Inspiration for your own tailor-made trip
Kampos - Volissos - Rhodes City - Lindos
100% customisable for you
Your Greek getaway begins today. After being whisked through airport security, fuel up with nibbles and refreshments in the airport lounge before boarding your six-hour flight to Chios via Athens.
When you land in Chios, pick up your rental car and drive three miles south to Kampos, where you’ll be spending the first three nights of your trip in comfortable local lodgings. Freshen up and get settled in before enjoying a delicious dinner and getting an early night, ready for the first full day of your holiday tomorrow.
Enjoy a leisurely start to your day with breakfast at your hotel, then set out with a private guide to explore the pretty town of Kampos. Take your time discovering quaint streets, sweet-smelling citrus orchards and ornate red-stone houses. Pause for a break under the shade of a tree to admire the Panagia Syriotissa church with its bell tower and small bridge. Then, after a breather, set off again on a laidback three-hour hike through the beautiful landscapes of Chios – a gorgeous way to get your bearings.
Today, learn more about the island’s unique mastic culture. Accompanied by a private guide, head to the south of the island, where mastic cultivation has long been concentrated. Also known as ‘the tears of Chios’, this chewy resin is collected from the pistachio tree (found throughout the Mediterranean) before being added to many local specialities, including sweets, ice cream and digestive liqueurs, as well as the holy chrism, a perfumed oil used for Christian sacraments.
After exploring the area, visit a small museum dedicated to the world’s first natural chewing gum. Then it's on to Mesta, a fortified village brimming with Medieval charm. Pyrgi, another ancient mastichochoria (mastic village), stands out for an unusual architectural detail: the Xysta motif, a black and white geometric pattern that covers every inch of the town’s buildings. You can also visit the Church of the Holy Apostles, with its remarkable Byzantine paintings.
Hop in your hire care and swap the countryside of Kampos for the coast of Vollisos. It’s only a one-hour drive away, so you’ll have plenty of time when you arrive to settle into your lovely new digs, where you’re staying for the next two nights. The rest of the day is yours to spend at your leisure. Relax with a drink in the hotel, seek out some of those special sea views or make your way to a nearby beach for a siesta on the sand.
The tiny village of Volissos, which has just 250 inhabitants, has quite the claim to fame. According to Herodotus, this is where the ancient Greek poet, Homer, is said to have written the Iliad and the Odyssey. The village is built amphitheatrically, set across ascending tiers on the side of a hill and crowned by an imposing Byzantine castle. Make sure to have your camera to hand while you tour the Nea Moni monastery and explore the idyllic streets, which are lined with classic ochre-stone buildings with blue and white renderings. Less than a mile down the hill is the port of Limia and its beautiful beaches, perfect for enjoying some serious R&R.
Head back to the airport in Chios this morning to drop off your rental car and hop on a four-hour flight to Rhodes City via Athens. When you land, take a private transfer to your next hotel, which is a great base for exploring the city.
The rest of the day is yours to play with. Spend the evening relaxing in your new home or, if you’re keen to stretch your legs after the flight, step out for a stroll through the historic streets.
After fuelling up with a delicious breakfast at your hotel, it’s time to see the sites of the Medieval city of Rhodes, accompanied by a local resident. Start in the heart of the UNESCO-listed Old Town, spotting remnants from the city’s time under the Crusaders of the Middle Ages and, later, the Ottoman Empire. Keep an eye out too for the city’s eclectic Neoclassical architecture, which developed under the Italian occupation between 1912 and 1943. And when you inevitably work up an appetite as you explore, it’s a great excuse to sample some of the city’s culinary treasures. Local delicacies include manouri (Greek semi-soft cheese) served with roasted almond and honey, kleftiko (slow-cooked marinaded lamb) and souvlakia (classic lamb kebab). Lunchtime never looked so good.
Say goodbye to Rhodes City this morning as you pick up your next hire car for the drive to Lindos on the east coast of the island. The journey takes less than an hour, leaving ample time to settle into your hotel, which is your home for the next five nights. Spend the rest of today relaxing and admiring your new surroundings, before ending the day with another memorable meal of mouthwatering Greek cuisine.
The final four days of your Greek getaway are for taking it easy beside the sea. With a plethora of pretty beaches, slow, sunny afternoons are certainly on the agenda. A favourite is the delightful ring-shaped bay of Agios Pavlos, where calm waters and sweeping scenery await. For a dose of culture, head into Lindos, a quintessential whitewashed village with an ancient acropolis. Here, there’s the option to hit the waves with a private speed boat tour. Further south, see the charming villages of Asklipio and Lachania, or make your way to the west coast for lovely landscapes of vineyards, orchards, vegetable gardens and pine and cypress trees. To toast your trip with a local tipple, visit the village of Embonas to taste varieties grown in the nearby vineyards. The road to the village is splendid, passing a string of spots for a dip in the sea en route.
All good things must come to an end, so today it’s time to bid a fond farewell to Greece. After a hearty breakfast at your hotel, pack up your hire car and head back to the airport for your flight home. Flying direct from Rhodes to the UK takes a little over four hours, giving you time to reminisce about a holiday well spent (and start planning the next one).
Everything in this itinerary is entirely customisable, down to the smallest details. Here are some more suggestions of what could be included
Each of our trips is entirely tailor-made with originality, quality and cultural immersion in mind. Our team of destination specialists will craft itineraries based on your tastes, using their first-hand knowledge and the help of our in-country team of Concierges and guides. All trips are accompanied by a wide range of additional services, including a 24-hour helpline, the Original Travel app, fast-track airport services and much more.
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