What is it like to travel during the Coronavirus pandemic? Many of our guests have shared their feedback about their trip with us during these last few months. Here is one of the firsthand accounts we received from our guests traveling with Enchanting in Europe this summer.
It wasn’t their first Enchanting Travels trip: Mrs. Brennhäußer and Mr. Schmidt from Nuremberg had explored Africa, Asia, and South America with us in the last few years. In 2020, a long-distance summer trip turned out to be impossible, but they weren’t ready to give up on their travel dreams. Even though they had traveled extensively in Europe earlier, they came to us in search of the same high quality experiences they had enjoyed on their previous Enchanting trips: a personalized itinerary packed full of hidden gems, and the safety and security of having a personal concierge on call 24/7, on-the-ground.
We’ll let Mrs. Brennhäußer tell you herself how they enjoyed their journeys to Greece and Portugal!
“We were – as always – very satisfied with everything! Perfect organization, excellent hotels, competent tour guides and chauffeurs, as well as very comfortable vehicles. Our long-distance trips were so perfectly organized, we could assume that this would also be the case with Europe.
My husband and I are not fans of classic city tours and that is why we always plan special activities together with our travel advisors, through which we can get to know the places even more intensively. We especially enjoy cooking classes and culinary tours, because the way to a person’s heart – even when it comes to unknown regions – is through the stomach!
As ardent foodies, some of our most memorable experiences are sampling the hearty cake in Galaxidi and the cooking class in Porto accompanied by fantastic Portuguese wine. The hike to the impressive Meteora monasteries north of Athens was also a special highlight of our trip.
I am glad to have booked our trip with Enchanting Travels since journeys with them always include personalized and diverse experiences that are hard to come by, such as the tile painting excursion in Porto and our culinary tours.
Expert Tip
As a tip for anyone who has reservations about booking a trip now, I would say: beautiful cities and hotspots like Athens, Porto, Meteora, and Lisbon are nearly empty of tourists at the moment. There is no crowding in the streets and you don’t have to wait in line for long. The hotels have very few guests, and this is especially noticeable in larger establishments where you will find plenty of empty sunbeds by the poolside and much more peace and quiet than usual.
It was a relief to see that Coronavirus-related restrictions in Greece and Portugal were the same as in Germany. In these countries too, masks are mandatory in enclosed areas and a minimum distance between people must be maintained at all times. In the airplane, we always had to wear our masks except when eating and drinking – especially on short flights within Europe where this is easy to manage. While a breakfast buffet was offered in our hotels, the portions were prepared in advance and stored in individual plates, and always served covered in foil paper.
We did not think that the restrictions hampered our experience in any way.
We are very happy that we made these two trips in August and did not stay at home. With Enchanting Travels by our side and our personal concierge, we always felt safe and well looked after – something that is indispensable given the current circumstances. So we made the best out of the situation and created unforgettable travel memories.”
For more information on current travel conditions, please visit our COVID-19 resource page or our Frequently Asked Questions page.
Do you wish to discover Europe in a personalized, safe, and seamless way? Get in touch with our destination experts and start planning today.