The Flavors of Santorini and Crete

The breakfasts at Heliotopos are truly unique. A lavish buffet including a selection of home-made specialties – hot and cold – and freshly baked bread are included in this meal that begins your day. Our cook prepares a different Greek pie and a cake every day. Homemade marmalades and cookies, fresh orange juice and all kind of coffees are also part of our unique buffet breakfast. We aim for a low in fat, low in cholesterol, not too sweet, healthy, and very tasty meal.

Our breakfast is suitable for vegetarians, but please let us know in advance if you have any further dietary restrictions.

This morning we'll explore the history of Santorini at the lost city of Akrotiri, the most impressive prehistoric site all over the Aegean.
Unfold the nearly-lost history of the ash-covered Bronze-Age city, dating back from the antiquity.

Then, we'll spend our afternoon sipping crisp Santorini volcanic wine during visits to 3 traditional wineries all acclaimed by international experts.

We'll sample a selection of 12 different Santorini wine styles served alongside local cheese and snacks and reveal a 4,000 year wine-making history.

  Highlights:

• In-depth history and wine tour led by a Greek archaeologist and a master sommelier.
• Discover the fabled city of Akrotiri, lost for centuries underneath Santorini's volcanic ash.
• We'll learn the fascinating history of Akrotiri as our guide uncovers the links between Plato's "Atlantis" and the ash-covered prehistoric town of Akrotiri.
• Visit three acclaimed wineries at the pictuersque Santorini’s countryside
• Try up to 12 varietals of Santorini wine such as Assyrtiko, Nykteri and Vinsanto.
• Enjoy a platter of local cheese and snacks to eat alongside wine-tastings.
• Admire the charming landscape filled with scenic villages and rolling hills.

This morning we'll rise early to head to the charming and most photographed spot on the island - Oia (pronounced "Ee-Ah" not "Aw-Ya"). If we're early enough we'll miss the cruiseship daytrippers and have a chance to explore it's narrow paths and breathtaking views.  We'll leave Oia and head along the Caldera path for the spectacular hike along the rim of the volcano. We'll leave in plenty of time to stop for photos, or snacks, or shopping, returning to Imerovigli in time for our afternoon departure. Those who wish to relax and not walk are free to stay in Oia and explore and return at leisure.

This morning we embark on a trip both back in time and into the future. Back to a time when food was eaten near it's source, and "processing" meant running freshly picked olives through a traditional manual press. We'll visit some goats and hope they'll cooperate with us so we can learn to prepare (and eat!) fresh goat cheese. And then to our future, where we gain the skills to impress friends and family back home with our newfound culinary skills: we'll settle around the country kitchen table, aprons on, as the farm chef leads us in a truly hands on cooking class followed by lunch.

Tonight enjoy a walk into the charming harbor town, dinner at one of the many seaside tavernas, or join escorts Carole and Basil for dinner at our favorite foodie spot.

Let us take you back 4,000 years in time! To the world famous Minoan Palace at Knossos, the home of the legendary King Minos who gave his name to Europe’s oldest civilization. According to Greek mythology, the monstrous Minotaur – half man, half bull – lived at Knossos and fed on human flesh and bone. He was eventually slaved by the brave and mighty Athenian prince, Theseus, within the hidden Labyrinth. Parts of the ancient Palace have been excavated and reconstructed by the British archaeologist, Sir Arthur Evans, and today one can get a clear understanding of the function of the Palace and its complicated and mystical Labyrinth. Led by your experienced guide, you will visit the Throne Room, the Royal Apartments, the Central
Courtyard with its shrines and other fascinating areas within the Palace and you will learn the history and myths surrounding this wondrous and most interesting site.
Continue to Heraklion city and optionally visit the famous Archaeological Museum, one of the largest and most important museums in Greece, and among the most important museums in Europe. It houses representative artifacts from all the periods of Cretan prehistory and history, covering a chronological span of over 5,500 years from the Neolithic period to Roman times. The singularly important Minoan collection contains unique examples of Minoan art, many of them true masterpieces.
After you have explored the Archaeological Museum, our guide lead us on a short orientation through the historical center of Heraklion and a stop at the Archaeological Museum.

After lunch we'll head over to learn the secret behind those fine threads which wrap both sweet and savory Greek sweets. We'll visit a local baker who has been supplying them to cooks throughout Greece long enough that he's now joined by both his son and his grandson in the business. If we're lucky we'll have a chance to watch the master hand stretch massive sheets of filo, the delicate wrapping for everything from baklava to cheese pies. 

Domus Renier Boutique Hotel in Chania is a dream every visitor of the city would love to live. It constitutes a part of Chania’s Venetian period history, closely linked to some of its protagonists: the Reniers, one of Venice’s leading noble families, who lived in this building.

The main building of the Renier Townhouse, once dominating the Venetian Harbour, has today become Domus Renier Boutique Hotel Chania. An architectural gem that, after many decades of silence, stands again glorious in the most central point of the old town of Chania.

Sea view luxury boutique hotel in Chania harbour
Domus Renier Boutique Hotel is a small yet impressive luxury boutique hotel in Chania, Crete. It consists of 9 rooms and suites, all different from one another, most with a sea view of Chania harbour and the Egyptian Lighthouse. All rooms and suites are furnished with specially designed furniture and decorated with unique articles. Some include adorned ceilings, a testament to the Cretan Renaissance period of the building. Each and every one is equipped with comfort, luxury and modern technology in mind.

In Domus Renier Boutique Hotel in Chania, Crete time acquires new meaning. Don’t feel surprised if, while contemplating the lighthouse, you catch yourself waiting for the ship from the Serenissima to appear on the horizon.

There is no longer a Jewish community in Chania, yet the synagogue has a Havurah, a circle of friends, who act as caretakers of the synagogue as a place of prayer and convocation. It's a mix of observant, conservative, reform, reconstructionist or secularised Jews; others are Christians and some are Muslims. What binds the members of the Havurah together is a sense of the need for community and sharing of a common pursuit as opposed to the consumer oriented, ecologically indifferent and valueless society that by necessity we are also a part of.  

They hold a service most Fridays (it is very short, 45 minutes), as well as over the high holidays. Everyone, Jewish or not, is welcome. It is often a mix of Jewish visitors or volunteers, and locals - often Christian, who make the minyan at this now lovingly cared for once thriving sacred space.

Kabbalat Shabbat

The time listed is our local candle lighting time. Candle lighting is followed by Kabbalat Shabbat Service, which lasts ca. 45 minutes. Everybody is welcome.

Please ask me or contact the Synagogue Office for further questions and arrangements. As is customary throughout the various Jewish communities in Greece, you will be asked to provide a copy of your passport in advance of your visit. 

After our morning of olive oil, we'll head further inland to meet the Cretan vitner, Andreas Dourakis, who has an amazing personality and a great story. The winery itself is a lovely traditional setting, with its stone cava (cave) where barrels are aged, and it's amazing gardens, where I finally had the chance to experience a tomato like the first tomato I ate in Crete 30 years ago. Rich with flavors I did not know were the real taste of a tomato (growing up in the Chicago suburbs I actually never liked tomatoes! and then I came to Crete to discover I just did not know what a tomato was supposed to taste like!)

Today we'll learn about how Andreas came to winemaking, tour the wine cellar and we'll taste a selection of his (and Basil's!) favorites along with lunch in the garden.

Tomorrow is an early day for those hiking the gorge.  

1. Samaria Gorge hike
2. Excursion to Balos or Elafonisos beach

The Samaria Gorge is the longest and one of the most imposing gorges in Europe. Perhaps the most popular hiking path in Greece runs through the gorge - 18 km long and as slim as 10 feet wide at its narrowest (at a point aptly named "iron doors". 

The walk down the gorge begins at "Xiloskalo", in Omalós (at an altitude of 1.200 metres) usually, quite early in the morning, since it requires 4-8 hours, depending on the walking pace. 

It's a beautiful, not too hard walk - full of gifts of nature along the way. Depending on the time of year you may pass springs, pools and impressive large rocks lying in the watercourse, as well as numerous trees, such as plane trees, pines and cypresses. Trees and deciduous oaks rooted on the highest cliffs, ineffable scents of herbs and an occasional Cretan wild goat (kri-kri) climbing on a steep slope make this gorge unforgettable. 

The path ends at the warm waters of the Libyan sea, where weary hikers can take a refeshing dip before boarding the boat to Loutro, Chora Sfakion, Sougia or Paleochora. (There is no road to the village at the end of the gorge, so the boat takes you to the nearest accessible village, where your driver or a bus await to transfer you back to your accommodation.

** Important notes:

Entrance fee

To enter the Gorge of Samaria there is an entrance fee that costs five (5) euros. Children under 15 years old have a free pass. The entrance fee is the same regardless you wish to enter the Gorge only for a few kilometers or for the entire route.

Note: It is important to keep your ticket in order to be checked at the exit. This is done for the safety of the visitors, since the Park rangers will know how many people have entered and exited the Gorge.

Boat from Agia Romelli to Chora Sfakion

At the end of the gorge we'll take one of several boats in the afternoon - 4:30 pm (might be 4:15 pm, check the schedule when you arrive), 5:30 pm and the last one at 6:30 pm to Chora Sfakion, where our driver will be waiting to take us back to Chania for the night.

This is your chance to visit one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Elafonisos is truly a heaven on earth, with soft white/pink sand, exotic crystal-clear water and cedar trees that extend down to the coastline. It is located in the easily accessible, south-western side of Crete.

En route to Elafonisos we'll pass several small traditional villages as well as the rugged landscape around the Topolia Gorge. Once you have reached Elafonisos, we'll have 3-4 hours of free time to soak in the amazing sun and enjoy the spectrum of shades of blue that this beach has to offer.  We'll head back to Chania in the late afternoon.

Well nourished and with a new appreciation of the foods and flavors of Greece, you'll head to the Chania airport for your flight to Athens. We'll arrive at the Athens airport to meet your outbound international flight or be met by your driver to continue on to explore Athens and the Greek mainland.