Greece: Legends and Landscapes

Our guide Themos was excellent. He was personable, knowledgable, caring, and always interesting. The cooking class, the olive factory and the honey farm visits were highlights for me as I'm more interested in meeting locals and exploring their ways of life than cobbled ruins with plaques.

The itinerary was excellent. All the accommodations were comfortable and clean. Some were beautiful and luxurious. Our Tour Guide, Athina was incredible. She provided historical and mythological context for the sites we were to see. She had a great sense of humor, and was easy to talk with. She made our trip a wonderful experience. Fotis, our bus driver was skilled, friendly, and happy to participate in our conversations. His skill as a driver was amazing! He and Athina were a great team, and together they made our trip memorable.

I chose Blue Roads for my tour of Portugal last year liking the small group and a higher level of tours
It filled all my expectations
The Greece tour was a lower level experience
Some hotels were good and some were a lower level than expected
The included dinners were again a much lower level than expected
Starter and desserts were good but the main courses were a low quality that I or other guests didn’t eat
The guide should notice these plates are going back

The itinerary was excellent, and the pace was comfortable. The Hotels were varied and interesting. All were comfortable. Our Tour Guide, Athina Thomas is amazing! She dealt with 17 different personalities, wants and needs without getting ruffled. She was always patient, gracious and accommodating. She has a lovely personality and everyone on our trip enjoyed her. Her knowledge of Greek history added to the knowledge we were building and it provided context for the amazing sights we were seeing. Our trip was memorable.

This tour is not for someone who has not been to Greece before since the trip is certainly off the beaten path. I give it a three star review for a number of reasons. The first is that there is far too long in between tours or sights to see. On average there was one event a day to participate in…the rest of the day was either spent on the bus on at the hotel. The events were very interesting but not enough of them. The bus rides could have easily been enhanced with information given by the tour director on topics such as the history of Greece, the educational system, the form of governments etc. This would have helped with the boredom as well as providing details about where we were and perhaps what we would be seeing. The hotels were inconsistent….some very nice…some quite below average. There were certainly nothing added to the tour…no complimentary welcome glass of wine, no little sweets on the long bus ride which would have been appreciated.
Overall, the local guides were amazing with their breath of knowledge and enthusiasm and we did interesting things…..the boat ride in the cave, the hike down the mountain, the bee farm, the cooking class…..but not enough to fill the two week!

Relative to other tour companies I've used for international trips with comparable pricing, I thought the trip itinerary was very poor. There was far too much bus/travel time in a very uncomfortable bus while we were rushed through destinations to just move onto the next. There were locations we spent all day traveling to that we spent less than 18 hours in. We weren't given enough time to actually explore and discover amazing sites and spent way too much time in places with little interest. When we requested even as little as 15 extra minutes to explore in places like Olympia where we were only given 30 minutes of time, we were denied. We spent more time in museums than outside in the actual sites! The accommodations were just so so, the level of overall service was really just average (for instance if we needed water on our long bus rides we had to pay for it in the bus). The included meals did not include good choices and the food at those places wasn't as good as places we researched on our own. In fact one place we went was considered the least desirable place in the area according to reviews. Our guide was good and did the best he could for the group and our bus driver should have been given an award for his skill. Overall, for the money, I wouldn't consider another trip with this company due to the "hurry up and sit on the bus" feeling I was left with. The itinerary was very poorly planned and I would rather spend that kind of money on a trip with better planning, better service, more flexibility based on participant input.

Too much time getting from place to place. For example, spent 8 hours getting to Napflio and were there less than 24 hours; 10 mintutes at a significant ruin so we could hurry and get back on the bus; too many one-nighters and disappointing meals at group dinners.

An interesting tour of Greece with an excellent tour guide. We especially liked the information and stories he gave during the bus rides.

Themis was a fantastic tour guide. He addressed my husband’s blocked ear with the utmost professionalism, which I cannot say was the situation with our previous tour when it began!!!
Our driver was also very, good!
Themis kept us updated on all myths and history. He handled a particularly difficult client with the utmost respect from the rest of us. Hence, our tour was not ruined.
We all had a fantastic holiday that will remain with love and respect for Greece and its people.

The pre tour restaurant get together wasn’t the best of places. Acropolis was fantastic. Naxos was a great place to go and the whole south west of Greece we visited was well worth it, especially Olympia and Delphi. A lot of time on a bus but we covered a lot of territory and much more than archeological sites.

Well paced with a nice balance between group and alone time. lovely accomdations, knowledgeable and kind tour guide (Themis) who was committed to sharing in depth Ancient Greece history, mythology and food with us. Side trips to family businesses that produce olive oil, honey, food (cooking class) were bonuses.

If history is your passion this tour is for you. Well run, full of interesting inclusions and excellent tour leader.

A wonderful experience - myths, legends and reality. The tour is well designed with both organised and free time. The tour was made by our guide Themis. His passion and understanding of his country and his ability to pass his knowledge on was remarkable

Would thoroughly recommend this tour, it was amazing, enjoyed every minute, and the other fellow travellers were very friendly and everyone got on really well,
The tour operator Themis, was fantastic, nothing was too much trouble, and was always available for any guidance and information,
The accommodation was excellent and the food was very authentic.

Excellent tour leader and amazing driver. We visited a wonderful selection of incredible sites and learnt lots about both ancient and modern-day Greece. The pace was just right and the team were extremely helpful, providing tips on post-tour destinations. And the participants were a lovely group of people and welcomed me as a solo traveller. Highly recommended.

An unforgettable experience, thankyou Back-Roads. Themis, our guide was amazing sharing his knowledge of the history, legends and landscapes and his care and attention to all our needs. Fortis, our driver was an absolute expert, negotiating the narrow streets, keeping us safe and managing our luggage. The experiences included were so relevant and enjoyable, the meal choices so delicious, and the free time allowed made the trip stress free and allowed us to explore independently as well. I would do it all again and not change anything!

Enjoy the trip expecially the cooking and farm experience and the bees farm

Fantastic itinerary, great pace, amazing sites, excellent accommodation and wonderful well- informed Guide. Good value.

Our tour guide Themis was a wealth of knowledge and fun. The group were great travel companions. Would recommend this tour to all

100%
Good
The tour is fantastic with the guide Mr Themis being very knowledgeable and informative.
His relationship with the other tour guides was infectious and sincere which combined to make the days comfortable.
The driver was conscious of being in charge of the vehicle to keep all safe at all times.
This tour has inspired us to continue with this particular theme in our next adventure.
😎

We thoroughly enjoyed our Back-roads tour of Greece. The accommodation in Athens was good - centrally located, helpful staff, small room. Guide Themis has a casual, laid- back approach but was organised and all our excursions went off well. The local guides employed at the various sites were mainly excellent in my opinion, partic at Olympia. The guide at Acropolis was too detailed and held group in very hot sun standing still too long - people zone out after 15 mins.
The coach and driver were excellent. 17 people meant we had plenty of room.
I particularly liked the 3 night stopover in Nexas to experience island life. ( we did not take the optional full day tour of island but used the day to relax). A highlight was the farm visit and cooking lesson. The Hotel Grande Bretagne in Nafplio would be our favourite hotel. The long hot walk at Mystras was exhausting in 36 deg heat- maybe some shouldn't have gone on it as it was very difficult. Highlight - the museum and site visit at Olympia. Very social group, Themis managed them well. Good value. An experience to remember.

As always, Backroads delivered! Our guide & driver were amazing. If I have to name one highlight, it would be the island of Naxos and our Greek cooking lesson. But all the archaeological sites were amazing, too. The Parthenon, Olympia, Delphi really give you a sense of the ancients. Nafplio was also a beautiful city. Gythieo was a restful break in the middle, being able to swim in the Aegean & Ionian seas. This is a must-do tour! Thank you again, Backroads.

This tour delivered what we expected, visiting the famous historical and other sites of the Peloponnese and it was an exciting adventure.
Our visit to the Acropolis was disappointing, we had an early start wasted because the local guide insisted on long explanations about the gods while the crowds increased. We also felt a visit to the excellent Museum should have been included.
We were disappointed with our time in Naxos, we felt more information would have been helpful, as would a longer introductory walking tour. To learn more about the island we needed to book a tour ourselves at extra cost - this should have been part of our itinerary. the cooking class was excellent.
We would have appreciated much less information about the Greek gods
while travelling and more about Greek history and of the lives of the people in the areas we visited.
The accommodation was excellent, the guides at Delphi and Olympia were outstanding, and we had a great group of co-travellers.
Overall we enjoyed the trip very much and have wonderful memories.

What a trip. Led by the experienced and knowledgeable Themis, this tour went off without a hitch. This is our fourth BR tour and probably the best so far. It was only slightly let down by some of the accommodation which was at best 3 star. That said, it didn’t stop us thoroughly enjoying ourselves.

On the whole the tour was good.
I had trouble checking in and leaving my bag at the first hotel on day 1 - the hotel receptionist was not at all helpful.
Lots of historical information was provided by the tour leader and the guides, but I would have also appreciated some commentary on the area we were travelling through.
There was too much free time on Naxos - it would have been better to have incorporated a tour of Naxos (or pert of the island) on the day we went to the farm. The other alternative would be to have a day less on the island.
The included dinners and lunch were huge in size and quite a lot of food was uneaten.
The hotel we stayed in at Delphi was an alternative hotel. While it was nice I had an attic room with a sloping ceiling and I could not stand up in the shower (I am not at all tall).

Fantastic trip - wonderful and very experience guide, great accompanying guests, awesome scenery and tremendous list of activities, visits, tours and capped off with lots of information about Greek mythology.

Great time of the year to also do a Greek Island and historic site tour. Good selection of hotels and restaurants and even learned a few Greek dance steps. Wonderful luggage management and very comfy bus.

A must tour.

Themis was an outstanding tour leader and our driver for the mainland component, Fotis, was also excellent. Hotels were generally pretty good, although one was poor. All were well located. Highlights were Naxos, Olympia and Delphi. The visit to the bees from Delphi was a surprisingly interesting trip. A good group. The larger bus on the mainland was a bonus, with the group able to spread out.

Interesting places to visit. Historic. Also interesting produce businesses to visit

See response to Customer Experience, as per above

I marvelled at the many historic sites, statues and buildings. All very different from contemporary Australia: a walk back into history!

great tour great tour great tour

Great memories. Wonderful pictures of landscapes and quaint towns.

Small coach. Good mix of experiences within country chosen.

Wonderful background stories told by knowledgeable and friendly guide. Accommodation very comfortable A variety of experiences

Russell Chapman was an excellent guide, with home-based knowledge and fabulous research skills. Marco was an excellent driver, also with local knowledge of the sites and locations.
We would have loved to have spent an extra day at Two Bridges, more time at Lands End, more time in Port Isaac, and more time at Lymes Regis.
In many places, the emphasis appeared to be on visiting Cathedrals and churches, which we were not interested in. The one we were interested in seeing was Salisbury Cathedral and the Magna Carta, which was cancelled at the last moment. The replacement was Winchester Cathedral, where we met an excellent local guide who made the visit memorable.
Accommodation was generally very good, meals were substantial (too much food).