Greece 2008: holiday planning guide

If you have avoided Greece recently because of price rises and poor accommodation, this could be the year to give it another chance. Nick Trend reports on what it is doing to win you back.

Greece 2008: accommodation guide

The best operators for activity and special interest tours

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It's the sense of escaping to a slower, less stressful, more beautiful world that makes Greece such an excellent holiday destination. Even in the busiest islands and resorts, you know that you have only to bump down a nearby track or scramble over a low headland to find a hidden bay framed by an empty beach and a deep-blue, translucent sea. And if you want some distraction, you can always take a boat trip to another island, or head off and explore the nearest ruins.

	Greece remains littered with hidden bays, framed by empty beaches and a deep-blue translucent sea

Despite its allure, however, Greece has been somewhat in the doldrums in recent years. The introduction of the euro pushed prices up sharply and it began to look very expensive compared with, say, Turkey or Cyprus. At the same time, some of the accommodation was starting to look tired and there was a serious shortage of top-class villas and hotels. In short, it had become complacent.

Today, there are clear signs that things are being turned around. Tour operators, villa owners and hoteliers have been investing heavily and, this year, there is an impressive line-up of new tours and new and refurbished properties to choose from.

To whet your appetite, here are 10 reasons to consider Greece for summer 2008.

1. Company reborn

Tapestry Collection (020 8995 7787, www.tapestryholidays.com) Despite being a favourite of Daily Telegraph readers, Tapestry Holidays, the first incarnation of this company, sadly went bust in 2006. Now, working under new owners, the original managing director has revived the programme and relaunched a selection of hotels, villas and apartments in Cephalonia and Crete.

2. New Island

Greek Islands Club (020 8232 9780, www.greekislandsclub.com) This villa specialist has maintained its high standards over many years and this year adds a new destination, the tiny Ionian island of Meganissi, as well as new villas in Cephalonia, Crete, Paxos, Skopelos and Ithaca.

3. More luxury

Meon Villas (0870 850 8551, www.meonvillas.co.uk) Meon heads the field in tracking down luxury villas of the highest quality at reasonable prices. It has always been strong in Greece and this year its newly launched "luxury collection" picks out its best properties in Corfu, Cephalonia and Crete.

4. Classic battles

Holts Battlefield and History Tours (0845 375 0430, www.holts.co.uk) The leading battlefields specialist this year adds some of the great battles of antiquity to its programme, surveying the sites of Marathon, Thermopylae and Salamis.

5. Village houses

Vintage Travel (0845 344 0435, www.vintagetravel.co.uk) Vintage's strength is in tracking down high-quality, characterful properties in good locations. Its Greek programme is fairly small (Corfu, Cephalonia, Skopelos and the Peloponnese), but this year it is being extended with a selection of restored houses in the village of Old Skala in Cephalonia.

6. New flotillas

Sunsail (0870 770 4839, www.sunsail.co.uk) The leading club and flotilla specialist has four flotilla bases in Greece and nine itineraries. Two of these are new for 2008: one from a base in Meganissi, the other a route out of Poros.

7. New hotel

Crete looks set to have a rival to the luxury accommodation complex at Elounda. In May, the Amirandes Hotel (www.grecotel.com) will open on the coast near Heraklion. It promises 100 private pools, 21,500-sq-ft (2,000-sq-m) of shallow, palm-fringed lagoons and an Olympic-sized seawater swimming pool, as well as the inevitable spa.

8. Mykonos villas

As well as opening the Amirandes, Grecotel is launching eight top-end villas in a private complex in Mykonos. The Blu villas will have outdoor spa suites and private pools.

9. Halkidiki resort

The Porto Sani Village & Spa (0030 23740 99400, www.saniresort.gr) is one of Halkidiki's top hotels, set in a 1,000-acre ecological reserve. The five-star all-suite hotel's public areas and 103 rooms are being completely refurbished in contemporary style. It reopens in April.

10. Easy cruising

If you like the idea of exploring by sea, EasyCruise (www.easycruise.com) is adding a second ship - EasyCruise Life - to its itineraries around the Greek islands from April. It has 250 simple cabins and will operate seven-day cruises through the Aegean islands.

Insider's guide to Greece

Athens travel guide

Google Map: top Greek destinations

Getting there

By air
Sample fares are lead-in returns; prices will be significantly higher at peak times.

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