We are Nikos & Georgia, a happy Greek couple who run the Evia Retreats in the island of Evia.
We are also the proud owners of Writers’ Retreats in Greece, Evia Private Transfers, Evia Private Tours and the mighty Greek Taxi.
Since 2019, we team up with a well established network of local accommodations and instructors in order to host you, treat you, spoil you, cook for you, educate you, enlighten you, empower you, inspire you, help you to relax and meditate, show you around and eventually, make you feel like home.
From April 2012 until February 2019, we travelled overland full-time, first in a Suzuki Grand Vitara and then in a self-converted Toyota Hiace camper-van. We have visited more than 50 countries in Africa, Europe & America and we have experienced a unique mix of kindness & hospitality from the vast majority of the locals regardless of their culture, skin colour, religion, social status, education, etc.
We have stayed & worked in 5-star safari lodges in Tanzania & Zimbabwe, a fishing lodge in Canada, a mountain lodge in Ecuador, a boutique hotel/ art space in Mexico, a guesthouse in Perú, a rafting company in Canada as well as countless local houses, farmsteads and campgrounds.
In February 2019, we decided to retire from our long trip around the world, settle down in our homeland & dedicate ourselves in the travel & hospitality industry.
Why us?
Because we have been there and we have some extensive travel and hospitality experience as well as a global perspective about the tourism product.
Because we have a good idea of what makes up great hospitality and we come from a destination that is still pristine and intact.
Sustainability, authenticity and appreciation are our principal values and what crafts a great travel experience throughout a retreat.
For us, great hospitality does not involve a swimming pool, neither a limousine nor a 5 star resort but a unsurpassable solid experience based on human interaction with a local community.
Evia is still an untouched, quiet, sleepy destination way far from the crowds of other popular destinations in Greece that guarantees an authentic travel experience combined with a local touch.
On top of everything, we love to organise & run our Retreats with smile, meraki & filotimo.
Meraki is the word that we Greeks use to describe what happens when you leave a piece of yourself -your soul, creativity & love- in whatever you do.
On the other hand, filotimo is considered to be the highest of all Greek virtues, the standards for family and social living. In its simplest form, the term means “doing good”. For a Greek, it is essentially a way of life since it includes values such as honor, justice, courage, dignity, pride, self sacrifice, respect, freedom, gratitude and hospitality!
It is the words we use as our most important “ingredients” in the creation of memorable stays.
Our commitment and primary purpose is to provide the highest level of service so you can get the most out of your stay beyond the typical retreats’ stereotypes.