Uli
Was so nice of you to send us a Christmas Card-I have been meaning to write you a Thank You for all you did for us for our trip
Everything worked perfectly, although at first with the tour it was a little disorganized when we first got to their office, but once on the bus we had a wonderful tour guide and a good driver, and everything went well.
I did truly want to Thank You though for all your help. Evangelos is Greek American and has been to Greece before, but I had never been, and he was right when he said I would not want to come home!
We both loved it so much and do hope to come back very very soon. We will also use your help as well, because you made everything work very easily and made is very stress free, so glad we found you!!!!!
Thank You Again and We Wish You A Very Merry Christmas.
Ch.& E. Candes - USA
Hi Uli,
I know it's been a couple weeks since my return home, but between jet lag and catching up at work- I haven't had a moment to myself. No chance to gently ease back to reality...
Well, my trip was perfect!!! The weather was perfect everyday - 80's and blueskies. All the ferries went on schedule - they were so much fun. The only way to travel between islands.
I loved Greece!!!! the people, the culture, the sights, the history - the food!!! I loved Athens-the open air cafes, the museums, the Acropolis - what a great city! The Herodion Hotel was great - the location, the room, services, great breakfast and most of all the roof top jacuzzi with a view of the Acropolis! Then onto Mykonos. The Mykonos Bay Hotel was the best!!! They picked me up at the port and shuttled me whenever I needed a ride. I had the best room in the hotel - it was really beautiful - marble and beautiful chandeliers- double doors opening to my private balcony overlooking the beach, sea and the beautiful sunsets. I felt like a princess. The breakfasts were also fantastic. The pool was great. The people there could not do enough for the guests. Again the location was great - out of town, but just a short stroll to everything. I loved shopping in the town. And my excursion to Delos was unbelievable. Now onto Santorini...no words can describe. The Neoklassiko was also the best. So beautiful and again I had the best room and the view of the sea and the breathtaking sunsets. I had a little apartment -all marble and antiques. I enjoyed the small pool that was right on the cliffs of the caldera. I toured the island, wine tasting ,shopped - but the best was enjoying the sunset at the hotel. Again, the breakfast was a more traditional Greek breakfast - so wonderful and delivered to the room each morning. I was in heaven!!!! Again, the location was perfect - quiet but a few steps from the town.
Finally off to Crete. First to my village outside of Heraklion. It was everything I imagined - the rooms were a little basic, but the grounds were beautiful, with the small shops. The food was great - and one night they had a show with traditional music and dancers. The pool has to one of the most beautiful in the world - it was so much fun to swim there. I did find the buses there to be unreliable -so ended up taking a lot of taxis - but since the price of the hotel was so reasonable - it all balanced out. I enjoyed visiting Knosses, museums and - a town of potters.. Then I took the 3 hour bus ride to Chania along the coast. The sights were breathtaking. Little did I know I had saved the best for last in Chania - a little 14th century harbor with a lighthouse. How charming to stroll through the narrow cobblestone streets lined with shops and restaurants. The Amphora Hotel was unbelievable. The ceilings were 12 feet high - the beauty of the details - the entrance area - and the rooftop overlooking the entire harbour and lighthouse. Again my room was gorgeous!!!
With the perfect view of the harbor and so comfortable, decorated with antiques. Again, the people there were so friendly and couldn't do enough to help you in every way. I loved Chania!!! I loved it all!!!!
Uli, what a great trip I will always remember. All this and within my budget - unbelievable!!!
And honestly - I owe it all to you!!!!! So many times I was discouraged while making the plans - but you always kept positive and didn't give up. It was a lot of work for both of us to plan - but the reward is how it all turned out - a dream vacation I will never forget.
Thank you doesn't seem like enough - but that's all I can say. We went through a lot planning this trip - some stressful (for me anyway) but it was all worth it. I hope you feel the same way.
Thanks so much for showing me Greece. I loved every minute and can't wait to return.
Take care and let's keep in touch.
Kindest regards,
M. Levine – USA
Hi Uli,
It's been a couple of weeks since we returned from Greece, and we still can't stop daydreaming about it. We had a magnificent time! Of course you had a lot to do with it. We were amazed at how smooth everything went... from the professional drivers on the transfers to the service at the hotels to the local agents on the islands to the ferry and air connections. Thank you so much!
We have been sharing our photos with friends and family and they are all excited about visiting Greece as well. We would be glad to recommend you to them and we are already planning our own return trip! The views of the Santorini sunset from Imerovigli will be forever etched in our minds.
Best regards,
D. Lee – USA
Dear Uli
Our wonderful Greek vacation has come and gone, and I wanted to take a moment and thank for your assistance. Everything worked out well , and we especially liked seeing the greeters as we arrived. A couple of personal favorites were the Villa Marandi in Naxos and the view from the Strofi Taverna in Athens. Again thank you for helping us with a fabulous two week stay in Greece.
Best Regards
M. A. Hendricks - USA
Uli,
I'd like to extend both Liz's and my thanks to you and Dolphin Hellas Travel Office. Everything you prepared for us allowed us to have a marvelous vacation and spend a wonderful time experiencing Greece. I want to let you know that the next time we travel there I would be more than happy to use you as a base for our travel and would recommend you to anybody that has plans to go to Greece.
The hotels you booked for us were great, clean, and had good service. The car rental was prompt and waiting for us when we got off the plane and ready to pick up the car upon us returning to Athens (wow, what night time traffic Friday!). The flights with Aegean were great.
Thanks again for your time, patience and experience in helping us make this a wonderful experience.
Best regards,
L. & I. Ruiz – USA
Uli,
Once again you were amazing! Everything was wonderful and perfect, no problems at all! Thank you so much for all of your help and assistance, you are just terrific. It was quite possibly the best vacation we have ever had, thanks in no small part to you!
Sincerely,
J. Friedman – USA
Chrisa,
I am home now and I just wanted to thank you again for all of your invaluable assistance! The trip went very well, Santorini was wonderful and the boat rides there and back were quite something. Then the drive up to Delphi and Meteora went very well including the accommodations there, and then finally saw Athens on the last day topped by meal on Lycobetus Hill the final evening.
Thank you again! I’ll be back!
B. Kaye – USA
Uli,
I want to thank you for helping us with our trip to Greece (July 9-20, 2009). We were very pleased with all of the reservations you made for us (hotels, ferries, transfers). The location of the Electra Palace was great. The room was comfortable, but quite small for three people. The Paros Agnanti was wonderful. Our accommodations were lovely and the staff very friendly. We ate dinner there all three nights because the chef and the restaurant manager were so good. But our favorite hotel was the Pegasus Suites in Imerovigli. We had booked the two bedroom apartment, but moved to a three person suite for a better view . The view from our new room and patio were amazing (see attached picture). Each morning our breakfast was expertly prepared and served on our patio. The location in Imerovigli was great...close enough to walk to Fira, but not crowded. Please continue to recommend all three hotels....but especially the Agnanti and the Pegasus Suites.
The transfer companies were on time and very professional and friendly.
Thank you again for your assistance.
G. Demetros - USA
Hi Uli
I just wanted to thank you for all your help in making arrangements for our trip to Greece. Everything went extremely well. The transfers were all on time, the cruise was wonderful and the Herodian hotel was wonderful. I appreciate your responsiveness, insights, coordination of everything...thank you.
The only little mix up was my misunderstanding, when I paid the first driver the full fare plus tip when he brought us to the port for our cruise. I realized my mistake, that the transfers were already pre-paid, when our next driver left us at the hotel (after the cruise), and he left without payment. That was my mistake, but the first driver must have been impressed with what he thought must have been a big tip.
Thanks again Uli! It meant a lot to me that my family had a wonderful vacation together, and with all your arrangements, we did! I have attached a picture of us in Athens. I will highly recommend you for anyone I know travelling to Greece!
All the best,
W. Darbonne - USA
Hi Uli,
I am sorry that I have not touched base with you sooner to thank you for all your help in making my trip to Greece a memorable one. I have been back three weeks now and have hardly come up for air. That is the hard part of going on vacation, you have to pay for it on the other end!
I had a wonderful time on the cruise and the hotels you had booked were fine. Everything went off well and I made all my boat connections. The weather was superb - sunny every day with a lovely soft warm wind at night - could not have asked for better. Unfortunately, since I have come home to Canada we have had only rain and fog -can you spare a little of that Grecian weather and send it my way??
Again many thanks for your superb reservations and attention to details all by email. Please do forward this email on to you supervisor so that they know what a wonderful job you did on my behalf. It was much appreciated down to the happy birthday cake on the boat (that I suspect you must have alerted them to as I did not!!).
All the best, and when, not if, I return to Greece again, I will be in touch with you.
best,
H. Patenaude - Canada
Hi Uli, we have an incredible vacation. We loved both islands in different ways. Every day was wonderful. thank you for making our travel arrangements. If I could give you any feed back is that tourists have to be careful with taxi drivers as we over paid for two taxi trips. But I think this is a world wide problem and we just have to be aware as much as possible. Smile. We absolutely loved Petessos Hotel and Spa. The location was perfect and the facility and staff were impeccable. Only the pool was over salted and chlorinated and it burned your eyes to swim. The ocean swimming was better which we loved. The Dana Villas were terrific. We certainly had a workout on those stairs since the villas were at the bottom of the cliffs but it kept us in shape. The staff again was terrific! Thank you and I will refer you to my friends. The boat and air went great and we made it home safely! Best to you. Eva
E. Miller - USA
Chrissa,
...
You have been so agreeable to work with and so very helpful in all aspects of what we needed. I would be happy to recommend your services to any of my friends who travel to Greece. The vouchers were at the hotel and all "i's" were dotted and all "t's" crossed, as they say in the USA. Thank you so much. And we will be traveling there again. I met a niece for the first time and it was such a happy reunion. Nothing spoiled the trip for us in our hearts.
Sincerly,
A. Berry - USA
Frau Uli,
Just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for setting up such a wonderful tour of Greece. It exceeded my expectations. I will cherish every minute of it for the rest of my life. The way you set everything up was incredible. Everything went like clockwork. And you seem to know just what I was interested in without ever meeting me. I have recommended your agency, more specifically you, to several of my friends since my return. Once again, Thank You and I hope to use your services again some day soon. Aufidesen..
Very Respectfully,
A. A. Almanza - USA
Dear Eleni,
It has been pretty hectic since our return . . . catching up with business and just needing to settle into the old routine. But I promised you a letter, so here goes.
First off, I have to thank you for all of the attention you gave us in planning this tour. Your responses to our concerns were immediate and helpful. I have the feeling we might have tested your patience, but it didn't show. You seemed as bewildered as we were with the scheduling of our trip to Patmos. Given the very limited choices we had, arriving and leaving in the middle of the night, it all worked out surprisingly well. I can only assume that now that the busy season is upon you, you will have more choices of arrivals and departures. Patmos became such a delight to all of our group that, if we do this trip again, some would be willing to walk on water to get there.
I cannot say enough good things about Mara. The depth of her knowledge of Greek history, art and mythology was staggering. Yet she never just rambled on. She talked to us. When she laughed we laughed with her. And we got to know her as a friend and travel companion. I have led groups to Greece in the past, and I have to say that Mara is by far the best guide I have ever had. Actually, I would say that she is the best guide I have had anywhere, and that covers tours all over the world. If she ever needs an endorsement from me, please let her know I would be happy to give her one whenever she asks
Our driver could not have been more helpful or friendly. A number of us were walking through Athens after our return from Patmos and we spotted Demitry, (I hope I remembered his name correctly.), and we greeted one another like old friends . . . which we were.
Mara was such an extraordinary guide that I am afraid she made it impossible for Rebecca to replace her. Rebecca seemed somewhat nervous. When we got to Sounion she began a talk that went on and on without taking into consideration the fact that we really came for the sunset, and not for information on costs of real estate. The group around her gradually broke up on its own. More that one tour member commented to me how fortunate we were to have Mara for the bulk of our travel experience. The guide on Patmos was also excellent, but in a totally different way than Mara. She seemed to almost be performing from a memorized script. She was thorough and accommodating to our interests, but in a more formal manner. Mara was more conversational. I suppose that 22 years as a university professor made me sensitive to these things.
In closing, let me say thank you once again. There was not one unhappy or disatisfied traveller in our group, and that is really unusual, and in many ways due to your care and planning. I would be pleased to endorse your services whenever asked.
Cordially,
Richard Caemmerer
Dear Uli -
Apologies for being late in telling you this, but the trip you helped set up went very well. Thanks for all your help! We definitely liked the Hotel Belvedere on Santorini and the Porto Mykonos - very nice hotels. One note - there is construction on Mykonos (they are building a park and adding onto the dock area) right in front of the Porto Mykonos, so the sea view room was a bit noisy. The hotel was kind enough to move us one building back - still a great sea view, but without construction noise or a view of the construction site. Should be nice when it's finished.
When we come back to Greece, we'll definitely look you & Dolphin Hellas up again.
Cheers,
L. Graham - USA
Dear Uli - we are home from our trip to Greece. It was wonderful. We saw everything that we wanted to see and enjoyed Easter very much. My grandson was excited and very impressed with Greece's natural beauty. It is a trip he will remember always. The hotels and all arrangements that you made for us were excellent. Thank you so much for your help in making this trip go so well for us. I look forward to working with you in the future and will certainly recommend your agency to anyone wanting to travel to Greece.
Best Regards -
Car. Mertz – Pennsylvania, USA
Dear Uli,
I just wanted to say a big Thank You for all your help. I really enjoyed my stay at the Attalos Hotel. great location except for noise above me with the roof Garden bar but great views of the Acropolis etc. The cruise and weather were fantastic and the day trip to delphi.
I got to Hydra overnight also.
So thank you again,
Marilyn Gay – Australia
Dear Uli,
We have just returned from a wonderful holiday and would like to say thank you for helping to arrange all our tours. Everything went smoothly and we would definitely recommend Dolphin-Hellas to all our friends.
With best regards,
Siew Leng – Singapore
November 2008
We just arrived home from our 40th wedding anniversary trip to Greece that was a huge success thanks to Dolphin-Hellas Travel Agency in Athens.
My husband and I characterize ourselves as “independent travelers” – for over 40 years arranging all the details of our trips ourselves. However, when we began to search the web for hotels, ferry schedules etc. on the Greek islands….we were a bit overwhelmed. We learned that not everything you see on the web is what you really get.....so I knew we’d have to find a reliable agency in Athens.
I emailed Dolphin-Hellas about their willingness to work with our own itinerary, rather than a “package tour” of the islands. Uli responded immediately with not only a willingness to work with us, but also some great suggestions that ended up making our trip PERFECT! He provided us with vital accurate ferry & information that we could not understand before. In addition, the agency’s hotel suggestions covered a wide range of rates – not just the pricey hotels. In the long run, we were able to go where WE wanted to go and stay as long as WE wanted – but at very dependable, “no surprises” hotels – and this is CRITICAL to a trip to Greece! We joked that even after my hours of research on a multitude of travel sites, the hotels that Uli suggested ended up being our very favorites!!
So we wanted to take this opportunity to let not only “independent travelers” but all fellow travelers know that for a problem-free, perfectly divine trip to Greece – it’s quite simple: Turn to the Dolphin-Hellas Agency in Athens.
We are eternally grateful for our amazing anniversary trip. Thanks Dolphin-Hellas!!
Cheryl and Robert Potter – USA