100% customisable travel idea
Chios, Rhodes and Alaçati The Aegean Greece and Turkey
Turkey - Alaçati - Greece - Chios - Rhodes
100% customisable travel idea
Turkey - Alaçati - Greece - Chios - Rhodes
100% customisable for you
Pick up your rental car and drive to Alaçati, on the Urla peninsula. Stay for three nights in a beautiful village house. The restoration has respected the Greek spirit of the place. There is white everywhere, allowing the limestone to breathe. The waxed floors are silky smooth underfoot. The furniture is discreetly classic and pleasant. There is something rustic and elegant about it, a serene atmosphere. Your room is in keeping with this. Breakfast adds a tasty note to the start of the day. Other meals are available, offering a sunny Ionian version of Mediterranean cuisine. The garden has cypress trees rising like dark green flames and is almost entirely occupied by a swimming pool, where you can really swim. And it is particularly pleasant to relax by the pool after a good day of sightseeing.
For the moment, Alaçati is balanced, with a Greek past and Turkish present, windmills and windsurfing, cobbled streets and trendy shops, climbing roses and elegant tables, urban sophistication and stone masonry. It is a small miracle of rebirth and a dynamic that has emerged between local traditions and Istanbul influences. In short, Alaçati's charm has not been overused, but has been revived. And you can enjoy it with delight. The sea is not far away, so that’s another plus. Nevertheless, you can explore other parts of the peninsula. While Çesme has risen in stature and takes its status as a leading seaside resort seriously (a beautiful fort dominates the town and the parasols), Urla still plays a modest role as the home of the Greek poet and Nobel Prize winner Georges Seferis, daily fish market and solid stone houses. There is an air of authenticity that suits it well. As for the gorges of the Karaburun peninsula, they offer hikers spectacular views.
On your itinerary - Izmir like a local. Having lived in Turkey for ages, Nathalie knows Anatolia like the back of her hand. Today, she is not strictly speaking your guide, but rather a friend who is eager to bring your preferences and Izmir together so that you get what you want out of Izmir. Izmir/Smyrna is an important port whose old centre was damaged in the fire of 1922, slightly diminishing its oriental charm of the Levant. But great cities are like phoenixes as they rise from their ashes. And Izmir, which still has a considerable heritage, continues the Smyrna way of life, made up of leisurely strolls, sea views, small shops and cafés, and the stalls of the great Kemeralki bazaar. Passing under the clock tower, which is an essential feature of any self-respecting Ottoman city, you’ll note that it was built by a French engineer named Raymond Charles Père. And that the Konak Pier was built by Gustave Eiffel. Along the way, you can eat boyoz, a sweet bread that Izmir is famous for, or sögüs (offal chopped up and cooked with cumin, chilli, parsley and onion, then wrapped in a flatbread).
Return the car at the port of Çesme and take the ferry to Chios. New rental car. Stay for four nights at the farm. The stone house has the nobility and beautiful stature of the Genoese style. The adjoining citrus orchards envelop it in a fragrant cloud. And you can pick oranges and mandarins from the white-trunked trees. The water lily pond keeps the courtyard cool. Inside the house, there are wooden floors, comfortable spaces and beautiful handcrafted furniture. Your room feels like a family memory with its lace curtains, wrought iron bed and shiny wardrobe, and the buzzing of insects in the garden beds. When the sun beats down on the countryside, it is pleasantly shady. Homemade treats, fruit juice and coffee served in fine porcelain on the terrace as breakfast starts the day with a moment of happiness. And the ingredients come from the property itself. And we make sure you enjoy it all!
UNESCO has twice included Chios in its list of World Heritage Sites. Firstly, for its mastic cultivation, but we will come back to that later. Secondly, for the Byzantine monastery of Néa Moni, in the central hills. The magnificent mosaics celebrate the triumph of the Church over iconoclasm, which condemned religious images in the 8th and 9th centuries. Time, the cosmos and history unfold on the walls around the glorious Christ Pantocrator. As you will have noticed, citrus fruits are big business in Kampos. Thousands of orange, lemon, bergamot and mandarin trees. The orange and lemon trees were introduced by the Genoese in the 14th century and ensured the prosperity of Chios, while the bergamot and mandarin trees were introduced in the 19th century. The fruit is used to make juices, liqueurs and confectionery, which make for a delicious stay. Chios beach? Of course. There is a bit of everything in this area. For example, you have Mavra Volia, near Emporio, with its black volcanic pebbles, Vroulidia, at Cape Oura, with its white cliffs, and Lithi, which is sandy and well equipped; etc.
Optional - Kampos at your leisure.
On your itinerary - Mastic from Chios is the first chewing gum in history. In the southern part of Chios, mastic cultivation has set the tone since ancient times. It is a resin collected from the mastic tree (a small evergreen tree common around the Mediterranean) and is used in many culinary preparations, including certain types of Turkish delight, dondurma ice cream and digestive liqueurs. Chrism oil is used in certain Christian sacraments and ceremonies and also contains it. A private guide will take you on a tour of the area and a small museum dedicated to this flagship natural gum. Then, you’ll head to Mesta, which is a fortified village that is a prime example of dense medieval urban planning. Pyrgi is another of the mastichochoria (mastic villages), which is also ancient. It is distinguished by the decoration of its houses, with xistà, sgraffito, black and white scraped patterns that are mostly geometric and which sometimes cover all available surfaces. Then there is the Church of the Holy Apostles, which is decorated with remarkable Byzantine paintings.
Return the car at the airport and fly to Rhodes. Private transfer and stay for two nights in the old Turkish quarter. Your home has a discreet entrance on the cobbled alleyway. A door with a knocker. Inside, you’ll find a cool and peaceful garden and a house that embodies Ottoman refinement. The principle is nothing excessive, so there’s no clutter, no dazzling lights and no harsh colours, but rather a softness and harmony that ultimately allows you to indulge yourself. The decor brings together objects from various origins. Your room is simple, with a simplicity that is a true art form. Ochre and pastel tones give the light a powdery quality. The dishes justify the restaurant's flattering reputation: octopus with sea urchin sauce, lamb skewers with rosemary and pistachios, sea bream risotto are perfectly balanced and just right. It's easy to forget that Rhodes has other fine restaurants!
Already planned - A private tour of Old Rhodes. When the Knights of St John seized Rhodes at the beginning of the 14th century, they intended to stay. So, they built sober and solid structures that befitted a religious order, but they were still elegant and up to date. However, it was not impregnable. Suleiman the Magnificent proved this to them in 1522. The citadel, hostel of languages (or hospitable provinces), hospital, street of knights and palace of the grand masters makes the upper town a Gothic ensemble of the first order, and major restoration campaigns have restored its splendid poise. UNESCO could do no less than list it as a World Heritage Site. A private guide accompanies the visit.
Drive to Lindos in a rental car. Stay for three nights on the rock between the old citadel and the natural harbour. This allows you to contemplate history and keep an eye on the beach. The beautiful whitewashed sandstone architecture is characteristic of the 17th century. It provided a luxurious setting for the craftsmen's work. With pebble floors featuring geometric or plant motifs, meticulously crafted woodwork and fine paintwork, the restoration was carried out with obsessive care. The result is stunning. And perfectly pleasant to live in because pleasure and comfort have never been overlooked. So you feel truly at home in your room, in the lounge open to the sea air and in your corner of the terrace. The colourful splendour of the bougainvillea and the fresh scent of jasmine and lavender add to the happiness of the day. The day begins with a hearty and delicious breakfast because you need energy to be taken in by the aesthetics.
Your belvedere overlooking the blue sea means you can't miss the beach. There is a pretty stretch of sand and pebbles lapped by a transparent sea that is usually as smooth as glass. Swimmers are in luck. The development of the perimeter has been sensible, facilitating operations without altering the site. For those who don't plan to spend their entire holiday here at the beach, Lindos is a whitewashed village on a promontory, with an ancient acropolis and, to the south, a charming ring-shaped bay, Agios Pavlos (remember that it was Paul of Tarsus who evangelised Rhodes). Further south, the villages of Asklipio, with its romantic keep, and Lachania are worth a visit. On the west coast, there are vineyards, orchards, vegetable gardens, Aleppo pines and Italian cypresses, as well as date palms. There is also the shady Butterfly Valley. Lepidopterists (and who isn't one!) will not want to miss wandering around the olive groves to catch a glimpse of the four-spotted moth, Euplagia quadripunctaria. Non-entomologists will find it very pretty. To sample the wines of Rhodes, head to the village of Embonas. Along the way, there are plenty of opportunities to take a dip.
Optional - Private sunset cruise.
Return the car at the airport and take a direct return flight.
This suggested itinerary can be customisable down to the smallest detail, including duration, stops and content. An à la carte menu of experiences is also available to create a journey that reflects who you are.
Every day, our travel specialists craft bespoke experiences shaped around each traveller's profile, desires and budget. These passionate experts design experiences delivered on the ground by a local network of Concierges and trusted contacts. These fully customisable, made-to-measure trips are complemented by a wide range of high-end services (lounges, 24/7 assistance, travel booklet, app, Wi-Fi, restaurant booking, etc.)
Let us create your trip
Every day, our travel specialists craft bespoke experiences shaped around each traveller's profile, desires and budget. These passionate experts design experiences delivered on the ground by a local network of Concierges and trusted contacts. These fully customisable, made-to-measure trips are complemented by a wide range of high-end services (lounges, 24/7 assistance, travel booklet, app, Wi-Fi, restaurant booking, etc.)
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