Greece Vacation Video

Tony Yang November 20, 2018 0 Comments Vacation

Greece was the first international country we visited where I had a chance to fly my Mavic Pro. There was some nervousness when bringing a drone to a country where I wasn’t familiar with the culture or local laws, but as soon as we got into our rental car and drove around the city within the first hour I felt pretty comfortable. I don’t know if it’s the culture or the economic status, or a combination of both, but everything about the Greece felt laid back, it felt like I could do no wrong here as a tourist, especially during the low season in March.

We have plenty of photos in our previous blog posts Part 1 and Part 2. It was nice being able to film with minimal people in the shots and it also helps to start filming early in the day before the bus loads of tourists converge. There were no signs anywhere in the city of Athens that prohibited drone flying, even around the ancient ruins. I took off from outside the perimeter of the sites and made sure not to get too close. I definitely don’t want to be responsible for any damages or injuries. The only place in Greece I noticed “No drone” signs was in Santorini. I can only imagine how it would be a prime spot for all pilots to fly. Of course, I did fly mine too only because it was low season and I thought the impact to the handful of tourists would be negligible. I made sure to stay away from residences and hotels, just a few overhead shots over the water.

Some of my favorite shots were Olya driving the car while I chased us with the drone at full speed. It really shows how important our drives are during our vacations, being able to stop anywhere and see the sights that aren’t on the tour bus agendas. However, sometimes we would arrive at a spot only to be followed immediately by a bus full of Chinese tourists! This literally happens in every country.

Please like the video if you enjoyed it!

Greece South to Santorini

Tony Yang June 5, 2018 0 Comments Photography, Vacation

After the first half of our Greece trip going north, we headed south towards our next destination, Santorini! On our way down, we stopped by The Rhion Fortress with a great view of the Rion-Antirion Bridge, and thanks to Google, we found a little restaurant along the way called Fast Food Pitta Bomb. The drive there was slightly suspicious as the mini island town looked a little run down and empty. We have to remember it was low season so it didn’t feel like a popular destination, but the ratings were good so we gave it a go. At roughly $2 per gyro, it was one of the best we’ve had so far! Olya said she could’ve eaten two. With our tummies happy, we were ready to get back to Athens.

Greece North to Metsovo

Tony Yang May 16, 2018 1 Comment Photography, Vacation

Our trip to Greece was made possible by my wife finding a great deal through The Points Guy. She purchased the tickets last year for our March trip, which is low season for Greece. We planned to stay on the mainland for most of the time, and a few nights on Santorini island. My initial hesitation came from not being too excited about Greek food or knowing what the sights would be like – I’m not much for archeology and manmade sights. I was excited, however, about flying my DJI Mavic Pro outside of the country for the first time after a few months of practice.

We did our research for flights to Santorini from Athens, and decided to purchase through Ryanair. They are one of the most popular budget commuter airlines in Europe, and everything goes smoothly as long as you do your due diligence reading the restrictions – or prepare to pay hefty fees. We learned the hard way with our first budget airline experience with WOW Air going to Iceland. Make sure your personal or carry-on meets the exact size requirements to the millimeter, and it’s worth paying extra for the priority boarding and carry-on bag. Boarding passes must also be printed out on your own – they charge extra for e-tickets issued on your mobile!

Our experience in Greece was not what we had expected, although we did not have much to expect at all. The first item on the itinerary on any trip is to pick up our rental car, a BMW 1 series diesel. Efficient and comfortable little guy with solid driving dynamics compared to the cheap econoboxes we usually get. We reserved this car for 4 days at a whopping $83 USD. That was the first clue that this trip could end up pretty inexpensive! Except for the hotels in Santorini that were pre-booked, we would book all of our accomodations in Greece last minute so we could drive and explore wherever my little drone would take us.