: (+30) 6977455930: ioanna@tourguidescrete.com

REFERENCES

MM
MM
9 July 2023
Ioana is an Amazing guide to Ancient Greece and Beyond Hire Ioanna as your guide to Ancient Greece if: 1. You want these sites to come alive; 2. You want to be guided thru the ancient sites and experience them as the ancients may have experienced them; 3. You want to deepen your understanding of how the ancient teachings are relevant today. Looking forward to being guided again by Ioanna in Summer 2023.
Christopher I
Christopher I
8 July 2023
Gorgeous Views, Fascinating Cultural Insights, Exquisite Tour Guide My husband and I recently visited two wineries in Crete and were lucky enough to be guided by the lovely Ioanna, who filled our day with fascinating local history and cultural anecdotes. We have been on several tours around various parts of Greece before, but Ioanna, by far, is the best guide we’ve ever had. Her depth of knowledge and ease of manner intrigued us and makes us both want to return to Crete for more. Highly recommend this vibrant, outstanding guide for your Greek travels!
OnceUponaLife
OnceUponaLife
3 July 2023
Spellbinding immersive tour of Knossos with Ioanna Of the many tours we have been on in and around Greece, this has to have been one of the most comprehensive, thought provoking, engaging and academically captivating tours one can ever experience. Ioanna took our group of 8 family members including teens, on a multi-dimensional trip of Crete spanning narratives from 7000 BC to contemporary schools of thought seamlessly weaving through nuggets of history, geography, archaeology, biology, anthropology, psychology, linguistics and even spirituality. Our tour of Knossos exceeded all expectations as we serendipitously learned many fascinating new things along the way. Ioanna’s depth and breadth of knowledge is scholarly and we were very lucky to have booked the tour with her. We only wished it would have been sooner rather than the last day of our stay in Crete, as she provided so much context for other sites we had already visited but not fully experienced. Our tour continued on to the pottery village of Margarite, where we made two stops- one at a fourth generation potter family’s workshop, and lastly at a local Taverna for home style cooked lunch. Both of which were fantastic recommendations by Ioanna. Our driver, Kostas, was also a great sport indulging us in contemporary Greek music along the way and making our 10 hour journey a truly enjoyable and comfortable one. Overall, an extraordinary day trip with an outstanding tour guide.
sandybdr
sandybdr
30 June 2023
The perfect tour Ionna led us on an amazing tour to Knossos as well as to Margarites (pottery village) with a lunch stop at a local taverna in the village. She delved into the history of the island of Crete, the Minoan civilization, and helped put in context the social and anthropological changes that were occurring at that time. She challenged us to think beyond the standard stereotypes and left us with a much deeper understanding of the times. Ionna connected with our entire group; even our 16year olds were impressed! Of our guided tours throughout our travels in Greece and Turkey over the past few weeks, this was clearly the best tour we had. We only wish we could have had the pleasure of working with Ionna in the beginning of our trip, rather than towards the end….as we now have much better perspective on what we saw in other parts of Greece! A shoutout out to Kostos, who drove us around all day (Ionna had arranged transportation for the entire day for our group of 8). Finally, the food we had at the Tavern that she suggested was some of the best we had in the entirety of our travels through Greece.
meir s
meir s
23 June 2023
The guide Ioanna Kalypso was exceptional. Her knowledge, her gestures. fluent. simply fantastic. I recommend her The guide was excellent we as a group of 14 individuals truly enjoyed her very much. Thank you so
Maron E
Maron E
12 June 2023
Great, authentic and un forgettable experience Ioanna was the perfect match for our group, so much knowledge poured in a very clear and classy way. She was definitely one of the best guides I ever dealt with.
Lisa Rene S
Lisa Rene S
8 June 2023
Extraordinary, Passionate Guide Who Will Awaken Your Love & Appreciation for Greece Ioanna is a passionate guide who challenged our way of thinking about Greece and its contribution to society, as well as expanding our insight of world geopolitics. She went above and beyond to share with us the beauty and love of Crete and all things Greek. She is a fascinating individual and amazing guide.
tenpowers
tenpowers
4 June 2023
Ioanna is the best !!! Best tour guide in all of Crete!!! She was extremely knowledgeable and read our (semi)difficult group well and adjusted our tour accordingly. Cannot strongly recommend enough.
Simon_Roberts_Artist
Simon_Roberts_Artist
22 May 2023
Smooth Operator.. A trip to Crete would simply be 2-dimensional without Ioanna. The depth of her knowledge and the ability to explain historical facts in a digestible manner added so much to our painting holiday. But not only that, her negotiating skills while on the move were remarkable. Closed doors were opened, restaurant tables became available and best (painting) views were secured. All in all, we were made to feel like visiting Celebrities. Thanks Ioana!
Lynne C
Lynne C
20 May 2023
Crete history and culture Ioanna was an amazing tour guide for our small painting group. She found ways to explain history and culture as we visited a variety of sites for our workshops. She is a very knowledgeable guide and tells the history of this island to provide the context for what exists today. She also has an extensive network of resources for dining, sightseeing, shopping, and local transportation, which facilitates everything! I highly recommend Ioanna and would call upon her again in a heartbeat!!

IOANNIS AGAPAKIS – GENERAL MANAGER, IKAROS TRAVEL

Miss Ioanna Glypti has worked for our company as a licensed tour guide for English language groups for the past six years.

Miss Glypti has always shown a very responsible attitude to her duties. Her timekeeping is excellent and she has proved very trustworthy.

She is an outstanding guide with exceptionally good knowledge of her subject and is very popular with the guests of the companies we represent. I would recommend her without hesitation for a similar position elsewhere.

DR ANTONIS VASILAKIS – ARCHEOLOGIST

With the present letter I verify that Ms. Ioanna Kalypso Glypti, English language guide, attended with particular diligence, the course in prehistoric and Minoan Archeology that i taught during the academic year 1989-1990 at the EOT Local Guide College in Rethymno.

As a professional guide, she continues to seek information, always with great interest, about the most recent findings and the deduction of Greek archaeology, particularly those of Crete, where she practices the profession with great success.

CLEMENS SCHMIDLIN – ARCHEOLOGIST

On Saturday, July 14th I had the great pleasure to take part in a guided tour of Ioanna Kalypso Glypti to Phaistos, Matala, Spili.

As an Archeologist, I was delighted to see that Mrs. Glypti did not paint the usual stereotyped image of “the ancients believed” and “the archaeologists say” but instead – without provoking boredom in any moment – confronted the audience with her highly differentiated and reasonable sceptic view on our archaeological knowledge. I would like to point out that a presentation like she is able to provide for tourist is only possible after long sincere and intelligent studies.

With my kind Regards

Clemens Schmidlin

MIRON VAROUHAKIS – ASSOCIATED PRESS

It is my pleasure to recommend Ioanna Kalypso Glypti to you. I have the highest regard for Ioanna’s intellect and work ethic. She is a person possessing a vast archaeological, artistic and historical knowledge about Greece and the surrounding countries, and a character that is highly personable.

I first met Ioanna a year ago during a tour at archaeological sites on Crete. My work as a journalist for an international news agency has taken me to several countries but this was the first time that I came across someone who not only possessed so much in-depth knowledge but also a unique way of conveying vast amounts of historical information on a personal level that made it more appealing and easy to understand. That, combined with a strong work ethic and a character that is peoples friendly, allows her to stand out in her profession.

Later I found out that she was also teaching part-time at the university in Rethymno, which instantly became clear to me that she was more of a scholar experimenting on a different field that just an ordinary tour guide.

I would highly recommend Ioanna

MARY JONES – PHILADELPHIA

Oh, Ioanna! I am so glad to find you finally here! I’d lost the card you gave us so couldn’t write feedback about an amazing Knossos tour we had done with you!
After the cruise we had last year think to visit Greece again for long stay. And these thoughts bring us back to you and the impression we had from the tour by you.
After a crowd loud disembarkation in Heraklion, we suddenly found ourselves in guided calmness of your bus. And that was a great start! History, myths, modern social life were so miraculously and logically certain so we couldn’t imagine it that much related. Your care and friendliness, breadth of mind and desire to share fascinated us!
Thank you, Ioanna! And will see you again this year!

KOSTAS DIMAKIS – VIDEO DIRECTOR-EDITOR

The most amazing historical visualization

I’m a video director-editor and I was very lucky to cooperate with Ioanna Kalypso Glypti for a documentary about Crete which is in progress. It’s amazing how Ioanna can incorporate so much information in a small amount of time transmitting impressive visualizations alongside, making the audience senses the whole story. It was a very constructive experience for me! Thank you, Ioanna!!!

The Palace at Knossos Aug 2019

The Palace at Knossos (Crete) is the second-most visited archaeological site in Greece – after the justifiably favourite of the Acropolis in Athens. It is also the most restored (and so visually accessible) of all the Cretan Bronze-Age Palaces (courtesy of Evans’ personal largesse) – which divided opinion at the time he was working and does so still today. The Palace is large, complex and full of unusual details giving rise to quirky facts and figures (thus, the pithoi in the West Magazines – if filled only with cereals [which they were not], could have fed a thousand Scotsmen with porridge for a year!). No uncertainties, however, attach to the sheer numbers that pass through the gates in the High Season – 5-6000 is an average day’s total.

This figure, and the inevitable pressures it places on the ability of a visitor to appreciate and remotely come to grips with the site can make it hard to achieve a balanced appreciation of the place. Which is a shame if you have crossed half the globe to get there. A lot can be achieved with a good book in your hand. Even more can be accomplished with a well-informed and lucid guide, taking you by the hand. Guides can answer questions that may not be touched upon in a book, especially on matters of the less tangible sort – society, religion and so forth. (All are topics prone to misjudgement and fantasy by all of us – specialist or layman alike.) A lively give and take are always possible with a living and responsive person.

Which brings me to the point of this piece. Ioanna Glypti, whose praises have already been sung by many .. with good reason. Having close contacts with the professional archaeological world, and native curiosity about matters social and psychological, as well as physical, she has worked hard to acquire more than just the essential facts and strives in the off-season to update and refresh her information base. Obviously, like every guide, she will have her preferences and stronger suits – but efforts on your part to observe, question and think about another culture buried in the past will evoke in her a comparable response to discuss, guide and encourage thought – even if no firm conclusion maybe ever forthcoming. No guide likes simply to regurgitate the same tired litany, any more than a thoughtful visitor wishes to listen to a bored and discouraged professional.

Give your curiosity and intelligence a chance of exercise .. give Ioanna Glypti a call!

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