Beaches, Palaces and Mandarin Trees: A Greek Getaway to Chios and Rhodes

Enjoy a leisurely start to your day with breakfast at your hotel then head out with a private guide to explore the beautiful town of Kampos. Take your time discovering quaint streets, sweet-smelling citrus orchards and ornate red-stone houses. Take a break under the shade of a tree to admire the Panagia Syriotissa church with its bell tower and small bridge. Then, after a little breather, set off again on a laid-back three-hour hike through the beautiful landscapes of Chios.

Today is all about discovering the island’s mastic culture. Accompanied by a private guide, head to the south of the island, where mastic cultivation has long been concentrated. The chewy resin is collected from the pistachio tree (a small evergreen found throughout the Mediterranean) and then added to many local products, including sweets, ice cream and digestive liqueurs, as well as the holy chrism, a perfumed oil used for Christian sacraments. After exploring the area, visit a small museum dedicated to the world’s first natural chewing gum. Then it's on to Mesta, a fortified village brimming with medieval charm. Pyrgi, another ancient mastichochoria (mastic village), stands out for its unusual architecture: the Xistà, black and white geometric scratchings that cover every inch of the town’s buildings. You can also visit the Church of the Holy Apostles, with its remarkable Byzantine paintings.

Hop into your hire care and swap the countryside of Kampos for the coast of Vollisos. The drive is only one hour, so you’ll have plenty of time to settle into your new digs. For the next two nights you’ll be staying in a lovely hillside estate nestled between a cove and the small port of Limia. The rest of the day is yours to spend at leisure. Enjoy the sea views from the terraced bar, roam the fragrant gardens or head out to the nearby village and beaches, just a few minutes’ walk away.

The tiny village of Volissos, which has just 250 inhabitants, has quite the claim to fame: it is here that Homer (according to Herodotus) is said to have written the Iliad and the Odyssey. The village is built in an amphitheatre on the side of a hill and is crowned by an imposing Byzantine castle. Make sure to have your camera to hand while you tour the Nea Moni monastery and explore the idyllic streets, which are lined with classic ochre-stone buildings with blue and white renderings. Less than a mile down the hill you have the port of Limia and its beautiful beaches, which are conducive to some serious R&R.

Today you will head back to the airport in Chios to drop off your rental car and hop on a four-hour flight to Rhodes City via Athens. When you land, you will be privately transferred to a beautifully designed hotel in the heart of the old town. The rest of the day is yours to play with. Spend the evening relaxing in your new home or, if you’re keen to stretch your legs after the flight, head out for a stroll through the old town.

After fuelling up on a delicious breakfast at the hotel, it’s time to see the sites of the medieval city of Rhodes accompanied by a local resident. You’re staying in the heart of the old town, so remnants from the city’s rule under the Crusaders of the Middle Ages and, later, the Ottoman Empire are right on your doorstep. Make sure to also keep an eye out for eclectic neoclassic architecture, which was developed under the Italian occupation between 1912 and 1943. As you explore the beautiful city you will naturally work up an appetite, which is a great excuse to sample some of the city’s culinary treasures. Local delicacies include manouri (Greek semi-soft cheese) served with roasted almond and honey, kleftiko (slow-cooked marinaded lamb) and souvlakia (classic lamb kebab).

Today you will head to a local rental agency to pick up your hire car. The drive to Lindos on the east coast of the island takes less than one hour, so you will have plenty of time to settle into your hotel. Your home for the next five nights is a beautiful property with sea views, so you can spend the rest of today relaxing and soaking in your new landscape.

The last four days of your Greece getaway is all about relaxing and soaking in the beauty of the coast. You have a collection of lovely beaches within easy reach of the hotel, so long, lazy afternoons in the sun are certainly on the agenda. One of our favourite spots is the delightful ring-shaped bay of Agios Pavlos. For a dose of culture, head into Lindos, a classic white-washed village with an ancient acropolis. Here, we can arrange for you to continue your exploration out to sea with a private speed boat tour. Further south, the villages of Asklipio and Lachania are worth a visit. Nature-lovers can head out to the west coast to soak in the pristine landscapes of vineyards, orchards, vegetable gardens, Aleppo pines, Italian cypresses and date palms. There is also a shady butterfly valley, which is home to the beautiful Jersey Tiger moth. When you are ready for a good glass of wine, head to the village of Embonas to taste some high-quality varieties from nearby vineyards. The road to the village is splendid, with plenty of opportunities for a dip in the sea along the way.