Are you ready for our floating knitting retreat in the Ionian Islands of Greece? We will enjoy the adventure of life aboard The Aegeotissa II - a 12-cabin boat which looks like a pirate ship! With 8 days to enjoy 5 spectacular locations in the Ionian Sea, plus 3 nights in Athens, you will have plenty of time to swim, nap, knit, nap, eat and explore!
Our time in Athens will be spent in The Plaka District - famous for its labyrinthine market streets filled with everything from cheap souvenirs to hand crafted goods. The Benaki Museum is one of our favorite stops and we will have plenty of time there to admire their amazing traditional costume and textile collection. We will meet with Lise Condis of TreLiz! Yarn for a trunk show and to collect our knitalong kits of a locally designed shawl - perfect travel knitting! The next day we will fly from Athens to Corfu to begin the real adventure!
Fabulous food is served for both breakfast and lunch on board the boat as well as in the many tavernas you will have to choose from in port. Our normal days will be spent motoring to a new location in the mornings after breakfast, a swim stop at an enticing and remote beach while lunch is prepared, and then a short journey to port where you can disembark and explore. Along the way we will have time on islands such as Corfu, Paxos, Lefkada, Meganisi, Ithaki and Kefalonia! Between swim stops we will visit an olive press, a weaving studio and ruins which are claimed to be The Palace of Odysseus, but our plans will be flexible to take into account weather conditions which can be variable in Greece in May!
Our voyage will end on Kefalonia where we will visit with ladies from The Harokopio Textile Association who are preserving the textile traditions of the island, and a farm to table restaurant visit to learn how to cook the dolmadakia like a pro!
Flying back to Athens from Kefalonia, we will meet up with Lise Condis of TreLiz! for our final dinner.
Accommodation on the Aegeotissa requires going up and down ship ladders (very steep stairs), walking across a gang plank to get on and off the boat, and being able to keep your balance while we are underway. This is a 100 ft yacht, not a cruise ship, so you will feel the movement of the boat. Rowan Tree Travel does not take responsibility for injuries caused by mobility issues. If you are unsure of whether you will be able to get around on the boat, please contact Heather at (603) 738-2009. Electricity for CPAP machines cannot be guaranteed depending on the port we are in and the number of people. needing access.
Please Note the Following
This trip needs at least 16 participants in order to proceed (i.e. the trip is "guaranteed").We strongly advise you to wait to purchase your flights until the trip is guaranteed by us to go forward. Unless otherwise stated, our regular Terms and Conditions apply to this trip and for any cancellations (click here to see our Terms and Conditions).
Tour Activity Level
We would describe this trip as a Retreat.
Mobility Comfort Level = 3+
No Ground Floor Cabins, steep boat stairs, ladders & gangplanks, walks of up to 2.5 miles on the islands, and archaeological sites with uneven terrain.
Review our Tour Activity and Mobility Comfort Levels here.
Travel Insurance
Rowan Tree Travel highly recommends purchasing travel insurance. You may purchase through our preferred partner Arch RoamRight by clicking here or through your own provider.
Arranging Your Flights
In order to gather easily for the tour, we provide an arrival and departure "window" at a major transportation hub - typically an international airport at your destination country. Flights scheduled outside the provided windows may result in additional transportation costs and missed tour activities. For this reason, we greatly appreciate your cooperation in booking travel that accommodates our specifications.
Please do not purchase airfare until the tour is guaranteed by RTTF to go forward.
Please Note the Following
Rowan Tree Travel reserves the right to alter any part of this itinerary in order to address weather conditions, unforeseen circumstances or to improve the participant experience.
All accommodations during the scheduled tour
Breakfast is included every day
Workshop Fees & Supplies, unless otherwise specified
Entrance fees and activity fees, unless otherwise specified
An average of two meals per day. Prepare to purchase either dinner or lunch based on the day’s activities
Private group transportation in a private mini-coach
Soda, alcohol, cafe items
Accommodation on the Aegeotissa requires going up and down ship ladders (very steep stairs), walking across a gang plank to get on and off the boat, and being able to keep your balance while we are underway. This is a 100-ft yacht, not a cruise ship, so you will feel the movement of the boat. Rowan Tree Travel does not take responsibility for injuries caused by mobility issues. If you are unsure of whether you will be able to get around on the boat, please contact Heather at (603) 738-2009. Electricity for CPAP machines cannot be guaranteed depending on the port we are in and the number of people potentially needing access.
Athens
Welcome to Greece! We will have a low key day today. Just checking into our hotel in the Plaka District of Athens and a meet-and-greet at its rooftop bar at 6:00 pm. Afterwards, wander through the busy Plaka in search of good eats or eat at the rooftop bar atop our hotel with views of the Acropolis before retiring to bed!
Athens
Antiquities Galore! Today our focus will be on a visit to the amazing textile collection at The Benaki Museum. There will be time for an early morning ascent to The Parthenon and an exploration of the knitting scene in Athens as we collect our yarn for our knitalong shawl from TreLiz!
Corfu
The Adventure Begins! Our adventure truly begins today as we head back to Athens Airport for our flight to Corfu. Once on Corfu we will have a few hours to explore the lovely museum and gardens of Mon Repos with our local guide. Mon Repos was the birthplace of Prince Phillip, and also a film location for The Durrells of Corfu (a must watch TV show!) and is a lovely oasis of green at the edge of Corfu Town. Then it’s on to the port to board our home for the next week, the Aegeotissa!
After we meet the crew, have a welcome drink and get settled into our cabins, we will head back out for a tour of Old Corfu Town before dinner on your own.
Paxos
And We’re Off! The high seas await as we cast off this morning and head for the sleepy island of Paxos. There we will begin our routine for the next week - motoring in the morning, a swim stop in crystal turquoise waters, an amazing lunch, motoring to our port for the night, with time to explore a port town or an excursion to the interior, and dinner on your own. Our visit to Paxos will definitely include a visit to an old olive oil press with a chance to talk to a local who grew up on the island before tourism (and electricity!) were introduced to the island. We’ll set our sights on a visit to The Blue Cave for an amazing swim stop, but this will be weather-dependent.
Lefkada & Meganisi
Over the next couple of days we fall into the gentle routine of eat, knit, swim, eat, nap, explore, eat, knit, repeat. We will visit Lefkas, home to The Aegeotissa, and take an excursion to a folk museum with another amazing textile collection. Then it’s on to Meganisi, where we will meet some of the local women who are preserving the weaving traditions of the islands.
Ithaka and The Palace of Odysseus?
Anchors Away! Beautiful beaches await! After our swim stop, we will head to the beautiful island of Ithaka for an excursion up to the amazing ruins of what is thought by some to be the legendary Palace of Odysseus. Our local guide will meet us in town to introduce Homer and The Odyssey, then we will walk a half mile to the ruins where she will interpret them for us, as well as giving a lively refresher course on The Odyssey. These ruins are situated on rough hilly terrain, but the views are spectacular! (Walking sticks are not a bad idea here due to the terrain.) We will walk a half mile back to a gorgeously situated restaurant overlooking the valley below for a traditionally prepared meal.
Kefalonia
Our last island stop will be the island of Kefalonia. Our last day on the boat will be very relaxed with plenty of time to enjoy our swim stop and a walk to the lighthouse in the port of Fiskardo. Time to shop and wander and knit in the evening. Eat, knit, swim, eat, nap, knit, explore, eat, shop… this is the life!
The Textile Traditions of Kefalonia
A fond farewell to our crew this morning as we leave The Aegeotissa and head to the capitol of Kefalonia, Argostoli. Kefalonia is a large and mountainous island, and one that has really preserved its textile traditions. We will visit with the local Textile Association to learn about those traditions and maybe try our hand at a couple of them ourselves. While on the island we will also enjoy the local history and geography, learn about the earthquake that shook the island in the 1950s and enjoy a farm-to-table meal, perhaps with some local wine?
Athens Here We Come!
We fly back to Athens today, but before we do, there is still more of Kefalonia to see! Another museum and lovely lunch will round out our experience here before we head to the airport. We will arrive in Athens in time to check into the hotel and enjoy a fabulous trunk show and dinner with our local indie dyer extraordinaire - Lise Condis!
Athens
HOMEWARD BOUND
We bid you a fond farewell!
Heather loves designing and leading knitting and fiber tours. She’s fascinated with local traditions, unique yarns, and the modern twist added to both by current designers. Her ever-widening exposure to both has led to a long queue of patterns and a dramatic accumulation of stash! She’s also been trying her hand at new wooly endeavors like felting and spinning. When not knitting, traveling or planning your next trip, Heather tends her small flock of chickens and ducks, volunteers in her local thrift shop, and spends time with her two dogs, her family, and friends in Dunbarton, NH.
Suzie is an avid knitter, spinner, and all-around fiber enthusiast plus writer, gardener, adventurer and appreciator of both cityscape and landscape. When she realized she could combine her love of making things with her love for travel and new experiences, she found her happy place! Suzie lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She’s the author and illustrator of The Nervous New Owner’s Guide to Angora Rabbits. No longer a fiber animal owner, she loves nothing more than visiting fiber animals someone else owns -- preferably in another country. She writes about her travel experiences at www.studiobriddsang.com
We design and facilitate small group tours rooted in an interest in craft, culture, unique environments and the friendships and memories that emerge from grand adventures. Since 2013, we have been, and continue to build, a network of devoted participants, friends, artisans and hosts that enrich every excursion.
