GREECE
Greece is universally marketed as the ultimate honeymoon escape and after visiting, there’s no surprise why. The Greek Islands are a landscape of blue domes, with beautiful pink bougainvillea flowers draping over white walls, and some of the most spectacular sunsets you’ve ever seen. But traveling through the Cyclades completely solo, I discovered something much deeper than this cliché: while it’s always wonderful to share these special moments with someone else, it is infinitely better to experience them on your own than to never see them at all.
My two weeks were filled with so much joy. I rented a car and spent my days driving across Milos and Paros with the windows down, music playing, and absolute freedom over my schedule. While most tourists stayed tethered to the busy port towns, I traversed each island, finding hidden beaches, and even taking my car by ferry to nearby Antiparos, where I chatted through broken English with a local fisherman.
I ate a fresh Greek salad and local feta at least once a day, and washed it down with cold wine. Even Athens completely surpassed my expectations; despite the bad rap it sometimes gets, I found a comforting, historic energy that felt incredibly vibrant.
The real magic, though, was in the slow, solitary corners. On Santorini, instead of fighting the swarming crowds for a sunset photo in Oia, I slipped down a skinny, trodden path and found a quiet, hidden cave path all to myself, where I was able to watch the sun dip below the horizon completely alone. From the cratered, moon-like “beach” in Milos to the quiet ridges of Naxos, Greece rewarded my solo presence at every turn. Now, I’m just dreaming of the day I can return to explore much more of the mainland and the endless islands left to see.
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