Mild TREKKING on Naxos island

Experience the diversity of the Naxian landscape during our trekking tours around the island and enjoy the optionally offered Qi Gong course on the beach at early morning hours.

Naxos, the largest and most fertile of the Cycladic islands, lies almost at the centre of the Aegean. Meadows running down to vast beaches, cliffs sinking suddenly into the sea, rocky mountains side-by side with fertile valleys, abundant springs and streams, these are just some of the features of a natural environment marked for its variety.

During your 8 to 15-day long vacation on Naxos island, you will have the chance to participate in some unforgettable guided trekking tours around the island and also learn some basic Qi Gong moves. In this course we will not focus on the details of the external movement, but we will mainly deepen into our inner selves instead, observing our breath, look, tensions, attitude, emotions, intention and thoughts while performing the soft and elegant moves of Qi Gong. Discreet hints on the Yin-Yang principle, the 5 Elements qualities and the "secret" practising points of Qi Gong (as written in the Chinese Classics) will help you relax your body and breath, clear your intention, cultivate your attitude, strengthen your focus and enhance your observation while practising.

> Difficulty level: Low
> Travel dates of this holiday package: May to October Duration: 8 to 15 days, as per request To groups of 6 people and more we offer a complete tailor made vacation plan with a 100% customisable itinerary.
> Services: - Transfer from/to the local port or airport of Naxos to/from our hotel - Accommodation (7 to 14 nights) including rich breakfast buffet in a 4 stars hotel room with own shower/ WC, refrigerator, TV, A/C, safe, hair-dryer, balcony with sea view (if you book early enough), English speaking hotel reception - Welcome and farewell dinner - Diverse program as described in the itinerary, subject to modifications - All entries and necessary local transfers - English-speaking travel escort

Services not included in price: - Arrival and departure to Naxos island - Surcharge for single occupancy of a double room - Other than mentioned meals - Travel/ medical insurance Optional services: - Qi Gong Workshop by Yannis, 10 to 18 hours long, according to package's duration, price € 90,00 to € 160,00 - Additional overstay nights on Naxos - Discount for children is possible in a DR with two adults - Half board (normal or vegetarian) - Car rental: From € 25,00 per day, motorcycle rental: From € 10,00 per day, bicycle rental: From € 5,00 per day - Various activities: Tao Yoga, horseback riding, diving, water sports, trekking tours, island hopping excursions, entertainment evenings with Greek folk dances and traditional music - Massage treatments: From € 50,00 per hour - Additional overstay nights in Athens, because of inconvenient times of arrival or departure: From € 30,00 p.p. in 1/2 DR including breakfast, from € 50,00 in SR including breakfast

Itinerary of the vacation package: "Mild trekking on Naxos island" (subject to modifications)

> Day 1: - Arrival on Naxos, we welcome you at the port or airport of the island and drive you to your hotel - Free time to adjust, rest and explore on your own around - Welcome dinner and briefing about the vacation plan - Hints on how to enhance sustainability and be a responsible traveller

> Day 2: - We will meet on the beach before breakfast for our first Qi Gong session (every Qi Gong class is optional, bookable on site) - After breakfast we will escort you to Chora, the capital city of the island, where we will guide you inside the archaeological museum. We will also walk you up to the Venetian castle, where amongst others you may also choose to have a guided tour (optional*) inside a very beautifully preserved old Venetian house, being open today to the public as a museum - Evening: Mini workshop on the Greek language and alphabet, to be able to read and pronounce Greek correctly!

> Day 3: - We will meet on the beach before breakfast for our second Qi Gong session - After dinner we will present to you the basic elements of the Greek Mythology, History and Culture, focusing on the myths about Naxos island and the Aegean sea, the modern history and the contemporary culture

> Day 4: - We will meet on the beach before breakfast for our third Qi Gong session Cultural walking around Naxos island - What a day this will be! This day we have arranged for you a very interesting mountain walking and cultural expedition. We will walk through 4 traditional mountain villages of the island, visiting a picturesque Byzantine chapel, a pottery workshop, a traditional distillery, an authentic olive press and much more. And guess what: we won’t even miss our Qi Gong exercises or Greek language lesson, as we will practice them under the shadow of very old Eucalyptus trees. We will come back in time for you to enjoy a swim.

> Day 5: - We will meet on the beach before breakfast for our fourth Qi Gong session - The rest of the day is free of guided activities for you to walk around on your own, swim, sunbathe, relax or arrange your own tour to some of the many interesting sites of the island.

> Day 6: - We will meet on the beach before breakfast for our fifth Qi Gong session, Sunset trekking on Naxos island This day we have arranged for you another very interesting trekking tour. In the afternoon we will visit the ancient temple of Demeter on the mountain. Walking on beautiful paths and dirt roads we will come all the way down to our Hotel at Plaka beach to enjoy a swim.

> Day 7: - We will meet on the beach before breakfast for our sixth Qi Gong session - Today we will also meet before sunset for our seventh Qi Gong session.

> Day 8: - We will meet on the beach before breakfast for our eighth Qi Gong session - Another guided trekking route

> Day 9: - We will meet on the beach before breakfast for our ninth Qi Gong session

> Day 10: - Today we will meet on the beach very early in the morning to experience the sunrise and the calmness of the environment, while practising in silence our Qi Gong movements. - Today we will also meet before sunset for our eleventh Qi Gong session.

> Day 11: - We will meet on the beach before breakfast for our twelfth Qi Gong session

> Day 12: - We will meet on the beach before breakfast for our thirteenth Qi Gong session - Another guided trekking route. - In the evening we will attend a Greek music concert

> Day 13: - Another day free of guided activities for you to walk around on your own, swim, sunbathe, relax or arrange your own tour to some of the many interesting sites of the island

> Day 14: - We will meet on the beach before breakfast for our fourteenth Qi Gong session - Being sad to have to bring this vacation program to an end, we will have prepared for you an unforgettable farewell dinner with many surprises.

> Day 15: - We will escort you to the port or the island’s airport for your departure Daily schedule (except on the excursion days): > 07:30-08:45 Optional Qi Gong - Instructor: Yannis > 08:45-10:00 Rich breakfast buffet > 10:00-18:00 Free time > 18:00-19:15 Optional sunset Qi Gong on certain days > 19:15-21:00 Free time > 21:00-23:00 Evening events related to the Greek language, culture, mythology, music or traditional folk-dances (some are included in price, some are optional).

There is a public bus connection between your Hotel and the city every hour, thus you can arrange your own tours around the island too.

Responsible tourism: Travel and Do, as an international member of FAR, supports the preservation of the environment of the Mediterranean Sea by offering a percentage of its annual profit to the NGO Archelon, the Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece.

Travel and Do Ilia Zervou 96 GR – 11144 Athens Tel: +30 6944 555 696

Yannis Sampsonidis, teaching in English and German, born in Greece in 1968, studied Photography and Civil Engineering. He has been studying the eastern internal martial arts since 1990 under various teachers. As a certified associate instructor of Master Mantak Chia's "Universal Tao System" he focuses his teaching on Conscious Breathing, Healing Sounds, Chinese Yoga, Qi Gong, Massage and Meditation. He is also a certified Thai Massage practitioner.

He has founded "HELLENIC TAO" to connect the Eastern healing arts with Hellas' beauty, light and spirit. He has also founded TRAVEL and DO, as a unique solution to his need to combine, explore, deepen and enjoy all the things he values in life and at the same time offer and share them with his closest friends and teachers, as well as with his guests from all over the world.

Detailed price information on request.

Our 4 stars hotel is situated on one of the cleanest, most beautiful and quiet beaches in Greece. An unpaved and not so busy road is separating our hotel from Plaka beach. Only a few meters away from the Hotel there is a public bus stop. The connection between our Hotel and Chora (island’s main city) is every 1h., thus you can easily arrange your own tours around the Island too!

Plaka, the island’s most famous soft sanded beach, with its dunes and small trees is laved by the tirquaz Aegean Sea. Some spots are nudists' favourite, but the beach gathers families, singles and couples as well. The long extent of the beach makes it easy for you to find a nice place for sunbathing, gazing opposite at Glaronisia (islets) and Paros island.

How to reach Naxos island

The non-flying alternative: You may reach the Greek islands without getting in an airplane! For this longer, but more environmental friendly, educational and adventurous way, you will first need to reach by road one of the eastern ports of Italy (Venice, Ancona, Bari or Brindisi). From there you get into one of the fast boats which connect Italy with Patras, the biggest western port of Greece. Travel time is between 12 ad 33 hours, depending the route. From Patras you can easily reach Athens and its port Piraeus in less than 3 hours by car, bus or train. The route is picturesque and highly recommended to be explored, if you drive in a rented car and thus are free to spend some extra time on the way. Finally you continue to your end destination, Naxos Island, by boat.

By flying: There are charter flights departing from certain cities of Europe to the neighbouring islands of Mykonos and Santorin. There are direct charters from Gatwick and Manchester on Fridays (and scheduled services on Thursdays and Sundays from Gatwick) to Mykonos and direct charters on Tuesdays from Gatwick and Manchester to Santorini. From there you continue to Naxos by boat. It might be much easier though to catch a flight from almost any big European city directly to Athens and: a. further fly to Naxos using the Olympic Air or b. go to the port of Piraeus and then get a boat to Naxos (daily connections). If you decide to come to Naxos by boat over Athens-Piraeus, you should know that you will need about 2.5 hours after landing time to eat something, reach the port of Piraeus and buy your ticket without rush. Every 15-30 min. depart buses which connect the airport either with the port of Piraeus or with the city of Athens. Alternatively, in order to reach the port of Piraeus or any place in the city, one may use the Metro and the Subway. If boat travelling is not exactly your favourite way of travelling, then the Olympic Air will fast ( in 45 min.) and safely bring you from Athens to Naxos island. Early booking is advisable, as these air tickets are really hard to be found, all year round. Due to the unpredictable weather conditions on the Aegean Sea it is not advisable to plan to fly from Athens back home the same day you arrive by boat in Athens from the islands. So, please, plan at least one night overstay in Athens before your end departure date. In Athens we can free of charge suggest to you our favourite hotels to choose from.