Idyllic Aegean on Celestyal Journey

In a nutshell, Idyllic Aegean is a 8 day/7 nights cruise on board the ship Celestyal Journey.

Kusadasi turned out to be a very pleasant town with plenty to see and do - a lovely promenade and a quaint old town, welcoming people, wide variety of inexpensive stores, tasty apple tea.

Heraklion - we wish we had skipped it. We crossed the old town a few times in a couple of hours and struggled to find the slightest bit of excitement. The island of Crete probably has a lot to offer, but Heraklion itself is not an attractive destination.

Santorini. We were forewarned to expect big crowds, high prices and delays but the reality exceeded our worse expectations by a country mile. It turned out to be one of the most unpleasant experiences we’ve ever had as tourists. Pretty on pictures, but awfully overrated and overpriced. While shuffling on the cobblestone paths, it felt like being on a conveyor belt tightly packed with zombies.

Mykonos impressed us more than expected with its very neat old town, carefully restored and maintained. Lots of tastefully decorated stores and restaurants. Cute as a button at sunset, bustling and brightly lit at night, full of glamorous young people. Well worth a visit.

Milos was our kind of place, especially Sarakiniko. We were lucky to arrive before the crowds and truly enjoyed the dazzling white cliffs and grottos. We also climbed up to the very top of the island and were rewarded with 360 degrees panoramic views. To top it up, we spent an amazing couple hours swimming in beautiful coves and caves, accessible only by boat. Loved it.

Piraeus - nice marina (Zea marina) with lots of superyachts and a cute farmers market. That’s about it, really.