Review of the cruise 'Saint Athos'

Hello, dear readers, this time I would like to share with you a story about an excursion tour that I recently visited on my own. This is a cruise "Agios Athos", around the Holy Mountain, with views of 8 of the 20 monasteries, a stop in the city of Ouranoupoli, and a visit to a wine cellar on the way back. So, the journey began on a spacious and comfortable double-decker bus, where we were met by the driver Nikos and accompanying Yana. There were a really large number of guests (about a hundred people), among whom were couples, groups of friends and families with children. Everyone settled comfortably and set off. Experience shows that this is perhaps one of the most popular and numerous excursions in Halkidiki. The ship's departure point was in the bay with the symbolic name of Ormos Panagias (Bay of the Mother of God). The ship was large, with three decks and a large selection of seats (open and closed, with sofas, soft seats, chairs and benches). There were bars on two decks where you could buy soft and alcoholic drinks, coffee, tea and snacks (pizza, sandwiches), there was also a souvenir shop on the ship, where, among other things, you could rent binoculars to view objects in the distance. We were met by the captains of the ship - friendly Andreas and Yorgos with the team. After two hours of pleasant sailing, we saw the majestically protruding Holy Mount Athos (height - 2033 meters), then the ship turned to starboard and went along the western coast of the peninsula. Cruise guests could observe 8 of the 20 monasteries, the main port of Athos - Daphni (so named because of the laurel trees) and listen to a story about each of the monasteries and the history of Athos in general. The narration of the escorts was in Russian, English, Greek and Italian. Upon arrival in Ouranoupoli (Heavenly City), the guests had about an hour and a half of free time, just enough to walk a little along the small streets, look into the shops with products from Athos, and have lunch. The attendant Yana advised the Kritikos tavern, where the dishes and service were tasty and of high quality (lunch for two with two courses - risoto and pasta, and a Greek salad cost 30 euros). The return trip was short and took about an hour, during which there was entertainment on the first deck with traditional Greek dances and live music. On the way back, guests vacationing on Kassandra also expected a visit to the wine cellar with a tasting of several types of wines and a large assortment of traditional Greek drinks and special promotional prices. I can say from the point of view of a person who has been working in the field of tourism for a long time that this cruise and the organization of the tour were at a very high level.

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