Hot Greece Summer 2023

March 20th, 2023

Travel to Greece has been booming since summer 2021 when the country was one of the first in Europe to reopen to American travelers, with over four million visitors in July 2022. According to Virtuoso, it is one of the hottest global summer destinations (along with domestic travel within United States, and Italy, France, and Canada).

What’s New?

  1. Kalesma Mykonos will reopen for the season in April unveiling a brand-new spa with products and treatments by Dr. Barbara Sturm. There will be two treatment rooms, a hammam, and a cryotherapy area. The spa sits beneath the main lobby and offers a respite from the warm, Mediterranean sun. (Kalesma will reopen for the season on April 14, 2023.) Kalesma is also launching new experiences this summer, including a visit to a local family homestead to take a look back in time to the original Mykonos. A private guide through the family farm to experience traditional, local life includes cooking a typical Mykonian recipe, including kneading and baking bread in a stone oven, followed by a lovely lunch.
  2. Guests can channel their inner Greek hero with Euphoria Retreat’s new Odysseus Journey. The new five-day retreat is inspired by Homer’s epic tale and mixes Euphoria’s Five Elements philosophy with group discussions and immersive experiences. (The five-element philosophy goes back to the ancient Greeks and Hippocrates and how the elements are linked to personalities. The Euphoria Methodos channels this along with Greek mythology to help explore self-awareness.) The Odysseus Journey retreat is one of self-reflection, helping participants discover their own “Ithaca”/their heart’s desire. Guests will have group sessions including Forest Meditation and Energy Movement, Dance Therapy, time in the Salt Room, a Byzantine Hammam Ritual, Balancing, and Labyrinth Meditation. The retreat is led by Euphoria’s founder Marina Efraimoglou and Euphoria’s spiritual mentor, Mary Vandorou, and can be booked April 4-9 or June 13-18. More dates to come.
  3. xenodocheio Milos in Athens has partnered with neighboring local favorite, Naxos Apothecary, to offer a new experience exclusive for guests to create a signature scent. Hotel guests can choose to do this either in the chic, airy apothecary around the corner or in their own suite. An expert will conduct a “tasting” of scents to distill a perfect, custom perfume, often using local Greek herbs and flowers. xendocheio Milos is not only Athen’s first designer boutique hotel but the capital’s only gastronomy hotel, with an estiatorio Milos restaurant from celebrated Greek chef Costas Spiliadis. Set within two heritage-listed neoclassical buildings in the heart of Athens, the hotel is a study in Cycladic minimalism, with sculptural accents and artwork by local artisans. Suites have sunny terraces with top views of the Old Parliament and beyond to Lycabettus Hill.
  4. This September, PONANT is launching a new eight-day, seven-night journey, Cruising the Mediterranean: Greece, Sicily, and Malta – with Smithsonian Journeys in partnership with the travel program of the Smithsonian Institution. The trip will explore nearly six millennia of history from the 5,500-year-old megaliths on Malta to the mid-20th-century playground of the rich and famous on Hydra. Other highlights include the Byzantine monastery on Patmos and an excursion to Olympia on Katakolon, home to the ancient Sanctuary of Zeus and the birthplace of the Panhellenic Games. Two Smithsonian Journeys Experts – archeologist David Price Williams and art historian Sara James – will complement the excursions sharing their expertise with dedicated lectures and conferences onboard (September 26-October 3; starting at $5,920 per person based on double occupancy).

How to get there from…

New York

  • JFK: Direct flights on American Airlines (starting May 5) and Delta (started on March 9).
  • Newark: Direct flights on Emirates (year-round) and United Airlines (starts April 6).

Philadelphia

  • Direct flights on American Airlines (starting June 1).

Chicago

  • Direct flights on American Airlines (starting June 1).

Atlanta

  • Direct flights on Delta (starting March 25).

Boston

  • Direct flight on Delta (starting May 8).

Washington, DC (Dulles)

  • Direct flight on United Airlines (starting May 5).

 

 

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