't stop being so irritatingly good at writing, photographing, traveling etc etc etc. etc. etc.)

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I OWE YOU SO BIG TIME !

I told you YEARS ago you should print a book, YOU ARE THE GREEK ORACLE INCARNATE !

how do I keep saying thank you to you?

you are something else !

thank you ! ( again)

s

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Hello Matt, I have been reading your web sight, and enjoying it very much. When I came to Greece for the 1st time in 1997, I had no preconceived notions about it, I read later or after a trip, but when we got to the Peloponnesos I felt like I had come home, I was raised in the Sierra Navada mts of Calif, and they are so similar, but I fell in love with the people the beautiful sea..the food so I came back every spring and fall..than in 2001 I moved to Athens, than later to Porto Rafti where is home to me. I am in the states right now not liking it at all but will soon be Home on the 22nd of this month , I can't wait, in my heart I am there already...and just wanted to say your web sight really show's the best of Greece thanks keep up the good work...Barbara

Hello Matt,

I wanted to thank you for your website and recommendations. I was given your site by my medical partner. My girlfriends and I used your information. I will only recommend your site in the future. It included everything we needed and then more.

My compliments to Vassilis at Fantasy travel. He even worked out the kinks when the air traffic controllers went on strike. He was so accomodating. I only wish I met him in person. That is for my next trip which we are already discussing!!

We stayed at both Hotel Attalos and Hotel Astor, wonderful, and terrific views. I stopped by Byzantine, loved Laura, and walked away with 4 exquisite pieces rather than the planned one.

We also had Teresa as our guide for the Acropolis. I loved her emphasis on symbolism and Greek mythology. She asked me to proof read her oral presentation the afternoon of our tour. I told her I could also proof read future book chapters as long as she taught me a little Greek along the way.

Thank you. I will recommend your site to everyone who expresses any interest in Greece.

Sincerely, Lisa S
MD

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Hi Matt,

Our trip to Greece was terrific, we loved Mykonos, Santorini and (not as much) Athens. I spent a lot to time on your fabulous website before we left which helped me look forward to everything and I printed out pages and pages which I carried around with me.

We went to Art Space and had a grand time with Adonis, we bought 2 bottles of his excellent white wine, I wish I could have bought more. We looked for the caves which are now full of trash but we had fun anyway. We ate at the Dolphin and Liminaki restaurants and had delicious meals and laughed with the other customers. We followed your directions to the Plaka instead of the crowd and visited Brettoes and bought Ouzo.

How coincidental that when we got home the travel section of the Washington Post referred to your column about planning a trip to Greece! You were also mentioned in the guidebook I was using but they spelled your name wrong (frappe with ouzo).

I can't wait to go back! Thanks for all your advice!

Judy Lukacs

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Hi Matt,

I just wanted to say a big thank you for your amazingly honest travel guide!

I first started using your site back in 2005 when planning my second trip to Greece. Since then I have visited again twice and can't seem to get enough of Greece (and your guide)! My husband and I visited Sifnos last year after reading your guide and it is honetsly one of our favourite islands right along side Paros.

We are travelling Europe again this year but have decided to visit Croatia and Turkey (and are stopping through Rhodes for a couple of nights though).

So thank you again and look forward to organising my 2010 trip to Greece using your site.

Thanks,
Samara Zarimis

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Dear Matt, Before leaving for Greece, a friend recommended your website and I believe it made all the difference in how much my daughters and I enjoyed our time there. Because one of my daughters was studying in Athens, we chose to stay there and take day trips from our hotel. On your recommendation, we contacted George, the famous taxi driver of Greece, and were treated to the services of his son, Dionisis (Dennis, to us). He was a wealth of information not only while we were with him, but also for suggestions of activities and places to go while we were on our own. He took us to restaurants and shops that had specialties we would never have known without him, all the while answering any questions we had regarding his limitless knowledge of Greek history, sites and his amazing country. When we told him that we wanted to visit Rhodes, he took us to a travel agent that fit into our busy schedule and helped us negotiate our arrangements. He even contacted another recommended driver, Nick, in Rhodes and arranged for him to meet us at the airport, and then called the next day (while we were with Nick) to be sure things had gone smoothly. In Rhodes, Nick was his equal in every aspect: caring, informative and also a fabulous guide with an obvious love of Rhodes and its unique history. ( I told Nick that I thought Greece should give him an award as a Good Will Ambassador. Dennis also would qualify out of Athens.) Their knowledge and personalities magnified our experience by sharing so much background information about Greece's rich history, that we came home with not only wonderful memories and fabulous pictures, but also a deeper understanding of life in Greece from ancient times to the present. Thank you so much for sharing your love of Greece on your amazing website. I can't imagine what we would have missed had we not visited it before we left New York! Sincerely,
Kathy Grossman

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Hi Matt,

It seems like eons since we first exchanged notes about Greece and you generously provided me with invaluable information. I have since been to Greece and am now back with nothing but good words and good feelings for my trip and all the information I received from you in my quest for the perfect trip.

The links to different sites was always very helpful and my traveling companion checked them all, made notes, and we diligently followed your advice and were always pleased. We did not get the chance to hook up with George, the taxi driver, in Athens because of our failure to act early but we did find a most delightful driver through our hotel, The Electra Palace.

Your absolute best recommendation was for Fantasy Travel. We got everything we could have hoped for and more by way of assistance, recommendations and bookings for our trip. It was a genuine pleasure to step off of the plane in Athenson our first day and be met by their agent who delivered us to the agent for our car, be given a packet of vouchers for our next 25 days, explicit instructions and to have everything operate smoothly with courteous helpful people.

The very best part of Fantasy Travel is Vassilis Comitas. I could never say enough good things about this man who before, during and after the trip has been in constant contact and “mothered” us through the entire process without ever causing us to have the “oh Lord, he’s a travel agent (!)” feeling. On the first day of our arrival I, unfortunately, became very ill with some form of stomach flu. Vassilis was calling the hotel just to check if we arrived safely and if everything was okay and he was advised of my problem. Even though this was the Easter holiday, and, as you had previously advised us everyone was involved in holiday activities, Vassilis called everyday to check on me, see if we needed anything and arranged for a doctor to be on call, if needed. I didn’t need one but it was really wonderful to know that we had a good friend in Greecewho cared about what was happening.

During the trip we were constantly in touch with Vassilis for just about anything that came up. We wanted a hotel change – he arranged it immediately. In Athenswe wanted a serious hotel upgrade – he took care of it with no problem. If we had a small problem with not knowing something or needing to change a ticket – he was always on the other end of a phone or computer.

All of our arrangements were smooth and efficient. We needed only to arrive at a high-speed line or a hotel, hand over our voucher and we were well taken care of. And after getting to know us he profiled us very well and made accomodation accordingly. For a trip of 25 days everything went very effortlessly and if a problem came up Vassilis fixed it.

We visited the mainland, Peloponnese (Vassilis arranged a special visit to Monemvassia), we came back up through Olympia(where we met another delightful friend), crossed the unbelievable Antírrio Bridgeand continued on to Métsovo, then Metéora and Delphi. After that we traveled to Rhodes, Crete, Santorini and Mykonos, ending in Athens. Every place we visited was better than the other. Vassilis’ recommendations for number of days in each place and for special hotels were right on the mark. The recommendations from your website were perfect and we used most of them.

A couple of things I think may not have been on your site but are tried and tested by us. I used the Michelin Green Guide and the DK Eyewitness Travel Guides for readily available information while traveling. The DK has one book for mainland and one for islands. I highly recommend all three. In addition, since we were doing a lot of driving I used Michelin map National 737 for Greece. With all due respect I found it to be more helpful than the maps you had recommended on your website and easily available through Amazon. You may want to have a look at it. My other great find was a holistic massage therapist on Mykonos– Jo Church. What a wonderful thing to enjoy at any point in a trip, but in my case especially at the end after climbing thousands of feet (in total) and riding donkeys.

I will be writing an article on our trip for International Travel News and my agent may throw it to some other sources. Please know that Matt Barrett, Vassilis Comitas and Fantasy Travel will be highly recommended for anyone considering a self directed tour to anywhere in Greece.

Thank you for your good advice, your encouragement and your wealth of information. I am already thinking about my next trip to this wonderful part of the world.

Pat

Hello Matt and Happy New Year,

I want to thank you for the information posted on your website. Especially the link to "George, the Taxi Guy".

Upon arrival, and my flight arrived early, there was someone there to greet me. I just spent the day at Delphi, an amazing place. I had lunch at a little restaurant, up the hill from Delphi, that had beautiful view of the entire valley. I am in love with Greece.

I'm getting married this summer and we'll be coming back for our honeymoon.

Thank you so much!
Christopher

Matt--just to let you know, Santorini was a fabulous suggestion and working through Patra at Fantasy Travel was excellent, too. Many thanks.

Derek Booth

Matt,

I just want to thank you for your website. I have not had a chance to sit down and do this and seeing your Chistmas in Greece section reminded me. Looking at your pics brought it all back to me. Looking at them was more like looking at pictures of home rather than some exotic place you hope to visit. My husband and I had the most wonderful time and if it wasn't for your site we never would have found Fantasy Travel who were unbelieveably wonderful! We were there early September and hated to leave. I hope we can get there again, this time with friends because we just could not express how wonderful it was in words. Thanks again.

Best regards,
Jennifer Spaeth

Hi Matt,

Just wanted to once again say thanks for such an awesome and informative web site. We just got back last night and we had such a great holiday. Some of my summary info-

- Fantasy Travel rocks! We've done a lot of European travelling and always on our own without a travel agent. I took your advise and used them this time and was so glad. What a relief to have all the transfers taken care of. They were very thorough and I just can't say enough....

- We ate at Psaras in Athens and loved it. Excellent food, not bad prices, and wonderful ambiance.

- we stayed in Mykanos and didn't find it that expensive. Well, really no more so than Athens or Santorini. Also, though a lot is going on in that island, it still is very beautiful and one doesn't HAVE to party all night! Found a small, wonderful restaurant with amazing service and food, but not too expensive.

- Santorini was more expensive than we expected.

- We bought a metal bottle of ouzo at Brettos and told him we were there because of you. He seemed happy about that.

Thanks again. We loved Greece. Long, relaxing meals, excellent food, Greek music, beautiful, friendly people, the most beautiful islands, souvlaki's (thank you for that guide - very helpful), etc., etc...... We can see why people like you move there!

Cheers!

Ian & Teressa

We just got back from Europe - we were on the Grand Princess - 12 day Mediterranean cruise from Venice to Rome. Thank you for your extensiveve guides to the Greek Islands - they were extremely helpful and we only went on one shore excursion with the ship - all of the rest of our excursions we did with private guides. There was one guide in particular that really stands out in our minds and his name is Michael Pitropakis of Rhodes Private Tours. He was so professional and friendly and helped to make our day in Rhodes so special and unforgettable. We met Michael at the Rhodes port around 8:30AM and he drove us through the magnificent Rhodes Medieval-town. We then proceeded for a scenic drive to Lindos, stopping on the way to buy gorgeous leather jackets and beautiful pottery. As we approached Lindos, we could see the Acropolis and then the spectacular bay and beach below it. We stopped at the beach, swam in the sea and ate a long, leisurely lunch at the Palestra Restaurant, which I would highly recommend. The food was superb and we chatted for awhile with the chef/owner and his wife to complement them over and over! We stayed at the beach for awhile and then Michael drove us back to the ship. It was truly a day I didn't want to end and Michael made it very special for us! My husband and I will definitely go back to vacation in Rhodes again. What a beautiful island!

I would recommend Michael P. to anybody planning to go to Rhodes.

Sally Moskowitz Bethesda, Maryland

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Wow -- we just got back from Greece a few days ago....I had no idea how much we would LOVE IT .....it was Great.....My favorite are Santorini and Hydra!

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Hi Mr. Barrett

My name is Apollo. I'm 25 living in California. My mother is Greek-American, my father is from Greece. He moved back there after my parents split, and for the last three summers I've traveled to visit him and the rest of that (large!) side of the family. I made my first trip alone to my father's villiage in the Peleponese in 2003. I'm grateful that I came across your site that year as well. The information you provide is great, and if anyone asks me for resources concerning traveling to Greece, I'll definately refer them.

I especially want to thank you for you for you writings on pre-trip anxiety and flight anxiety. I really become a nervous wreck before I take a trip, (going to Ellada in June with family) and it was nice to learn I'm not alone. Flying and the whole experience of airports is the worse part for me. The boredom and discomfort is almost excruciating! I really enjoyed reading your tips for passing time on the plane, and again learning that someone else shares those anxities.

Thanks and keep up the wonderful work!

Apollo

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Hi Mr. Barrett, how are you ?

I don,t know if you remember me but i wrote to you last summer to make a trip to greece from mid-july to mid-august. And i made it. For me it was not only a trip or a vacation it was an accomplishment. I made the trip of my life it was so nice and intense that now, i feel like a new person, i have a different way of thinking, because of this incredible trip. When my friend knew and my parents that i decided to go to greece they was all like, why greece ? why you want to go this far ? But in my mind, the place i wanted to go last summer was greece. I don,t really know why, but inside of me there was something that was pushing me to go there. When i arrived at the ariport in Montreal ( Quebec), alone with my parents and they were leaving me so ican catch my plane in my mind it was like : WoW, now i really in my way to go very far from my country and i,m alone !.
But there was nos stress at all, when i arrived in Athens and i saw all the greek signs and people coming from everywhere, speaking greek, english, italian i was lost alittle bit. But, the first day i was at my hostel ( Athens backpackers, the best hostel in athens with a rooftop bar incredible!)
i was already feeling good and free. I was already speking with people from everywhere and making new friends, that was the party ! it was just day one !
After Athens i went to IOS. What a paradise it was for me!!( 21 years old ) and for all the crowd of hundred young people that where there at this time of the year, i have no word to describe what i felt there. I slept 2 night at the Ios palace ( INcredible, unbeatable view, its near the best beach of the island and near everything, I recommend it to everyone, it woth every penny i pay to sleep there) and i slept 5 night at the hermes hotel 9 very nice too, i recommend it too, very nice pool, with lots of nice young people. I went to the bar every night and i met new people evey day!! Many italian there ! In Ios every body is son nice and it,s very easy to make friends. After this i went to Santorini 4 days very nice, i have hundred pictures of that island. The sunst is unthikeably nice.
After i went to the most charming, entertaining, fantastic, unthinkeably nice place of my life : MYKONOS. Wow, even if it,s more italian than greek, and there is almost no real greek tradition there, i was 21 years old in a place that is in a league of it,s own! The girls were so nice that sometime i was pinching me to know that i was not dreaming !! I spend 10 days there and by chance that i had a plane ticket to exit this place, because i would have stay there more time.
The only think that was missing me was the greek tradition.

So, Mr Barrett, i wrote you this letter to you because i really want to thank you so much because if i haven,t foun your site on the internet, my trip to greece would probably have been impossible , or very hard. I took all my infromation on your site and that,s your personnal info that made me chose to go to greece and spend big money on a place that i didn,t even know one year ago, that is saying alot about the effort you put on that site( it is a achievemnt for me) I also want to thanks so many tiem the traval agency FANTASY Travel , i made my reservation in Ios with them and they send me a letter in my hostels with many different informations to guide me in Ios. They send a taxi to pick me up at my hostel and bring me in the port at my boat, so there was no stress for me. I was very happy to pay money and have a sevice so great. Thank you all the member of fantasy travel, i will made businness with you again anytime!
I was 21 years old, i was from Quebec ( french Canadian), i was alone, my fisrt langage spoken was french, and i went in greece. That was the rip of my life and i would have stay there all summer long ( if i had the money :):):):) You should have see my friends faces when i showed them the pictures from Ios and Mykonos, and the girls !!!
Yes, greece is not cheap for a canadian, but i made an achievement i spend 1 month there alone and i made more friend than in 21 year in my own country.
So, for all the young peolple that want to go there and have no idea what greece look like in summer i have just one thing to say to you : GO FOR IT!

SO finally, mr barrett thank you so much , because you made possible to me a experience that will stay in my mind all my life.

Yann Veillette
Quebec, Canada .
In went in greece from mid-july to mid-august

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Hi Matt,

Thank you for all your help in giving us information on our travels to Greece. We had a marvelous 17 days, thanks to Makis at Fantasy Travel. We spent 5 days in Athens, off and on, 3 days in Mykonos, 3 days in Santorini, 3 days on the Peloponnese Peninsula, and two fabulous days on Poros with Zefy. Zefy told us you have photos of being with them. What a wonderful hostess she is.

We were gone from our home for 7 weeks, the rest of the time spent with family and friends on the east coast, Ma., Me., Vt., N.H. and Ct. We saw the beautiful fall foliage and spent a wonderful week at one of our favorite spots Ogunquit, Me. It’s good to be home.

Thanks for all of your help. Everything went like a dream.

Cecil and Eleanor Clardy

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Hi Matt,

Just wanted to thank you for the invaluable information on your website. Our family (2 adults - my husband and I - and our 2 kids, ages 8 and 5) just got home from a fantastic trip to Greece and we used a lot of your recommendations and were really, really pleased with the outcome!

We availed ourselves of George the famous taxi driver's services in Athens - actually, he didn't drive us, he sent a guy named Mikas instead - and we were so happy with Mikas that we engaged him for an additional two days including having him take us to Corinth as well as our original plan of going to the Temple of Poseidon.

In additon to spending some time in Athens, we went to Sifnos and Santorini. Santorini was an obvious choice for us to visit, having been there 3 times already (we wanted to show the kids). But we went to Sifnos largely due to what you wrote about Sifnos being a great island to take kids - and it sure was. Not only did our kids love it - but my husband I agreed that it was the highlight of our trip.

Thanks again for all of your valuable input - you helped make the best 2 weeks of the entire year even better!

Best regards,

Jill

Hi Matt

I have just spent some time on your website, it is the best I have come across for information on Rhodes. Yesterday 7/01/2005 I booked up for our second trip to Rhodes this next October, we previously stayed in Pefkos and visited Lindos and the old town. This year we are staying 2ks outside of Rhodes at the Esperides Beach Hotel, I have read some good reviews about it. Although its a way off yet, my wife and son are looking forward to it, and with the information received from your excellant site. I am sure you will have enhanced our forthcoming holiday to Rhodes.

Thanks for such a great site.

Regards

Doug H & Family

England

I would like to commend you on your excellent and extensive site on Greece info. I'm happy that I discovered it 2 months before my trip to Greece, because that's about how long it took me to go through it. I recommend it highly. I have just returned from my 14 day trip to Kos, Naxos, Santorini and Athens and wanted to let you know about the relocation of the famous Poet and Sandalmaker Shop." Melissinos Art" has moved from 89 Pondrossou St to 2 Aghias Theklas St. just off of Ermou. I am sure you would like to change this on your website. Thanks again, Terri , Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada

Dear Mr. Barrett - Your guide to Greece was most helpful and my family and I just returned from a successful trip there. George, though we only met his associate Tom and his son - made our pick up at the airport a breeze and the tour of the city very nice and pleasant. Litsa at Fantasy travel was most helpful and organized much of our trip throughout the islands. I did want to update you that we stayed at the Electra Palace Hotel, which was very nice, but they no longer have a rooftop pool or garden (and what a wasted view!) They said they may add another one back in next year. Other than that, your guide was pretty accurate.

Many thanks - Jane W.

I've just returned from 25 days traveling in Greece to Athens, Crete, Santorini, Mykonos, Delos, and Rhodes. Your newsletter was my primary source of information to plan the trip. The weather in October, the food in every restaurant and snack bar and especially the people were all wonderful. Your recommendations all worked out perfectly.

First, I read over your newsletter and recommendations for visiting the islands. I made out a tentative itinerary and contacted Dolphin Hellas. I received a response immediately from Uli Perschau. What a professional. She worked with me, made recommendations, changes when I changed my mind, and had everything organized perfectly. Having all the vouchers for hotels, tickets for ferries and airlines made the whole trip go so smoothly. No waiting in line or trying to find the ticket counter.

I also took your advice and contacted George Kokkotos. He arranged all of our transfers, and if he was not available, he sent another driver equally professional, English speaking, non-smoking, with an immaculate Mercedes. I totally agree that the extra few Euros you pay are worth it. We also took a private full day with George to Delphi. This may have been my husband's favorite day in Greece. George gave us a comprehensive introduction to Greece, the language and its history, as he showed us the countryside, a monastery, the ruins at Delphi, and took us to a wonderful little restaurant. Since this was our second day, it really set the stage for an enjoyable vacation. Now that we have returned home, we feel like we have a family friend in Greece.

The travel cell phone through Tom Mazarakis was a real money saver, and a convenience that I would not travel without. I had Tom program in numbers for George, Uli, a few folks back home, and most of the hotels. I confirmed all my transfers with George just before arriving, called Uli if I had a question, and the hotel if I needed a taxi from a distant spot. I always felt I had the professional with the answers right at my finger tips. I didn't get to meet Tom in person, but again, after talking with him on email, I felt I had a friend and a point of contact.

As you said, the overnight ferry, Lissos, to Crete was great. It was comfortable and clean, and we truly enjoyed the trip. I was very impressed with the ferries throughout Greece. They were excellent, and much better than any I've taken in the U.S.

Driving in Greece was an "interesting" experience. We had reserved cars for Crete and Rhodes only, as on the other islands and in Athens we really didn't need a car. My husband did pretty well on Crete, driving in the country and from Chania to Iraklion but once we got to Iraklion, finding the Galaxy Hotel was another story. I found it impossible to read the map, read the street signs, deal with one-way streets, motor bikes and cars darting everywhere. So, I jumped out, got a taxi, and my husband followed. We didn't drive the car again until we left for the airport 2 days later. Based on that experience, I called Uli on my Greek Travel Phone, canceled the rental car in Rhodes, called George on my Greek Travel Phone, he recommended another George, George Sialadakis to take care of us in Rhodes. I called the new George on my Greek Travel Phone, and it was all arranged. He took us on a great tour to the sites around the island and to Lindos. Again, we learned so much about Rhodes and the history, and the people that it made us feel at home for the rest of the vacation.

The hotels that Uli recommended were all very nice. We especially enjoyed the Casa Delfino in Chania, the Santorini Palace in Santorini, the Cavo Tagoo in Mykonos, and the Lindos Mare in Rhodes. It is hard to recommend specific restaurants, as each one was a peak experience.

Another thing that really made the trip more enjoyable was reading many of the books listed on you Web site. I strongly recommend, This Way to Paradise, by Willard Manus for anyone who is visiting Lindos. Greek Unorthodox by Elizabeth Boleman-Herring was a hoot, and at the same time really prepared me for the Greek culture. Her Pocket Guides to Athens and the Aegean Islands were invaluable. Another book I enjoyed was Hellas by Nicholas Gage. He is a wonderful writer and a joy to read. I also read his wonderful, but very sad book, Eleni, about his family and the civil war. Anyone visiting the Palace of Konosos really should read The King Must Die by Mary Renault. Finally, I studied the language with Dr. George Balanis's Read and Speak Greek CD-ROM, and found it very helpful. Another month in Greece, and I think I might be able to speak the language just a little. On the way home, I found Paul Johnston's new book, A Deeper Side of Blue, and continued my Greek adventure all the way back to Colorado.

In summary, your newsletter, Uli Perschau at Dolphin Hellas, George Kokotos (Yinnis, Nick, and George Sialadakis), Tom Mazarakis Greek Travel Phones, together made our vacation the best we've ever had. I strongly recommend that anyone visiting Greece for the first time seriously consider them. Just picture arriving in Athens and someone is waiting for you with a sign with your name on it. You are off to your hotel with you luggage in minutes. Arriving at the hotel you have a cell phone and all your hotel vouchers and tickets waiting for you. My husband and I were impressed. My only regret is that we didn't see Lesvos. We will do that next year.

With much appreciation to you, and to all the wonderful people I've mentioned in this note. I hope I have not left anyone out. Thanks so much for helping us to have the best vacation of our lives.

Della J. Bossart
Wellness Consultants

I am these days in Stockholm as a Masters Student and was

giving a thought to visit Greece this Dec. Stumbled upon your website and

what a remarkable job you have done. I am writing just to congratulate you

for your hard work and the veritable master piece of travel you have created.

Wish there were more Matt's one for each beautiful country. ;-)

Love you work so much

Pankaj

Hi Matt!

I am a travel agent, based in Johannesburg (South Africa). About 6 years ago I worked for an agency which specialised in Greece only. While working there I discovered your website by sheer accident & it very quickly became my 'Bible on Greece'. I am unashamed in saying that your site provided a lot of those special touches to my clients' intineraries & my clients' thought I was wonderful!

After a 5 year break from the travel industry, I have recently started working for a mainly leisure agency again. I tend to be given most of the clients who want to go to Greece & have been cursing the fact that I didn't keep your website address in a safe place. Today, much to my great excitement, I have once more run accross your website by accident. Yes, it has grown a lot but it still offers invaluable tourism information on Greece & I'm thrilled to have found it again!

Congrats on a brilliant site!

Best Regards

Penny Philip

Independent Internet Consultant

Thompsons Leisure Travel

Hi Matt,

It's been nearly a year since our incredible trip to Greece. Three fabulous weeks of Athens, 3 islands (Mykonos, Santorini and Sifnos), and the Peloponnese were in large part due to your wonderful website. We used Aegean Thesaurus as a point of reference and Barbara there was absolutely fantastic. Due to your website, I was able to plan an unforgetable trip to a country that was beautiful. We enjoyed immersing ourselves in the culture and walking everywhere! We rented jeeps and scooters on every island. We were able to get to the interior of each island and explore what this wonderful country has to offer.

I was so pleased with all the information I found on your website. I was just going through my "favorites" and saw your website listed there and wanted to drop you a note about how thankful I was for your hard work!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! If we ever get the money again, I would love to travel to Greece and do it all over again! The people were wonderful and your insights and advice were right on!

I also appreciate your quick responses to email I had sent to you a few times. I have given your website out to many, many folks wondering about how to spend their time in Greece.

Thank you for this service you provide.

Best regards,

Dee Grier, Chattanooga, TN