Reviews
Real talk: planning epic trips to Greece?
Not everyone’s thing.
But it’s totally mine.
Check out these rave reviews from travelers who took off their planning hat, let me handle the details, and had the time of their lives.
spoiler: everyone’s already planning their next trip.
— Melissa
“Melissa made all of our wildest dreams come true! She hand crafted the most unbelievable vacation, with the perfect mix of adventure and relaxation. We gave her our wishes/ideas, and wow did she ever deliver! Each hotel/experience was more than we could have ever dreamed of. She did all of the hard work so we could simply go and HAVE FUN! The app is the best I’ve ever seen, So easy to navigate and incredibly helpful. Nobody knows Greece like Melissa. And on top of it, she’s the coolest human and I’m so grateful Greece brought us together!”
— Erin & Jason L.
“Melissa does everything from just creating your basic itinerary (finding the flights and ferries and best way to get to and from each place) all the way to full trip planning. We started with just wanting help with our itinerary and quickly saw that she was so knowledgeable that we booked her for the entire thing.
The best part about Melissa though is that she is an awesome person! She is funny, smart, and knows Greece. She texted me regularly as we planned things and I truly made a great friend thru the process. She even checked on us during our trip and made sure things were going smoothly. Our trip went off without a hitch and we are so grateful for her. If you are ever ready to pull the trigger on your dream trip to Greece, ‘Ela Opa! Travel is your place.”
— Holly & Brady F.
“Melissa you planned a trip of a lifetime to Greece for us!! I loved all of our planning sessions, you listened to our wants but your expertise and love of Greece made the trip even more spectacular. The trip plan on the app was so useful and needed. Everyday we always knew what options we had planned, where to eat, shop, drivers it really made travel so much easier and efficient. It was also great knowing you were only a text or phone call away, next time we would like you to join us!!!! Thank you for your organization, kindness and how you shared your love of "GREECE" with us!!!”
— Cindy C.
“I wish I could find a "Melissa" for every place I chose to travel. It's all the research, thoughtfulness, and local knowledge I wish I dig into myself each time I want to visit a new place (but ain't nobody got time for that.) She has impeccable taste, all her recommendations were on point, and she understood our "travel vibe" right away. She was flexible when we had pushes in planning and always came with amazing solutions. We fell in love with Greece and it was in a huge part thanks to Melissa!”
— Alex & Nick L.
“Well, booking a second trip was an absolute NO BRAINER after a fantastic first trip. Personally i can be a bit anxious and self conscious when traveling somewhere new. Am i in the right place? Doing the right thing? Am i making a fool of myself? Breaking rules? Booking with you totally puts me at ease so i can actually relax, put my guard down and be open to enjoy and absorb a new cultural experience. Thank you so much, were eternally thankful.”
— Matt & Katie P.
“We heard about ‘Ela Opa! travel from my daughter's college friend who is Greek. We didn't want to go to Greece on a cruise ship. We wanted to experience Greece on our own and see off-the-beaten-path areas. I love to plan trips but was a bit overwhelmed thinking about planning a trip to Greece. It was wonderful to get advice about where to go and when. I loved all the options we had and that we could refer to our trip plan app or just wing it on our own.
Even though we had so much amazing advice we were able to find the perfect blend of things Melissa suggested and things we just stumbled on or found on our own. It was so wonderful to have our own private travel planner with us for the entire journey.”
— Jennifer & Mark B.
“We felt overwhelmed trying to plan a honeymoon in the midst the chaos of planning our wedding. We found Melissa by chance online and were intrigued by her approach. After our first meeting our honeymoon shifted from a stressful task to plan to something we could immediately get excited about. Melissa crafted an experience for us that felt so personal and special, yet somehow so EASY. She really took the time to learn about us & our interest before the trip, and created a loose (but full!) itinerary that left us never feeling rushed but always having exciting options for what to do next.
From restaurants to beaches to activities her recommendations and insights were always spot on. Whenever there was a hiccup (like a cancelled ferry due to striking boatworkers) I never felt anxious because I knew I was in good hands with Melissa behind the scenes. She’s also a delight to work with as a person :)”
— Meredith & Julian M.R.
“When we were first trying to plan on our own, we only knew what Instagram, Pinterest, and the internet told us. It quickly became overwhelming to try and plan where to stay and what we should do. My co-worker told me about ‘Ela Opa! Travel. Once talking with Melissa, we knew it was the right choice to hire her and rely on her expertise.
We DEFINITELY made the right choice. She helped us create the trip of a lifetime. Talking through what we wanted out of our trip to Greece in our initial consultation, Melissa was able to make multiple recommendations for areas that we could visit, since the Pinterest ideas were not what we actually envisioning for our trip. We were able to visit authentic parts of Greece that were more than incredible, and places we can’t wait to go back visit again.
Melissa is very detail oriented and organized, so working with her is easy and she has SO MUCH knowledge that her recommendations are worth listening to. Everything that she recommended or suggested was spot on. You need ‘Ela Opa! Travel for your next Greece adventure!”
— Aaron & Krista D.
“Trevin and I have been talking about going to Greece for our honeymoon for so long and I never thought it would come to fruition. It was admittedly scary to think about traveling internationally for the first time together in an unfamiliar country. But getting to know you and finding information from your videos has truly smoothed over my stresses and eased our minds. Having the information accessible at all times in Trip Plans and seeing how detailed it was, truly made it feel like you were there with us guiding us through our trip (without having to constantly bug you at ungodly hours!)
I knew we were going to have the most amazing time in Greece, but I didn’t know that we’d have THAT much of a fun, memorable time as we did. We got to experience the tourist city, the foodie city, the beaches on a less touristy island, and the mountainous village ~ having that variation and getting to see the different parts of Greece was priceless. We cannot wait to go back and check out all the other areas we didn’t have enough time for. Thank you thank you thank you for your patience and guidance, we owe ya!”
— Jaime & Trevin P.
“Since I've met my husband, I have told him I wanted to visit Greece as my first international trip. One day he came across Melissa's Instagram, and we started to play with the idea of making this dream a reality. Once we set up our appointment we knew there was no one else who would be able to help us plan the trip like Melissa could.
Melissa is such a kind, funny and REAL person. She opened our eyes to the different possibilities Greece had to offer. While being busy with work and school, I felt as though planning a trip like this would be impossible but I was far from wrong all we needed was ‘Ela Opa! Travel, Melissa made it such as seamless process. I can't wait to start working on booking our next trip.”
– Jennifer V. & Ramiro D.
“‘Ela Opa! was key in planning a fantastic trip for our family. She guided us in choosing three Cycladic Islands based on our feedback and interests. Melissa's personal attention to our itinerary was nothing short of magic. She offered us options before securing hotel accommodations, rental cars, purchasing ferry tickets, activities & personal guided tours. Everything was top notch, well worth every penny!
The cherry on top was the app with full itinerary—detailed by day with flight information, hotel bookings and confirmation numbers, rental car reservations, ferry tickets, activities, restaurant options and reservations (if needed), maps of each area and copies of passports. The entire process was a delight and would highly recommend ‘Ela Opa Travel to plan your visit to Greece.”
— Chrysa B.
“Being a Greek American learning the language, I wanted an immersive cultural experience. I found Melissa through IG and she was able to understand our hopes and dreams for this trip. We would be staying a month with my parents joining the back half of the trip. After meeting and jiving with Melissa, I knew I could trust her with the logistics of our entire trip. She helped me find places and experiences that I would never have considered and made sure to incorporate in our must haves. She helped this type A perfectionist manage her FOMO while having the trip of a lifetime.”
— Daryn P.
“Andrea found you online through social media and pitched me the idea of using your services. I was immediately interested because I was feeling pressure to get the trip to Greece "just right".....we don't know if we'll ever go back, so I wanted to make sure we made the most of the trip.
The entire experience was invaluable to us but the part that meant the most was you scheduling each activity and posting it in the app; it took all the stress out of having to book/schedule things, and we felt confident that we were getting good places/experiences because they were coming from your recommendations.
We also REALLY appreciated staying connected to you when we were in Greece. It gave us peace of mind that you checked in with us each day and were available in case we needed to make a change.”
— Sean & Andrea B.
“Including Melissa in the travel planning process for Greece elevated our travel experience profoundly. Talk about someone who has found their calling in life and executes it masterfully. Work with ‘Ela Opa! Travel if you want to: partner with someone who will hear you (Melissa asks the best questions from the start), uncover experiences/destinations in Greece you didn't know existed (we're talking Greek Goddess-level recommendations here), get support traveling through Greece (all the logistics/tips/support, right at your fingertips), and unlock your passion for Greece while having someone cheering you on along the way.”
— Chelsey & Alex D.
“My friend and I love traveling and enjoy the planning process, but there were so many options, and we really needed advice on how to narrow down our trip and make the most of our time. We booked a one-hour call, and it was the perfect chance to throw out all our questions and get great advice! You had an answer for just about everything, or some extra opinions on our itinerary we hadn’t thought about, that helped to minimize travel time between islands and maximize the time we had. As two single girls traveling to Greece for the first time, you also gave us practical advice and a realistic picture of what the experience would be like, which helped us have confidence that we would have a great time.”
— Laurel B. & Esme M.
“We were referred to Melissa through a very good friend of ours and after trying to plan the trip ourselves, I knew we needed help. Without any hesitation I reached out and never looked back. Melissa was so detailed in her communication and she took the time to listen and understand what we wanted out of our trip and then pointed us in the right directions. Not only did Melissa help us plan the perfect anniversary trip, but she made it the perfect balance between what my husband wanted out of the trip and what I wanted. She was there for us before, during and after our trip. Would highly recommend Melissa if you are planning a trip to Greece. You will not regret it!”
— Bobbie Jo & Casey G.
“We understood the value of working with someone who had spent time in Greece, both visiting family as well as being a tourist. The detail of the Travel Plan was an excellent reference, offering a feeling of security while traveling in a new country, felt like we were not alone. Knowing that we could check in with you if needed and the routine check-in that you provided as our trip proceeded was very valuable to us.”
— Ike & Becky V.
“Your knowledge and passion on Greece shined in our first call with you. You were able to pick up that Brian and I both had very different goals for the trip and you managed to craft an experience that is a top 10 life moments for both of us. Plus, you gotta support a woman-owned local business anytime you have the opportunity 💙🤍 You did a great job setting up our expectations for each location. Greece is so much more than Santorini and Mykonos.”
— Dylan M. & Brian S.
“Every detail you planned was exceptional & we all could see how much thought & effort you put into it. You really made this experience unforgettable & I'm so grateful for everything you did to make it FABULOUS :)”
— Michele G.
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