Exploring Greece off-season

Where agritourism meets cultural traditions

Greece is a country that has it all: high mountains, thick forests, fertile plains, and an incredibly long coastline with amazing beaches. Low season travelling in the Greek countryside will offer you off-the-beaten-track experiences and beautiful memories.

The nature enthusiasts among you will find olive harvesting very interesting, as you will take part in an age-old activity, which takes place between October and December in Greece. Olive oil is a staple food in this country and it has been much appreciated since antiquity. In ancient Athens, the olive tree was the sacred tree of goddess Athena – the patron of the city of Athens. The real and symbolic value of this tree and its fruit was so great that the winners in local athletic contests would be offered an amphora filled with virgin olive oil as a prize for their top performance, while the Olympic Games winners would receive the highest honour of being crowned with “kotinos”, an olive tree branch wreath.

Join the local farmers in olive groves across the country, get acquainted with the traditional ways of harvesting and producing olive oil, and learn about its numerous nutritious, cosmetic, and medicinal properties. There is a large number of olive farms which will be happy to accommodate you and offer you a special agritourist experience in the heart of nature. You will find such farms on the islands of Evia, Crete, Lesvos, Paros, Kalymnos, Kefalonia, and Kythera, as well as on the mainland, such as in Kalamata, Argolida, and Olympia, to name but a few! The experience includes a feast of local delicacies and meals prepared with the oil you have helped produce. You can also take some of that extra virgin olive oil back home with you.

Mushroom hunting has recently acquired a growing number of fans in Greece as more and more people choose this outdoor activity to connect with nature and learn more about the local mushroom species. In autumn and early winter, the Greek mainland, especially the mountainous areas, get filled with varieties of mushroom and truffle, and you are invited to join the groups of visitors who learn how to look for them and differentiate between the safe and the unsafe ones. Go for a long hike in the forests of the highland areas for mushroom and truffle hunting and take part in the festivals that follow; you will enjoy delicious dishes made with your freshly picked mushrooms. You can also sign in for educational workshops in some of these areas.

In late winter and early spring, a three-week Carnival Period (called Apokries) unfolds in Greece, with lots of revelling, dancing, feasting, and masquerading going on across the country. The cultural roots of Apokries go back to antiquity, to the rituals honouring Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and merry-making. Nowadays, it’s a mixture of ancient and Christian traditions and customs that get reenacted, with sketches and theatrical performances involving satirical scenes and teasing of passers-by and participants. The towns of Galaxidi, Naousa and Skyros are typical examples, where the above performances take place. Patras, Rethymno, and Xanthi are also must-visit towns, as the biggest parades with floats, costumes and dancing take place there.