10-day Athens, Santorini Workation Package

Athens is an exciting city, where contemporary life swirling around ancient history is open for display. You will arrive at the airport where your Workation representative will meet you and lead you to your accommodations. The amenities will be pre-screened to ensure you have everything you need to enjoy your Greece Workation package. 

As you settle into the beauty, pace, and life of Athens, you can explore your new neighborhood and find details that connect the past to daily life with relics, artifacts, narrow streets, or idyllic terraces. If you are in the Kolonaki neighborhood, you can enjoy the cafes at night, where restaurants line the marble-walking streets, designer shops and boutiques create elaborate window displays, and the smell of freshly made baklava is ever present. 

Focus:
Arrive in Athens and enter your new space practicing mindful observation. Visually explore every corner just to notice what is and is not present absent of any judgment. Can you do it? How does it feel? 

Suggestion:
Introduce yourself to Athens with a plate of moussaka, a dish similar to lasagna but made with eggplant instead of noodles.

With your first full day in Athens, you can enjoy the ancient life of the city and celebrate the birth of Western Civilization. It is better to visit the iconic ancient sites with a guide for better insight and information into the details of the past. You may start at Syntagma Square to view the Hellenic Parliament and guards dressed in traditional military costumes. 

After you climb the hill to reach the Acropolis, the sun may shine against the marble pavement. Few places in the world evoke such an awe as the temples and holy sites on the plateau, crowned by the epitome of classical architecture, the Parthenon. You view the Doric columns and intricate detail carved into the friezes depicting ancient myths, including the defeat of the Amazonians. 

Focus:
Stand in the Acropolis for two minutes without moving. Notice the ambiance of the hilltop. What does it sound like, feel like, or even smell like?

Suggestion:
Travel to the top of Philoppapos Hill for a great view of the Acropolis and surrounding Athens.

On Sunday morning, you can get a better taste of Athens like a local by visiting the Monastiraki Flea Market. On the weekend, the marketplace bustles with activity nearly feeling like a bazaar more than a collection of small shops. Vendors sell books, antiques, trinkets, and more. 

Travel to Cape Sounion for a half-day guided tour to Cape Sounion, where the cliffs connected to the Athens Riviera overlook the emerald-blue Aegean Sea. Poseidon’s Temple stands strong and powerful against the backdrop of the steep bluffs plunging into the water. Evidence of human settlement dates back to the 11th century BCE but the Greeks built the temple to honor the master of the sea featuring incredible colonnades that reflect the colors of sunset. 

Suggestion:
Shut off your phone during sunset over Cape Sounion. Enjoy the colors, the water, the sounds. Don’t look at your phone until you leave the cape behind.

Focus:
The coastline is a great place to enjoy traditional Greek seafood like shrimp saganaki or grilled octopus.

Today is your first day of work in Greece. Create a ritual that will give you an easy trigger for immersive work. You can use the same technique to remove yourself from work at the end of day for a better work-life balance. Once the day is done, choose the museum of your choice for another discovery of Greek culture, heritage, or history.

The Museum of Cycladic Art is a better look at the historical ideas of the Cycladic islands, known mainly for their beauty and whitewashed architecture featured on the likes of Mykonos and Santorini. The figurines are distinctive, with flat features cast in marble or bronze. The bronze connote older sculptures including works dating back to the 5th century BCE. 

Focus:
Find a piece inside the museum that speaks to you? What’s its texture? What’s its shape? What defining features does it have that speak to you? 

Suggestion:
For a different perspective of Greek history, you can visit the Byzantine & Christian Museum. 

Depending on your flight time, you may have the chance to step into the National Gardens for a retreat into greenery and Mediterranean foliage. The gardens were built in the 19th century and cover nearly 89 acres. They can smell like mimosa and green florals

Your Workation representative will meet you at the accommodation and take you to the airport for your quick flight to Santorini. The iconic island is known for its cliffs overlooking the caldera, incredible views, and whitewashed buildings with blue trim. You can ease into the comfortable atmosphere of your new place pre-screened for the amenities you need for work. If you are in Firostefani town, you can enjoy a quiet walk as an introduction to your new neighborhood while still remaining close to the capital of the island, Fira. For your first day, take in the famous sunset that sets over the caldera and spreads the colors across the water.

Focus:
Pay attention to the flight from Athens to Santorini. Watch out the window on your descent. What do you see, how do you feel?

Suggestion:
Firostefani is small and quaint. Take your time walking around the narrow paths and you are sure to find a great view.

By now you have set in place your ritual for starting work, making it easy to ease in and out of flow while in Greece. At the end of your work day, you can visit the town of Oia, where you can walk along the marble streets that line the caldera. 

It is one of the most famous towns on the island and is known for the pristine white walls of the buildings and the blue domes of the churches. Simply walking through town is an experience. You can duck in and out of boutique shops, enjoy the smell of grilling octopus with lemon juice, and stay for the incredible views of sunset witness from the remains of the castle tower.

Focus:
Oia has incredible art galleries and boutiques. Find a piece of art hanging in one of the galleries. What about it caught your eye? Is it the artwork or the setting or both?

Suggestion:
Whether you choose to stay for the sunset or just want to enjoy the views over the water, visit Oia Castle and spot the windmills.

Start work early so you can finish with time to travel to the marine for your cruise of the caldera. By now you know Santorini is all about sunsets, and your sailboat will take you onto the water for a great exploration of the colorful beaches, hot springs, and panoramic views. 

Smell the salty air and stop at a number of the famous local beaches to snorkel and see the sand that glows rusty at the Red Beach. You may be able to take the trail on the interior island to the top of a protruding crater to see the fumes of the active volcano. Swim in the warm water, listen to birds circling overhead, and enjoy the views of the sunset as your captain sails you back to the marina. 

Focus:
Turn off your phone the moment you step on the boat. Don’t think about pictures. Just sit and experience the tour.

Suggestion:
If you want a nice view at night, visit one of the cliffside restaurants in town for dessert or a drink before returning to your accommodation.

Finish work for the day and bring in the weekend by uncovering the ancient history of the island at Akrotiri. The Minoan civilization is considered the Greek Pompeii and the possible inspiration for the Atlantis myth. 

The city’s foundations as a developed urban center occurred around 4,000 years ago with large ports providing trade across the Aegean Sea. The eruption of the volcano in the 17th century BCE buried the city until it was rediscovered in the mid-20th century. While mostly still undiscovered, you can walk along the wooden walkways with a guide for more historical and archeological context as you learn about the recovered vases, two-story buildings, and colorful frescoes.

Focus:
Spend time with the Spring Fresco depiction of lilies and volcanic mounds. While looking at the fresco take the time to breathe; four seconds through the nose, hold for three seconds, and four seconds through the mouth. Repeat three times.

Suggestion:
Visit the Akrotiri lighthouse for one of the best, non-crowded sunset views of the island.

The day is yours to explore and enjoy Santorini. You can spend time on the beach, visit the different towns, or enjoy a wine-tasting tour. You can also take the ferry to Ios for a day trip to another island.

When you arrive on the island, you can spot the quintessential white architecture of the Cyclades climbing up the landscape of Chora town. The beaches have great sand and relaxing umbrellas shading the lounge chairs with blue fags letting visitors know the water is safe and clean. For a more adventurous and historical experience, you can travel the dusty trail winding to the edge of the craggy cliffs to reach the mythological point of Homer’s Tomb, known for authoring the Iliad and the Odyssey.

Focus:
Homer is known as the creator of heroes. What does this really mean and how does this position at the edge of the island feed or speak against the idea?

Suggestion:
If you visit Ios, don’t miss the views from the Odysseas Elytis Theatre.

Your Workation representative will meet you at your accommodation with plenty of time to travel to the airport to start the travel home. You can add more time to your Workation package by extending your time in Greece or tacking on another destination nearby, such as Croatia or Italy. You have already established your ritual for starting and ending the workday making it much easier to continue your Workation experience. 

Focus:
Take a body scan for 10 minutes. Focus on your breathing, the texture of your clothes, and the feeling of the sun on your skin. What does the day feel like before you leave Greece?

Suggestion:
The Santorini Airport can get very congested in peak season. Your Workation representative will make sure you have lots of time to reach the airport to get through security and check-in.