Like most parents, I’m used to tears on our family holidays, but this was the first holiday we’d been on where my kids managed to make complete strangers weep — though this was because they were so moved to see them so happily enjoying an activity.

We have a daughter (Betsy, 11) and a son (Wyn, 8) and, apart from cats, they just aren’t into the same things, which can make holidays hard work. We needed a new approach, and a new holiday called Kinship offered just that: an immersive family travel experience that aims to bring families together over shared experiences. 

Instead of parking your kids in a holiday club, the idea is to embark on a mutually enjoyable exploration of local culture, with the activities all organised for you, many of them quite unusual when compared with the norm.

The trip was being offered by the Empiria Group, which runs two luxury resorts in the Cyclades: Vedema in Santorini and Parilio in Paros. We chose Vedema where we would spend four days trying out some of the included experiences, from museum visits (see tears, above), a 10km hike around the edge of the caldera (“An actual real-life volcanic crater” — as described by our incredulous eight-year-old), a mini spa treatment for the tween, and a local wine tasting for us (OK, that wasn’t strictly part of the programme). All of this, plus more cats than you could count. It had to work.

From Fira, Santorini’s capital, we were driven (transfers were included) through the island’s wild and monochromatic landscape to the medieval village of Megalochori on the west coast. Vedema was the island’s first five-star resort when it opened in 1993, but there was no flashy entrance. It’s tucked away on a narrow cobbled street, under a white arch and through a pair of old studded doors that lead to the reception, where the kids make their first new feline friend.

The hotel is a labyrinth of steps and pathways that emanate from a 400-year-old stone-vaulted winery housing a restaurant, Alati, and a dimly lit wine bar, Canava — a word unique to the island that describes the cave-like spaces used for producing and storing barrels of wine. We were directed to one of two newly built family villas at the edge of the resort, overlooking a field of vines haphazardly planted and grown in kouloura (wreaths or baskets) rather than orderly rows.

The villa was a bright white Cycladic cuboid that has been softened with natural materials and oversized local ceramics. We had two beds so ginormous that the kids didn’t bat an eyelid when asked to share, and a huge bathroom sculpted out of lustrous plaster. A private heated pool lay just outside and — the best bit — a “non-fighty” resident cat that hopped up onto the bouclé sofa while we supped our welcome drinks: two glasses of vinsanto (the local sweet wine) and two homemade lemonades.

Welcome to the tomato factory

After a slightly excessive breakfast (hot chocolate, fruit salad, mini pastries, French toast and bacon) we were driven off on our first, unusual outing on the south coast (private transfers can be arranged by the hotel’s concierge at an additional cost). 

There is no way to dress this up: we were going to visit an abandoned tomato factory — the Tomato Industrial Museum D.Nomikos (adults £10; children £8.70; tomatomuseum.gr). Had the kids been any older, I think we would have encountered greater resistance, but they were game and luckily, as at Vedema, the historic character of the factory has been cleverly preserved and reframed for tourists. We each picked up an audio guide and worked our way around, starting at the tomato sorting machines before moving on to the pulping and canning stations. We learnt about the unique character of Santorini’s tomatoes, which were watered only by the morning dew, resulting in a tough skin and high sugar content that makes them ideal for tomato paste. At the height of productivity, D.Nomikos was squishing out over 20,000 cans of paste a day until tourism became the island’s primary industry and employer, pushing production on to the mainland. We learnt that the factory pulped its last crop of tomatoes in 1981.

Afterwards, we headed to the outdoor café to sample some of D.Nomikos’s prized pulp, which is still made using the same secret recipe. Thankful for the massive breakfast, we ordered four tomato juices (two with vodka, two without) garnished with black salt and pickled caper leaves. With red moustaches all round we headed back to Megalochori for a potter around the gift shops and an early supper of spanakopita (spinach and feta pie) and spicy sausages at Raki, a local taverna pleasingly full of locals ordering rounds of strong coffee well into the night (mains from £16; rakisantorini.com). 

In-villa cooking, Greek lessons and music

The Kinship experience includes an in-villa cooking demonstration and Greek language lesson, but we wanted to see more of the island, so the next day we took up one of the excursion suggestions and walked to Symposium, a cultural centre offering “a celebration of music, art and mythology” (adults £16; children £13; symposionsantorini.com). The experience began in a pretty courtyard garden at the top of the village. We sat in the shade of a mulberry tree with two other visitors from Canada while the co-owner, Argy Kakissis, fetched ice-cold frappés and minty lemonades. Like the bar at Vedema, Symposium is in a reimagined canava, a cool, calm space with a vaulted ceiling and cushioned benches that run the length of the room. 

alexandros ioannidis

Argy introduced her partner, Yannis Pantazis, a musician, craftsman and academic who specialises in ancient Greek music and instruments. “We don’t make wine any more,” he explained, “we make music.” He handed out Cycladic drums and bells, so we knew there would be some level of audience participation (an ancient pan pipe workshop is also available, from £30). Over the next hour, Yannis held the floor, playing various ancient instruments from his workshop, including a glossy conch, a flute made from the neck bone of a swan and a recreation of the double flute of Athena, an instrument the goddess is often depicted playing that is said to sound like “two women crying in harmony”. 

The kids were quizzed on Greek mythology and — thanks entirely to Horrible Histories — they did us proud. Towards the end of the recital, Wyn (who is very blond) was renamed “mini-Apollo” by Yannis and asked if he wanted to try a different instrument. He went into Yannis’s workshop and emerged a few minutes later with a Greek lyre — a bowed instrument that looks like a cross between a banjo and a harp. Yannis sat him on a chair in front of the tiny audience and, to our amazement, Wyn started to rhythmically pluck the strings as Yannis recited a passage from Plato’s The Birth of the Muses. The two Canadian women started to quietly cry. It was a magical moment. Even his big sis was proud. 

A small spa with kids’ treatments

Back at Vedema, we spent an hour floating around the massive communal whirlpool at the centre of the resort before Betsy and I headed to the small but perfectly formed Elios spa. There’s a choice of three treatments for 6 to 14-year-olds and she opted for “hero’s calm” — a gentle 50-minute massage (£78). I sat at the end of the massage table and finished a long read about a fishing disaster without interruption. It was bliss for us both.

Alamy

We could have booked guided hikes of the island, but we checked the map and decided to go it alone the next day. After a final multi-course breakfast, we were driven to Fira and spent the next three hours walking along the edge of the caldera, winding our way past the tourist shops and out into the ashen hills. We could see lightning rolling in towards us just as we reached the highest point of the walk. “I am Zeus!” Wyn shouted into the rain as we made our final ascent towards the village of Oia on the northwestern tip of the island.

Having played various gods and instruments, made friends with countless cats, tried mocktails and massages, Wyn’s summation of the experience was simple: “Santorini is the Goat.” For once, we all agreed.
Nell Card was a guest of Empiria Group, which has three nights’ B&B for a family of four on the Kinship programme from £1,749, including Greek and cookery lessons, one excursion and transfers (vedema.gr). Fly to Santorini