How we did it

TRAVEL

It is very possible to get to Greece without flying, taking the Eurostar to France, then training via Paris and Torino to Bari, Italy, where a ferry crosses to Igoumenitsa, which is a 1.5-hour drive from Perdika/ the Marbella Elix hotel. Total time is around 30 hours and costs start from around £330. Rome2rio.com is a great resource for planning such journeys. Alternatively, flights go regularly from London Stansted to Perveza airport, and then it’s a 75-minute drive to Marbella Elix.

ACCOMMODATION

We stayed at the Marbella Elix (marbella.gr), which really lived up to its five-star billing, from the private infinity pools to the funicular to take patrons down to the hotel’s beach. Full board is an option (from £185pn for a standard double, with half board from £100), and the hotel’s three distinct restaurants serve superb seasonal menus. This is the sort of place where you want for nothing, right down to the all-day, gratis ice cream.

THANKS

Prior planning prevents, so our huge thanks to Pavlos Zitakis from Explore the Outside (exploretheoutside. com), who meticulously planned our route, including stops at the best local tavernas, and his partner George, who drove our photographer Mike around.

Huge thanks also to Periklis Gompakis, who hosted us at the Marbella Elix, and Isabelle Thomas, from Grifco PR (grifcopr.com), who planned our itinerary right down to the fit-to-fly Covid tests.