Basics - The Rough Guide to Greece - page 24

Tour operators

Greek Islands Club UK T 020/8232 9780,
W gicthevillacollection.com. Specialist in upmarket villas with private
pools, especially in the Ionian islands.
Houses of Pelion UK T 0870/199 9191, W pelion.co.uk. Local
specialist offering an excellent collection of inland cottages, houses and
apartments on the Pílio (Pelion) peninsula.
Pure Crete UK T 01444/881 402, W purecrete.com. Lovely,
converted cottages and farmhouses in western Crete, plus walking,
wildlife and other special-interest trips.
Simpson Travel UK T 0845/811 6502, W simpsontravel.com.
Classy villas, upmarket hotels and village hideaways in selected areas of
the mainland and on Crete, the Ionians, Skópelos, Sámos and more.
Travel à la Carte UK T 01635/33800, W travelalacarte.co.uk.
Villas and apartments on Corfu, Skiáthos, Paxí, Sými and more, plus
painting, photography, yoga and creative writing courses on Paxí.

Every mainstream tour operator includes Greece
in its portfolio. You'll find far more interesting alter-
natives, however, through the small specialist
agencies . As well as traditional village-based
accommodation and less-known islands, many also
offer walking or nature holidays and other special
interests such as yoga , art and above all sailing ,
with options ranging from shore-based clubs with
dinghy tuition, through organized yacht flotillas to
bareboat or skippered charters.

PACKAGE OPERATORS
Grecian Tours Australia T 03/9663 3711, W greciantours.com
.au. A variety of accommodation and sightseeing tours, plus flights.
Greek Sun Holidays UK T 01732/740317, W www.greeksun
.co.uk. Good-value package holidays mainly in smaller islands of the
Dodecanese, northeast Aegean and Cyclades; also tailor-made
island-hopping itineraries.
Hidden Greece UK T 020/8758 4707, W hidden-greece.co.uk.
Specialist agent putting together tailor-made packages to smaller
destinations at reasonable prices.
Homeric Tours US T 1-800/223-5570, W homerictours.com.
Hotel packages, individual tours, escorted group tours and fly/drive deals.
Good source of inexpensive flights.
Inntravel UK T 01653/617001, W inntravel.co.uk. High-quality
packages and tailor-made itineraries and fly-drives to unspoilt areas of
the mainland, Crete and smaller islands; also walking and other
special-interest holidays.
Olympic Holidays UK T 0800/093 3322, W olympicholidays
.com. Huge package holiday company specializing in Greece; all
standards from cheap and cheerful to five-star, and often a good source of
last-minute bargains and cheap flights.
Simply Travel UK T 0871/231 4050, W simplytravel.co.uk.
Although part of the vast TUI organization, Simply still manages a
personal touch, and has plenty of excellent, upmarket accommodation in
Crete and the Ionian islands as well as the mainland.
Sun Island Tours Australia T 1300/665 673,
W sunislandtours.com.au. Greece specialist offering an assortment
of island-hopping, fly-drives, cruises and guided land-tour options, as
well as tailor-made.
Sunvil Holidays UK T 020/8758 4758, W sunvil.co.uk/greece.
High-quality outfit with a wide range of holidays to all parts of the
mainland and islands.

SMALL GROUP TOURS AND YOGA
HOLIDAYS
Astra US T 303/321-5403, W astragreece.com. Very personal,
idiosyncratic tours, some women-only, led by veteran Hellenophile
Thordis Simonsen, during spring and autumn.
Hellenic Adventures US T 1-800/851-6349 or 612/827-0937,
W hellenicadventures.com. Small-group escorted tours led by
enthusiastic expert guides, as well as itineraries for independent
travellers, cruises and other travel services.
True Greece US T 1- 800/817-7098, W truegreece.com.
Upmarket escorted travel and custom-made trips including special
interests such as cooking.
Free Spirit Travel UK T 01273/564230, W freespirituk.com.
Yoga and meditation in western Crete, plus some walking holidays.
Yoga Plus UK T 01273/276175, W yogaplus.co.uk. Ashtanga yoga
courses in a remote part of southern Crete.
Skyros Holidays UK T 01983/865566, W skyros.com. Holistic
yoga, dance, art, music, “personal growth” and more on the island of
Skýros, as well as well-regarded writers' workshops.

WALKING AND CYCLING
ATG Oxford UK T 01865/315678, W atg-oxford.co.uk. Somewhat
pricey but high-standard guided walks on Crete, select Cyclades islands
and the Máni.
Classic Adventures US T 1-800/777-8090, W classicadventures
.com. Spring or autumn rural cycling tours crossing the north
Peloponnese to Zákynthos, in the Pindus mountains, and on Crete.
Exodus UK T 0845/287 7511, W exodus.co.uk. Week-long treks
exploring southern Évvia.
Explore Worldwide US T 1-800/715-1746, Can T 1-888
/216-3401, UK T 01252/760 000, W exploreworldwide.com. A
variety of tours, many combining hiking with sailing between the islands.
Freewheeling Adventures Canada & US T 1-800/672-0775,
W freewheeling.ca. Eight-day cycling tours of Crete.
Jonathan's Tours T 0033/561046447, W jonathanstours.com.
Family-run walking holidays on Crete, smaller islands and the Pindus
mountains.

VILLA AND APARTMENT AGENTS
Cachet Travel UK T 020/8847 8700, W cachet-travel.co.uk.
Attractive range of villas and apartments in the more unspoilt south and
west of Crete, plus Híos and remote corners of Sámos.
CV Travel UK T 0870/606 0013, W cvtravel.co.uk, US
T 1-866/308-1343, W cvtravelusa.com. Quality villas and luxury
resorts, principally in the Ionian islands and Crete.