Greece: OPA Tours Greece - Tours in Review - Brief Article

GREECE Five trips to Greece in 12 years? You bet! And all were with OPA Tours Greece (137-B Genoa St., Arcadia, CA 91006, phone 800-OPA-7155 or 626/446-4221,

e-mail opatours@aol.com or visit www.greecetravel.com/opa), run for 17 years by smart, caring, resourceful Joyce Helfand and guided by her bright, delightful friend Nanda Kontopoulos, a passionate, authoritative "mini Melina Mercouri."

Bubbling with humor, Nanda turns every bus ride into an enjoyable history lesson. Everyone who travels with these women enjoys their knowledge and love of Greece, a still underappreciated country despite its beauty, fabulous history, endless scenic variety and great value.

Thanks to OPA's skill at searching out lesser-known places, we enjoyed not just Athens and the islands but little mountain villages and relatively unexplored places. OPA is also good at showing us how to enjoy ourselves with strangers.

This most recent trip, Aug. 23-Sept. 10, '01, was a very fulfilling three weeks with a group whose members all have become friends -- not one "wet blanket" or "sorehead" among us. After a previous Greek trip, a delightful tour-and-cruise, seven of us gathered for a 3-day reunion in Sequim, Washington.

I'm 79 and have taken 16 tours and none surpassed OPA's for quality and value. I look forward to OPA trip number six in spring with high anticipation. As the Greeks say, "Opa!" ("Great!").

COPYRIGHT 2002 Martin Publications, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group