Founder & CEO, TrueTrips
Tell us about you and your company.
Travel runs in my blood. From my childhood memories spending summers in our family-owned hotel on Patmos island and my young adult years traveling between continents while studying and working in the US, to the first trip I ever designed for my fellow classmates at the Stanford MBA program, each and every of these experiences lead to the creation of TrueTrips, which I have been growing for the past 17 years.
When I set out to create TrueTrips, I wanted to share my love of Greece and help travelers connect with my home country in a meaningful way. Today, TrueTrips has evolved into a multi-awarded company that offers fascinating, tailor-made travel experiences in 14 countries in Europe and the Mediterranean, with an incredible team of travel experts and a group of handpicked, world-class guides and experience providers who bring each country’s richness to life. Of course, Greece remains our stronghold, and is the only country in which I remain involved in trip planning personally.
What’s the entry level to talk to you?
Our complete personalized trips include luxury hotel accommodations, in-country transfers (door-to-door), domestic tickets, and a wide variety of hand-picked, tailor-made activities and guided tours. The starting price of each trip depends on the location and time of year – in Greece, our trips start from $400 per person per day (not including international airfare) but most trips range from $550 per person per day and higher.
In addition to the cost of the trip, we charge a service fee of $350 per person, which works towards the time and cost involved in placing all reservations, arranging the trip details, and offering exemplary in-country support. However, we have grown confident to only charge such a fee once a purchase decision is made and not during the planning stages. Personally, I work with guests to plan numerous upscale itineraries each year across the higher end of our spectrum, yet I don’t charge any additional fee for my personal time and involvement.
A favorite trip you’ve planned that best represents your travel philosophy…
A recent trip that stands out could be the one organized for the CEO of a publicly traded company and his family. Having distant origins from Greece himself but never having visited the country, he wanted to explore his roots and discover the Greek islands, culture, and culinary treasures. We did indeed plan an amazing trip, but the highlight lay elsewhere. During their stay on one of the Greek islands, the family loved a piece of art decorating their hotel so much that they contacted us to learn the name of the artist and ask whether they could somehow buy a piece of his artwork. Upon their return from the islands to Athens, we surprised them with an organized private visit to the artist’s atelier in Athens (who happened to be a celebrated Greek sculptor). They saw his work in progress, admired his latest sculptures, learned his story and sources of inspiration, and as they had envisioned, bought a unique piece of his collection.
A favorite place you go back to again and again…
The island of Patmos is my “happy place” on earth. Patmos is known as the place where St. John wrote the Book of Revelation, but it is so much more. There is a delicate, mystical aura that can be felt anywhere across the island, and countless people will tell you the same. Wandering around the narrow streets of Hora (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and its narrow, whitewashed alleys, you can’t help but feel that Patmos is a place where things move at a slower pace of a different era, yet it is blessed with the sophistication of a modern-day destination.
My favorite hotel will always be my family-owned Small Luxury Hotel of the World on Patmos, the intimate Petra Hotel & Suites that has been a landmark of Patmos for over 30 years. The reason is not my personal ownership: our guests have long rated the Petra among our top-3 hotels in our portfolio of collaborators. The Petra has just 11 rooms, homemade breakfasts, and an unfathomable view of the bay in a small village-like setting that resembles the traditional architecture of Hora. With hostess extraordinaire Petra (my mother, whose care and talents are felt across the property!), it truly doesn’t get much better than that.
The most memorable meal you’ve had while traveling…
My most memorable meal is scattered around the country. It is the family-run taverna where two generations work together to prepare and serve a fresh spanakopita, or the local find where the fishermen take their catch of the day. It is where I find myself enjoying a glass of wine or ouzo with the sound of waves lapping on the beach, or where I observe kids playing soccer in the main village square as I savor my calamari. The microcosm of a taverna, even for us Greeks, offers indeed an unforgettable, unique experience where pure Greek flavors are perfectly combined with the values of sharing, generosity, and hospitality (“filoxenia”).
Underrated location, overrated location, personal favorite, recent discovery?
I don’t think I would easily characterize a destination as overrated: it’s all about how you experience a place. For example, in Greece, Mykonos, Santorini, and Crete are all extremely popular destinations for a good reason. The endless hype gets travelers overexcited and creates a fear of FOMO that at times seems insurmountable, even for some guests who clearly seek something different. To me, the ideal itinerary is nothing more than a perfect mix and match of different kinds of destinations to get the deepest and most authentic experience out of each place.
As for the most underrated destination, I always claim that Athens is the place in Greece where pre-arrival expectations and the actual positive travel experience are further apart. Often travelers eliminate Athens from their plans, or at least limit their time there. But spending your first hours in Athens will make you soon realize that culture and entertainment are a way of life for Athenians. The food scene is a perfect combination of smart and traditional, the arts scene has been resurrected with landmark venues, and just when you think you’ve had a perfect day, the city wakes up at dawn with an entirely different face. Endless cafes, bars and restaurants with different style, vibe and music compose the scenery of a city that stands out for its spark and vividness.
As for my personal favorite, the Peloponnese typically comes first. Monuments of every period of Greek history and important archeological sites such as Ancient Olympia, Mycenae, Epidaurus, and its countless Byzantine churches nestled in places of breathtaking natural beauty comprise an ideal destination for history lovers. In the Peloponnese, guests can combine sightseeing and an active lifestyle with explorations of fascinating villages, seductive castles, mountains, rivers, forests, and caves. Not to mention its beautiful Mediterranean beaches, with their sandy and silky shores on the west and the rocky and lacy ones on the east. And of course, top-rated resorts such as the Amanzoe or the Costa Navarino are destinations in themselves.
For a new, promising place, I would go with Kalesma Mykonos. Located on a quieter slope past Ornos Bay, Kalesma is a new luxury boutique hotel offering spectacular views of the Aegean Sea and breathtaking sunsets. It is a modern, sophisticated property that maintains deep roots in tradition. The overall feel revolves around going back to fundamentals on an island that sometimes seeks extravagance.
What is something you wished we all knew or were better at as travelers?
When visiting a place, we are in a constant rush to see more and more and in the end, we may miss the real purpose of travel itself: to learn and grow, to come closer to ourselves and others. All of us may look back on trips and realize that we hadn’t really connected with the people or the place, as we were so focused on the attraction itself, or the prospect of fulfilling a dream. I constantly get requests for a 2-week trip that should include 5 or 6 different locations, or even combine two countries. I preach that sometimes it helps to see less and absorb more, get truly engaged in a destination or an activity, and even go back to your favorite taverna, town, or beach after a few days, already having some sense of familiarity. It makes a ton of difference, and we will all be richer for it.
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