Greece · Athens & the Aegean Islands
The civilization that invented theatre, philosophy and democracy — and the islands that invented the sunset. Athens, Santorini, Mykonos and Crete in a journey designed tailor made, at your own pace, with the sea always close by.
The itinerary
There is the Greece of marble: the Acropolis gilded by the late afternoon, the theatres where tragedy was born, the museums that hold the beginning of almost everything we call the West. And there is the Greece of salt: the whitewashed Cyclades, the tavernas with their feet in the water, the bluest sea in the Mediterranean. This itinerary brings the two together.
The journey opens in Athens, where history is visited on foot and rooftops serve dinner facing the illuminated Parthenon. From there, the Aegean: Santorini and its sunsets on the rim of the caldera, Mykonos between whitewashed lanes and beach clubs, and Crete — the largest of the islands — with Minoan palaces, Venetian harbours and one of the most celebrated cuisines in the Mediterranean.
Each stage can grow, shrink or give way to another island — Paros, Milos, Naxos, Hydra. That is the advantage of a country with six thousand islands and of a journey designed by hand: the Greece you take home is your own.
Athens · 2 to 3 nights
First stop
Few cities in the world carry so much in so little space: the Acropolis above, the agora where Socrates held his conversations below, and all around a vibrant Mediterranean capital of markets, ruins tucked between cafés and a food scene that has become a destination in its own right. Athens is not a layover — it is an opening act.
Two well-designed days cover the essentials: the Acropolis early, before the heat and the crowds, the museum that explains it, the lanes of Plaka and a late afternoon at Cape Sounion, where the Temple of Poseidon has watched the sun sink into the Aegean since the fifth century BC.
The monument that defines the word classical, atop the sacred rock. We visit in the first hour of the morning, with a licensed guide and timed-entry tickets — the difference between a photo with a crowd and an unforgettable visit.
At the foot of the rock, one of the world's great museums: the original Caryatids, the friezes and a glass floor over living excavations. Seen right after the Acropolis, it turns stones into stories — especially with the right guide.
The oldest neighbourhood in Athens, all flowered lanes and century-old tavernas — and, hidden on the slope, Anafiotika: a handful of little white houses built by islanders, a miniature Cyclade in the heart of the city.
The square where democracy was first practised, watched over by the Temple of Hephaestus — one of the best preserved in Greece. On the way out, the Monastiraki market: antiques, cafés and the Athenian buzz in its purest form.
An hour's drive along the coast brings you to the Temple of Poseidon, suspended above the sea since the fifth century BC. Sunset there is an Athenian rite — and we make the trip by private car, with a stop for a swim along the way.
Athens dines with a view: rooftops facing the illuminated Acropolis, historic tavernas in Plaka and a new generation of chefs revisiting Greek cuisine. We book the right tables for each night — from the most starred to the most authentic.
Santorini · 3 to 4 nights
Second stop
Around 3,600 years ago, a colossal eruption sank the centre of the island and left in its place an amphitheatre of cliffs above the sea — the caldera. Along its rim, the Greeks hung whitewashed villages: Oia, Imerovigli, Fira. The result is one of the most photographed landscapes on the planet, and no photo does it justice.
The Santorini we design turns its back on the crowds: suites carved into the cliff with private pools, the sunset watched from the sea on a catamaran of your own, Assyrtiko vines planted in volcanic ash and a 3,600-year-old city preserved under the cinders — the "Pompeii of the Aegean".
The most photographed village in Greece, all white and blue on the northern tip of the caldera. The secret is timing: early morning, when the lanes still belong to the locals, or from the terrace of your suite at golden hour.
A private catamaran rounds the island: hot springs by the volcano, swims in coves that cannot be reached by land and the sunset seen from where it is most beautiful — the sea, with dinner served on board.
The city the eruption buried 3,600 years ago — and preserved: three-storey houses, frescoes, ceramics. A covered, fascinating visit that changes the way you look at the whole island. Better still with an archaeologist guide.
On Santorini the vine grows coiled into baskets close to the ground, sheltering from the wind — and gives rise to Assyrtiko, one of the great white wines of the world. A tasting at sunset, with the caldera as the backdrop.
Here the sand tells the story of the eruption: the Red Beach between rust-coloured cliffs, the black-sand beaches of Perissa and Kamari, the beach clubs with sunbeds at the water's edge. A side of Santorini many people miss.
The most beautiful trail in the Cyclades follows the rim of the caldera through suspended villages — Firostefani, Imerovigli, the rock of Skaros — always with the sea three hundred metres below. Worth every step of the morning.
There is a moment, on the rim of the caldera, when the sun touches the sea, conversations stop and three thousand years of stories seem to fit into a single shade of blue. That moment is why you cross the world.
From marble to sea, everything designed tailor made
Mykonos · 2 to 3 nights
Third stop
Ever since the 1960s, when Jackie Onassis and Grace Kelly stepped ashore here, Mykonos has been the most cosmopolitan address in the Aegean. The formula remains unbeatable: a labyrinth of white lanes designed to confuse pirates, windmills above the sea, bougainvillea on every door — and the finest collection of beaches, tables and hotels in the Cyclades.
The island has a reputation for partying, but it can be designed in your key: slow days at beach clubs with sunbeds on the sand, grilled-fish dinners in Little Venice, and — twenty minutes by boat — the silence of Delos, the sacred island where, as the myth goes, Apollo was born.
The island's capital is a deliberate labyrinth of white lanes — get lost without fear. In the late afternoon, the Venetian balconies of Little Venice fill up for the sunset, with the Kato Mili windmills in the frame.
From Psarou to Elia, the southern coast lines up beaches of transparent water and legendary clubs — from the Greek toes-in-the-sand lunch to the liveliest scene in the Aegean. We reserve the right sunbed for your style of day.
Twenty minutes by boat, an entire island that is an archaeological site and a World Heritage listing: the sanctuary of Apollo, the Terrace of the Lions, open-air mosaics. Early in the morning, with a private guide, it is time travel — and the perfect counterpoint to Mykonos.
Crete · 3 to 4 nights
The grand finale
The largest Greek island is almost a country: mountains snow-capped into spring, gorges, beaches that rival the Caribbean and four thousand years of layers — Minoans, Romans, Venetians, Ottomans. It was here, at the palace of Knossos, that Europe's first great civilization flourished, a thousand years before classical Athens.
And it is here that the journey gains flavour: the Cretan table is legend — olive oil from centuries-old groves, mountain cheeses, dakos and raki served with the generosity of someone welcoming you home. The ideal base is Chania, with its postcard Venetian harbour, gateway to the beaches and gorges of the west.
The palace-labyrinth of the Minoan civilization, with its dolphin frescoes and red columns, gave rise to the myth of the Minotaur. With an archaeologist guide and the Heraklion museum to follow, it is a morning worth the island.
The Venetian harbour with its lighthouse, the lanes where Venice and the East intermingle, ateliers, markets and dinners at the water's edge. Chania is one of those cities you get to know without a map — ideally at dusk, gelato in hand.
A shallow turquoise lagoon between wild peninsulas, with a pirate fortress on the island across the water. By boat or by panoramic trail, it is the most spectacular beach in Crete — and one of the most beautiful in the Mediterranean.
The pink-sand beach: a shallow sandbank linking the coast to a protected islet, with warm, transparent water as far as the eye can see. For families, it is the easiest and most beautiful day of the trip.
Sixteen kilometres between walls up to 500 metres high, ending at a beach on the Libyan Sea — one of Europe's great hikes. For those who prefer the gentle version, the smaller gorges of the west give the taste without the effort.
The cuisine that inspired the Mediterranean diet, at the source: lunch at an olive farm among centuries-old trees, village tavernas in the mountains and the raki that arrives unasked, on the house, as Cretan hospitality demands.
Day by day
A tried-and-tested skeleton that opens in Athens and follows the Aegean island by island. Dates, order and the length of each stage are always adjusted to your group.
Airport reception and private transfer to the hotel. In the late afternoon, a first stroll through Plaka and a welcome dinner on a rooftop facing the illuminated Acropolis.
A first-hour morning at the Acropolis with a historian guide and timed-entry tickets, followed by the Acropolis Museum. In the afternoon, the Ancient Agora, Monastiraki and the lanes of Anafiotika.
A free day with curation: shopping in Kolonaki, the National Archaeological Museum or a Greek cooking class. In the late afternoon, the coastal road to Cape Sounion for the sunset at the Temple of Poseidon.
A short flight to the island and a transfer to your suite on the rim of the caldera. The afternoon is for doing nothing with a view — private pool, and the first sunset, which no one forgets.
Half a day with a guide between Akrotiri, the city preserved under the ash, and the village of Pyrgos. In the afternoon, an Assyrtiko tasting at a winery above the caldera — and early-morning Oia is saved for the next day.
A free morning — the caldera-rim trail for the energetic, the pool for everyone else. In the afternoon, a private catamaran: coves, the volcano's hot springs and the sunset on the open sea with dinner on board.
A fast ferry between the islands, in business-class seats. Arrival, check-in and a late afternoon in the Chora: the white lanes, the windmills and the sunset from the balconies of Little Venice.
Early in the morning, the boat to Delos to walk the sacred island while it is nearly empty. Back on Mykonos, a beach-club day on the southern coast — reserved sunbeds, a Greek toes-in-the-sand lunch and transparent sea until late afternoon.
A short flight to the largest Greek island and arrival in Chania. The afternoon belongs to the old town: the Venetian harbour, the market, the ateliers — and a dinner at the water's edge to open the Cretan chapter.
A guided day: the palace of Knossos and the Heraklion museum in the morning and, on the way back, lunch at an olive farm among centuries-old trees — the Cretan table at the source.
A free day for the best of the west: the Balos lagoon by boat, the pink sand of Elafonissi or — for the energetic — the Samaria Gorge. In the evening, the farewell dinner in Chania.
Transfer to the airport and the flight home via Athens — with skin gilded by the Aegean, olive oil in the suitcase and the certainty that six thousand islands are reason enough to come back.
Gallery
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How we travel
Greece is easy to love and hard to get right: there are many islands, many boats and a high season in which everything sells out. The difference between a good trip and a perfect one lies in the details — and they are all taken care of before you board.
At the Acropolis, on Delos or at Knossos, a licensed guide turns stones into civilizations. Private tours, at your group's pace, in Portuguese or English as you prefer.
Domestic flights or fast ferries in premium seats, always in the combination that makes sense for your dates — with transfers waiting at the pier and luggage handled door to door.
On Santorini, metres separate a suite facing the caldera from a room with no view — and the best ones sell out months ahead. We know exactly which ones to ask for, and we ask early.
Greece's great sites work with timed-entry tickets that sell out in summer. We go in at the first hour, with everything purchased — the monument almost to yourself.
The sunset catamaran, the beach-club sunbed, the table at the sought-after restaurant: in the Greek summer, all of it has a queue. Yours is already jumped before you board.
A dedicated team follows the trip from departure to return. A ferry rescheduled by the wind, an extra table, any surprise — solved with a message, in your language.
Where to stay
This journey combines three accommodation experiences that complement each other — and, in each one, we work with a selection of addresses adjusted to your style and your group.
Boutique hotels and grand classics in the heart of the city, always a few steps from the essentials — and, ideally, with a rooftop where breakfast and the last drink of the night happen facing the Acropolis.
The reason Santorini is Santorini: suites and cave houses carved into the cliff, with a private terrace and the whole caldera at the window. It is the most coveted accommodation in Greece — and the one that most rewards booking early.
On Mykonos and Crete the format turns to the sea: beach resorts with spa and fine dining, or private villas with pools for families and groups — close enough to the scene, far enough from the noise.
Before you go
Practical information for those starting to think about the trip.
The Greek season runs from Easter to October, and every stretch of it has a mood. The connoisseurs' secret: the shoulders of high season — May, June, September and early October — when the sea, the light and the islands are at their best, without the August crowds.
Greece is part of the Schengen area: Brazilian passport holders do not need a visa for tourist stays of up to 90 days. The passport must be valid for at least three months beyond the date you leave Europe — we recommend six.
The European Union is rolling out the ETIAS electronic travel authorisation, expected to come into force in late 2026 with a transition period to follow. We walk you through whatever applies at the time of your departure — no surprises at the airport.
The Greek pace is generous: long lunches, dinners that start at nine, the sea setting the agenda. Along the route of this journey English is spoken everywhere — and hospitality, the famous philoxenia, is taken as seriously as almost nowhere else on earth.
Currency: the euro. Cards are accepted almost everywhere, with some cash useful for markets and village tavernas. Tipping is not compulsory, but 5–10% in restaurants is always a welcome gesture.
Caldera suites are the bottleneck: Santorini's most desired addresses sell out many months ahead for the summer. The trip's dates are organised around them — and preferably early.
In summer, the Acropolis and the major sites work with timed entry, and catamarans, beach clubs and sought-after restaurants fill up. All of that goes to the front of the planning — it is what we secure first.
To add on
Extensions that fit naturally into this itinerary.
Two and a half hours from Athens, the sanctuary where the ancient world came to consult the oracle, in a natural amphitheatre of mountains above a sea of olive trees. One of the most beautiful day trips in mainland Greece.
Byzantine monasteries perched on stone towers hundreds of metres high — one of the most improbable landscapes in Europe. Pairs well with Delphi on a two-day extension through the mainland.
Epidaurus and its theatre of perfect acoustics, the citadel of Mycenae and elegant Nafplio, first capital of modern Greece — all within a few hours' drive of Athens, among vineyards and seaside towns.
The Cyclades beyond the famous ones: the lunar landscape of Sarakiniko on Milos, the elegant villages of Paros and the beaches and mountains of Naxos. For the second trip to Greece — or to swap for one of this journey's stops.
Two hours by boat from Athens, an island where no cars circulate: donkeys carry the luggage, artists occupy the stone houses and time moves more slowly. The favourite refuge of those who have seen it all.
The definitive version of island hopping: a crewed yacht or sailboat, anchoring in coves the ferries cannot reach. From three days to a full week, on whatever course the wind and the mood decide.
