Robert’s adventure to Athens and Rhodes: a supported holiday to Greece
A 12-day bucket list trip, with a Leisure Options travel companion by my side.
Why Greece?
I first became interested in travelling to Greece because my supervisor at work has Greek heritage, and her name is Athena. Since meeting her, I’ve been wanting to visit Greece for many years. I felt nervous and excited as the trip got closer.
Melbourne to Singapore: departure day
Finally, the day of departure came. At 10am, I met my Leisure Options travel companion Inge at Melbourne Airport. We had an early lunch at the airport before boarding our flight to Singapore, where we had a short transit en route to Athens. While we were in transit at Changi Airport in
Singapore, we could go out of the airport to visit Jewel – the world’s tallest indoor waterfall surrounded by a beautiful terraced forest. Seeing the waterfall was lovely and a relaxing way to spend some time waiting for our flight to Athens. I had a lovely meal with Inge, and we also picked up some snacks for the flight from a bakery.
Arriving in Athens
We boarded the plane again, and after a long flight, we finally arrived in Athens, Greece at 8am the next morning. We got to our hotel apartment with our luggage and got settled in. For lunch, I enjoyed a spanakopita- a beautiful pastry with spinach and cheese. I also enjoyed having a chat with the locals at the cafe before a free afternoon to explore the city of Athens.
The apartment was modern, clean, comfortable and beautiful. It was going to be our base for the next four nights, and after lunch I had a bit of a wander around, exploring the local area with Inge.
We enjoyed our first experience of live Greek music, and I had a boogie with a lovely local lady. We saw a beautiful little church and had a yummy ice cream to cool down. The weather was quite warm! We then called it a day and went back to the hotel apartment.
Exploring Athens on the Big Bus
The next couple of days were all about exploring Athens. We hopped on the Big Bus to get around, which made seeing the big sights a lot easier than trying to navigate it all by ourselves.
On our third day in Athens, we visited the following sights by the Big Bus: the Acropolis, Temple of Zeus, and the Parthenon. We enjoyed lunch on the top floor of the Acropolis Museum, the food was great, we had a view of the Parthenon, and there was a lady playing beautiful music on the piano, which I really enjoyed.
We also ventured out to explore the local area and the neighbourhoods of Plaka and Anafiotika, full of small bookstores and lovely murals. We had dinner at a small local restaurant where I had the most delicious wholemeal pizza!
On day four, we continued to explore more sights in Athens on the Big Bus after we had breakfast and lunch. We visited the National Archaeological Museum, the Ancient Agora, and Hadrian’s Library before having dinner. I got to enjoy my first gyros meal – it was delicious!
Athens has been around for over 3,400 years, but it doesn’t feel like a museum. It’s busy and full of life alongside all that history. I told Inge after the tour that I really enjoyed walking around the town.
A free day in Athens: Botanical Garden and Plaka
Our fifth day in Athens was left completely free, just for me to decide! We went to the Botanical Garden – a lovely garden to stroll through, and we enjoyed looking at the turtles in the pond.
We had a lovely fresh orange juice at the garden cafe, something I have ended up really liking! After the gardens, we went back to Plaka for more shopping.
Overnight ferry from Piraeus Port to Rhodes
The next day was Day six. We checked out of the hotel apartment after breakfast and transferred to Piraeus Port. From there, we caught a ferry at midday to Rhodes. We had lunch and dinner onboard the ferry.
We spent a lot of time looking at the sea and islands that we passed by, and we also got to play many games of UNO. It was an overnight trip, and we arrived in Rhodes by 7 am the next morning.
Rhodes Old Town: history, art and shopping
In Rhodes, we had breakfast in town, then we transferred to our hotel and had lunch before enjoying a whole free day to explore Rhodes Old Town. We saw a really nice art gallery in the old French embassy.
We also walked the Street of Knights, saw the Palace of Knights and enjoyed shopping and lunch.
Rhodes had a different feel to it straight away. The Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and walking through it, you can tell why. It’s the kind of place that pulls you into its history without even trying.
In the afternoon, we had a shower and a bit of a rest back at the hotel before exploring the local area. We had a lot of fun shopping at the local supermarket for breakfast supplies and snacks.
A private tour of Rhodes’ East Coast
The next day was Day Eight of our trip. After breakfast and lunch, we did a five-hour private tour sightseeing the east coast.
We spent a full day with a private guide, taking in spots like Kallithia Springs, a pottery workshop in Kolimbia, Acropolis of Rhodes, Tsambika Beach, Anthony Quinn Bay, and the village of Lindos.
I loved seeing the Rhodes cats everywhere, especially a ginger cat which I’ll never forget meeting!
It felt like we got to see a lot of very beautiful and interesting sights with our private guide. We had dinner and got back to the hotel for a good rest.
Boat cruise to Symi Island and St George Bay
The next day, we had breakfast and lunch, followed by a cruise to Symi Island and St George Bay. For lunch, we had a beautiful gyros and the best salad! Symi Island is known for its harbour, lined with pastel-coloured buildings that make it look almost too pretty to be real. We anchored for a while near a bay with striking turquoise water and cliffs rising straight up out of the sea.
It was a big day, and we returned late from the boat trip, so we grabbed a takeaway Caesar salad for dinner and an ice cream on the way back to the hotel.
Heading home via Athens and Singapore
On Day ten, we had to check out and transfer to the airport after breakfast. We had lunch at the airport, before our flight to Athens. When we arrived in Athens, we transferred to our hotel and had dinner.
One last night back in Athens, and then it was time to make our way home. Our time in Greece had come to an end. We flew out of Athens to transit in Singapore again, where we had a meal at Changi Airport.
Twelve days and two islands later, we touched back down in Melbourne.
Why I’d travel with Leisure Options again
Greece was a bucket list destination for me, and I had a fantastic time on this trip.
Having a travel companion with me the whole way meant I never had to think about the transfers, the bookings, or anything tricky. That side of things was just taken care of. That’s really what a specialist travel agent who understands supported travel gives you — the full trip, without having to carry the stress of planning it yourself.
I’d absolutely recommend travelling with Leisure Options to others with disabilities. They are great. Thank you Inge, and thank you Leisure Options! I look forward to my next trip. I would love to visit Daydream Island – that’s on my wishlist for my next dream holiday destination.