Navagio Beach, Zakynthos
The famous shipwrecked beach is regarded as one of the most famous and iconic beaches in Greece. Also referred to as “Smuggler’s Cove”, this beach immediately makes its presence felt with its sharp cliffs, white beaches, and striking blue water. It feels like you discovered a secret treasure island with the scenery being tucked-away from the outside world.

Myrtos Beach, Kefalonia
Another favorite for the people of Greece, Myrtos offers amazing opportunities for the adventurous and the peaceful. It is known for having excellent waves for surfing and a scenic backdrop of rocky cliffs. Its atmosphere is very laid-back and one of the least crowded beaches, as tourists tend to flock to Corfu and Santorini.

Sarakiniko Beach, Mylos
This beach is truly unique as it is not the traditional white, sandy beaches that you are used to seeing in Greece. Sarakiniko instead has great limestone rocks that make up its shoreline where visitors go to lay out in the sun. It is truly an experience that should not be missed. Lots of great sights to see and do with this island littered with caves and amazing diving spots. This is a beach you’ll never forget.

Costa NavarinoCosta-Navarino-Greece-1
What a great time to visit Greece’s beautiful shorelines, with vivid displays like this Mediterreanean treasure. This one is tucked-away in the Peloponnese peninsula and can easily be overlooked by the unseasoned Greek traveler. Costa Novarino has all the 5-star amenities you’d expect from a major tourist destination, plus luxurious spa resorts, full-sized golf courses, and beautiful olive groves. You can’t go wrong with Costa Navarino!

Red Beach
This beach’s beauty is right in its name. This is a one-in-a-million opportunity to witness the amazing contrast of colors of red, white, and blue playing tag with each other all around you. You have to see it to believe it. Don’t miss this famous beach on Santorini and remember to respect the sand, because it will bite you in the butt!

elafonisi-beachElafonisi Beach
Another magical beach filled with colors that would seem like you were standing on a living painting. It has all sorts of great pastel colors and even more found under the sea with the beautiful reefs of coral surrounding it, which provide a crossing from Crete. Elafonisi is a paradise for photographers, no filters needed, just point and fill up the frame with an entire crayon box! That’s why we love Greece.

Budgeting

Here’s where you’d think would be the easiest part of planning a trip for yourself. We’ll that is both true and false at the same time. It’s true that you’ll be spending less, naturally, by yourself than with a group of people. Although, it can be pretty easy to rack-up expenses if you don’t have a lot of self-control. Gift shopping, especially, can sneak-up on you and start eating into your other budgets, like food and entertainment.

At the same time, you have a lot more give when it comes to overspending by yourself. It can be tough to keep track of the budget for multiple people, while being as fair as possible to everyone. Travelling solo allows you to take advantage of more lodging options like hostels, bread and breakfasts, or extra rooms in hotels where they’d rather fill them at lower rates and you end up saving big for not being picky.

Staying Safe

Traveling alone can be scary, that’s probably the biggest thing holding people back from traveling solo. While traveling in groups is the best way to avoid purse-snatchers, pick-pockets, and etc. –you can still be safe traveling by yourself. You just have to travel smarter. Since you don’t have that benefit of an extra pair of eyes, you need to be more aware of your surroundings and where you’re going to avoid ending up getting lost. Another important aspect of traveling alone is traveling light. Don’t carry your entire vacation savings with you at all times. Keep a little bit with you in your pocket, your wallet or purse, and some in a hidden place where you’re staying. Of course, if you have the ability, use a credit card anywhere you can, to avoid the loose cash situation altogether.

The Lonely Road

Just because you’re traveling alone, doesn’t mean you are alone, thanks to the numerous ways of staying connected with family and friends. Post updates to your social media of all the places you’ve visited, take lots of pictures, and etc. Even if the reception is crappy for a phone conversation, you’ll still have some ability to communicate via text/twitter.

It’s always a good idea to not stray too far from civilization. Which means: if you are planning some type of outdoors adventures or hikes, try to get a guide or fellow traveler to join you if you are unsure of the area. You’re most likely going to meet other solo travelers when traveling solo, it has something to do with that inner human compass that we have for socializing.

Mom and Dad, the Explorers

Take this opportunity to become your child’s own personal tour guide and they will learn more than they ever would in sociology book. Kids are more likely to interact with the locals than your typical tourist. With those interactions brings new experiences and insights into the local culture. You’ll probably end up learning a few things from your children, too.

Accommodations

Europe can be surprisingly accommodating for tourist families, especially in the more developed transportation countries. They actually beat out America in a lot of various ways, which isn’t too surprising considering how wide our quality of infrastructure varies throughout the country.

Preparations

The best way to insure a smooth and adventurous vacation in Europe is the plan, plan, and plan ahead. That includes getting your children prepared, too. The way you do that is to start getting them excited for the different places you’ll be visiting while in Europe and teaching them all about them. Schools don’t usually do a great job in educating us about the rest of the world here in the States, kids usually learn more about places like France, Greece, and Spain from what they watch on TV. Plan some family time with the Travel Channel and movies set in Europe, I guarantee they’ll be pumped-up by the time the time comes to depart.

The key to a successful European family vacation is to slow down and to temper expectations. Don’t overdo it. Tackle one or two key sights each day, mix in a healthy dose of pure fun, and take extended breaks when needed. If done right, you’ll take home happy memories to share for a lifetime.

The Best Time to Take Your Kids Abroad

When is the appropriate age to start taking your kids with you around the globe? Well, it is really up to you, but to get the best experience as a little one, it is really best for them to be able to handle lots of walking and some degree of maturity to be able to handle any small bumps in the road that are bound to happen on any extended trip.

Many parents coddle their children and then get mad when they fuss over the smallest of inconveniences. This can turn a fun learning experience into a boring, stressful, and, potentially, wasteful use of a vacation getaway.

Teenagers can actually be more irreprehensible than grade-schoolers. The little ones have their bad days, but if a teenager decides the parents just “don’t understand,” they’ll forfeit the entire trip and choose to not have a good time at all costs.

So, the short answer is: you know your kids better than anyone else and you should make the decision based on your relationship and remember that you can’t force one of those TV show family’s “happy ending” stories.