Wanted a quiet pleasant destination. Chose Sifnos as it not full of tourists. The small island of Serifos kept its authenticity over the years.

Explore the Hilltop Chora. The Chora (main town) is comprised of a lower and upper part, Kato Chora and Pano Chora. Walked up and down through tiny shops with local products, small squares and churches.

Hike the Serifos mining trail, it's by the bay named Megalo Livadi

Spent the day at Psilli Ammos, a Blue Flag accredited beach with soft sand and a turquoise bay.

Walked between the churches and chapels on the island, it's a beautiful relaxing activity while there. Main ones are Agios Konstantinos, the Monastery of Evangelistria and the Church of Taxiarhes.

While there, try the local wine and local 

Greek Island of Serifos

Arrived in Nicosia, a fascinating and dynamic city

Spent time exploring historic sights and museums. Also explored a bit the Turkish side of the city.

Rented a car and headed to the coast, in Paphos. It's where Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty was born. Visited  the Tombs of the Kings, Kato Paphos Archaeological Park.

Went for a hike along the coast in Akamas Peninsula and went swimming at a secluded beach.

Did stop many times on the way from Paphos to Larnaca. Like Kourion Archaeological Site, Kolossi Castle, Kalymnos Beach.

Spent the day exploring the city of Larnaca, wandering the streets of old town, Church of St Lazarus, seaside promenade.

 home to migratory flamingoes in the winter months

Road Trip in Cyprus

Arrived in Corfu, called Emerald island because of the green forests. It has pebble beaches, picturesque villages and splendid views. We checked in in Corfu town.

Went to Dassia Beach. The nice thing about this beach is the view, it is surrounded by green hills, beautiful.

Back in the city in the afternoon. Explored the city a bit, with the narrow streets, the Esplanade, old citadel and the port with fishermen boats.

Went to famous Sidari Resort. It's knowm for its "Canal d’amour". The legend says that if two lovers are bathing together, their love will last forever. It's pretty crowded though.

In the afternoon, we moved to Loggas Beach. You have to descent stairs to reach it or just admire it from "the balcony". It's worth going. We admired a wonderful sunset as well.

Spent the whole day here. It has a great beach surrounded by green hills.

Visited Achilleion Palace, the palace build on top of a hill for prince Sissi of Austria.

Took a boat to wonderful Blue Caves on Paxi Island and enjoys Paxi for the rest of the day.

Beautiful Corfu

Landed in San Jose, Costa Rica's capital. We rented a car at the airport and headed directly to La Fortuna.

We drove to La Fortuna through green mountains of coffee plantations. Beautiful landscapes on the way. 

Arrived in La Fortuna, a small town in the northwest part of Costa Rica. It's a beautiful town dominated by Arena Volcano. Actually, the town is a getaway to Arenal Volcano National Park.

We took the day to visit National Park Arenal. The active volcano dominates the park. There are nice hiking trails through the forest and former lava fields. Heliconias trail has a great view of the volcano. 

Headed to the Pacific Coast, in Manuel Antonio, small tourist resort with beautiful sights, exotic wildlife and fun activities. Oh, and superb beaches.

Back to Manuel Antonio resort for the night.

National Park Manuel Antonio is Costa Rica’s most visited park. You can see monkeys and all sorts of birds. There are beautiful beaches and casual forest trails.

We took a full day just to enjoy the beach.

Beautiful Costa Rica Holiday

Arrived in Paris. Had time to stoll a bit on Seine River bank.

Visited the Cemetery, the resting place of many celebrities, like Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison, Maria Callas.

Walked the streets of Marais Neighbourhood and Place des Voges Park, one of my favourites spots of Paris.

Paris Itinerary

Took a flight to Ponta Delgada, on São Miguel Island in Azores. Rented a car and headed away from the city, to be closer to beautiful nature on the island.

Got accommodation in Ginetes, in the west.

Drove to Sete Cidades, a town situated in the center of a volcanic crater, between two lakes - will lead you to the most famous point of the island, over the lakes and the volcanic crater. There are different viewpoints of observation and hiking trails around. The most beautiful points are Do Rei viewpoint and Miradouro Da Boca Do Inferno.

We ate at Restaurante Lagoa Azul, very good and cheap.

Visited the pineapple plantation A Arruda in Ponta Delgada. It's free to visit the plantation. There's a cafe outside where you can drink fresh pineapple juice.

Visited the lava grotto named Gruta Do Carvao, very interesting.

On the way back to the accommodation, drove on rocky west coast, then visited Ponta dos Mosteiros, where gigantic Atlantic waves run against the dramatic cliffs.

Visted Ponta Da Ferraria. There's a hot spring there, we had a swim in it.

Then drove to Caldeira Velha, a hot spring in the middle of the forest, so beautiful and relaxing.

We stopped to eat at Restaurante Bar Caldeiras.

old spa village Furnas. Took a walk along Lake Furnas and ended up in the city’s botanical garden Terra Nostra.

Visited Caldeiras Vulcanicas - geysers and sulfur smell.

In the last day, we hiked to Salto Do Prego Waterfall. The hiking starts at Faial da Terra village.

Beautiful Azores

Calabria region in South Italy is a beautiful area with nice coastal towns, cute fishing villages and some of the greatest beaches. We arrived in Lamezia and rented a car from the airport. I was thrilled about our holiday that was just starting. 

First stop was Pizzo, a pretty town perched on a rock above the gulf of Santa Eufemia. It also has some of the most 
beautiful beaches and the crystal clear sea, that's why tourists like the place so much. Plus a few great coves and caves, like Blue Grotto

We arrived in the evenion in Tropea, spent the night here.

Today we explored Tropea town, with its narrow streets, beautiful cliffs and, of course, sandy beaches with turquoise waters and beautiful view over the Tyrrhenian Sea. You can even see Sicily from here.

Visited small fishing village of Briatico. It's an incredibly quite town, the kind of destinoation you chose to clear your mind and take in the beauty and the calmness.

It's one of the most picturesque spot in the region. Stretches of soft sand sloping into blue sea backed by green hills.

Another superb spot of the area with incredible views over the sea is in Palmi. We hiked to Mt. Sant’Elia in Palmi, this beautiful strip above the sea, there's a panoramic viewpoint over Sicily from there.

We also visited Scilla, a charming village known for its legends. It's the site of the sea monster Scylla from Greek mythology.

Today we visited Bagnara Calabra, a coastal village with sandy beaches.

Then visited Reggio Calabria, the oldest city in the region and the largest. It occupies " the toe" in Italy's boot. It has a nice promenade above the sea and a fantastic castle that can be visited, Castello Aragonese.

Summer in Calabria

This is our road trip in small but beautiful and interesting Bosnia and Herzegovina country in the Balkans. We arrived in Sarajevo, the capital city. Sarajevo is a compact city crossed by River Miljacka and surrounded by Dinaric Alps, which add to the city charm. As arrived somewhere in the afternoon, we had time just to take a few steps on the lovely streets of the old town. We spent the first in Sarajevo.

Today we properly explored Sarajevo. Walking around the city, we could feel the different influences the area had. It's an interesting mixture of Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian and Yugoslav influences that remind of different foreign rules the place knew over the time.

We enjoyed a walk in the beautiful old town, with nice cobblestone streets filled with fine Ottoman style buildings, cute cafes and places to eat.

We stopped at Pirpa and had the best falafel. We had this recommendation from our host and it was indeed a great idea.

After we ate, we took a nice walk along the Miljacka River. There are some nice views over the city from there.

We arrived at Latin Bridge, a nice Ottoman stone bridge over the river.

And visited Archduke Ferdinand Memorial, the site where Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in 1914.

Then we paid a visit to this fine Turkish bazaar. It's an old market, dating from 1400s where you can buy some nice authentic souvenirs.

And ended the day with a stunning sunset from Yellow Bastion.  It's a clifftop where once was a defensive wall, so we had to climb a bit to get there, but it was actually a nice walk there.

Returned to the city and had a second night in Sarajevo.

The next day, we rented a car and went to explore some other regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Our first stop for the day was at Jablanica, a nice small town situated on Neretva River and Jablanica Lake. We took a few stepts and admired the nice landscapes and the emerald colored Neretva River. We visited the broken bridge Neretva Bridge that became a landmark of the place. It's a brigde that was destroyed in the Second World War, but the actual broken brigde is a imitation of the original, built for filming "The Battle of Neretva".

We then drove to Mostar. It's a really beautiful small town with a famous Old Bridge in Ottoman style, a UNESCO World Heritage site, that connects the two nations living on the river two banks, the Bosniak Muslims and, on the oder side, Christian Croats. We spent the night in Mosnar.

The next day, we explored Mostar old town, its Turkish Bazar and admired the wonderful views over the river, the bridge and the city. We also visite the Sniper Tower, the abandoned building turned into an unofficial art installation with murals, and graffiti.

Before we left Mostar, we enjoyed a good traditional Bosnian coffee at this cosy cafe in town.

We then drove to this wonderful scenic site, Kravice Waterfall. We spent a few hours at this beautiful site, admiring the beauty of this Bosnian landscape, swimming and relaxing.

We then drove towards the seaside. Bosnia has a really small coastline, of only 20 km. Neum in the only city on the coast. 

We spent the entire day at the beach, relaxing, swimming and reading.

We just had breakfast and we packed our bags.

We drove back to Sarajevo and back home from here.

Bosnia and Herzegovina Itinerary

Arrived in Ulan Bator, Mongolia. So excited about this trip in Mongolia.

Started the first full day with the exploration of Ulan Bator on our own.

Our tour started with Sukhbaatar Square and the grand statue of Genghis Khan in the square.

Naraan Tul Market is a bustling market for locals selling everything you might think of. It's a nice place to observe the locals and try local products.

Bogd Khan Palace Museum - It's a museum now, but it used to be a temple complex of the Winter Palace of Bogd Khan.

We visited Zaisan Memorial in the southern area of Mongolian capital that honours Mongolian and Soviet Soldiers killed in World War 2. Took a hike up the hill to reach the Memorial.

Visited Gorkhi-Terelj National Park with our guide. It's a popular national park with picturesque scenery. There are hiking trails, rock climbing activities or even horse riding ones. Then we ended up spending the night with a nomad family in a field full of cows and goats, Mongolian landscape. :) 

The Mongolian tour took us through this desertic landscape of Elsen Tasarkhai. You can ride camels here. We spent the night in a touristic camp.

Erdene Zuu Monastery Temple is an old Buddhist monastery. We visited the large monastery complex. 

We visited Ugii Lake. It's one of the biggest lakes in Mongolia and its a tourist attraction also due to many bird species living in the area.

Visited the vast mountainous steppe Orkhon Valley, along the banks of the Orkhon River in Central Mongolia.

Visited Hustai National Park, one of the few places where you can see the Takhi or Przewalski horse. They were reintroduced to Hustai national Park.

Back to Ulan Bator across Mongolia’s dusty landscape.

Mongolian Trip

I have always dreamed of visiting the Dolomites in the Italian Alps. The Dolomites are the beautiful mountain range in the northern Italian, actually a UNESCO World Heritage site. We are not hikers, nowhere near and I thought only those who do hike can get to admire the beauty of the mountain range... Till one day I found out it is perfectly fine to have a road trip in the Dolomites that does not require hiking at all. 

We arrived in Verona, the beautiful northern Italian city, home of Romeo an Juliette. After visiting Juliet balcony in Verona, we rented a car and made our way towards the Dolomites.

From Verona we drove to Ortisei. It was a scenic road on the way to our temporary home in the Dolomites. We arrived in Ortisei in the evening and got accommodated. 

Ortisei is a beautiful mountain town. After the breakfast, we visited the small lovely pedestrian centre of Ortisei before getting in the car again.

Today we drove on gorgeous windy roads and admired some breathtaking views of the Dolomites mountain range out the car window. Gardena Pass is on one of the most scenic roads in the Dolomites. We stopped everywhere we could, we got out of the car and gazed at the spectacular landscapes in front of us.

We continued our journey towards Sella Pass, another amazing windy road route with sharp turns. Sella Pass is one of the most known passes in the Dolomites. It connects the valleys Val di Fassa and Val Gardena. It's a popular road among cyclists.

We stopped in the beautiful small town of Canazei. We had a delicious pizza somewhere in the town. 

We drove further towards the alpine lake of Lago di Carezza. We could spot the lake from the car before we reached it. It's a gorgeous emerald green lake wit pine trees on the lake shore and the mountians above.

We had breakfast and jumped in the car again.

We drove to Alpe di Siusi, which is the largest alpine meadow in Europe. Large green fields with small houses on it and the sublime rocky mountains with snow powder on top of them make the absolutely perfect landscape on a hot summer day. We spent the whole day in the area taking easy walks, admiring the great views and sitting on the meadows.

We took a walk to Malga Contrin, a mountain hut with a restaurant. We ate there on the lovely terrace with those amazing views over the mountains.

In the evening we returned to Ortisei once again and spent the night there.

Today we drove towards Cortina, another stunnig area in the Dolomites.

We first stopped in Val di Funes. The beautiful valley has some beautiful churches and towns situated amongs the mountains. We took a lot of photos in the valley.

Probably the most picturesque spot in the area is Chiesetta di San Giovanni in Ranui, a small baroque chapel with a copper-domed bell tower set amid meadows with rocky mountains behind.

After we had enough of that great valley, we drove to one of the most instagramable places in the Dolomites, the fantastic Lago di Braies. The lake with its emerald green colour set amongst the gorgeous mountains. You cand rent a wooden boat and row on the amazing lake. It's also possible to take a walk around the lake, but it is quite big, it takes a few hours to citcle it.

After we had enough of that beauty of Lago di Braies, we departed towards Cortina d'Ampezzo. It's a very famous ski resort in winter and also the place for the Winter Olympics in 2026. We spent the night here.

After the breakfast, we first had a walk in famous Cortina d'Ampezzo.

We then took the car and headed to probably the most recognizable spot in the Dolomites, Tre Cime di Lavaredo. It's a popular place to hike, but you can reach the national park area with the car as well. Tre Cime means Three Peaks. There are three distinctive rocky peaks that once you see you will always recongnize. We parked the car in the parking lot.

Then took a half an hour walk to Rifugio Lavaredo hut to better see the Three Peaks from there. 

We got back to Cortina in the evening for our last night in the Dolomites area.

We headed to Verona and ended our amazing trip in the Dolomites.

Dolomites Road Trip

Tower of the Winds, a smaller archaeological site

busy colourful stalls of the Monastiraki flea market

Old Town of Rhodes sits inside a complete medieval city and highly preserved castle, visited around.

Ruins of ancient citadel on a steep cliff with sea views

Hilltop Monolithos is a blue-and-white village with island views, nice tavernas and stores selling local products. 

HIked to Castle of Monolithos, ruins of a 15th century castle. Super beautiful views.

Rhodes

Ireland is a spectacular country with breathtaking coastal landscapes, green rolling hills and scenic road trips. We planned this road trip away of major cities to discover the country's natural beauty. We arrived in Dublin, rented a car and headed away.

Today we only drove to Sligo town on the west coast of Ireland. We spent the night here.

We had breakfast and left the town towards wilder landscapes.

Our first stop was a hike to Cuilcagh Mountain, often referred to as "Ireland’s Stairway to Heaven". The way to the top of the mountain is a nice boardwalk that makes the hike easier on all weather conditions. The walk took us about two and half hours in total.

We next visited The Marble Arch Caves, not far from Cuilcagh Mountain. We booked a tour of the natural limestone caves. The tour included a 10 minute underground boat ride, it was pretty impressive.

Benbulben is Ireland's most distinctive mountain due to its unusual shape. The trail of Benbulben Forest Walk starts in a secluded forest and later opens up with spectacular views of Benbulben Head. We spent there about two hours.

We spent the night at Benbulben Farmhouse B&B, a beautiful inn with nice views over Benbulben.

We had a good breakfast at our accommodation.

We started our day with a nice hike on Queen Maeve Trail up on  Knocknarea Mountain, a limestone hill with historic tombs on top. From the top there are beautiful views of the ocean. We spent around two houres there.

After the hike, we stopped to eat at Shannons Corner Restaurant before heading to the next spectacular point. The food was just perfect.

Our next stop was at Slieve League Cliffs. This is one true amazing place. 600 meters mesmerising cliffs above the ocean. The place is a paradise for hikers. We could not get enough of this beauty.

A 40 minutes drive took us above the amazing Silver Strand Beach, on a horseshoe shaped bay, accessed by steps down the cliffside. 

On the way to our accommodation for the night we took the road through the scenic Glengesh Pass.

We got up early in the morning, had breakfast and went to explore a bit of Ardara's coastal area.

Caves of Maghera and Maghera Beach are a really beautiful corner of this world, the kind of place where you go to search peace of mind. After spending some tome here, we got back in the car and headed north.

Horn Head Loop Drive was extremely beautiful ending with the spectacular view point at Horn Head. A short easy hike to here from the parking lot. 

We next stopped at the blue flag Killahoey Beach. We took our shoes off and walked along the beach a bit.

We next arrived at Ards Forest Park. There are nine different trails you can choose from here that take you through dunes, beaches and woodlands.

The beautiful Atlantic Drive took us to Trá na Rossan view, a sensational view point.

Next we stopped at Fanad Head Lighthouse, a magic coastal corner.

Awesome Wild Ireland

Flight to Tel Aviv. Checked in and explored the city a bit. They say you have to check the markets in the city to get the essence of the culture in the area.

Checked Carmel Market. Then Shuk HaCarmel, Levinsky Market,  Jaffa’s Hapishpishim flea market.

Then, we booked a Tel Aviv urban tour with a local. It's worth it.

Took a boat trip to admire the coastline from the sea.

and finished the day on the beaches of Tel Aviv.

Rented a car and traveled back in time to biblical town of Nazareth. Visited around. Visited  Basilica of the Annunciation.

Visited Capernaum, the fishing village with an old synagogue.

Visit to the holy city. Explored the Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and Armenian quarters of the Old City.

Visited the Dead Sea - a salt lake bordering Jordan.

Drove to the south of Israel to get the taste of the desert, It's a super beautiful place with ancient mineshafts, arid, rocky landscape and clifftops.

Trip to Israel

Out of so many islands of Greece, we chose to go on a holiday in Ios, in the Cyclades group, in the Aegean Sea. It's a nice hilly island with spectacular cliffs down to the sea. We chose this one as we were looking for a chill holiday, with wilder landscapes and without much noise around.

We arrived on the island by ferry and settled in the main town of the island, Ios, as it was easier to get to places from there.

Today we decided to explore the island a bit. To do that, you either have to join with a guided tour or to rent a car or some other vehicle. For us it was best to rent a car.

We went to visit Skarkos, the early Bronze Age settlement. It is one of the best preserved settlements from the special Cycladic civilisation of the bronze ages. You can even walk up here from Chora, the main village on Ios Island.

We got in the car and drove to Paliokastro, a ruined castle, on the west coast. Paliokastro Castle is an old Venetian fortress situated on a rocky cliff overlooking the sea and the nearby islands, so you can imagine there are wonderful views from there. From the parking to the top of the mountain there's a paved road you have to walk on. The hike is not that difficult to take, but be aware there are no shades on the way!

From the castle, we went to visit Psathi village, not far from the site of the castle. It's a nice beach famous for a specific taverna and also for its beach. We checked them both after we took a light walk on the village streets.

We had lunch at Alonistra taverna. It's an awseome taverna with spectaculat views and super delicious food. We had some very good food and perfect Greek salads.

After we ate we walked to Psathi Beach. It's a pretty wide and fantastic sandy beach. There are also some reed umbrellas there for some shade. We spent the rest of the day here, on the beach, relaxing, swimming and sunbathing.

In the first part of the day, we explored Chora, the very town we were staying in. It's the most important town of the island, so it's not that little. We allowed ourselves to get lost on the streets of the town with typical Cycladic whitewashed houses and blue windows.

We then walked to Mylopotas Beach. It's an hour walk to it, you can either walk or take a bus. Mylopotas Beach is the main beach of the island. It's the beach where you can try some water sports as well. Ant there also restaurants and cafes around.

We chose to at Drakos Taverna. The food is simply amazing.

Towards the evening, after coming back from the beach, we took our walking shoes and headed to Gaitis Simosi Museum, a nice place to watch the sunset from. The walk is a bit tiring but the views on the way are amazing. We watched the sunset from the steps of the museum.

Today it was beach day. We checked different beaches near the port.

We first went to Paralia Gialos, beautiful beach with fine sand and shallow waters. We loved it.

Then we walked to Tzamaria, about a kilometer away from the port, in a bay, so there is no wind there, perfect for snorkeling and swimming. The beach is with pebble and sand and one taverna overlooking the bay.

And the last beach of the day was Koumpara. It used to be a wild beach, now it's a beach with plenty of facilities, sunbeds, restaurants and all.

Today we watched the sunset from beautiful Church of Agia Irini. 

Today we combined some nice hiking with nice beaches.

From Mylopotas there's this hiking path on the side of the mountain that offers great views over the sea. The trail is marked. Make sure you wear hiking boots!

We arrived at this beautiful secluded beach were we spent a few good hours before going back on the same route.

We spent another night on the island before leaving the place behind.

Just had time for breakfast and went towards the gport to take the ferry back.

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