Moscow and Greek Vilar - heaven and earth

Due to the changed political and economic situation, we decided to change our plans and go on a summer vacation, during the velvet season, to Greece.

Our choice fell on the Vilar tours agency, as offering an excellent option for a combined excursion tour "In the footsteps of Alexander the Great" ("Classic") plus a beach holiday at sea. This option seemed to us the most preferable, firstly, because we are not big supporters of lying on the beach, but at the same time traveling 6 hours a day in one direction (for example, to Athens) is both more expensive and longer (12-14 hours a day). one road), and here the tour turns out to be consistent - with reasonable travel time, and rest, which can be diluted with excursions to the sights closest to Halkidiki.

The idea itself, ahead of events, turned out to be very successful, but it is worth telling about the company in more detail.

To be honest, for how many years I have been using the services of travel agencies, this is the first time I have met such a blatant boorish department. It all started with suspicions that the employees answered our calls in the spirit of "you don't know how to read? Everything is written on the site", although there was no information - specifically what we asked about - on the site, and there was a complete mess with booking hotels. Firstly, those hotels that Vilar offers by default, a frank nightmare and horror, in which "Russian pigs" are clearly able to relax and receive sadomasochistic pleasure, but not Russian tourists at all. Secondly, the information in online booking and in the actual availability and ability to book a tour (hotels and flights) is fundamentally different. As a result, after big scandals and letters to Vilar's management, they nevertheless achieved a compromise - to book the hotel that suited us and was on Vilar's long list.

Moreover, with disputes, when, according to information from Booking, there were rooms in the hotel, but Vilar did not. To this paradox, Vilar, after a week of silence, replied that "they do not work through some kind of incomprehensible booking." Ahead of events, it was not without reason that Vilar shrunk for a long time, because this travel agency managed to present itself as scammers and thieves and spoil relations with the hotel, owing him a round sum. As a result, in order not to lose us as clients, Vilar rented us for two weeks until he booked a room in a roundabout way through a third travel agency.

But this is only the beginning of the adventure. During a face-to-face visit to the company's office, which, of course, works exclusively on weekdays and during working hours, which is difficult for a working person to get a little more than completely, we were unpleasantly surprised to see a soviet bureaucracy out of his mind in the center of Moscow.

In one office, documents are described in granary books, in another, visas, in a third, payments, and so on. All offices in different parts of the building on different floors. And the employees could not tear their sirloin limbs poured with juicy fats from the chairs, and bring their mouths to the telephone, and even more so somehow set up electronic document management. This is despite the fact that we did not see visitors from them, and instead of the three or four girls typical of travel agencies, there is a herd of incomprehensible boars and sows in the building, stubbornly fighting with electronic mice for the ability to move the cursor to transfer the card in solitaire or the Internet chat window .

As a result, having run around the offices, having listened to rudeness once again, that we should be grateful that they did something for us at all, and in general that they would turn their tongues and ask for a multivisa instead of a one-time one, spitting and rubbing their drool on our booking sheet from booking and air tickets, we gave and paid for not the cheapest tour and crossed our fingers. But it was not there! After the expiration of the announced period, no one called us - after two or three reminders, calls, they took the documents themselves, and on the wife's ticket (we have the same last name), they distorted the last name. We were very scared to fly from this sharaga to Greece, but there was nowhere to go from the ship. In general, here it is brief - if you do not want your vacation to be spoiled - in no case do not mess with Moscow Vilar. Never.

Not only did they take money from us for the fact that we, in fact, found out everything and did it ourselves (we couldn’t even mumble about hotels and the country), they also cheated and humiliated us. It’s scary to imagine what would happen if we let it go by itself - would we live in a shabby corner in a cheap hotel of the end of the century before last, or we couldn’t go anywhere at the desired time - it’s unknown.

However, when X-day came, we boarded a plane and arrived in Greece. And this is where a completely different story begins. History related to Greek Vilar tours. Exactly upon arrival, we were met, escorted to a comfortable bus, folded our suitcases and drove from Macedonia Thessaloniki Airport to the hotel, along the way telling introductory information, additionally handing beautiful booklets from the company.

Despite the fact that the first hotel - Hanioti Grand Hotel c 4 *, is a pitiful sight with a dead and cramped room stock, as well as tasteless weathered food dangerous to eat, we were glad for a little - it was already dark to swim in the warm sea, and in the morning to go on a trip throughout Greece.

On the morning of the second day, we got up at 6 am, and as part of a group of 11 people in a comfortable minibus (Mercedes Sprinter), we set off on a journey. Our guide was Yana, and the driver was Stanislav. And the two of them were at their best, trying to make the rest exciting, comfortable and unforgettable for all tourists. Our group was diverse - we were the youngest in it, the rest were middle-aged people from Russia and Belarus, and two grandfathers, but very lively and active.

I would like to express special gratitude once again to Yana, for how much information she gave every day - the history, culture and characteristics of the country, it seemed that she did not stop talking for a minute, and covered all aspects of life in Greece. From the side it is very noticeable how much a person is passionate about his profession, how much he loves and worries about the country, and how much he wants to share his warm attitude and knowledge with tourists. During our trip we visited according to the plan:

- On the second day of Thessaloniki (only partially), having examined the basilica, seeing Olympus and even the throne of Zeus from the window, then having lunch (in a somewhat expensive roadside tavern), we went further to Meteora through the Tempe Gorge. Before visiting Meteora, Yana showed us an icon-painting workshop, in fact a small shop with a large selection of icons and related items, where tourists could purchase high-quality and certified goods if desired.

Meteora is a magical place, Orthodox monasteries hovering above the ground, similar to Athos, which I have nothing to compare with. It is a special feeling to climb up the sandstone to the monastery or to the observation deck, standing, as it seems, on a solid stone, in fact, standing on compressed sand that was once washed by the sea - and looking at the endless sky and mountains ... At the end of the day we are located in the Hotel Panorama on the outskirts of the city of Kalambaki. The hotel is simple, typical roadside, obviously budget, but I can’t say anything bad about it. After settling in, we went for dinner. In general, to be honest, closing the topic of dinners, it is worth noting that the dinners included in the excursion program were very mediocre. With equal spending in nearby taverns, it was possible to eat at least tastier, and even cheaper.

Nevertheless, joint dinners have their own zest - to communicate with different people from different cities and countries, and besides, the driver, the Greek Stanislav, and one of the evenings our guide, Yana, had dinner with us.

- On the third day, our path lay in Delphi. Personally, I liked Delphi the most, but more not from a historical or aesthetic point of view, but rather because of the feeling that this place is especially pleasant for me, in some way you even feel like a person of another time, as if you were transported to ancient times, when The Delphic oracle was still active and the Delphic games were held. Having collected water from the source, we moved to the observation deck to look at the slopes of Parnassus (alas, because of the cloudiness, we never saw it).

After that, we moved to the city of Loutraki, to Hotel Akti, on the shores of the Ionian Sea, which was a pleasant surprise for us, since we expected that during the excursions we would live in different cities, but it turned out that every subsequent evening we would return in Loutraki, to your hotel and swim after excursions to the sea, since the hotel itself stands on the waterfront itself, three steps from the public beach - with sunbeds and umbrellas.

- The fourth day was comparatively easy - we went on a journey through the Argolis - starting from the wonderful amphitheater of Epidaurus, then to Mycenae to the tomb of Atreus and the ruins of Mycenae themselves (seeing the Acropolis of Corinth along the way) and returned back through the Corinth Canal, making a photo stop on the bridge through him.

- The fifth day was marked by a rise at 5 am and a trip to Athens, where after the Olympic Stadium and Parliament we visited both the Athenian Acropolis itself and the temples of Zeus and Hephaestus on our own.

Also in Athens, those who wish could visit souvenir shops and fur coat shops.

- The sixth day was the last in our excursion program, and we returned to the Halkidiki peninsula through Thermopylae, where the monument to King Leonidas now stands.

On the way back, Yana played prizes - icons from the icon-painting workshop, and one of the prizes, which is nice, went to us. It is very pleasant that in addition to the official program there are some features of the tour that bring a special flavor and impressions from the trip. Finally, before leaving for our hotels in Thessaloniki, we examined the White Tower and the monuments to Philip and Alexander.

We were very pleased with the excursion part of the program, and once again I note the high professionalism of our guide Yana.

Having settled in the hotel in the evening, we were finally able to relax: because, fortunately, our choice and butting with the Moscow vilar was not in vain.

And Anna Maria Paradise hotel turned out to be a wonderful place - a small home hotel, with great hospitality of the owner and a very cozy location, quiet and within walking distance from the villages, as well as with a small number of Russians in the hotel.

During our stay, we not only swam in the nearby beaches and sandy beaches in Polluri (Xenia beach), but also took two additional excursions - to the caves of Petralona, ​​on which we were only with my wife, driver and guide Anastasia - which was a little awkward, but nice that we had an individual tour of the caves, and a visit to the farmer's market. Anastasia helped us organize the second excursion to Olympus, Dion and Vergina, since there were no groups in Vilar and we were put on another company - Ambotis.

We liked this tour very much, for which we should say thanks to the guide Georgious, his story about Dion, the tombs in Vergina and climbing a kilometer to the ridge of Olympus were memorable for us and left a pleasant impression.

In general, everything in the Greek side of Vilar was pleasant, only perhaps with the exception of the transfer on the last day, when, due to queues at the airport, we managed to board the plane back to back. It is probably worth bringing tourists early or separating flights so as not to create a crush at the airport.

Summing up, I repeat once again that Moscow and Greek (in the village of Kriopigi) Vilar tours are two completely different companies with a different attitude and level of service.

Therefore, I would like to wish that the Greek side finds a more worthy representative for itself, who can treat people like human beings, and, as a result, more people who want to visit such a wonderful country as Greece will come to visit.

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