After viewing my tours on social media, friends often contact me for “travel tips” for their vacations. With regards to Greece, the general travel requirements and recommendations are already online.
What I like to discuss, instead, are strategies to enjoy the culture and cuisine while experiencing the health-enhancing lifestyle. In addition to reviewing photos, videos, and feedback from previous trips, I also discussed the topic with my tour partner and Indigo Gazelle Tours Owner, Alex Safos. We’ll be leading another Genuine Greece Cuisine, Culture, and Wellness Tour in September 2026! Only a few spaces remain. Be sure to register by June 19, 2026 here. Check out highlights from last year’s tour here:
We believe that the top 7 ways to maximize your Greek trip include:
Culture
1. Language
One of the things that always impresses me the most about Greece is that English is so widely (and so, well-spoken) that sometimes it is hard to practice my Greek there! But, as Alex- points out to travelers, learning a few Greek phrases will make the experience more profound and meaningful. If you’ve never thought about it before, you’ll be amazed at how many western languages have scores of words with Greek roots. The language also offers clue to understanding Hellenistic concepts.
Take for example, the word democracy, which comes from the from the Greek demokratia: which refers to dēmos ‘the people’ + -kratia ‘power, rule’. Learning Greek terms which influenced history gives a powerful boost to both the occasions and the etymology of the words. Greeks also love English-language music – and in Greece you’ll hear techno and Top 40 often. Sometimes I have to request Greek music while we’re there, and I now create my own playlists for our tours. Here’s one of them.
2. Get to Know Modern Greece
Because it’s so packed with monuments and ruins, contemporary Greece often gets overlooked.
What floods my mind when conjuring up images of my time in Athens, however, is the image of people dancing the tango under the stars at the foothills of the Acropolis - merrily in to the wee hours of the night. I think about Ermou Street and the Plaka district – lined with everything from fashionable cafes to traditional tavernas. Bustling with shoppers and tourists and bursting with live music and beautiful objects for sale, I can’t think of a more vibrant place to be! Alex also recommends reading some modern fiction before traveling to get you in the mood.
3. Consider Greece’s Role in the Mediterranean
Alex says, “be open to the mélange of historical influences of other cultures (Roman, Venetian, Ottoman, Egyptian, Balkan, etc..) and Greece’s eastern flavor and rhythm in contrast to western/Northern Europe, etc. Whether you are in Athens, on an island, or in a village, there are often easily discernable “foreign” influences in architecture, customs, dialects, and of course…cuisine! One of the things I enjoy doing on our tours is explain how the various influences combined to create Greece’s most celebrated dishes. These shared cultural aspects also offer a window in to Greece at large as well as to its relationship with neighboring countries and regions.
Cuisine
4. The “Greek” Food Available Abroad Is Just The Beginning
Do you like gyros, moussaka, pastitsio, and baklava? Good…because if you’re going to Greece, you’ll soon eat the best versions of those dishes possible. But, that’s just the beginning! Many of Greece’s most celebrated dishes are made by specialty shops and bakeries that never took off abroad, so it’s hard to taste them outside of the country. In addition, there are a lot of ridiculously healthful local herbs and greens (foundations of the “Mediterranean Diet”) which don’t grow abroad.
My advice? Be sure to load up on pides– savory pies filled with greens and/or cheese at breakfast time. When made properly, there are few foods that I find more irresistible. Be sure to also get your daily servings of horta, bitter greens drizzled with lemon and high-phenolic EVOO, or sea fennel, or spinach. Whichever greens are in season are good for you – loaded with antioxidants and culinary medicine – but we’ll talk more about that in the next section.
5. Try Various Styles of Greek Cuisine
While dining at the ubiquitous tavernas is a must while in Greece, we also like to switch things up by offering the full spectrum of dining styles. We take our guests on street tours with historic bakeries, legendary gyro shops (where you have to stand to eat), historic coffee houses, and fine-dining establishments as well.
Molecular gastronomy and futuristic cuisine are alive and well in Athens. We like to take our guests to restaurants which offer modernist interpretations of traditional dishes – new techniques and presentation, while maintaining (and sometimes even enhancing the flavor).
Want to try your hand at some traditional Greek dishes? Try my recipes:
Wellness
6. The Greek EVOO Industry is a Game-Changer
Obviously producing high quality EVOO is nothing new to the Greeks. Ever since Athena gave the people of Athens the olive tree so that they would have “nourishment, medicine, food, fuel, wood, commerce, and tradition,” locals have been using olive oil to its maximum potential. Now at the forefront of the industry, Greek scientists have developed new technology to predict olive harvests in advance and to determine the phenols (antioxidants) In the oil itself. The Greeks are more obsessed with the phenols than any group I’ve encountered – and that’s a great fixation to have! Now’s your time to sample and stock up on the best you can find.
7. The Island of Longevity
I instantly fell in love with the island of Ikaria….known as a “Blue Zone” where people live well into their golden years with relatively few health concerns. But it wasn’t the favorable news reports or statistics that makes this island irresistible to me– it’s the powerful awareness that here one doesn’t live despite of nature – one lives as a result of it.
There is a deeply calming psychological component to living somewhere where the sounds of the waves, the birds, and the goats are louder than any other noise. On the island of Ikaria life moves to the rhythm of nature. Local residents eat the crops they grow themselves – in nutrient dense soil -and have access to not only lots of fresh air, but many local herbs and honey known for their curative properties as well. While on the island we hold culinary medicine workshops in stores and encourage our guests to “leave space” in their luggage for longevity honey and mountain tea, etc.!
Details for our 2026 tour can be found here. Initial deposits must be in by June 19, 2026.
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