Ancient sites, a Peloponnese hilltop and the caldera in eight nights.
Eight nights from the Acropolis to the caldera, by road and then by helicopter. Athens for the ancient city, the Peloponnese for Nafplio, Epidaurus and quiet beaches, and Santorini for sailing and sunsets, with the Acropolis open to a small private group outside public hours on request, a beekeeping family who supply all of Amanzoe's honey, and the night sky through a telescope above Porto Heli.
01
Days 1 to 3 · two nights
Met at the airport and driven to the coast. The Acropolis Museum and the Acropolis, then the Plaka, the Ancient Agora and the Roman Forum; on request, the Acropolis can be booked for a group of up to five, with a personal guide, outside public opening hours.
Where you stay
Four Seasons Astir Palace sits on a 30-hectare estate in Vouliagmeni on the Athens Riviera, 30 minutes from the city centre, with three private beaches on the Aegean. Rooms are in Arion, sea-view suites in Nafsika, and The Bungalows keep their 1960s style, with eight restaurants, lounges and bars across the estate.
02
Days 3 to 6 · three nights
Three hours by road into the Peloponnese. Nafplio and the climb to the Palamidi fortress, the theatre at Epidaurus and Avgo Monastery, a seven-kilometre hike, and time at the spa and beach club. The beekeeping morning is at the Bairaktaris family apiary, which supplies all of Amanzoe's honey, ending in a tasting of its clove and thyme honeys, and after dark Dr Apostolakis guides the sky through the resort's Hyperion telescope.
Where you stay
Amanzoe stands on a hilltop near Porto Heli on the east coast of the Peloponnese, with views over olive groves and the Aegean in every direction. Every pavilion and villa has its own pool and garden, and there is a beach club and an Aman Spa using only natural products.
03
Days 6 to 9 · three nights
An hour by private helicopter to Santorini. The excavations at Akrotiri, a private sail and snorkel in the caldera, wine tasting, the villages and a clifftop walk at sunset. In Mesaria, MATI shows the sculpture of Yorgos Kypris in a restored canava, with a guided tour and Hatzidakis wines, then a 45-minute flight to Athens for home.
Where you stay
Grace looks down on the caldera from Imerovigli, the village with some of Santorini's most familiar views. Rooms, suites and the Villa share the largest infinity pool in the village, some suites have heated plunge pools, and Varoulko Santorini is run by chef Lefteris Lazarou.
The Acropolis early in the morning or in the evening, outside public opening hours, for a group of up to five with a personal guide, and no more than four such groups on the site at once; booked through the official Hellenic Heritage service.
An outing to the family apiary that supplies all of Amanzoe's honey, for old and new ways of beekeeping and a tasting of its clove and thyme honeys.
At Amanzoe, the sun by day and the night sky after dark through the Hyperion telescope, each session guided by Dr Apostolakis, with an aperitif.
A ceramics class at Amanzoe in hand-building and decorating clay, as potters did here more than 2,500 years ago.
A historic Santorini canava turned art space, showing a retrospective of Yorgos Kypris, with a guided tour and wines from Hatzidakis Winery.
Subject to availability.
This is a sample. The hotels, the pace and the order are where we start, not where we finish: every journey is designed around the people taking it.
Most travel is bought. This is designed.
Before anything is booked, we talk: who is travelling, how you like to spend a morning, and the hotel preferences below the obvious, from the kind of bath you like to the time you wake and how much daylight you need in a room. You see options where options matter and clean recommendations where they don't.
The same person remains your point of contact from the first reply to the trip after next. No handovers. No team.
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