Helen Iatrou

Helen Iatrou is a travel journalist and guidebook author from Australia who has lived in Greece for almost three decades. Based in Athens, she covers yachting, sailing, cruising, culture, sustainability, hotels, fitness and food. Helen contributes to media outlets including Lonely Planet, Travel + Leisure, National Geographic Travel, Condé Nast Traveller, CNN, CNBC, AFAR, Robb Report and Food & Wine.First and foremost, Helen is a full-blooded islander. Saltwater and ink undoubtedly run through her veins. Born on a big island — Australia — to Greek parents from the tiny Northeastern Aegean island of Agios Efstratios, she studied journalism at the University of Queensland.Helen learned the ropes of reporting at a feisty newspaper in a tough Brisbane neighborhood before decamping for Athens, so she could more readily globe-trot. She worked as a staffer at English-language publications in Athens, mostly covering Greece’s tourism industry and then as a freelance T.V. producer for Reuters during the height of Greece’s rocky economic crisis (tear gas spray included). Helen switched to media relations and destination marketing but journalism lured her back. Among her most memorable interviews is one with Gang Starr, of Guru. Helen contributes to Lonely Planet guidebooks, chiefly Greece editions but also anything sea-related. She has cultivated insider Greece expertise over almost three decades. Helen leverages her knowledge of the country and its people to bring to life stories on island and coastal destinations and the fascinating individuals who inhabit them. She also writes custom content for a range of tourism and yachting clients.An avid sailor and diehard beach bum, Helen cruises and races sailing yachts everywhere from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean.