Beachside Banter w/Bee

Greek Getaways & Hidden Gems: Rallou & Yiannis' Guide to Exploring Greece with Porto Planet

• Bee Davis • Season 2 • Episode 6

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In this episode of Beachside Banter with Bee, we mentally hop over to the Greek island of Crete with Rallou and Yiannis, the dynamic duo behind Porto Planet — a boutique travel agency curating immersive, locally-rooted experiences across Greece. From traditional wedding risotto to secret beaches you won’t find on Google Maps, they share how they’re redefining Greek hospitality for travelers craving more than just a vacation.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
• Why Crete is an underrated gem that deserves at least 10 days to explore
• The difference between Greek islands like Santorini, Milos, and Zakynthos
• How Porto Planet creates intimate, custom cultural experiences with a family-first feel
• Traditional Greek dishes like dakos, antikristo, gamopilafo, and more
• Where to find the best beaches (hint: they’re not where Instagram says)
• What to expect when traveling through Greece — and why staying longer is better

Locations + Foods Highlighted:
• Crete – Largest island in Greece with major cultural, food, and beach diversity
• Santorini – Known for its iconic blue domes
• Milos & Zakynthos – Standout beaches: Kleftiko (Milos) and Navagio/Shipwreck Beach (Zakynthos)
• Chania, Elafonissi, Preveli Beach, Vai Beach, Balos, Agios Nikolaos – Beach hotspots in Crete
• Peloponnese – For wine, food, and history beyond Athens
• Athens – A must for the Acropolis and ancient culture
• Traditional Dishes – Dakos, antikristo (spit-roasted lamb), gamopilafo (wedding rice), fresh olive oil, local cheeses

Timestamps:
00:00 – Meet Rallou & Yiannis
The couple introduces Porto Planet and shares how their agency was inspired by Yiannis’ late father, a pioneer in Greece’s food and wine tours.

07:30 – Mamma Mia & Culinary Adventures
Their most popular tours include a Mamma Mia-inspired island hop and culinary experiences featuring olive oil, wine tastings, and farm-to-table dining.

12:00 – Greece’s Traditional Foods & Festivities
From wedding lamb cooked antikristo-style to gamopilafo and dakos, Bee learns about Crete’s most iconic dishes and when they’re served.

19:15 – How to Travel Greece the Right Way
Tips for flying into Greece, whether to ferry or fly to Crete, and why Athens should be a short stop — but Crete deserves the spotlight.

27:00 – The Real Greek Island Rundown
Yiannis breaks down the true scale of Crete and explains why one week won’t cut it. They also talk about underrated beaches like Elafonissi, Preveli, and Vai.

36:00 – Cultural Hospitality & Why Every Guest Becomes Family
Yiannis and Rallou share stories from past guests, including a card game showdown, Easter celebrations, and how Porto Planet makes every travel

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Speaker 1:

hey, hey, hey everyone, it is another episode of beachside banter with b. I am b your uh host today and I am hanging out with yannis and rauloul from Greece, which I'm so excited about. I don't really know hardly anything about Greece, but I just know that it is absolutely gorgeous from the pictures that I see. So we're going to dive in. They own a little business called Porto Planet and, yeah, we'll kind of go from there. So take it away, tell everybody what you stand for and why you're here.

Speaker 2:

Hello, I'm Raoul, my husband Yanis. Hello, we are from Greece. We're in Crete, the biggest island in Greece. We have our agency here and we have tours all over Greece. I have studied tourism and I used to work with my father before I started my own agency. It was huge. I will say that my father was one of the first tourist agents that started with different kinds of tours, like wine tours, food tours, culinary tours and all that. He was specializing in this and I followed his steps and I'm trying to do the same also.

Speaker 1:

So was it something that you had always wanted to do was following your father's footsteps with hospitality?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, the truth is that I used to follow him when he had guests from the US monthly and I liked how it was all this thing, the meeting with new people, the discussions and everything so I said, why not, it would be okay if I start also do same.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, absolutely that sounds fun. So what made you decide to kind of create Portoplanet and what was the idea behind the name?

Speaker 2:

That's very funny. First of all, the agency my father used to have because my father passed last year, we lost very thank you. Uh, it was a porto club and I decided to make another agency to use also the same name. But it's's not Porto Club, it would be Porto Planet, it would be more so the first word Porto it's from my last name, which is Portokalaki.

Speaker 1:

Okay, got it Orange, a little orange, and also the name Portokalaki in Greece means a little orange. Oh, okay, gotcha, I like that, that's cute. Thanks, it's. I like that, that's cute. Thanks, it's a great name I used this name for the agency. Yeah, I liked it. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I just didn't know. When I first saw the name I was like, ooh, is it everywhere in the whole planet? So then I had to dive in what I really think we're sticking to're sticking to go to other places also.

Speaker 2:

Right now we only have incoming tourists in Greece, but we're thinking also to have outgoing also and go to other places in Europe or in the US or in everywhere.

Speaker 1:

Yes, that gives you an excuse to do a lot of traveling too, which is secretly why we're all here, right?

Speaker 2:

Yes, we are traveling a lot. We love travel.

Speaker 1:

So tell me a little bit about the tours that you have in Greece right now. Which was the most popular?

Speaker 2:

Right now, I think the most popular tour that we have is the Mamma Mia tour. It's a tour about the movie Mama Mia and the songs and it's very popular. We have a lot of people that are very interesting in this tour and it's very popular. And also we have another tour in Crete, the second one that has to do with culinary food tasting and wine tasting, and it's only Olive oil tasting, olive food tasting and wine tasting, and it's all in English Olive oil tasting, olive oil tasting. On that, okay, you brought up my favorite subject, all that fun stuff Food.

Speaker 1:

I'm going to gain a bunch of weight when I come there, come in Greece to taste the food. I bet, yeah, yeah, we have a small. I would call them Greek restaurants or they want to be Greek restaurants here in the States and I just they're good, don't get me wrong. But I just can't imagine it being anywhere near as good as what, like, you actually get when you're on the islands and that.

Speaker 2:

So I think it will be different when you will be here.

Speaker 1:

Does Greece have like a national dish or anything like that?

Speaker 2:

Yes, we do have a lot of national dishes, which one I can say now. For example, in Crete we have some of the traditional plates that we have here in Crete it's a takos. Takos is a rusk dry bread with a grated tomato, olive oil, oregano and feta cheese and sometimes maybe olives, depending on what we want. But the original is the grated tomato with the olive oil, the oregano and the feta cheese.

Speaker 2:

Antichristo Another one is Antichristo that is what Yiannis said. It's a lamb that we cook on big fire and we put it across the fire, not on the top. Across the fire means the Greek word for that is adikri, so that is why we call it adikristo and it's a traditional plate here in Crete. We usually offer this plate to the weddings or to baptisms or to any special occasion that we might have. And also another one very nice plate that we have here also in Crete is my favorite. It's like risotto, the Italian risotto, but it's boiled in the broth of lamb and not lamb, goat and beef usually. Okay, that is amazing. And that is the other thing that is very famous and popular in weddings and baptisms and special occasions also. Wow, yeah, agamos in Greek means wedding, so the risotto for the weddings.

Speaker 1:

The name oh okay, that makes sense. Yeah, so I like to promote a lot of cultural immersion and volunteer occasions. That's kind of my thing and near and dear to my heart. So is that you have like a cultural immersion type tour, so where I can kind of come in and sit with locals and maybe dine in these smaller restaurants?

Speaker 2:

That's a good idea Because we are not a big agency that we have. We have mostly small groups Up to 10 or 10 people, not more, and our tours are specialized so we don't have what the big agencies have, that it's usually for big groups. We're trying to give to our guests the hospitality that we have in our houses, not in a restaurant or anywhere. We're trying to go in places that it won't be easy to go on their own.

Speaker 1:

Perfect. Yes, yes, yes. That's what a lot of my audience is looking for is those kind of experiences. So what's probably, you said, the most popular one was?

Speaker 2:

where the most popular tool by the first. I told you it was the Mamma Mia tool that has to do with the movie, and the other one is here in Crete. It's the most popular. Then it's a cultural wine and food tool.

Speaker 1:

So on the Mamma Mia.

Speaker 2:

Mamma Mia is the Niskiathos, skopelos and Alonissos.

Speaker 1:

Okay, oh, okay, gotcha, gotcha, gotcha. That makes sense, and the other is only in.

Speaker 2:

Crete, but we have to say that Crete, since it's the biggest island in Greece and most of the people they don't know about that. They think that they're going to an island like, for example, santorini, that is very famous.

Speaker 1:

That's the famous, that's what everybody knows.

Speaker 2:

Crete is another kind of island. For example, just to give you some idea how it is, it's to go from the one part of the island to the other part, from this side to the west west side of the island, one way on. Uh, by god, by god, you need the t5 hours. Oh wow, I didn't realize it was that big. So so you can understand how big is the island. Yes, yes, the whole island. You need at least 10 days for me, 10 days, okay. Even you won't see the whole island, even for 10 days, and the most people, they don't know it. They think that they're going in a small island and they will stay there for two, three days and it will be okay.

Speaker 1:

I actually from what little I know. Like I said, it's on the exact opposite side of the world for me, so to get there, I think, is like a two and a half day trip, so doing that has been kind of difficult. So that's the only reason why I haven't made there. My son it keeps telling me all the time it's his number one bucket list location and he really like he's like mom, if we ever go anywhere together, please let it be be Greece. So it's definitely on the list. So if, uh, you were to say somebody from, say, america or whatever, where's the best place to fly into? Is that Athens? And then to get over to Crete, it?

Speaker 2:

can. I think they can come also directly in Crete, because Iraqi oak and Kanya also they do have international airports. Oh, okay, gotcha. Yeah, I don't know if they have to go first in Athens and then come to Crete, but I think that they also might have from other places in Europe that they are going directly to Crete, of course.

Speaker 1:

Right, okay, that makes sense. Yeah, Okay. So if you were to fly into Athens for a little bit and spend a couple days there and then come over to Crete, how long is that? Would you go through a ferry or would you take another flight? It's a busy day to get there.

Speaker 2:

It's only 40 minutes, oh okay, yeah, that's not bad. It's better to take a flight to go to Athens for a couple of days to, of course, to visit the Acropolis and the museum and everything, because it's something unique and you have to go there, right, right, maybe you can return back in Crete and continue your tour there.

Speaker 1:

Yeah okay, so you're definitely suggesting spending more time in Crete?

Speaker 2:

in Athens got it in Athens, so you can go for Peloponnese to see the okay, it's a big it. The Okay, it's a nice city, it's a big city. We have a lot of big cities in the US, of course, you know about that. Of course you have to go to see Acropolis and the museum because it's a must-see there. It's something unique also. You can go also if you want. For example, we can spend spend four, three days there also and see go in Peloponnese, because Peloponnese it's another part in Greece that it's very big with history and wine and food history also. So it's something unique and I would suggest to people to go there also. And you can come in Crete. But you can book, for example, a 10-12-day tour, start from Athens and Peloponnese and finish in Crete. That sounds good.

Speaker 1:

So how do the islands kind of differ from each other? I know most of us, like I said, when we think of Greece, we think of Santorini. I think that's the one with the big blue roofs and all of the buildings.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, Just to give you an idea, in Greece there are about 3,000 islands. Then from them, the 187, they are with people. Okay, that's a, so it is where you can go and visit them. So most of the people from the US they know, they think that it's only Santorini and Mykonos. Of course, I agree, they are very beautiful islands. They are very beautiful islands, they are very popular, but they are not the only islands in Greece. But of course it depends what you want to see. Also, because every island, every place, it differences and it depends on what everybody wants to see, what he will visit and what he will see.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that totally makes sense. Where am I getting the best?

Speaker 2:

beaches Galia. This is how I make it up.

Speaker 1:

What's your favorite? Which one's your favorite? What's your beach?

Speaker 2:

For me it's Kleftiko and Milos. For me Okay.

Speaker 2:

In Milos, so I haven't been there so I cannot say I don't know. All right, that's fair, that's fair. I thought Lesbos has good. All of Greece, all the islands. They have small Greece. I have small Greece Also in Thessaloniki, in Halkidiki.

Speaker 2:

They have amazing beaches. I cannot imagine how beautiful it is. This year I had a group from the US and we visited Halkidiki one day for streaming. It was amazing, very beautiful. Now here in Crete, for example, we have a lot of beaches. I think the most beautiful in Crete is Elahonissi. It's in Chania. It's amazing. You cannot imagine how beautiful it is. It's different from all the other beaches in Greece. Also, it's very beautiful the Brevely beach. It's unique. It has a river that is going side to the sea and has also palm trees all over the beach. It's amazing.

Speaker 2:

Beautiful also from the east side of creed is the beach of vile, also very famous about the palm trees and very beautiful. Maybe no, no, maybe for me it's not that beautiful because I have visited. Maybe not, no, maybe for me it's not that beautiful because I have visited. It's very famous because of the palm trees, but I didn't like the sand they have there. It was mostly like. For me it was mostly like dust, not like sand, gotcha, yeah, so it's not one of my favorites, but it's beautiful to go and see Because it's different, because of all these palatines it's something also unique. So you can go there just to see the beach and then leave and also visit some places around Valle. That is very beautiful.

Speaker 2:

Other beautiful beaches are also in Makrigialo Love it, okay, very beautiful beach there In Chania area also, it's Balos. We have also in South Creek, there's Agiofarago, and it's very deep. I cannot remember. We have a make. It's amazing, it's amazing, it's amazing, it's amazing, it's amazing, it's amazing, it's amazing, it's amazing, it's amazing, it's amazing. I hope it doesn't get paralyzed. Another very beautiful beach is in Zandri, in Zakynthos, navagio. The name the sink. It's an amazing beach, it's very famous. You can go there only with a boat. It's not easy to. You cannot walk or go with a car there. It's very famous. There is an old sink there, an old sink boat that it's on the beach. So you go, you can see the old boat and you can see the beach.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, it's amazing. That sounds neat.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, that sounds like a really fun day but all the islands in Greece is like that. They have amazing beaches you cannot imagine.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, it sounds amazing. Like I said, it's always been kind of on my list and my son is just so all about it. But he's always told me he's like there are so many places here we can see so many. So I'm like, okay, we'll go there one day hopefully. So I'm like, okay, we'll go there one day hopefully so amazing.

Speaker 2:

We have a lot of history, a lot of things to see. In every place, also, in every island, there is a lot of history. That's the amazing, good people, because you're not going just for the beaches, you're going also to see other things and if you like the culture and the history, of course you have to go to different islands to see different things. For example, you have the Palace of Knossos from the Minoan times, and the Minoans were one of the first civilizations in Greece. Wow, yes, years ago. That's so cool, and all that kind of stuff also. Then, if you go to to Philipponese, you have to go to Mississinus. It's almost in the same period with the Minoan civilization, maybe a little bit later, but almost in the same period. Also, amazing thing, you have to go there. And then, if you go to Santorini, they have also.

Speaker 2:

Akrotiri. Where is, I think, also from the Minoans this one and it's the cyclad civilization, so everywhere they have history. It's not the Acropolis in Athens and nothing else.

Speaker 1:

They have different food, different wines, different varieties of grapes, different. So what you're really telling me is I need to come over there for about six months so I can get the full experience. Maybe Got it, I'm going to be real fat by the time I leave the food's. I can totally see that being the case. So does Greece make it easy for other countries, like people from other countries, to come and visit for long periods of time? I don't know anything about the visas there. Sometimes their country will only allow you in for 30 days or so and then they kick you out. No, don't be a problem, it's easy for the other people.

Speaker 1:

Okay, gotcha, sometimes I can't remember. There was one place that we were looking into going to and they were like oh no, you can only stay 30 days and after that you gotta get out and you can come back, but you can only be here for 30 days. We don't have a limit on the days. Okay, I'll be hanging out forever, you guys? I don't know if.

Speaker 2:

I'm leaving. Well, you can come anytime. I'd love that.

Speaker 1:

Yes, our pleasure to host you. Yes, that sounds amazing. Yeah, so can you give me maybe a story about, like one of your first tours, what's the funniest encounter that you've had? Oh, I cannot remember. It's so many years ago I'm sure it was a dumb American came over and did something, got drunk and did something, because that's what we normally do.

Speaker 2:

Well, the most funny? I don't remember, because I have so many different tours and so many different people and every time we had something that was funny, different people, and every time it had something that it was funny. But I can say, I can say to you about the last we had in in october, and it wasn't in greece, it was out of greece. We went in thessaloniki and in nafio, in peloponnese, and then in athens, but we had something, as we had a guy on our tour that he liked extreme sports and all this and one of the most crazy things that I have done in my tours we stopped in Corinth Canal and he had the bungee jumping. Yeah, that sounds fun. And he was a young guy. He was between 55 to 60. He wasn't very young, but he was like oh my God, are you sure you want to do it?

Speaker 1:

Right. I don't know if I can let my husband do it. He might want to, but I don't know. I might be grabbing him to say no, you can't.

Speaker 2:

But for something funny maybe, I will tell you one story we had. We had them how many years ago Before five years ago, no more, it was in 2018. We had a group. It was a group of 10 people and they came here during the period of Easter. Lovely people. It was an amazing group with amazing people. We're friends with them now. The story that I'm going to tell you now it was with one of the guys in the tour that this year he returned with his wife just to visit us and spend some time with us. We bring some good wine, some good wine, then continue their vacation in other places. That's awesome. So we had a lot of beautiful days with them.

Speaker 2:

We learned a lot about them here in Crete. It's very popular from the people, from the shepherds, that they have the animals in the mountains. It's very famous when they're going on a wedding or in special occasions and they have lunch or dinner with the lamb. I called you the kestou. They usually have one small knife always on their pocket and that it's closed and open. It's like the knives that you have for when you're going outside and you have it always on your pocket, but it's a front knife, so they use this knife for um, for the lamp. It's easy to take the the meat out of the bone.

Speaker 2:

So we learned him about the this knife. We bought also a knife as a present for Kin to pair it with Kin. That's all. And we had a lot of nice times and sometimes when we were finishing the tours we were staying in the villa that they were staying with them just to have some time and spend some time together. We were playing cards all together and he was sitting next to Yannis and we were having fun and Yannis was always winning on the cards. He was looting all the time by Yannis and then he just took out the next one and Yannis said okay, but laughing. It was very funny.

Speaker 1:

Oh my goodness, that's funny. That's normal. Yeah, so what you're saying is that when you come on these tours, you're going to be basically a part of the family, which is awesome. I love that, that's how we work.

Speaker 2:

It's not that book a tour and then we will meet you, say hello and we will see you again on the last day, especially in Crete. We are with the, with our guests. We are taking him from the, from the airport, to the hotel. We spend the days with them. We're visiting places that it won't be easy to go on their own. I'm always with them, I'm trying to be like a part of their family, and this is something that I did for my father. That's how my father used to work also.

Speaker 1:

No that's amazing. I love that bit of hospitality and I love being able to have somebody there too. First off, I'm sure that there is a language barrier, especially for Americans coming over there, because we don't really have a lot of other languages that we learn other than English. So I'm sure that there's a language barrier, especially for Americans coming over there, because, you know, we don't really have a lot of other languages that we learn other than English. So there's, I'm sure there's that. And then, on top of that, like there's some things that I'd be a little like leery to order if I didn't know what they were. So like having somebody be like oh no, you don't want that because that's, that's, that's not good or something you know, just just like little things like that. That is what, yeah, that's.

Speaker 1:

That's not a vacation to me, it's an experience. So, and and that's what I always try to get on my vacation well, vacations, whatever you want to call them I try to get like actual experiences from something I want to be able to remember. I love to be able to tell my great grandkids that, hey, I went over and I played cards over Greece and blah, blah, blah, you know, just like stuff like that. So I love that this is what you guys stand for and I really think that my audience is going to vibe out with that, because you know they're looking for those same experiences. We're all over the all-inclusive. Nobody wants all-inclusive anymore. We want to go and we want to actually try foods. We want to eat the good stuff and drink the good wine and all that stuff, and who cares if we have to pay for it, because that's what it is we are also trying to find every time we're traveling abroad.

Speaker 2:

don't want to go back where I should want.

Speaker 1:

That's it. There's nothing wrong with it. I just don't feel like I get the true experience if I go to one place and I hang out in a resort the entire time. So I love that you are offering all of these different experiences and, like I said, the bringing people in and having them be a part of your family is huge. So I wish you guys nothing but the best. I think that this is going to go somewhere awesome and I am so excited to watch you on your journey because I just know that everybody's going to love it. So give us an idea. Where can everybody find you? How can we book these tours? Tell us all that stuff.

Speaker 2:

You can visit our website. It's portoplanetcom, it's the name of the tour agency. You can take an idea of the tours that we have, but, of course, the tours that we have in the site is just a sample. That we have in the site is just a sample because we usually prefer to discuss every time with the people to see what they want, what they want to experience, and they will definitely pick the trip, the vacation that they are dreaming as they want it, not what they will see on the website. So you can visit the website, have a look there, and they can contact with the email through the email that they will find on the website. That is info at PortoPlancom, and they can follow us on Facebook, on Instagram, everywhere.

Speaker 1:

Got it, so you're everywhere and I'm sure you're posting lots and lots and lots of beautiful pictures of those beaches. We're trying.

Speaker 2:

We're trying, yeah, and we're trying. Also, I have posted a lot of photos from the tours I have been with my girls where they can have a look and the experience that we have with the people.

Speaker 1:

I love that. That's awesome. So usually, before I end every episode, I always ask one last question and I kind of feel like I might know the answer to this one, but I'm not really sure. What does paradise mean to you? Paradise?

Speaker 2:

For me family.

Speaker 1:

Oh, okay, that was not the right question. That's the answer that I thought it was going to be. I thought you were going to be like Greece we live in paradise.

Speaker 2:

No, I explained. If you have the love, it's a paradise and you spend everywhere. If you are and you spend the time everywhere, this is my paradise.

Speaker 1:

I love that. That's great. How about you If I say something different?

Speaker 2:

Oh, no, no. But.

Speaker 1:

Oh fine, all right, I won't put you on the spot. How about that? I don't want anybody to get in trouble. It's all fun and games, right? Awesome, well, thank you both so much for taking the time to have this conversation with me. This was a lot of fun, I learned a lot and I have a lot of research that I feel like I need to do now too. So, yeah, okay, thank you when I had the green.

Speaker 1:

So I'm contacting you. You're the first person I'm calling. It's our pleasure to have you here and be careful with everything. Can't wait. Thank you so much. We'll talk soon. You're welcome. Hey there, beach lovers. That's it for today's episode of Beachside Banter with Bea. I sure hope you had as much fun as I did. Hey, don't forget to subscribe and leave a review if you enjoyed the show. You can catch me on all social media platforms, at Life, love and Travel, and if you've got a question or you just want to stop by and say hi, feel free to slide into my DMs and I'll make sure to get those answered for you. Big thanks to everyone who joined me today and for all of you tuned in, and until next time, enjoy your week.