Greece Active and outdoor Trips

The vessel (a historic Caique) was small but lovely and handled well in some rough weather we encountered. The crew were great, friendly and very accommodating. The local lunches provided onboard were good and the amount of food provided was surprising due to the small galley but George (the chef) excelled. The Explore leader Thanos was brilliant and a walking encyclopedia. The detailed historic explanations of all the sites we visited were so informative and interesting. Where possible the Capt (sadly forgotten his name) would anchor in sheltered bays so we could go swimming in the crystal clear Aegean water. Sadly the marine life was minimal but the swims were enjoyed by all onboard. I would recommend the trip to anyone. My wife and I loved it. Sadly it was only a week. We would have hapily stayed longer.

Positives- we had a good group and good group leader. It was lovely sailing around Evia, and we stopped at some lovely places. The boat had a good-sized sun deck. The swimming was great. The Not-So-Goods- The only permanently shaded outdoor area (which you sometimes need) was at the front of the boat, which was limited by machinery and chains there. At best, you could fit 4 people there. Negatives - the cabins are tiny and awkward. Below deck, they are worse as they are even smaller and are darker. We were lucky to have one of the two cabins on deck as we could fresh air coming in through the open door. We would be given talks every day by our group leader. These generally went on way too long. We have found this with group leaders on other Explore holidays. Half an hour is more than enough. However, the talks could easily drift into an hour (even longer on other holidays). Group leaders need to realise that less is more (and we are on holiday!!). Otherwise, it just becomes a long monologue, where you feel that the group leader just loves the sound of his own voice. The group did not see the point of some of the trips out. On one, we were driven to a fairly run-down village, then walked back (after a couple of miles, a taxi came back and forth, picking some us up at a time). Some people in the group struggled with the walk (it was in the afternoon), so the group became very strung out. Unfortunately, our group leader was at the front and didn't account for those at the back who were so far behind that they, at one point, lost sight of the others. It was a fairly pointless excursion. We all would rather have just stayed on the beach for the afternoon. It's better to have no excursion than a pointless one.

Fantastic tour and boat captain . Beautiful sea and swimming, great historical and cultural knowledge and information and unusual and off the beaten track sights and visits . Hardly any tourists so very good local experience. Accommodation is an old and small converted cargo sailing vessel which looks beautiful, but cabins are very small, very hot in summer and loo/ bathroom is basic . If you want luxury this trip is not for you. If you love the clear blue sea and history and can ignore the basic accommodation it s fabulous.

Loved the boat, the tour leader Thanos was excellent and went above and beyond to enhance guest's experiences. Food was excellent, sunbathing on deck was excellent and swimming from the boat was excellent too. We have had a thoroughly enjoyable time.

Thanos the tour leader is enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and caring. Be warned, he is a feeder! At dinner he would explain all the lovely dishes we could have, take our orders and then bring out several starters for us to try! We wouldn't have ordered so much if we had known. Even on the last morning when we walked up to the castle he took us a pastry and drink only 2 hours after breakfast and the same before lunch! We had a lovely map of where we were travelling and diagrams of ports so we could decide which direction to go for our afternoon walks/swims. Giorgios the chef cooked fab lunches and the breakfasts were more than adequate. Vangelis the captain was very experienced and kept us safe in the high winds we experience the last few days. Sadly, although their names were written on the board on day one, he never actually introduced us to them! The steps on the boat are steep. Down to the cabins are the easiest, but up to the sun deck are very steep and in windy condition difficult. On one afternoon it was so windy we all had to get off it as everything was at risk of being blown away. The swimming steps are vertical and one or two found that very challenging. No mention of just how steep these are was not helpful. Whilst we knew the cabin would be cramped, this is the worst we have had size wise. Only one could stand at a time with ease. The door to the bathroom is so tiny that you have to turn sideways as it doesn't fully open with the sink behind it.

Fabulous trip, great experience to be on such a lovely unique boat. The crew were amazing and adapted the route when the weather turned windy and choppy but this added to a great trip. Without the amazing tour leader Thanos the trip would not be the same. Would thoroughly recommend. However the cabins are cosy so pack light.