Trip to Santorini 13-20 April 2014 Santorini - Pearl of The Aegean

Hi Tobias,

I hope you are resting well in Germany after your trip from Greece. We had a good journey on the ship and our cabin even had a shower and toilet. We then had a slow day with a little bit of walking through the town center and out on the port wall to the Venetian Fort. Today we started our guided tour and visited the museum and Knossos.

Thank you for a great trip on Santorini. I have now seen many more places and love it even more. The other girls found it spectacular too. Thank you also for being able to adapt the program in such a way that we did not miss out due to the bad weather.

Keep in touch as I would love to show you parts of Australia one day and I even might come back and do another tour with you. Keep me informed about your new projects,

Thank you again Tobias,

Lisa.

"outstanding tour with a wonderful guide" (Fascination Volcano tour on Santorini (June 2012)

"Dear tom,
Thanks a lot for great cooperation : travel agent called us to say guests had an outstanding tour with a wonderful guide J
All the best."
Olivier Jeannier
Agent de voyages Sales & Operations Specialtours & Groups
Tourisme Pour Tous

"Thank you again for an incredible week" (Pearl of the Aegean - Santorini tour)

"Hi Tobias and Phoebe,
I meant to e-mail you both soon after I got back home. Thank you again for an incredible week--it was definitely one of the greatest trips I think I have ever taken.
I made all my flight connections (though I had to run across the Munich airport, but it was a chance for exercise, haha), but my luggage got left behind in Munich and took several extra days to come home. And everything went well with the parents of the friend-of-a-friend who picked me up in Athens. I'm still astounded by the kindness of strangers, and the hospitality of Greek people in general.
Little by little, I'm uploading my photos to my Flickr account. There were over 600 so it's taking a while to go through them and edit them. Next up: stitching together panoramas of lava flows on Nea Kameni!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/andorus/collections/72157626985395758/
I actually I took very few photos of people on this trip. Tobias, you'd mentioned a site where we could share all our photos--I'd be happy to upload my originals there, too, so we all have them in one place.
Phoebe: I'm glad you all made it home safely!
Tobias: hope you had a great time in Minos! Your photos on Facebook are gorgeous.
Be well. :) It was wonderful traveling with you.
Smitha" (Smitha, USA)

"... a special thank-you to Tobias for being such a understanding and helpful guide for a really wonderful week..."

Group at a breadcrust bomb on Nea Kameni (photo: Allen Fraser)

Hello everyone,
...
We'd like to say a big thank-you to you all for being such excellent companions during our stay on such a wonderful island.
Also a special thank-you to Tobias for being such a understanding and helpful guide for a really wonderful week.
I've attached a group photo of you all by the bread-crust bomb (if anyone would like a higher res image let me know and I will e-mail it to you).
...
You are all of course welcome to visit Shetland and other websites you may find helpful are Shetland Geotours www.shetlandgeology.com (although we will be making some changes to what we do for next season) and Visit Shetland visit.shetland.org

Best wishes
Allen Fraser & Ann Thomson" (UK, Pearl of the Aegean - Santorini tour)

Myriam from France about our recent tour on Santorini

Les ponces de l'éruption Minoenne

Chèvre sur Palea Kameni

Le groupe avec des amis

"Bonjour de France, enfin du soleil ici pas le même que celui de Santorin bien sûr, mais c'est toujours agréable.
Le retour en France a été difficile après avoir vécu une semaine hors du commun dans un décor extraordinaire. Je remercie Tobias et toi pour votre façon de partager votre passion et de nous faire entrer dans cet univers décalé avec la vie "normale" de tous les jours.
J'ai apprécié la découverte géologique de l'île, l'initiation à la compréhension de la formation de l'île et des volcans, les rencontres avec des gens simples mais de caractère de Santorin.
Le temps s'est arrêté pendant une semaine et je garde des souvenirs d'odeurs, de couleurs, de plats partagés avec le groupe.j'ai revu les photos prises pendant le voyage, les couleurs et les paysages étaient tellement extraordinaires que les résultats sont surprenants même avec mon simple appareil photo. J'aimerais envoyer les photos de groupe prises dans la taverne de nicolas à "yurgos", peux-tu m'envoyer leur adresse?Egalement j'aimerais commander le livre de Walter Friedrich, mais je n'ai pas noté l'éditeur.Merci pour ces renseignements.
Bonne continuation dans tes voyages
ps: quelques photos jointes... Myriam" (Myriam T., Orléans)

Gudrun from Dresden about the "Fascination Volcano" Tour in October 2009

"Hallo Tom,
nochmals vielen herzlichen Dank an Dich und die anderen für die schöne gemeinsame Woche mit dem gelungenen Mix aus Natur und Kultur, Sonne, buntem Stein und blauem Meer, Wandern und Neues Lernen, ein bisschen Anstrengung und Genuss!
... Weiterhin viel Glück bei allen Euren Unternehmungen und herzliche Grüße - Gudrun"

Jean about the tour:

Hi Tobias,

Thanks so much for the link to your great photos! They really brought back a lot of happy memories of the wonderful Volcano Discovery Tour you and Tom gave us. This was definitely one of my most memorable trips ever. Who could forget all of the great meals, including limpets, sea anemones, fresh salads and fish; walking on the volcano, swimming in the hot springs, the visit to ancient Thira, hiking from Fira to Ia to see the sunset, and, of course, captain Sostis, with his unique yoga sessions, massage, fresh goat cheese and Greek coffee, not to mention his excitable dog! And of course the wonderful living geology lesson that is Santorini. I hope to do another Volcano Discovery tour soon – in fact, after a couple of weeks back at work, I’m ready to go next week!

I am sifting through my photos with plans to post a select group soon and would love to see those taken by other members of the group. Hope everyone had smooth and uneventful trips home and that the tour of Methena was fun. I enjoyed my all too brief visit to Athens before heading home. Thanks for the great hotel booking, Tobias. I had a view of the Acropolis from my balcony. What more could you ask for?

Happy trails everyone,

Jean" (Fascination Volcano tour, Santorini)

Sandra from California about the "Fascination Volcano" tour on Santorini:

"...Somehow I missed Tobias' link to photos and, fortunately, saw it through your note. Just finished looking at each image. Now, I"m exhausted! Stunning, and brings back keen memories, indeed. A whirling, dizzying journey to a version of Santorini unknown to most travelers. From moment we dropped luggage at Aktori to wine-tasting, to walk between villages, to our magical boat trips, to trek around caldera ledge, to climb up limestone mt., to smoking sulpher, to ancient city of Thira, to dreamy soups, best goat cheese, limpets and baklava...on and on. Tom and Tobias, our intrepid, ever-onward guides are a terrific team. Such compatibility among group of 17--wondrous again. How lucky was that??

Crazily, I just returned from 12 days in China...thus, a combo Greece/China 5-week adventure to savor and treasure. From yogurt, white villages & volcanoes to noodles, mountain temples & cave grottos. All intrigue and mystery and contrasts galore...

Best hugs,

Sandie"

Valerie's feedback from the trip on Santorini, May 2009

"Dear Tom & Tobias. Thank you for our remarkable trek in Santorini and Methana--for the beautiful memories and breathtaking photos.
... Coming home to Tobias' pictures gave me time to slow down and appreciate the remarkable experience we had.
I braved edges with Tom's help, jumped on boats with swirling seas (Daphne said I landed, elephant like, on poor Steve flattening him). ... The views took my breath away. ... Remember the oasis where we drank fresh squeezed orange juice and cake? I doubt whether juice will ever taste that good again. ... Little did I know that a bonus to our trip was the leader's desire for good food--and wine-- at the end of the day.
I have new appreciation for magma, volcanic bombs, the beauty of the caldera, smoking sulphur, adjectives that describe volcanic formations and olive trees found preserved in volcanic ash.
Thank you Tom and Tobias for a remarkable experience, and for your good choice in participants. It was a great group. Valerie" (Fascination Volcano, Santorini tour)

"... This was one of those wonderful adventures that we loved at the time, but loved even more as we looked back at all of the places we'd been, the lovely people we met, the great bond we developed. And......a birthday - high atop a volcano - that I will remember forever!
...Many hugs, Daphne" (D. Lewis, Washington, Santorini tour)

"Hi Tom,
This trip had everything! It was so much better than the standard tourist trip to Santorini (we felt so superior the folks who arrived on the 10 story floating skyscrapers and who apparently devoted their time on the island to shopping!). The hikes were good exercise, but with your encouragement to the less athletic among us, not too tough. We got to see so many parts of the island that most visitors don't get to see. And our reward for energetic hiking was delicious food, and lots of it. I appreciated that we got to eat a whole variety of local foods and wines which do not appear on the conventional menus of Greek restaurants in the U.S. I ate like a champ but didn't gain any weight!
I particularly appreciated the interpretation of the geology that you provided. On the way to the airport, you asked what was my favorite thing we did. I liked all the hikes, and especially the accomplishment of doing so much in a short time, but the big thrill, I think, was visiting the small geology museum in Perissa and seeing the critically significant preserved olive tree that you discovered and having you tell us about the find. Thanks for a really wonderful experience!" (Linda K, Olympia (WS), Santorini May 09)