Greece
Jaafer Khani
Welcome to the cradle of modern democracy and the birthplace of the western civilization. As I walked the streets of Athens, Greece, I couldn’t help but wonder that beneath my footsteps laid one of the strongest empires in human history.
Greece wasn’t part of the original plan and only landed here because I was unable to enter Italy. And am I ever glad I came here. Greece is a place for romantics, for opportunists, and for knowledge seekers. I landed here with the intent to take in as much of Greece as possible. Most people land in Athens and stay for a few days to explore the vast history. The food culture is a must try and there are so many wonderful restaurants. I highly recommend trying street vendors and especially there ‘Gyro’ which you can take on the go.
From Athens, I went south and visited Santorini island. I was in Greece during the offseason so the island and surrounding wasn’t as populated with tourists. Santorini speaks for itself and is known as the island of white and blue homes that engulf the entire place. I recommend 2-3 nights here to explore the island and take those Instagram worthy pictures.
From Mykonos, I headed back to Athens and rented a vehicle. I highly recommend this option since its very cheap for a vehicle rental in Greece (Use Europcars) and I travelled north towards Thessaloniki. I stopped along the way in Larissa, Greece and met a wonderful organization that focuses on enhanced educational methods and creating the entrepreneurs of tomorrow. Following that I headed to Thessaloniki where I met a priest that changed the lives of an entire community that has been neglected. I also met a lady who’s doing incredible work in sustainability, environmental awareness, and authors books for refugees. She does it all. For full details on the stories, please visit our videos section on this webpage to see the stories.
From there I headed back to Athens and flew over to Turkey as the next destination. Overall impressions: The people are wonderful and full of energy; the culture is diverse and very welcoming (you will find many ethnicities in Greece). The geography is breathtaking and full of scenic places. The history… well that speaks for itself.
Travel route and tips:
Start in Athens (2-3 days) Explore the famous landmarks of the great city. If you stay downtown you can walk almost everywhere or bike ride. Uber works great as well.
Take a Ferry to Santorini (Flying is an option too). Spend 2-4 days here exploring the relaxing environment and beautiful restaurants. It’s a very romantic scene (great place to take a spouse).
Take a ferry to Mykonos (2-3days). Also, relaxing and wonderful downtown streets that are tiny and cute (Must see).
Take a ferry or flight back to Athens. Pick up car (Europcars has extremely reasonable deals, drive north to Thessaloniki (about 4 hours). Visit some of the amazing history there as well). Stop along in Larissa and explore (2-5 days). I didn’t get to see too much since I was on a time crunch, But I do recommend visiting the region.